Miami Hurricanes 2024 Football Season Preview | Insider Insights with Gary Ferman

we're talking about the Miami Hurricanes on the RADS football network the RADS football YouTube channel and if we're talking Miami Hurricanes football that means we're talking to the publisher of canesport.com Mr Gary Ferman how's it going Gary what's going on Greg good seeing you again yes absolutely and this time last year we're talking about all the optimism and Mario Chris Ball and everything was uh actually looking pretty good at the start of the Season as well uh and then uh everything kind of caved in and all of a sudden all of the uh all of the pessimistic uh fans or critics what have you just came out of the Woodworks and Gary that's the one thing that I've been just I'm hearing a lot of even even from down down there in South Florida is this just not sure that they trust or believe that Mario crisal is going to take them over the hump uh so what are you hearing I don't even want to think about the alternative down here Greg I'll tell you I mean it's been so long it's been such a long ride and and uh even just in the like 18 months or so that Mario's had the job it's just been a whirlwind uh they signed you know at canesport.com we cover recruiting they you know as well as the team and they uh they signed 41 new players in the off season this year 41 new players so uh that's half that's more than half the team isn't it it is almost half the team and you know our staff has been working like crazy covering all this stuff and uh we are just so happy that it's now time to play football but you know people are putting a lot of stakes on this game on Saturday at the swamp and uh really for both teams uh Billy Napier probably has the hottest seat in America he lost five straight games to end last season nobody's predicting him to be over 500 this year you know they got probably the toughest schedule in the country I mean yeah there is there there is no question that this is a must-win situation for Billy Napier now people are trying to put the same Gauntlet so to speak on Mario cryst ball and um it's not the same I mean Mario Christal's job is not on the line this season not even close but everything that has worked for over the last 18 months is on the line uh you know when you look at the financial commitment and its massive that the University of Miami has made to its football program uh which was part of the whole move to bring Mario christall here um invest in the program get an nil program started and and and really do all the things necessary to compete today in Big Time college football uh but this is a leap for a university that's always done it on the cheap all through history that won five national titles doing it on the cheap and has a lot of people on campus saying why do we have to spend all this money on Athletics and football uh that's on trial on Saturday um the millions of dollars that have been spent on nil deals um money being put up by supporters who really like they don't even get a tax break when they when they do when people donate to a collective which is set up for nil they don't even get a tax break from that okay they are literally quite honestly giving their money away yeah the only return on investment that they get is winning yeah uh you know they get to be they get access they get to be up close but let's be honest what is getting up close mean if your team is not winning if your team is not winning it is misery to be up close and that's not a return on investment so you know you've got that element all the people that have made donations uh to the program and all the support and all the like Mario chrisal Works 18 hours a day Greg 365 days a year this is a guy that recruits when he goes on vacation okay like he may jump in the pool with the kids for five minutes but the other 55 minutes of that hour he's laying in a lounge chair making recruiting calls uh and pretending uh to be on vacation so like think about the number of hours that adds up to over 18 months he has invested in building this football team well this is the roll out okay this is the roll out of the real Mario Chris Ball U okay and and that's what's on on um at stake on Saturday so really these are two teams that are desperate for victory that for different reasons have have it but only one is going to walk out of there with the with the prize yeah I The Good the good thing is for Miami because I don't look I actually I do think Florida will win more than four and a half games I was just looking over the the win totals it's four and a half Miami Florida nine in Miami and I do understand how tough the schedule is but I do believe that Florida will be better than people think I don't think it's gonna be some trash two- win season ape's gone what a disaster that's just me I just my guess um because I think they have enough I think they have talented players on offense the defense is another question um but Miami I actually have Miami we have a new poll here we just for the first time we put together a college football top 12 poll on the Red's uh uh staff and uh I actually put Miami in my top 12 because I have Miami in the ACC Championship Game this year and I'm putting my faith in the fact that I'm looking at this roster and I look and see the great job that christop B has done which is of course the thing that makes him such a a great recruiter and it's why it's why he's making all the money the major issue that a lot of fans have and some of the critics have is he's a great recruiter but he's a terrible game day coach and and that's the problem is is until maybe maybe if he could get a really good you know assistant coach uh on offense and defense and and let them be you know the the the the Smart