My take on the 2018 Spring Game

Yesterday, the Miami Hurricanes held their Spring Game over at Hard Rock Stadium. After seeing the videos (one from Richt Post-Game and one from College Football Viz) and the comments, I want to give my thoughts here. 

1. Poor OL play - This has been an issue for a while now. We will only go so far as our OL will take us. If you listen to Mark Richt's comments post-game, this is one reason why he couldn't fully evaluate Malik Rosier's performance last night (more on the QB's shortly). The DL was constantly beating the OL and getting to the QB and stopping the run. This to me, we have to got to get fixed before Fall Camp starts and before we leave for Arlington (JerryWorld) vs LSU on 9/2. Searels is on the hot seat this year for sure. 
2. The QB competition - As stated earlier, Richt could not fully evaluate Malik's performance because of the poor OL play. As for Kosi and Jarren, I felt they did very well, especially Kosi, who really needed to step up in this game because he had been sloppy at times throughout Spring camp. This will go a long way toward his progress and build some mo going into Fall Camp. As for Jarren, another solid performance yesterday, granted, he didn't play with the 1s, as he played with the 2s. I'd like to see Jarren work with the 1s, if not in Spring camp, which has a week to go, but for sure in Fall Camp. He has some promise here. Its going to be interesting in Fall Camp how the QBs fare and who starts in Arlington vs LSU. If I had to guess now, based on experience, I still think it'll be Malik, but if he struggles early and our O is struggling in the 1st half, we could see either Kosi or Jarren start the 2nd half of that game. 
3. The WR core - Like what Brian Hightower did yesterday. That kid is explosive and I think will be the next great one here. No TD catch for Mr. Clutch (Langham). Big Cage is going to be a force on the outside with hopefully a healthy ARich. 
4. The running game - Looks promising here given how poor the OL play has been. DeeJay had a solid game, ditto for Travis.
5. The Tight Ends - We won't know the full extent of this until Jordan and Mallory arrive in the Fall. My god, this Spring, its been awful for the most part, though Playmaker Jr. and Polendey have had their moments. 
6. The Defense - Lights out has its been throughout the Spring, except for one bad practice in which they paid the price for it. They have abused the OL this Spring and they've dictated how the games are going to go this year. 

In summary, I believe this year, we're going to win games with our Defense, and the O not going to need much for the D to make it stand up. The OL has GOT to come together before we leave for Arlington. 

The Spring game for LSU is Saturday Night at 6 pm on SEC Network. Believe me, that's going to be a game where we need to pay very close attention there as they will be our opponent on 9/2 in Arlington at 7:30 pm ET on ABC. 

A couple of takes the last few days

I've been off this the last few days, but I wanted to give my take on a few subjects here.

1. CANES Baseball winning a rain shortened game back on Sunday vs Carolina. Needed this win, given that we were struggling over the last week. Hopefully going into the UCF midweek game  tonight to end the homestand, we can build on the momentum from Sunday's win and complete the Home and Home sweep over the Golden Knights this evening and continue that mo going into Clemson this weekend. 
2. On the First Scrimmage this past Saturday, Malik and Kosi worked with the 1s and Jarren mostly with the 2s/3s. From all reports, Jarren did the best out of the three. Malik did ok for the most part, but Kosi really struggling this spring is an issue, big time. To be fair, the QBs weren't live in this first scrimmage. Hopefully in Saturday Night's Spring game at Hard Rock, they will be Live and then we'll hopefully start to get a better idea on where the QB competition still lies. Right now, it's still Malik's job to lose here. 
3. My expectations for the Spring Game on Saturday Night are that I want to see the QBs go Live and hopefully that will be the case. I want to see the TEs (Irvin, Polendey) really step their games up, but especially Polendey, who from all reports out there has had an awful Spring. I like that Irvin Jr is improving his game and working hard out there, which I like, but I need to see more and hopefully on Saturday Evening, we see that. 
4. The Defense to me has to continue the momentum from the First Scrimmage. It seems to me that Greg Rousseau is going to be in the rotation this season. It would not shock me if he starts in Arlington vs LSU at one of the DE spots. Going to real tough to keep him off the field. That guy is going to be a monster for OL to have to deal with. 
5. With ARich still recovering, I like that Big Cage is stepping his game up and ditto for Mr Clutch (Langham), and Dayall. When Richt first came here, I remember him challenging Big Cage to be the next AJ Green (whom Richt coached at UGa). 
6. The OL has been inconsistent and bordering on awful this spring. Look I realize losing Trevor and KC would be tough, but I didn't think it'd be this bad. In the first scrimmage, that OL was getting beat consistently. Saturday Night in the Spring Game, that OL MUST step up and produce a lot better than it did in that First scrimmage. 
7. Finally, Coach L got a two-year extension which runs through 2024. He's currently 68 and by the end of his deal, he'll be 75. Blake's statement reads on L's extension: "Coach Larranaga is an integral part of our athletics department's success, and he continues to demonstrate year after year that he is one of the best basketball coaches in the nation." If you read between the lines here, you have to believe that L is going to have a big say on who his successor will be when he hangs it up for good. With the Feds announcement yesterday on the investigation with Adidas, L said that he did nothing wrong and I have to believe in the end, he will be proven correct here. 

