Enough NATIONAL HYPE For Miami Football? | Depth Chart Assumptions | 2024 Canes Reminds Me Of ...

stop me if you've heard this before but the national pre-season Miami Hurricanes hype is intensifying are they trying to set us up for [Music] disappointment you are locked on canes your daily podcast on the Miami Hurricanes part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day I am Alex Dono University of Miami alumnus co-host of lockon ACC and writer forall hurricanes.com and thank you so much to the every dayers for making this episode of lockon canes your first listen and your first watch today we're available free wherever you get your podcast we're free on YouTube We're part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day today's episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on college for $20 off your first purchase terms apply we do this same show every year every year where we talk about the preseason hype and whether expectations are going to match that I I I will note that even if you compare Miami's preseason hype of this year to the last few years uh I think it's even more intense because I think adding cam Ward who virtually every National analyst rightfully so is very high on this is a super talented quarterback adding Damen Martinez and so on um I I think the hype heading into this season also Miami's got on paper an easier schedule than they've had in recent years I think this all AIDS into the hype but at the same time Miami fans we have become conditioned to the idea that and it's not just even the internal hype I'm not talking about what you know you guys say in my YouTube comments or what people are saying in the on three and 247 or Cane's Insight Miami Hurricane's message boards I'm not talking about the internal expectations but the external expectations the guys who don't have an affiliation with Miami often times Miami fans have built up this complex like oh man the national guys are pumping us up again and they're only creating this offseason Champs narrative so if we fall short of the expectations we look even worse when the season is over they're setting us up to clown us at the end of the season I know there's a lot of that mentality coming from Miami fans now the expectations that we're talking about heading into this season I got an awesome question from a lockon can's Insider named hurricane who said with all the preseason hype that's coming in from everyone from 247 to our dear friend Josh Pate how does this make you feel as a fan he says I just know that with the offseason Champs narrative that we have been called in the past we have all been let down so many times just trying not to get all worked up for a let down I need someone to help me so our guy our guy hurricane Keys uh he's seeking therapy okay here's here's some of what he's referring to Paul fine bomb on the same day that Paul fine bomb trashed Florida State and said they don't belong in the top 25 which Miami fans chuckled at a little bit Paul fine bomb from SEC network at ESPN also said that Miami is underrated at number 19 he said when asked who's underrated I think it's Miami he said they lost four games last year at the buzzer one that the head coach Mario chrisal simply gave away he said remember that game against Georgia Tech yeah Paul I remember that says they open up the season at Florida and they're gonna make Jeff Darlington of ESPN who's a Florida graduate a very unhappy man that first weekend so fine bomb says Miami is underrated at number 19 another National analyst Joel clatt expects an 11-1 season from Miami he said quote 10 and two is an underachievement for the Hurricanes Mario chrisal is under an immense amount of pressure with this roster uh that they have and the schedule that they face this is an 11- one team all day long and you know what's funny you know I I've been a Miami fan my entire life I'm a Miami alumnist and when I when I talk about this team a lot of Florida State fans you know they come into our our YouTube comments every day they like to troll me as the kids would say and they accuse me of being a sunshine pumper I'm a sunshine pumper when my prediction for the upcoming season is 10- two Joel clatt is giving you an 11- one prediction for who's the sunshine pumper now so 11- one from Joel clatt Josh Pate from 247 Sports and and JD pel from on three Sports both predicted 11-1 for Miami Pate said of 11- one quote that sends them to the ACC Championship game probably that may well lock them into a playoff spot regardless of what happens in the ACC Championship game I get very high expectations for that team this year uh JD pel said that he thinks Miami is actually going to lose the opener against Florida but then go on to run the table after that so all right so if hurricane Keats if if you're asking me how to manage expectations I I I try not to be fan police like I try not to tell anybody else this is how you manage your expectations like whatever you want to do with that hurricane keys if you think they're going to go 12 and0 or if you think they're going to go you know five and seven if you want to set yourself up for that so that they'll you know end up exceeding your expectations at the end of the day do whatever you want to but here would be here would be my advice okay appreciate the fact that people like fine bomb and Joel CL who I I don't think these guys are are traditionally very high