Miami football: LB Corey Flagg one of ACC’s best big play players
Linebacker Corey Flagg has become one of the best big-play defenders in the ACC. Flagg is tied for third in the ACC with 7.5 tackles for loss. has 1.5 sacks from his middle linebacker position and leads the Miami football team with 30 tackles. In 2021, Flagg led Miami with 60 tackles and had seven TFLs and three sacks.
As a third-year sophomore, Flagg has become a perennial starter and one of the most productive players in the ACC. Flagg had seven tackles, a career-high three TFLs and a 0.5 sack in the 27-24 loss to North Carolina on Saturday. Flagg tied his career high earlier this season with eight tackles versus Middle Tennessee State.
Flagg has been impressive this season. Most projections had UCLA transfer Caleb Johnson beating out Flagg as the starting MLB for the Miami football team. Johnson has 10 tackles backing up Flagg. Some analysts have suggested playing Flagg and Johnson together as many believe they are the two best Miami LBs.
The 7.5 TFLs by Flagg this season are the second most in the ACC from any LB and come in one less game. Flagg is tied for the ACC lead averaging 1.5 TFLs per game. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal praised Flagg in his weekly press conference for his performance versus North Carolina as transcribed by Inside the U.
"“This last game was one of his better games…He takes a lot of pride in preparation. He’s always in there watching film. He always takes to the details. He knows the devil’s in the details, formations, backfield alignments, splits by an offensive lineman, weight forward and weight back, heal up in the air, toe pointed outward, splits by receivers—he points them out and finds them.You see him getting guys lined up, he sees if they’re misaligned. He gets them lined up the right way. He does a really good job.”"
Flagg is the epitome of a MLB by taking control of the signal calling on defense and getting his teammates in the right positions. Flagg has far exceeded his recruiting ranking when he signed with Miami in 2020 as the 830th player, 35th inside LB and 102nd in Texas in his class. Flagg has solidified a position short on depth for Miami.
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With Flagg at MLB, Miami is 21st nationally allowing 100.2 rushing yards per game, 19th with a 3.07 yards per carry against and third and second in those categories in the ACC. Flagg will continue to be a key player on the Miami defense as they play three of the top four and five of the top nine rushing offenses in the remainder of 2022.