Jacurri Brown: Future of the Miami Hurricanes?
With a 40-10 loss to the Clemson Tigers, the Miami Hurricanes looked bad for much of the contest. That’s not going to be debated.
What was apparent, however, would be the effort and determination of Miami true freshman signal caller Jacurri Brown, despite obstacles. From that, he has a chance to be the future of the Hurricanes. Here’s why.
He was overwhelmed from the outset. Miami simply could not handle Clemson’s front seven and the Canes found themselves in long yardage situations. Part of that was having to start two freshman, Laurance Seymore at left guard and Anez Cooper at right guard. That's s recipe for disaster against future NFL front seven players.
In fact, after one quarter of play, Miami had minus-11 yards total.
That poor start was a part of why Brown went six of 13 for 53 yards and an interception. Still, he battled his tail off. As a runner, and despite the five sacks, Brown produced 22 rushing yards. He had a 40-yard run with that total.
The Clemson game, looking back, was not a good scenario for Brown to be successful from a traditional sense of leading his teammates to victory, yet a valuable learning experience for the young man from Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes County.
Where’s the good in that, one might ask?
Brown has always been a competitor. For those that have been around him at any point during his prep career or during his short stint at the University of Miami, this butt kicking will be something he uses as motivation. Further, there’s something that anyone that watched the contest could see with Brown.
Even when Clemson was coming at him, defender after defender, Brown competed. He ran hard and made a concerted effort to get passes off even when he knew he’d be hit. Was he ready for what Clemson threw at him? Heck no.
In time, as he learns the Miami offense and in particular the passing attack, Brown’s legs will be more and more impactful. The timing with wide receivers like Xavier Restrepo will be better, same with Colbie Young, Jaleel Skinner and Jacoby George, among others.
RELATED: Miami's Offense Struggles in 40-10 Loss to Clemson
When opposing defenses have to fully respect Brown’s ability to pass and cannot load the box, imagine how hard it will be to contain him as a runner. That leads back to the game on Saturday.
He was playing behind a makeshift offensive line, against a defense that had no intention of respecting the pass. Thus, from roughly the midpoint of the first quarter it became apparent that it was not going to work out for Brown and the offense. Still, he wasn’t just whining and complaining. This next point is why Miami fans should be happy about the future.
Brown fought. He wasn’t ready for Clemson's defense, but he competed.
For Miami to get back to being a top program, that toughness and grit need to be a part of every position. Having seen Brown display it, he can help spread that mentality across the roster.
It’s a process, for sure. He has the capacity to help spread it across the roster. Even beyond passing and running the football, that might end up being Brown’s most important attribute. Time will tell.
Overall, It’s interesting that what was witnessed against Clemson, a truly awful day for Canes fans, had a unique bright spot by looking at Brown as the future quarterback.
The final Miami game of the 2022 season comes at home against Pittsburgh (Nov. 26). Let’s see how Brown comes out in that game. If he’s fired up and ready to play, that will be another point towards him being the future signal caller for The U.
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