on Miami I mean four or five years ago Paul fine bomb referred to the Miami Hurricanes football team as a quote unquote third world program and now this guy says they're underrated at number 19 I don't I don't remember Joel clatt being a guy who routinely sings Miami's Praises now uh Josh Pate has recently been very high on Miami so maybe that one's not too much of a surprise JD beel same thing but I I would say for any Miami fan out there this is how I'm going to handle it appreciate the fact that these people who tend to have pom poms for the SEC and the Big 10 are actually pumping up Miami I think they believe in Miami's line of scrimmage on both sides of the football we've had Pro Football Focus analysts on the show before uh Dalton werman most recently who told us Miami's got the best rated defensive line in the entire country based on their statistical metrics people are rightfully so very high on cam wart Ward last season threw for more yards in one year than any Miami quarterback has thrown in history in a single season now that was obviously you know the Pack 12 where they didn't play a whole lot of Defense but cam Ward could potentially come in here and set team records this season you know Miami is the only team uh in the country with three wide receivers nominated for the most prestigious postseason award at that position Miami is the only team in the ACC with three returning wide receivers with at least 100 or sorry at least 800 receiving yards in a single season and Miami to what already looks like a pretty good running back room added Damen Martinez to make it a superb running back room so you understand why the hype is there and I get it uh you think hey if Miami you know God forbid they lose four games this year and then the the Miami haters will come out and say y'all see you're are the offseason Champs again that's what they're going to be saying in Tallahassee and Gainesville the offseason Champs undefeated in in July and August but in September you guys can't win so you know you don't want that to happen but um you have to appreciate the fact that Mario christall through recruiting and the transfer portal is building this team I believe roster wise the right way building this team from the inside out Miami on the on the line of scrimmage is going to be able to push most teams around that they play I think there's really only two or three teams on the schedule that can match up with Miami physically in the trenches which gives them a big advant AG over the vast majority of the teams that they play and let's all strap in and enjoy the ride and of course based on whatever happens in that Florida game week one Miami you know loses in the swamp which is a a possibility that I I am willing to concede that that is a possibility uh the negativity is going to be through the roof after that but if Miami wins that game you're going to start to see a lot of these 11 in one type predictions become intensified so I would always tell you don't don't worry about what the Rival fans and the trolls and the haters are saying manage your own expectations but maybe you do have some appreciation for the fact that some of the national analysts out there who historically are not very kind to Miami are actually starting to believe that this is the type of roster that can do big things and maybe knock on the door for that 12 team playoff speaking of expectations I got a phenomenal question from one of our locked on Cane's insiders about fans making assumptions Miami fans making assumptions about who's going to start and what the order of the depth charts are going to be because I've got some words of caution for those who think certain position battles are already decided or you think you know who's going to start who's going to be second Stringer Etc some insight I have on that when we come back I also uh received a great question I want to go over about who which Miami team of History does this 2024 Miami football team remind you of it took me about half a second to come up with my answer and I will tell you which Miami team of old this current 2024 team roster and Coach reminds me of folks we're only getting started you want to keep it locked right here on this brand new episode of lockon Kes guys there's a reason why game time is the only ticket app that I use because I'm getting incredible deals especially at the last minute I'm a procr inator which in certain walks of life is not great however game time they reward procrastination because the longer you wait to buy those tickets the lower the prices go 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account and redeem code locked on college for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed thank you so much for making this episode of lockon canes your first listen and your first watch today for your next listen make sure you check out lockon college football Spencer mlin host that show and I'm on the show today I'm on with Spencer today uh giving my preseason prediction for Miami spoiler alert 10- two I'm not quite as bullish as Josh pate and Joel clatt and JD Mel but I'm right up there man I think Miami is gonna win double digit games this year I also helped them I put my locked on acc hat on and I helped them predict Clemson's record for the upcoming season and we talked about surprise teams are going to end up in that top 25 or even top 15 by the end of the year so make sure you