Ones uh maybe he can get over the hump because he can't do it on his own as an exus and those guys do you do you buy into any of that uh because again I'm buying into the fact that I think they're gonna have a successful season I mean look people get labeled and it's very hard for them to shake that label and uh Mario chrisal won two pack 12 titles when he was at Oregon in the four years he was at Oregon okay won the CH The League Championship twice okay he he went to Ohio State beat Ohio State on the road who like who who does that you know I mean yes uh so he has had success as a head football coach uh has made some mistakes in select games that have led to people putting that label on him and it's had a very significant impact on his image in college football and I think he's felt that this off season he obviously had the the horrible mistake against Georgia Tech last year where he didn't call for the knee and they ended up losing the game on in on a series of fluky plays but but nevertheless it was a loss and it was the talk of college football and uh it will take Mario 10 years of winning to shed you know the residue of that single mistake uh he's a very capable head coach he's a CEO head coach he does not he lets his coordinators do their job uh he he'll have input during the week might even have a little input during games but for the most part he lets his guys do what he's paying them to do and he's got high- paid coordinators who uh he has done his part by recruiting a roster that's the best roster Miami's had in a very long time people keep asking me compare name name a year when Miami had a roster better than this I mean these last 20 years have been so ridiculous yes I can't like I can't go back and process all that and try to pick out a year in the last 20 years that Miami had a better roster or a roster comparable to the one that they're bringing into this season um I would have to do a lot of homework you know and and I just don't think that's important uh but they have a really good roster Greg it's it it it it doesn't have a ton of elite like you know when our LS is doing its draft projections you're not gonna see a lot of first round draft picks on this Miami roster right now I don't right now I don't think there's one that's projected to be picked in the first round um but they have a lot of very good players and they have a lot of depth and um they're lighting a couple spots like like the secondary are is a little bit light but but uh you know who in college football is stacked at every single position I mean that's I don't know that that's reality uh they come to the stadium beginning Saturday with a lot of weapons and not a lot of excuses uh they should be one of the better teams in college football this year give me uh you named uh well you talked about the players and whether their first- round draft pick or not the fact is is that some of these guys are are going to have their best seasons some may not but me a couple of guys one offense at least and one defense at least that you believe could have a breakout year and again talking about being a first- round draft pick just a really good year let's start with Cam Ward the quarterback okay now you know this is a guy that is being hyped to the max the ACC media named him the the player of the year in the ACC in their preseason boote okay this the guy hasn't played a hasn't played a down in the ACC uh and you know lit remember one thing about cam Ward and and and and I love cam Ward I think he is a leader to the max but do I think that this is just a slam dunk cam Ward throwing 400 yards a game everything being on Easy Street and there's not gonna be some up and down moments throughout the year I don't believe that at all uh Greg I mean if he was a complete product as a quarterback he would not be at the University of Miami right now he would be in the National Football League okay that was right that was his goal he wanted to go to the NFL all right so you got all this I don't know if I wouldn't call it pressure but all this attention all this hype on the shoulders of Cam Ward coming into the season and you know the thing that's getting ignored is Miami's got a pretty damn good running game I mean they've got an offensive line that's chrisal Ball's baby okay they've got they've got some studs up there big guys uh they are going to be one of the better oons in the country and they got a running back by the name of Damen Martinez who is one of the better backs in the country um a freshman by the name of Jordan Lyall who is going to be a you know I don't want to use the word star Loosely he's gonna be a great player at Miami they got Mark Fletcher coming back off injury they got Jay Allen who the Nebraska transfer from a couple years ago who's looked great in training camp they got a stacked running back room with a head coach that loves to run the ball it's not going to just be about cam Ward all the time okay um but you know you can't have the conversation that you're asking me to have without mentioning cam Ward I mean you know it if you're name who's the best player at Miami this year you're gonna say cam Ward I mean you're gonna make him number one um because he needs to be I mean they need him to be you know the best player on the team um but there's other guys that have big years you know you give me a guy that that's gonna have a big year you think that has not had a big year before um on the offensive side of the ball if they use him enough Elijah aroyo the tight end uh he's got NFL written all over him he is going to be a very good Pro probably will achieve more on the pro level where they'll use him more than they will in college but uh if they if they feature him a little bit in the offense he could