Miami football ranked 23rd in the ESPN S&P+ metrics for 2020

There has been a lot of movement from the Miami football program after the end of a disappointing 6-7, 2019 season. Based on who is returning for the Hurricanes they rank 23rd in the ESPN S&P plus metrics for 2020.

The Miami football team performed strongly in the ESPN S&P plus rankings in 2019. Finding unlikely ways to lose and a poor kicking game somehow kept the Hurricanes in the top 30 in the metric measurement despite a 6-7 season. The return of the majority of the Miami receivers and the offensive line has Miami 23rd for 2020.

The ESPN S&P Plus ratings are based on metrics that include returning production, recent recruiting and recent history. With so many new players stepping into key roles for Miami 23rd has to be considered more than fair. It is difficult to measure how quarterback D’Eriq King and defensive end Quincy Roche will play.

Signing King, Roche and kicker Jose Borregales were critical for the outlook for the Miami football team in 2020. King and Borregales and nearly immeasurable replacements for Jarren Williams at QB and Bubba Baxa at kicker. If Baxa and Turner Davidson had been better in 2020, Miami would have won two to three more games.

Roche replaces Jonathan Garvin at the end spot opposite Greg Rousseau. Roche was far more productive than Garvin in 2019. That was playing at Temple. Roche needs the same type of consistency for the Miami football team. Garvin took a step back for the Hurricanes until an end of the season surge.

"No. 23 MiamiSchlabach ranking: NRSP+ seemed to have a strange crush on Manny Diaz’s Hurricanes last year, continuing to rank them in the top 30 no matter how many unlikely ways they found to lose football games. A combination of bad breaks and bad offense led to a 6-7 finish…While Diaz can’t do much about the former, he addressed the latter by bringing in not only a new offensive coordinator (Rhett Lashlee) but also Houston quarterback D’Eriq King. The U also brings back five of its top seven receivers and basically every offensive lineman.The defensive front seven will need a lot of new contributors to step up (the addition of star Temple end Quincy Roche will help), but the secondary is seasoned, at least, and there aren’t usually many reasons to doubt a Diaz defense."

Mentioning that Miami needs the defensive front seven needs newcomers to step up is a bit misleading. Rousseau returns at defensive end to team with Roche and Jaelan Phillips at after a dominant season in 2019. Rousseau finished the 2019 season with 54 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks.

Phillips joins Rousseau and Roche to give Miami one of the deepest rotations of edge rushers in the country in 2020. Phillips was the top-ranked recruit in the country in 2017. He transferred to Miami in January of 2019 and sat out to recover from a plethora of injuries. Miami also has talent returning at defensive tackle.

Jon Ford returns for his senior season after starting all 13 games last season. Rising junior Nesta Silvera will likely start next to Ford. Zach McCloud redshirted in 2019 and will start at one linebacker. Rising sophomore Sam Brooks is the favorite to start next to McCloud. They both have a tall order.

McCloud will be the leader of a Miami defense that has to replace four-year starters, Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney at LB. McCloud started for most of 2016-18 with Quarterman and Pinckney. The advent of the striker position in 2018 took away playing time from McCloud. Gilbert Frierson will be the striker in 2020.

The secondary returns everyone but cornerback Trajan Bandy who was the lone returning starter last season. The quartet of Al Blades Jr, Te’Cory Couch, Christian Williams and D.J. Ivey provide Miami with a lot of depth in pass coverage. Gurvan Hall, Bubba Bolden and Amari Carter supply Miami with quality safeties.