Miami football players awareness on field will create playing time

Redshirt freshman Greg Rousseau and his teammates on the Miami football team have to earn their playing time. Talent alone is not enough. The players have to be aware of their assignments in order to play.

Manny Diaz spoke about what it takes to earn playing time for the Miami football during his Monday press conference. Diaz was discussing the play of defensive lineman Greg Rousseau and why it took so long for the redshirt freshman to become a starter. Rousseau was a force on Friday against Virginia.

Rousseau leads the Miami football team with 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. After missing most of his true freshman season in 2018 with an ankle injury, Rosseau has returned to showing the potential of being the dominant player he was during the last two spring practices. Rousseau had the best game of his career versus Virginia.

The lanky redshirt freshman finished with seven tackles, two TFLs, one sack and one forced fumble. As Rosseau continues to get more experience he can become an elite pass rusher and frequently create havoc in opposing backfields. When the Miami defense has been successful under Manny Diaz they are aggressive.

Rousseau thrives on getting upfield and being disruptive. Like Gerald Willis was last year if Rousseau continues to be dominant on nearly every snap he will require double teams. That will help Jonathan Garvin on the other side at defensive end and give more room for the Miami defensive tackles inside.

Diaz explained that a player’s work ethic and understanding of what their responsibilities are on the field will impact how much they play. That applies to the offense, defense and special teams. Rosseau’s growth has been exceptional in a short amount of time. He has only played in eight collegiate games.

"“When we talk about talent, the talent doesn’t get a chance to show until we know what to do and [the player] can do it at full speed…That’s called player development. What’s happened with Rousseau is player development. Rousseau did not have a great training camp.He had a much better spring than training camp, and Greg knows that. We have a very competitive situation at defensive end. It doesn’t matter if you can jump over a building and do all these other things. If you can’t handle your assignments, you can’t do it.It’s hard to put that guy in and tell the others kids who are doing it right, ‘Oh no sorry, he’s physically more gifted [than you are].’ It’s the exact opposite of how we run this program. Hard-working guys that know what to do and do it full speed”"

The above narrative from Diaz was in relation to a question by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald specifically about Rousseau, Mark Pope and the younger players on the roster. Pope is starting to show his talent after a non-descript freshman season in 2018. The sophomore has nine receptions for 179 yards in 2019.

Jahfari Harvey is another player that Diaz referenced. Harvey could be heading towards a redshirt season as a true freshman in 2019. As Diaz said Miami has a “very competitive situation at defensive end.” Harvey is behind Rousseau, Garvin and redshirt senior Scott Patchan. Harvey has one tackle this season.