Miami football deciding starters after final scrimmage Friday night

The Miami football team will decide who the starters will be for the season opener against UAB September 10 following their final scrimmage on Friday night according to head coach Manny Diaz.

In his first Zoom meeting with reporters in two weeks, Manny Diaz stated the Miami football team will decide the starters for the season opener September 10 against UAB following the final scrimmage on Friday night. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Diaz. Diaz would not specify on the depth chart beyond QB D’Eriq King.

Several of the positions other than King are clearly decided entering the final week of practice. The open positions heading into Friday night appear to be left guard, starting linebacker with redshirt senior Zach McCloud and potentially all-four spots in the secondary and wide receiver. Those positions will rotate heavily.

The exception will be left guard. Miami is expected to rotate seven offensive linemen early in the season and increase that to eight or nine later in the year according to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee last month. Second-team QB behind King is another position to watch with N’Kosi Perry the prohibitive favorite.

Diaz spoke about the scrimmage on Friday and stated no decisions will be made throughout the rosters related to the depth chart until after Friday night. Several Miami players have made impacts in the first two scrimmages to seemingly solidify their spots on the depth chart. They will have a final chance Friday.

"“A situational scrimmage…Until we get past our situational scrimmage on Friday night we’re not really deciding on anything depth-chart wise in terms of the two-deep and three-deep and all those type of guys…We’ll know all that through the weekend.’’"

With 19 games played and nine starts as a collegian, Perry has the most experience of the Miami QBs other than King. Freshman Tyler Van Dyke could potentially see more playing time than he otherwise would have to face the likelihood of a redshirt season as a true freshman in 2020. Now Van Dyke can play without losing a year.

The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to all fall athletes in 2020. Any of the Miami football players who might have redshirted this season can play the entire year and still maintain the eligibility they entered the 2020s season with.

Ousmane Traore is the favorite to earn the starting position at left guard. Redshirt junior Bradley Jennings Jr. and sophomore Sam Brooks are the co-favorites to start at LB with McCloud. Senior Mike Harley and juniors Mark Pope and Dee Wiggins will almost definitely start at WR with Jeremiah Payton fourth in the rotation.

Juniors Al Blades Jr. and D.J. Ivey and sophomores Te’Cory Couch and Christian Williams will be the primary cornerbacks in the rotation for Miami in 2020. At safety Senior Amari Carter, redshirt junior Bubba Bolden and junior Gurvan Hall will be the main rotation with a trio of freshman likely to back them up.

Three-star 2020 signee Brian Balom has emerged as a playmaker through the first two Miami scrimmages. Four-star Jalen Harrell and three-star Keshawn Washington are likely to contribute on special teams. Miami lost freshman Avantae Williams who was the second-ranked safety in 2020 to an undisclosed medical condition.