Rhett Lashlee expects Miami football to throw to score, run to win

Expect a greater emphasis to be placed on the run for the Miami football team with Rhett Lashlee as the new offensive coordinator in 2020.

Over the summer, Rhett Lashlee labeled the offense he is bringing to the Miami football team as a power spread. The Hurricanes will spread the field offensively but strive for a balance between running and throwing the football. Miami has talented running backs in junior Cam Harris and freshmen Jaylan Knighton and Don Chaney Jr.

The running game for Miami was impressive in the three scrimmages the Hurricanes held getting ready for the 2020 season. Miami has to improve a rushing offense that finished 120th in 2019 averaging 118 yards per game. Harris is replacing DeeJay Dallas as the starting RB in 2020. Junior Robert Burns will also contribute.

Burns has 31 carries for 126 yards and three touchdowns in his Miami career. There is not alot of experience for the Miami RBs behind Harris. Chaney and Knighton are going to have to mature quickly in the Miami backfield. The new Hurricanes offense will be dynamic and balanced led by quarterback D’Eriq King.

King is a threat running the football. In his last full season in 2018, King ran for 674 yards and 14 TDs. King will help Miami on the ground on called plays by Lashlee and when the original play called for someone else breaks down. Opposing defenses have to account for him. Lashlee discussed his expectations.

"“I think at the end of the day i think you have to run the ball to win. You know you want to throw the ball to score, but you got to run the ball to win. I believe in balance anywhere I’ve ever been that’s just my background.I don’t think it’ll be any different here. You know we don’t want to be one-dimensional, we want to be balanced…We do have two young true freshmen that are really talented again you don’t really know what you’re going to get until they get out there and do it but we have a lot of belief in them.They’ve done well in scrimmages but we also have a veteran in Cam Harris that I think will lead the way.  So we don’t have to put those guys hopefully in situations they’re not prepared for yet. Then you know getting Robert Burns back as well helps so we’ve got some a good balance.”"

The Miami football team is likely to try and establish the run early offensively against UAB in the season opener Thursday night. After allowing 118 yards per game and 3.47 yards per carry in 2019, the Blazers gave up 100 yards on 21 carries against Central Arkansas in their season opener last week.

If Miami can get closer to the second number against UAB the Hurricanes will have a great chance to win. Miami had very little balance offensively in 2019. The Hurricanes averaged 249.2 passing yards per game in 2019. With Lashlee calling the plays in 2020, the offense should be much more balanced.