check out locked on college football like this show it's it's available free wherever you get your podcasts and it's available free on YouTube so we get a question from our locked on can's insiders chat who says why do people assume that Sam Brown transfer wide receiver surpasses Isaiah Horton or that Jordan Lyall surpasses AJ Allen on the depth chart he says they're on the same team the canes Win Regardless okay as far as like yeah I think it's just part of the game that preseason fans start to figure out here's my depth chart here's who I think is going to start so many times we're wrong at so many different positions but you know you bring up a couple of guys who are either transfers in or you know true freshman so I I think sometimes we really uh make the assumption that the shiny new objects automatically win starting jobs and when I say that I'm not meaning to take anything away from Sam Brown or Jordan Lyall who were the examples you used because both of them to me are are passing the fall Camp eye test right when I saw Sam Brown for the first time he's bigger than I thought he was going to be uh you I think he's listed at 62 and a lot of times a 6-2 listing means you're maybe six foot 61 he's every bit of 6 foot two and he's quick in person even quicker than he looks on film and Jordan Lyle you know coming out of St Thomas aquinus the the guy already already looks like he's been a strength Pro in the strength program for the entire year when he didn't actually get to Miami in the summer and I I've seen him doing well in practices so uh I'm not taking anything away from these guys like I have no reason to think they won't play a lot this year but when you talk about the the Assumption game that we play folks have to remember that some of these competitions for playing time are not going to play out the exact way that you expect them to and that's fine for multiple reasons one of these the question hinted at the best players are going to start and the depth chart order is going to be based on Merit like Mario chrisal is not in the business of saying you know what I like you so you're a starter you know I I I I think uh maybe you're not as good as this other guy but I know your family so you're a start like nothing like that it's strictly based on Merit and the players understand that uh so obviously the fans win when the best players are getting on the field and earning that playing time and then the second part of it is guys the depth charts and the starting lineups these are fluid week to week these players are going to be competing for playing time every single day in practice every weak heading into a game and my hope would be that the competition on the field makes them all better that's one of these things that happens when you've got a deeper looking roster that you've had in several years uh it goes back to some people hate when I throw out this phrase because it's so overused but it applies here iron sharpens iron that applies to this situation that you know the competitions are going to make these guys better in practice and you know maybe somebody didn't get a whole lot of PT in week two but by week three suddenly they're you know a featured backup or even a starter you remember last year for example by the end of the season last year really by the middle of the Season guys like Ruben Bane at defensive end and Mark Fletcher at running back they became starters they weren't starters in week one but they both earned those jobs throughout the year so you're going to see competitions like that playing out uh you know there are competitions that are obviously going on as we speak Samson Okun Lola the pancake honcho he was a available for interviews yesterday we spoke to Samson over Zoom uh he's you know as we all know he's currently competing with Matt McCoy for the starting left guard job but I love this quote from okunola who told us quote my focus is not on starting my focus is on getting better every day that's what he told us and again I'm sure he wants to start but he understands you've got to keep the main thing the main thing that if you improve if that's what you think about getting better each day then the other stuff the accolades the starting jobs are are going to follow and I I can't wait to see how that competition plays out and you know what I don't care who wins that competition I just want the best left guard possible to be on the field um you know another uh quote from players that I I enjoyed yesterday uh I like something that Ahmad Moten defensive tackle he's going to be competing for playing time this year I like something that he said about cam Ward how cam Ward ramps up the competition levels in practice because Moten joked with us that and this may not have been a complete joke I think there's some truth in here that it's frustrating for the defense whenever cam Ward makes plays in practice because he keeps talking trash about it he said quote I'm glad he's on our team talking about Ward so that's another thing the friend and and it's all with love with Ward but Ward he's got this competitive streak in him you don't see a lot of quarterbacks talk trash at the level that he does I've been told that the two best trash talkers on the team and Ward's not even the top guy I've been told ANZ Cooper the uh the Right Guard that he's the best trash talker on the team but the cam Ward is number two I think it was Ruben