With all the injuries on defense for Miami and Mario Cristobal this season, it's easy to forget that cornerback Ethan O'Connor has emerged as a complete and total playmaker for this team. The Washington State transfer is in his second season in Coral Gables. If you've noticed him playing with a chip on his shoulder and ticked off, there's a good reason for that.
Straight up, O'Connor remains pretty dang upset about the Canes going on a dream College Football Playoff run, only to lose to Indiana in the title game in heartbreaking fashion. In a new piece written up by reporter Adam Lichtenstein, it was made quite clear that O'Connor is using that as extra motivation, which is bad news for opposing quarterbacks.
“I took that really personally and really hard on myself,” O’Connor said of the loss to the Hoosiers. “So I just really honed in on my skills, made sure to get really close with the guys, too. But, yeah, I just really just had to hone in on my skills and my weight. I feel like there were just a few plays last year that I missed out on just due to the fact that I didn’t feel like I was strong enough.
“So I made sure to put on the weight and really work on my craft this offseason with my uncle, at the facility, with the players here. Everybody was really hungry, and they made sure to check up on me all the time to make sure I’m doing what I told them I was going to do. So I give a lot of props to my guys for keeping me on the right track.”
Ethan O'Connor becoming a defensive leader for Miami has been huge for Mario Cristobal
O'Connor wasn't happy with his playing weight last year, but instead of moping about it, he put in the work this offseason to make sure his body was in the best shape possible to make an impact for Cristobal and defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman. We're already seeing the difference there, as O'Connor has been a stud defensive back through four games.
The 6-foot-1 cornerback has 12 total tackles to his name and an interception. That pick came in the win over Wake Forest on the road, which reminded Jake Dickert that Miami is still at the top of the class in the ACC. With O'Connor continuing to get better with each week, it has relieved Hetherman of some headaches he's been having with Xavier Lucas and OJ Frederique Jr. being injured.
There is some worry that Frederique could be out for most of the rest of the campaign, while the door is open for Lucas to play this weekend against Dabo Swinney and Clemson. If the latter can't suit up, then it will once again be on O'Connor to lead the way for the defensive backs, with Tait Reynolds being his next target for another interception.
Should it happen, it will be due to all the hard work O'Connor has put in during recent months. And should another battle with the Hoosiers arrive this winter, he'll be ready to make sure history does not repeat itself.
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