have a huge season um Sam Brown coming over from Houston as a receiver uh been very impressed with him uh he could have a bust out uh move mov over to defense uh I think that you know you got to talk about AEM mesidor uh he got hurt last year and got sidetracked a little bit uh this is a guy that's going to be a pro he he's a really good football player uh he's a guy that could really bust out this year uh in in my opinion um if you're looking at you know since this is our Lads Tyler Baron is another one uh he's here to improve his draft stock some people think that if he has a big year he could possibly slide into the first round of the draft in April um came came from Tennessee uh is a really solid defensive end and uh he's somebody for your audience to watch a little bit this year as well and then last guy I'll mention is M pal the safety you know he played in the national championship game last year uh has a lot of experience and um I think a lot of eyeballs are going to be on him and his performance at safety okay and and uh what who was the edress you just talked about the the the what the edge rusher you just talked about Tyler Baron you see him on their number nine uh oh there he is okay yeah ARS has them as as as a second teamer uh there will be extensive rotation your starting ends will probably be Bane and mesidor quite honestly uh those are probably your two best guys uh with Baron right there Austin will be more of a u probably pass rush specialist um but hey they release depth charts anymore at Miami Greg so whoever put this one together probably did a pretty decent job in looking at it I mean there's a few things on there I would change Absolut absolutely for sure I mean actually more than a few but uh you know if you're not really in tune to Miami right now and and the way this team is coming together um you know there's no way that you would know that for example Isaiah Taylor is not gonna really play very much of free safety okay no well I'm already I've already already writing here my email request to you to let me know uh what changes we need to make on the depth chart because we're trying to be as as uh uh perfect as we can here and it is hard especially in college as you know and yeah we do a really good job but sometimes yeah uh because the dep charts aren't released and like you said there's 40 new players on the roster it is kind of hard to determine exactly where the depth chart should look like so any help we get I'll be sending you a few changes absolutely we would definely appreciate that all right so then uh let's talk about the matchup uh before I let you go uh we talked a little bit about just we know they're playing but what do you think about this matchup what is the uh what is the one thing that you think is going to be the biggest concern for Miami in this in this uh game on Saturday afternoon they gotta start well I mean they're the better football team uh I don't expect them to to do too many crazy things early in the game I think they they'll go up there feeling like they're going to have a physical Edge in this game at the line of scrimmage and uh I think they're going to want to exploit that you know without exposing them you know exposing themselves on the road in a hostile venue uh to turnovers you know interceptions things like that that that can make this uh a close game going into the fourth quarter uh I I think that they they'll go in there and they'll try to be solid and simple I really do I don't I don't expect to see cam Ward Throwing It All Over Florida field you know like I I just don't like I it doesn't make sense to me that that would be the strategy coming out of the gate in this situation um I think they'll be prepared obviously to mix it up they'll try to you know be 5050 probably run past balance but um to me the key to this game is Miami getting off to a good start uh using its running game to establish dominance at the line of scrimmage and you mentioned Brown in a very talented receiving core we know about sto and of course George who do you do you think Brown will end up as the most uh impactful receiver this season or will it be Resto again you know Restrepo got a lot of receptions last year because of his connection with Tyler van djk he's a very reliable guy there's no question about it it's going to be interesting to see if that gets impacted with a new quarterback uh you know in the parts of practice we were able to watch I mean I think their connections were pretty good like you know you didn't really see much of difference you know Restrepo is absolutely a go-to guy uh when you need to play but uh you know jacobe George they have high hopes for you know we'll see if he could be counted on over a 12 game season uh Sam Brown is here for the Showcase um got great great ability he's going to command a lot of touches so you know guys are gonna have to be patient at that position it's I don't think it's going to be a situation where the same guy has you know six seven catches every single week I mean I think the ball there's G to be some games where certain guys have the proper matchup and and and other guys uh in other games have an advantageous matchup and um the important thing is that they all stay together you know there's a lot of guys on this team that are looking uh you know I use the word stage it really is a stage you know they're they're they're looking to Showcase themselves for the National Football League and they're gonna have to be patient and and understand that winning uh breeds that in a in a large way as well you know and all they got to do is look at Michigan where after that season last year I think they had what 14 guys drafted something like that yeah yeah it's crazy yeah yeah like like two-thirds