First scrimmage today 4/7/18

Today is the first of three scrimmages at Greentree.

Today is when we'll begin to get an idea on which QB starts to stand out above the others. To me, it'll be the Spring Game next Saturday, when we really start to know which QB will be the one to beat in Fall Camp.

I want to see how the OL looks this year and who stands out in that area. I also want to see how improved the running game is now that Lingard is here to complement Travis and DeeJay there. I want to see who steps up at FB before Realus arrives in Fall camp.

I want to see how the Defense looks this year. I need to see an edge from them in this first scrimmage. Not sure if Richt is going to have the QBs go LIVE (i.e., be pressured, sacked, hit, etc). That would be something I'd like to see because by having that, we get an idea on who can handle the pressure of being the man at that position.

We'll get some reports on this through the day and I'll give my takes on it later today or this evening.

Tough loss on 4/5/18

This team fought hard, but when you strike out 17 times like we did last night (5 of them called Strike 3's) you're not going to win games.

Sure enough, we didn't. CANES lose 8-4 to Carolina in 12 innings. Jeb did a great job for us on the hill in 6 1/3 innings. The bullpen for the most part did its job, but the bats could not come up big in big moments.

Our best chance to win was in the 11th, with a man on 2nd and 1 out. Gil strikes out, and after an intentional pass to Quinones, Willy fouls out on a 2-2 pitch and we don't cash in in that situation.

That was it after that, as in the 12th, Carolina scores 4 times and that really iced it, as we would go 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the frame and the Heels get Game 1 of the Weekend series.

Game 2 this evening at 7 pm

Series opener vs North Carolina

Opener of a weekend series at the Light vs Carolina.

We're in the mist of a 5 game losing streak right now. This is a critical series for us and one we must win to get back on track slowly. The season is slipping away from us here and we need a solid pitching performance tonight from Jeb.

Carolina is 19-10 on the season and 8-4 in the conference. They come off an 11-3 win over S. Carolina in Charlotte on Tuesday Night. They throw Baum at us tonight in Game 1. This is a team that was 7-7 to start the season, and have gone 12-3 since. They're hitting .303 as a team and their ERA is 2.47. We know what we are facing tonight.

When we have opportunities to cash in with men on base, we have to get it done because that staff on the other side won't give us many chances to do so.

Game time at 7 pm at the Light and can be seen on ACC Network Extra. In town or inside the Light, you can listen to Josh White on WVUM starting at 7 pm.

Interesting take on QB situation 4/5/18

Today, I had an interesting back and forth on Twitter with a poster named @Canes305Native.

Danny, I'm telling you right now, Perry will be named the starter before the LSU game. There's not even gonna be any speculation about Rosier struggling and being pulled. Listen closely, ROSIER WILL NEVER EVER START ANOTHER GAME FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI! Got it?

— CanesLife (@Canes305Native) April 5, 2018

I don't doubt what he's saying. However, in his tweet yesterday to Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald, this is what he said on the QB situation, which prompted my response here:

An observer at practice;

Perry's mechanics are flawless. Plays out fakes with maximum intensity, puts the ball where the receivers are the only ones to make the play. And he’s a specimen. It’s not close. Coaching staff may say it is to try to save face, but it’s not even close!

— CanesLife (@Canes305Native) April 5, 2018

One would summarize that he was an observer, when I got the word from that poster this morning that he was NOT, and I repeat, was NOT an observer at practice, nor has he ever been an observer at practice. That's on me and I stand corrected on that. 

That said, the above tweet to Degnan might suggest that its a foregone conclusion for Kosi being the guy, and this is totally incorrect right now. Yes, he might be the guy (the three upcoming scrimmages {including the Spring Game on 4/14 in the 2nd scrimmage and only public one} will determine that). My issue here was that he thinks its a foregone conclusion that Kosi will be guy that goes in Arlington. I don't see it that way right now and the staff doesn't either, but maybe again, after the Spring scrimmages are over, I might have a different take on it. 

As of right now, I still believe Malik likely starts in Arlington vs LSU. 

Now, from InsideTheU and Christopher Stock, this in his news and notes. Its understood that they get the first 15 minutes of observations in practice, but here goes. 

Per Stock's piece:

• QB Malik Rosier continues to be the top quarterback on the team and has been receiving a majority of the snaps with the first team. 
• Redshirt freshman QB N'Kosi Perry has shown flashes at times, but has also struggled with his decision-making in addition to his accuracy on short passes. 

The above tweet on Kosi is correct here, but from Stock's piece, the Kosi inconsistency so far in the short game should be a concern, so he's not flawless here, there are some things he needs to work on going forward here. 

On Malik, I need to see the accuracy go up and more importantly, I need to see the consistency of solid play continue. No more of this one week good and next week terrible. He knows his job is on the line. 