Bane who told us that at media day that it's inz Cooper number one and then cam Ward is the number two trash talker so stuff like that raises the competition levels but yeah I mean I don't want anybody when you see what the starting lineups are against Florida I don't want anybody to be disappointed about that and then another thing when you talk about making assumptions about who's going to start and who's a second Stringer sometimes you hear things about what's allegedly going on in practice this and you think oh so that's how they're going to line up some of these coaches especially Alex Mirabal the offensive line coach he's like a mad scientist and so there's going to be some days and we we've heard these things reported throughout fall Camp so far where you know CC Maui NOA who's the starting right tackle one day he might line up at left guard in practice and Samson or McCoy is playing right tackle and folks are like oh that's how they're going to line up week one um Mir ball is obsessive about cross training there was something that happened during spring football where and this was at a time in Spring where Miami was really thin at defensive back because they had some guys with injuries and for like two days Robbie Washington who's a receiver was getting practice reps a defensive back and people like oh I guess he's a cornerback now not necessarily probably not I think he's going to be a wide receiver but you know sometimes guys are going to cross Trin and that's just that's just the nature of how Miami does things so the assumptions can get us in trouble I think um we get a question from Bob and Louisville who says Hey with so many big names how will they manage the egos when guys step up and uh and take a starter's job I imagine it would be hard to convince a festar to stick around and ride the bench when they know they could be starting somewhere else uh well first of all Bob I think that's the last part of your question it's just the nature of college football now that you know some and this is going to happen whether you're Alabama or Georgia or Miami Miami or Florida State or whoever sometimes you're going to lose guys through the transfer portal because they think they can get more playing time somewhere else however however um if you have a roster full of Alphas I think Miami has a lot of those you know Mario chrisal always refers to cam Ward as an alpha there's others Alphas on that roster um a lot of times the these Alphas instead of saying oh man I didn't start today I better find somewhere else to play let me hit the transfer portal a lot of times these Alphas will say okay I didn't start this week what do I need to what do I need to do to get better next week and take my job back right I think that's the way not everybody looks at it that way but the guys that you really want in your roster and in your culture are the guys who are going to embrace the competition say you know what if I didn't start this week why not and how can I get better and start next week or next season so I think that's the mentality you want to have but I appreciate the question Bob and it's obviously it's a reality today it's so easy to leave it's so easy to leave now hit the transfer portal now the thing that a lot of players have to remember is it's a lot easier to leave than it is to find your next spot I think some guys just assume if I hit the transfer portal you know the top 10 programs in the country are all going to contact me the next day not necessarily we've seen some players you know they get in the portal and then the options are not exactly what they expected uh this is this is a similar question to the one that we let off with um with all the can's news seemingly being positive of late are there any areas we should be disappointed in like position groups players coaches facilities so I love that question because it's like everything's too POS did did the truth teller send in that question everything's too positive we need to find something um I don't know if you're gonna be negative on something you know I I I I wish we had our own stadium right I mean I I wish Miami didn't have to share their stadium with the Miami Dolphins I guess I guess that's something but uh you know other than that let's be glad the roster is deeper uh I think Mario Christal has found a really good mix of assistant coaches I think he's found a roster that seems really driven and self-motivated and there there's a lot of leaders on that roster so let's be happy about that oh man all right so we got couple of really great questions that I want to answer um if I had to compare the 20204 Miami team to any past Miami team which team would it be I want to get into that and also somebody asked me about what I think are the toughest games on the schedule outside of the the three instate games Florida Florida State and I'm glad you're not sleeping on USF either because USF is not going to be an easy game on the road Miami needs to take that game very seriously so folks we're not done yet you want to keep it locked right here on this brand new episode of lockon canes and thank you so much for making lock on K's your first listen and your first watch today for the everydays if you want to take your everyday experience to the next level sign up to become a lockon Kane's Insider we've been answering questions from the Insiders today on the show you click the link in the show