Manny Diaz and Blake Baker show great leadership after Greg Rousseau opts out
Head coach Manny Diaz and defensive coordinator Blake Baker showed great leadership following the decision of redshirt sophomore defensive end Greg Rousseau to opt-out of the 2020 Miami football season.
The decision by redshirt sophomore defensive end Greg Rousseau to opt-out of the 2020 Miami football season sent shockwaves throughout social media of those that follow the Hurricanes. Head coach Manny Diaz and defensive coordinator Blake Baker showed great leadership in their response and wishing Rousseau well.
The news that Greg Rousseau was deciding to opt-out of the 2020 season was broken by Diaz at the end of a zoom call with Miami beat reporters. Diaz stated at the beginning of the conference call he expected all of his players for the first day of training camp on Friday when asked. Only a few minutes later that changed.
Diaz praised Rousseau and what he has contributed to Miami when relaying the news that his star DE was opting out for the season. Rousseau is solidly a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and some prognosticators have him being selected as high as the top five. Thankfully Miami has the depth at DE to absorb his loss.
Without Rousseau, Miami still has two potential All-Americans to replace him. Quincy Roche is the highest graded DE returning in College Football in 2020 and was the 2019 AAC Defensive Player of the Year. Miami also has Jaelan Phillips who was the top-rated signee with UCLA in the Class of 2021. Diaz wished Rousseau well.
"“Before I let everybody go….I’ll pass this on. Actually, while we were speaking, Greg Rousseau just let me know that he is not going to play football this fall. He’s opting out. “We’ve had a great relationship with Greg, discovering him years ago when he was at [Hialeah] Champagnat, an outstanding young man.I want to thank him for everything he’s done for the Miami Hurricanes. And we’re going to support him in every way we can with him looking to achieve his dreams of becoming a great player in the National Football League.’’"
Miami DC Blake Baker said he had talks with @Greg_R5 in the days leading up to today's decision to opt out. Said he was weighing it. Baker: "Guys got to step up. That's why you sign a guy like Quincy Roche, Jalen Phillips and Jafari Harvey. It's by far our deepest position."
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) August 6, 2020
Baker was equally gracious wishing Rousseau well and stating that having Roche and Phillips on the roster along with redshirt freshman Jahfari Harvey puts Miami in a good position to absorb the loss of Rousseau. The depth at DE is the deepest the Hurricanes have on defense according to Miami’s co-defensive coordinator.
"“I really couldn’t be happier for Greg. We support him 100 percent in his decision. We had some conversations with him in the previous days and we knew it was something on his mind and we support him 100 percent in that decision.Obviously, guys have to step up and that is why you signed a guy like Quincy Roche and Jaelan Phillips a year ago and Jahfari Harvey—it is our deepest position on the defensive side of the ball. I am definitely excited about the guys that will be playing for us this season.”"
Most teams would not be able to compensate for the loss of production from a player like Rousseau. Few if any teams nationally have a conference Defensive Player of the Year and top-ranked signee in his class like Miami does with Roche and Phillips. Those two and Harvey keep Miami loaded at edge rusher.
Next. Greg Rousseau informs Miami he's opting out for 2020 season. dark
With redshirt freshmen DEs Cameron Williams and Jason Blissett, Miami will have plenty of depth. This time a year ago Greg Rousseau had never taken a snap against ACC competition. The remaining players Miami has at edge rusher should still provide the Hurricanes with one of the fiercest pass rushes in the country.