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Miami football: Offense continuing to improve

By Alan Rubenstein

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 07: Jeremiah Gemmel #44 of the North Carolina Tar Heels tackles Cam'Ron Harris #23 of the Miami Hurricanes during the first half of their game at Kenan Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 07: Jeremiah Gemmel #44 of the North Carolina Tar Heels tackles Cam'Ron Harris #23 of the Miami Hurricanes during the first half of their game at Kenan Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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One of the biggest promises throughout the 2019 offseason for the Miami football program would be an improved offense. That has proven to be true despite the 0-2 start to the 2019 season.

Quarterback Jarren Williams has given a big boost to the offense for the Miami football team in 2019. Williams is on pace to have a record-setting season. His 71 percent completions would break the Hurricanes season record set by Jacory Harris in 2011. Miami is currently 74th in the nation in total offense.

With the talent Miami has at the skill positions, the Hurricanes should be much higher than 74th. That is a drastic improvement over 2018 when Miami was 105th in the nation in total offense. The Hurricanes have shown a marked improvement offensively from the Florida game in the opener to Saturday’s loss to North Carolina.

The Miami offense should continue to improve in the first year under coordinator and QB coach Dan Enos. Surprisingly it has been Williams and the passing game led by tight end Brevin Jordan that has led the way for the Miami offense. Williams has thrown for 523 yards while the Hurricanes have run for 266.

DeeJay Dallas is off to a great start. The junior running back has 202 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Cam’Ron Harris has complemented Dallas well with 75 yards on 16 carries. Williams 25 carries for -41 yards (which lost yards on 14 sacks are figured into) have put a dent in the Miami rushing totals.

Bill Connolly of ESPN had the Miami offense ranked 57th in the preseason in his SP+ rankings. The Hurricanes are now up to 43rd according to Connolly. Connolly categorized Miami as having “A bumpy road so far”  when examining the college football programs with new offenses in 2019. Connolly summarized Miami.

"The change: New head coach Manny Diaz brought in Dan Enos — formerly Central Michigan head coach, Arkansas offensive coordinator and Alabama QBs coach — to liven up an offense in desperate need of energy and optimism.The early returns: Redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams has already endured a season’s worth of ups and downs. He has taken 14 sacks (really bad) while completing 71% of his passes (really good)…After a late Week zero comeback attempt against Florida fell short, he succeeded in bringing the Canes back against North Carolina … only to watch the defense blow it.Change in offensive SP+ ranking: 43rd (57th in preseason)The next big test: The 0-2 Canes get a couple of tune-ups before huge home games against Virginia and Virginia Tech."

The Miami offense is currently 47th in passing and 83rd rushing. Even with sacks taken out, Miami would still be 68th running the football. Enos would likely prefer a better balance. Getting 66.2 percent, or nearly two-thirds of their total yards on offense through the air in the Enos offense is not the goal.

Next. Miami football: offense needs to get better in redzone. dark

Enos prefers a balanced offense. It should not be difficult in the next two games against Bethune-Cookman and Central Michigan where Enos was the head coach from 2010-14. Once Miami starts ACC play against Virginia Tech October 5 they are going to have to have better balance or teams will key on the Miami passing game.

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