There's a very good chance the benches will be emptied early Thursday night when the Miami Hurricanes play the Florida A&M Rattlers. The Hurricanes are favored by eight touchdowns, and it wouldn't be a complete shock to see them hit the 40-point mark in the first half.
That means a lot of underclassmen should get the opportunity to play extended snaps and display reasons for the coaching staff to trust them in more important situations later in the season. There are five players on defense in particular that fans should keep an eye on this week:
DB J.J. Dunnigan (Freshman)
Dunnigan played 33 snaps in Week 1 against Stanford. That was the second-most snaps by any freshman, just one less than offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell. Dunnigan is already the top backup in the secondary and with OJ Frederique's injury, there could be some future alignments that thrust the former Kansas HS Player of the Year into a full-time starting role.
LB Kellen Wiley Jr. (Sophomore)
Wiley got some good snaps, 15 in all, against Stanford and made four tackles. He's a player that I think Corey Hetherman wants to get up to speed to deepen that linebacker rotation. He's a big athlete (6-foot-4, 235 pounds) who has the length to offer snaps on the edge and the athleticism to cover backs and tight ends. I wouldn't be shocked if Wiley got close to 30 snaps on Thursday.
EDGE Herbert Scroggins III (Sophomore)
"Third" got 22 snaps against the Cardinal, and he was the first option as a backup edge rusher over Booker Pickett. There was some good and bad from Scroggins against Stanford, but plenty enough to grow on, and I think defensive ends coach Jason Taylor really wants to see more jump from him in getting to the backfield. That backup spot on the edge is still up for grabs, but Scroggins can put some real distance between him and the other competition in Week 2.
DB Camdin Portis (Freshman)
Portis' snaps in Week 1 came on special teams and at safety/nickel, but he's going to play on the boundary this week as Hetherman starts to search for the right personnel to make up for the loss of Frederique. Word around training camp was that Portis was the most aggressive cornerback when it came to getting the challenging reps against the top receivers. That is not surprising given how competitive his father. Clinton Portis, was during his time at The U.
DB Chris Ewald Jr. (Freshman)
Both Ewald and Portis played nine snaps last week, and it would be safe to expect that number to climb to 20 or more this week. Ewald, like Portis, is going to get some opportunities to cover on the outside, and it would be a huge relief if both freshmen could account well for themselves on Thursday. Cristobal and Hetherman want to throw these guys into the fire, but they also want to make sure they can handle the heat.
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