Miami football: Freshmen making defensive impact

Led by defensive lineman Rueben Bain who has started the last two games, freshmen for the Miami football program have made an impact on defense. Miami signed the seventh-best class in 2023. Bain is living up to his billing as the top defensive player in the 2023 Miami class and third-best overall.

Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the snaps for freshmen defensively have been Bain with 119, cornerback Damari Brown with 70, DL Jayden Wayne 68 and Joshua Horton 32, linebackers Raul Aguirre 16, Bobby Washington 14, Malik Bryant 12 and Marcellius Pulliam eight. Brown, Wayne and Horton could see more snaps.

Bain has five tackles and leads the Miami freshmen with one tackle for loss and one sack. Wayne leads the Miami freshmen with six tackles. Brown has been productive as a backup CB with five tackles and one pass breakup. Washington has four tackles, 0.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks. Aguirre has two tackles and a 0.5 TFL.

Pulliam has one tackle. Miami has improved significantly defensively in 2023 under new coordinator Lance Guidry. The Hurricanes are 12th allowing 12.5 points per game, 12th allowing 273.0 yards per game, third giving up 48.0 rushing yards per game and 68th with opponents averaging 225.0 passing YPG.

Miami needs to improve defensively stopping the pass. At 6’2 and 185 pounds, Brown could receive more snaps to provide Guidry with more length on the outside against bigger receivers. Mario Cristobal has shown a willingness to play freshmen. We could see more freshmen even with ACC play beginning next week.

Bain and Wayne on the DL provide the Miami football team with a bright future upfront. The Miami staff likes the potential for Horton in the middle of the DL and the LBs. Brown has shown potential as an outside CB. Miami will be tested defensively with games against four of the top seven scoring offenses in the ACC.