Miami Hurricanes secondary highly rated by Pro Football Focus

The Miami Hurricanes could have one of the best secondaries in the country this season. Pro Football Focus showed that the metrics back that up with Tweets on Friday about cornerbacks Trajan Bandy and Michael Jackson and safety Jaquan Johnson.

The only projected starter in the Miami Hurricanes secondary that did not receive a Tweet from Pro Football Focus was Sheldrick Redwine. The timing was fitting.

With Saturday 22 days before Miami and LSU kickoff in Arlington, Texas, Canes Warning posted Redwine’s 2018 season preview. Redwine is often forgotten in the Miami secondary.

Johnson and Jackson are returning starters and on a few award watch lists entering the 2018 season. Both players are first-team preseason All-ACC and UPI first-team All-Americans. 

Jackson and Johnson are also both on the Watch lists for the Jim Thorpe Award honoring the nation’s best defensive back and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy honoring the nation’s best defensive player.

Johnson enters 2018 thought of as one of as one of the best safeties in the country. Sports Illustrated ranked Johnson as the eighth best player in the country and the best safety. In addition to UPI, Johnson was also chosen as a preseason All-American by Athlon Sports and Sporting News.

Jackson and Johnson form one of the best corner and safety tandems in the country. Jackson’s rise to one of the nation’s best cornerbacks was swift during his first season as a starter in 2017. He has the requisite size at 6’1 200 pounds to be an excellent cornerback in the NFL.

The Bleacher Report and SB Nation both project Jackson to be a first-round pick next May. Both sites have Jackson being picked 18th overall. Jackson and Johnson both returned to Miami after flirting with the turning pro after their Junior seasons. Johnson said he returned to win a Championship.

Jackson gives Miami the kind of shutdown corner that most teams aiming for a title need. He has the best quarterback rating against of any returning players in the ACC.

Bandy had one of the most memorable plays of Miami’s 2018 renaissance season. His pick-six against Notre Dame 22 seconds before halftime stretched the Miami lead to 27-0. With the Fighting Irish driving for at least a field goal, the interception crushed any momentum Notre Dame might have gained entering the locker room.

Bandy enters 2018 first on the depth chart at cornerback. He had a very good Freshman season in 2017. The career-ending spinal injury to Malek Young has given Bandy a chance to be a starter in an otherwise all Senior secondary.

Young played exceptionally well last season as a Sophomore. Miami hopes to get the same kind of production out of Bandy his Sophomore season. As a Freshman in 2017 Bandy had 25 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and six pass breakups. Bandy’s six PBUs were third on the Hurricanes.

The Miami Hurricanes should have one of the best secondaries in the country this season. Athlon Sports ranks them 14th in the nation. In the ACC only Clemson and Florida State’s secondaries are ahead of Miami. Boston College and Virginia are the only other secondaries in the ACC ranked in the top 25 in the country.

The Miami pass defense does have room for improvement in 2018. The Hurricanes were 56th in FBS allowing 217 yards per game last season. When you factor that the opponents average of 34.5 attempts per game being 109th in the country finishing 56th in yards per game against is impressive.

Miami was also 23rd in opponents quarterback rating. Miami faced some impressive quarterbacks last season. Toledo’s Logan Woodside was sixth in the country in quarterback rating in 2017 and Wisconsin’s Alex Hornibrook was 24th. They had arguably the two best games by opposing quarterbacks in 2017.

With another year of experience, especially playing together the Miami secondary can and should surpass the ranking of the 14th best in the nation by Athlon. If they can do that this Hurricanes defense can become the best in the country in 2018.