description below become an Insider you get text messages directly from my phone to yours with breaking news show updates recruiting updates sometimes uh practice and media availability updates one-on-one questions and answers click the link below become a locked on can's Insider try it free for for 14 days and then if you like it you can opt in for $499 a month we give you a lot of added value on there on the lockon Cane's insiders chat you know we did get a uh one question about uh an Insider who's really concerned that the offense is going to be boring this year because I I guess like the the last couple years maybe you weren't all that inspired at certain times there were certain games like against Texas A&M against Boston College against Louisville last year the offense was really exciting other games not so much so I I don't know maybe you're worried that like Miami is's just going to hand it off 50 times a game okay first thing um cam Ward did not come here to hand it off 50 times a game in fact based on a conversation that I had with Ward and Charlotte at the ACC kickoff uh one of the things that made Miami really attractive to him was um Mario christall and Shannon Dawson like really valuing his input and his opinion on plays and philosophy and wanting to collaborate with him so you know and again like cam Ward this guy this guy's a Lamborghini our guy Larry blin always says if you have a Lamborghini you don't keep that Lamborghini in the garage you take it out for a spin uh and also the the talent Miami has with their pass catchers so no Miami's going to go vertical plenty I think I the offense I believe knock on wood is going to be exciting this year now you know there there are definitely going to be some games where the ratio of running plays to passing plays is you know more in the running plays favor but listen picking up first downs watching Damen Martinez and Mark Fletcher run people over that's exciting to me if if that's what we see so if if there are certain games where Miami is able to impose their will on the ground uh and and by the way if you have a successful running game that's going to set up deep shots down the field and I think Miami is going to take a lot of those but if they do end up running the football a lot in certain games as long as they're picking up first downs and scoring touchdowns and winning games I'm happy with that but no to long story short I I don't expect the offense to be boring uh I think I think cam Ward not only with his arm but also with his improvisation scrambling extending plays I think he's going to make the offense very exciting this year in ways we haven't seen probably since uh dear King but I think cam Ward is gonna be even better here all right get this question um if you had to compare this 2024 Miami team to any past Miami team from the top to bottom meaning coaching depth leadership Talent Etc which team would it be I didn't hesitate in thinking I would compare this year's Miami team to the Miami team of 1999 that's when the talent was really starting to load up with Butch Davis's recruiting and the team was right on the cusp of turning into a national Powerhouse they weren't quite there yet they won nine games in 1999 I do think they can win 10 this year but the comparisons you can go down the coaching staff to the roster Butch Davis reminds me a lot of Mario chrisal in many ways and in fact Butch was one of Mario Christal's mentors their approaches to recruiting are very similar I'm sure Mario learned a lot of that from Butch and on that 1999 team which again came right before you know three of the best teams in hurricanes history because the 2000 team should have won a national title 2001 team did 2002 team also should have uh but on that 99 team you had some of the best players in Miami history on that roster early in their careers Bryant McKinny Dan Morgan Ed Reed some of these guys are Hall of Famers n Davenport Reggie Wayne Santana Moss Clinton poris Bubba Franks Philip yanan Mike rump William Joseph uh Ken dorsy was a freshman that year he eventually took over at quarterback and that that's not I could run through the whole roster I'm sure there's more names on there that would blow your mind but um they were that team in 99 they were about to break out and I think this year's team is going to follow a similar trajectory um now it's not completely alike because there was a lot a lot more youth I think on the 99 team it's just changed now with the transfer portal like with the transfer portal Mario's been able to go out and add certain veterans like you know cam Ward and Mee Powell and and Damen Martinez who were more advanced in their careers um you know because you got also you know Xavier Restrepo who's been here Kiko maoa Jaylen River Mee pal so you have some you know Junior and senior leaders on the team but I think the breakout young players they really make me think about 99 I mean Ruben Bane heading into his second year mark Fletcher CCE Maui NOA Samson okunola Ray Ray Joseph uh freshman like Jojo Trader Jordan Lyall deari Brown zaquan Patterson Cameron Bobby puit Justin Scott Maris Lightfoot I think players like these can help bring the youu back the way that players on that 1999 roster did so that's where I'm at on that um we got a question about uh okay I like this one from I don't know who this is from but he says outside of the of the three instate games which of the