Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Mark Richt implied that Senior Safety Jaquan Johnson could play Saturday against Florida State and that linebacker Shaq Quarterman is also likely to play. The Canes are not likely to get back wide receiver Ahmmon Richards for “a while.”
Johnson has been out since injuring his hamstring at the end of the first half against Toledo two weeks ago. Quarterman missed over half of the Miami Hurricanes victory over North Carolina last week. Richards has not played since suffering what has been referred to by Richt as a bone bruise in the season-opening loss to LSU.
Sophomore safety Amari Carter has stepped into Johnson’s starting role at safety. He has four tackles and a pass breakup in starts against FIU and North Carolina over the last two games. Those were the first two starts of Carter’s career.
Mike Smith is Quarterman’s backup and had the best game of his career last week before he too went out with an injury. Smith had four tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss against North Carolina. Quarterman earned ACC Co-Linebacker of the Week after five tackles and career highs with three tackles for loss and two sacks.
The Miami Hurricanes offense has replaced Richards through their excellent depth at wide receiver. Richards has now missed ten games over the last two seasons. He has played in only eight games in 2017 and ’18 combined.
Miami relied on wide receiver Braxton Berrios and tight end Chris Herndon IV in 2017. Berrios led Miami in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in 2017. Herndon was second in all three categories.
Multiple receivers have stepped up this season without Richards in the lineup. Sophomore Jeff Thomas was hot in the first three games. His classmate Mike Harley has been the go-to receiver for Redshirt Freshman Quarterback N’Kosi Perry.
Thomas leads Miami with 320 receiving yards. That is almost twice as many as Lawrence Cager who is second on the Hurricanes with 174 yards receiving. Cager is tops on the Canes with four touchdowns. Harley’s 15 receptions lead Miami.
At this point, it’s hard to imagine Richards making an impact at all this season and maybe ever again for the Hurricanes. He is eligible for the NFL Draft after this season. While another year in college could help his draft stock, another injury-filled year in college would hurt it.
Richt spoke to the Joe Rose show during his weekly appearance with them on WQAM on Monday morning about the Miami Hurricanes injuries.
"“Jaquan is closer than Ahmmon right now. It’s hard to say for sure. It looks like Shaq [Quarterman] is going to be OK, too. It’s going to be a while before Ahmmon is ready.”"
Depth was limited last season. The losses of running back Mark Walton, Richards injuries problems throughout the season and Herndon at the end of the year limited the Miami offense. Four star recruits at wide receiver and the maturing of Thomas and Harley have helped alleviate the loss of Richards this season.
Johnson and Quarterman are two of the most irreplaceable players on the Miami Hurricanes overall and specifically on defense. Getting them back as the schedule continues to get tougher will be important as UM hopes to repeat their 2017 ACC Coastal Division Championship.