When he evaluates a safety, Miami Hurricanes defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae told WQAM radio analyst Don Bailey Jr. that the mental is more important than physical attributes. Safety will be one of the strengths of the Miami football team in 2022. Addae compared playing safety to quarterback.
Addae wants safeties who can process the information the coaches provide them and be able to recite it back to them. Al Blades Jr. who switched from cornerback to safety during the offseason leads a primarily young unit in 2022. Two of the other Miami safeties are entering their third season and the other two their second.
Brian Balom is a third-year redshirt freshman, Avantae Williams is a redshirt sophomore and Kamren Kinchens and James Williams are true sophomores. Kinchens, Avantae Williams and James Williams are expected to receive the majority of the snaps at safety for Miami during the 2022 season.
The safeties have to get the rest of the defense lined up correctly. Addae described below what he looks for when recruiting but went into further detail in the video about the attributes that Kinchens, Avantae Williams and James Williams provide the Miami Hurricanes at safety entering the 2022 season.
"“You know a lot of times you ask that question, I think most defensive back coaches will start to talk about the physical attributes. For me it comes down to the mental. The mental first, right? Is he cerebral? Is he intentional about what he does? Is he smart enough to learn and regurgitate the information that we give them?Because they are quarterbacks right and so quarterbacks lead the show. Get everybody into or out of the wrong or right defenses and so you know safeties are going to have to be elite above the neck first for me and then from there it’s all the things that we know right.Foot speed, the ability to play over a tight end, the ability to have range and play out in the middle of a field and be able to overlap your corners. The ability to get down in the box and really tackle and get dirty with the big boys. You know those are jacks of all trades they got to do it all even in this game.You know you look at quarters right? Four guys vertical is all man coverage so even in that they’ve got to be sound in all areas and I’ve got a few kids that can really play some ball.”"
The 2022 Miami safeties all bring different attributes. Kinchens is the most cerebral of the 2022 Miami safeties. James Williams is imposing at 6’5 224 pounds and the highest-rated talent when he signed with the Hurricanes. Co-defensive coordinators Kevin Steele and Charlie Strong will be able to get creative with the Miami safeties.
Expect Miami to attract elite talent in the secondary with Addae coaching defensive backs. Addae was the second-best recruiter in the county during the 2022 cycle while at Georgia. Four-star athlete Robert Stafford who Miami projects at CB is the only DB in the 2023 Miami Hurricanes class.