other three which other three games would you say are the toughest on Miami schedule he says I'm going Louisville I agree with that one Virginia Tech I agree but then he also says Duke um no honestly I and again I I can only go by what we see on P but to me there's at least two games other games that should be harder than the Duke game uh I don't think Duke's roster is very good this year we'll see how Malik Murphy does at quarterback but losing Riley Leonard was seismic because he was such a focal point of their of their offense last year um I think the reason why a lot of Miami fans are going to bring up that Duke game is the mere thought the mere possibility of losing at home to Manny Diaz it's the stuff of nightmares like I get I get it that would be worst case scenario Miami should be able to take care of business in that game uh I would think that Georgia Tech on the road and not just because of what happened last year but Georgia Tech's got an excellent offense uh hopefully Miami can exploit their defense in a way that you know they they didn't last year but um Georgia Tech on the road and also I'm not sleeping on Cal on the road that's a tremendous road trip Miami hasn't traveled that far for a regular season game since they went out to Washington in 2000 and they lost that game that kept them out of the national championship that year so and and Cal is a talented team so I I think that's going to be a tough road trip so I I do think that there are a couple of games that are that look tougher than the Duke game but I agree with you on Virginia Tech and on Louisville I think that those are two of the two of the toughest games on the schedule along with obviously Florida state Florida and I'm glad you're not sleeping on USF because neither am I all right we got a lot of questions we didn't get to let me get to this one because this one has been asked a couple times and I I keep not getting to it Cat 5 Kane says hey yoono does the hiring of Coach Sullivan Miami brought him in for the extended coaching staff improve our chances of Landing Jamie French I mean it can't hurt me coach Sullivan as coach pro football hall of famers is a wide receiver before so yeah I'm sure you make that as as part of your your recruiting pitch to Jamie French we got Jerry Sullivan now on the staff and analysts are now able to actually work Hands-On in practice with players which wasn't something that they were previously allowed to do uh I'm not sure if they have any sort of personal maybe I'm wrong about that if if Jamie franch you coach Sullivan have like a personal connection I'm not aware of one but if I'm wrong about that you guys let me know but definitely bringing bringing someone in of that caliber cannot hurt oh and one more thing um this morning I got a text this morning by the way excuse me for wiping my nose I've got a cold I feel terrible but I'm hopped up on cold meds I don't know what I've got but I feel like death right now but you know someone uh in the Insiders chat sent me a message this morning that saysh he donno they're worried about you on the message boards I'm like why so I find I find this thread on inside the U Miami's 247 Message Board the thread is called donno and the the poster says guys I'm worried about him how long is he GNA film episodes from that Weekly rape Motel anyone know why his wife kicked him out seems like a great guy so all just I I think I've I've said this at least once on an episode I don't know if I said it I think I said it on the Insiders chat as well um my wife has not kicked me out nor has she left me I wouldn't blame her if she did but no we're still we're still happily married so the the reason why I I'm in in your words a budget rate motel I'm actually in an Airbnb so we sold our house a week ago but we we don't close on our next house until uh August 19th so I'm in Bruce Warner jokes that I'm in a halfway house like we're we're in an Airbnb until until like August 20th I think is when I'm going to do my first show from the new house but in the meantime uh the Wi-Fi in this Airbnb sucks the only place I can do a show from is the dining room without losing my my Wi-Fi signal um my green screen where I have you know the indoor practice facility background my green screen's in storage because it's a giant thing I didn't want to unload it in an Airbnb and I also I didn't want to set up like my other mic phone equipment because to set it up in a house I'm going to be at for two weeks it I'm too lazy to set something up and then tear it back down so yeah the the reason why I'm in uh in the budget rate motel is because I'm between houses but eventually I do want to in the next house I W to I want to try to build like a more elaborate set I'll probably experiment with that for a couple weeks and you guys can tell me how it looks so thank you so much for making locked on canes your first listen and your first watch today if you're watching us on YouTube smash that like button hit that thumbs up if you're listening to the audio version make sure you subscribe on Apple podcast Spotify The Odyssey app or wherever you get your pods and make sure for your next listen you check out locked on acc Kenton Gibbs and I take you around the conference and we talk about all the big stories in the ACC we'll talk to you guys next time on another episode of lockon can's part of the awesome locked on podcast Network your team every day