of their starting lineup got drafted so uh yeah I mean uh those will be the keys I think for Miami did did you talk to anybody yet over in Florida regarding what they're concerned about or what you think could be and what they're excited about themselves this season I mean I think they're concerned about their health at running back you know you know they've traditionally like to run the ball since Billy Napier's been there and you know they have some question marks on the o line and they had a a transfer at running back that didn't help the situation and then their number one back um got hurt early in training camp and may or may not be able to play we don't really know at this point okay uh so they're gonna have to throw the ball probably a little bit more than they'd like to on offense with graham Merz and uh he's a solid if not spectacular quarterback he's he completes it enormous number of his uh his percentages are very good yeah and you know he he will try to you know ball control you and Dink and dunk you to death now uh they've made a big effort in training camp up in Gainesville to try to get more explosive plays in the offense the the short yardage passing game was only having a uh effect to a certain degree and and when you lose five straight games to end the year with your quarterback still completing 70% something you know that'll put you back to the drawing board a little bit I would think so uh they have been trying to get the um the downfield passing game a little bit more into their offense whether they can be successful because they're supposed to be in doing that going into the weakness of the Miami team in it's secondary uh gonna be a very interesting matchup you know the gator passing game against the Miami the Miami defensive uh backfield and and see if Miami has gotten good enough there to hold up yeah losing three key members of that backfield and Montell Johnson he's the he's the the top dog you're talking about and they got a spectacular uh sophomore Eugene Wilson that is definitely the one to watch uh for Florida uh I know you got a run so just quickly uh Miami is a two and a half Point favorite uh they're 40 to one to win the national championship and their win total is nine and a half so I got to ask you do you think they're going over nine and a half I think that's the proper ball I I really I really do and and if I had to run to the window right now I would take the over and project them to win 10 this year uh but it starts if they you know they they you know that is including a victory Saturday at Florida um oh yeah you know uh it's gonna be very interesting you know I I think that they the culture has is really in a decent spot I think this is a team that's physically ready they've worked extremely hard and now they got a couple pieces that sort of take them to another level you know I I mean realistically they were an eight nine win team last year I mean really I mean if you don't blow the if you don't blow Georgia Tech you know that that's an easy you know W to add to the Ledger and um a couple other close games where they just didn't have the players to get them over the hump I think they have the players this year I think the schedule sets up right if if if I were run into the window I would take the over on that but this is a big key to that on Saturday absolutely and uh last who do you think they're gonna play in the ACC Championship Game wow um I'm gonna North Carolina State just so you know I have North Carolina state in the championship game against Miami I haven't studied every SK every schedule to be honest with you but I will tell you that Virginia Tech is a sleeper team in this mix you know they have a lot a lot coming back and and and they are you know if they feel like they're at a point where they can turn the page I don't believe it'll be Florida State uh you know I don't see that team being good enough to run the table from here yep I I I really don't um I don't think it'll be Clemson uh you know a lot of people want to throw Clemson in there and believe that they're the old Clemson I don't believe they are the old Clemson I don't think it it'll be Clemson I think it'll be one of those teams like a Virginia Tech NC State North Carolina uh maybe even Georgia Tech who knows maybe Georgia Tech after after winning that game the other day you know maybe you know maybe you know they they go on to a great season and like I said I haven't studied all the schedules in the ACC to to Really um be totally Rock Solid on this um but but uh I I don't think it'll be Clemson I don't think it'll be Florida State Gary I look forward to talking to Louisville is another team if they can get past Miami they play Miami at home they're another team to watch because they don't have a very tough schedule I don't believe did you say Louisville Louisville is another one I would watch yep okay yeah that's actually I believe uh Mark uh who does the college Mark Lawrence who does the college football show with me he has Louisville in the ACC Championship game uh himself so yeah I'm looking forward to talking to you again of course later on this season uh canesport.com uh you also have um you have a podcast on YouTube streaming services how can yep we have a cane sport YouTube channel that people can check out absolutely and um we always have specials going at canesport.com if you're interested in Miami or Miami fan or or you know closet Miami fan or a partial Miami fan head on over to our website uh C NP o rt.com and we would love to have you as part of our fan Community Well we'd love to have you back as usual Gary appreciate your time uh enjoy the game on Saturday and uh look for forward to a fun season covering the team anytime Greg thank you you got it