Miami football 17th ranking from Yahoo sports below consensus
After being ranked 14th in the AP Media Preseason Top 25 and 16th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Miami football team was ranked 17th by Yahoo Sports. The consensus from seven of the major national media sites and metrics rank Miami 14th.
The analysis from Yahoo is fair. The Miami football team is praised for the returns of quarterback D’Eriq King and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and the addition of wide receiver Charleston Rambo as a transfer from Oklahoma. Yahoo is concerned about King recovering from ACL surgery and the Hurricanes defensive line.
All signs throughout the offseason and in two weeks of training camp are that King is completely healthy and will be ready when Miami and Alabama kick off on September 4 in Atlanta. Replacing defensive ends Jaelan Phillips and Quincy Roche is a legitimate concern. Miami also has to improve against the run in 2021.
Super senior Zach McCloud who moved from linebacker to DE and Tennessee transfer DeAndre Johnson are the projected starters for Miami. Yahoo questions if the pass rush will regress. With head coach Manny Diaz resuming the defensive play-calling, the Miami defense should be better in 2021.
"17. Miami (8-3)There’s a lot to like about Miami. Manny Diaz found a good recipe for the offense by hiring Rhett Lashlee as coordinator and adding transfer QB D’Eriq King. King is back for his sixth season of college football, but is coming off an ACL tear.If King is healthy, the line rounds into form and the receiver play improves (adding Oklahoma transfer Charleston Rambo could be a big help), the Hurricanes could have a top 20 offense.What’s concerning with Miami are the losses on the line of scrimmage defensively. Even with Jaelan Phillips and Quincy Roche, the Hurricanes didn’t defend the run very well. Now those two are in the NFL and it’s hard not to envision the pass rush taking a step back."
In the three seasons, Diaz was the defensive coordinator before being named head coach in December 2018, the Miami defense was greater than the sum of its parts. Miami did not have a dominant defensive player until the first season Diaz was head coach in 2019 with DE Greg Rousseau.
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The Miami defense played as a team as was dominant in 2018 despite an anemic offense. In the second year with Lashlee running the offense and King at QB, the Miami defense needs to be opportunistic and stout in the red zone. Johnson and Georgia transfer Tyrique Stevenson at cornerback help the defense significantly.