Another piece this evening from Barry Jackson on the QB situation:

This one really disputes what the poster was saying earlier on the QB battle being a foregone conclusion for Kosi, which it is clearly not, but the gap is slowly closing:

"We’re told that Malik Rosier was the best quarterback in practice Thursday."

"There’s no question N’Kosi Perry has improved — he had a very good practice Tuesday — but Rosier is making the fewest mental mistakes, which will be heavily factored into the starting decision."

"Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown told WQAM this week that Rosier remains ahead in the competition but not by a large margin."

That last part in Jackson's piece is very important. Not by a large margin.  Yes, Kosi had a good practice on Tuesday, but it seems to me that this is still Malik's job to lose because of the fact he's not making the big costly mistakes here. 

That said, again, the scrimmages the next three Saturdays will really start to separate the QBs here and who goes into Fall Camp as the leader. 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article208022639.html#storylink=cpy

Another bad loss for CANES Baseball 4/4/18 7-4 to FAU

Another midweek game, another bad loss for The U on the diamond.

For the first time since in their history FAU has won the season series from UM. That's not good at all. This being 3's final season, it's all coming apart at the seams. The fight and the heart was there, but once again, we don't come up big in the big moments. We strike out 6 times last night, 2 of them called strike 3's.

Just one of those nights that's becoming all too familiar the last two years and not in a good way either.

Here's 3's postgame presser after last night's loss to FAU

We've lost 5 in a row now and the schedule doesn't get any easier with Carolina coming in for a weekend set before UCF comes in on Wednesday Night for the back end of the home and home. After that, we head up to Clemson for a weekend series there. This could get real ugly real fast unless this team finds a way to get out of the doldrums and start coming through in big moments.

My take on Richt's comments on QB situation

In the video, he says that Kosi and Cade are getting better. Jarren is getting better. What's telling is about Malik, he says that Malik is the one to beat. "He gets it the most." That tells me that he's the one to beat here and understands what Richt wants in a QB.

As for Kosi and Cade, they're both getting better, but Cade is a tad behind Kosi, but not by much. Malik knows that he has to better and I have to believe this competition is pushing Malik to get better. What was really telling to me was when you hear Richt near the end of the video when he says none of the other QBs are being redshirted this year, that to me is a clear message to Malik, either you fix the accuracy and consistency issues, or you sit.

That said, I still have to believe that if the season started tomorrow in Arlington vs LSU, Malik would be the guy that starts. However, make no mistake about this, that leash on Malik, as I've said for a while now, is very short. If he struggles early in the game (i.e., with the consistency and the accuracy still off), Kosi will be in the game very quickly, it won't be like the Pitt game last year when got pulled in the 4th quarter in favor of Evan, it will be done much faster.

Out of the gate, this has a real chance to be a special season, and you can bet the last thing Richt wants is an inconsistent and inaccurate Malik in there. Malik knows it and he says that in this camp, he has a chip on his shoulder and with something to prove. He knows his job is on the line in this camp.

CANES v GT from 4/1/18

I apologize for coming out late with this.

Bad weekend up in Atlanta, losing the finale 4-1 to GT. Andy did what he could in this game. He fans 11 in this one, but we could not get him the run support we needed to give him here.

The bats were silenced again, striking out 9 more times in this game, 7 of those swinging. I don't see any plate discipline here. Yes, we're working counts, but with men in scoring position, the bats aren't coming through when needed most here. We threatened seriously in both the 4th and the 8th, when we had two on, but couldn't cash in, especially in the 8th, when we had 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and don't cash in. That's frustrating to be damn sure.

Gotta bounce back vs FAU at home on Wednesday.

CANES vs GT series finale 1 pm on WVUM this afternoon

At 1 pm this afternoon is the series finale up in Atlanta vs GT. CANES hope to salvage a game up there before starting a 5 game homestand vs FAU on Wednesday Night. 

Andy is on the hill for us in the series finale. Game time is 1 pm and you can listen to Josh White on WVUM doing the play by play at that time. 

CANES lose 13-4 to GT 3/31/18

Another bad loss for the U on the diamond. This time, its a 13-4 defeat in Game 2 of the series vs GT up in Atlanta.

We showed some fight yesterday, after being down 7-0 going into the 7th, before cutting it to 7-2 and then 7-4 going into the 8th, but in the bottom half of the frame, Tech put a 6 spot up to seal the victory.

Once again we allow a pitcher to strike out double digits in a start. This time it was Connor Thomas for them, K'ing 10 in 7.1 innings. 2 of those were called strike threes.

In the 1st inning, Escala doubles with 1 out but we don't score, as Quinones and Tack both K swinging, and we didn't really threaten again until the 7th when Gabe Homers to Left, but really had a chance to maybe steal one yesterday in the 8th, down 7-4, after we scored twice with 2 outs, but Gabe strikes out with 2 on and we didn't threaten again after that. That K took the wind out of our sails there. Though we did leave another 2 on in the 9th, but when Tech put that 6 spot in the Bottom of the 8th, that was really it.

Today, we have to salvage a game up there before FAU comes into the Light on Wednesday Night to start a 5 game homestand. It's going to be up to Andrew Cabezas to have a solid pitching performance this afternoon.