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Miami Hurricanes Found The Right OC In Shannon Dawson, What Else Have We Learned? | Donno Mailbag

Through the first three games, the Hurricanes play-calling has been intuitive and effective.

Alex Donno

Miami Hurricanes Found The Right OC In Shannon Dawson, What Else Have We Learned? | Donno Mailbag
Miami Hurricanes Found The Right OC In Shannon Dawson, What Else Have We Learned? | Donno Mailbag /
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The Miami Hurricanes beat Bethune-Cookman 48-7 and improved to 3-0. To submit a future mailbag question, you can reach me on X/Twitter @LockedOnCanes.

Q: Miami didn't win by as much as you expected. Did we learn anything new about the Canes against Bethune? -Jeff in Texas

A: I predicted a 70-0 Miami win. Whoops! Still, I thought the Canes looked fine, especially the starters. My most important objective was getting through this game with no injuries and Miami seems to have done just that. 

Here's what I learned on Thursday night. 

1- Shannon Dawson's play-calling is a breath of fresh air. Sure, it was just Bethune-Cookman, but Miami's first year offensive coordinator hit it out of the park against Texas A&M, too. Dawson is off to a great start at The U. 

Miami had great balance against the Wildcats. They attempted 34 passes and 36 rushes. 

Dawson has great instincts on when to go with tempo and when to slow things down. 

He takes an aggressive approach at the end of halves. For the second straight week, we saw the Hurricanes executive a touchdown drive with a minute to go in the first half, rather than run the clock out. Dawson said last week, "when you get conservative, you get beat."

I can't give all the credit to coaching, of course. Tyler Van Dyke and his offensive teammates are executing and playing with pride. TVD went 19 for 23 for 247 yards, 2 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also put his wheels on display, scoring a rushing touchdown on the opening drive. 

2- The Hurricanes still have depth questions. While Miami's starters were virtually perfect, exiting the game with a 34-0 lead, the backups were inconsistent. Miami's reserve defenders sometimes struggled to set the edge and gave up some big running plays. The second team offensive line gave up too much pressure while freshman quarterback Emory Williams was in the game. 

It was great seeing so many young players get experience, though, and they will learn from this. 

3- If you didn't already know it, you learned that true freshman edge rusher Rueben Bain is really good. His positive snaps over the first two weeks didn't translate directly onto the stat sheet, but against the Wildcats, Bain earned his first collegiate sack! He looked virtually un-blockable.

4- I also loved the offensive reps from Emory Williams and freshman tailback Chris Johnson Jr. 

Outside of missing an open Riley Williams (who I also love watching) and throwing into double coverage under pressure, Williams had a solid performance after Van Dyke took a seat. The freshman signal caller went 9 for 11 with 104 yards and led a pair of touchdown drives. Emory shows great poise and accuracy. 

Meanwhile, Johnson got his first action at running back and scored a 21 yard touchdown. His State Championship track speed was on full display. 

All in all, the Hurricanes have looked much improved throughout their 3-0 start. They left some meat on the bone, but these Canes are on the right track. 

AllHurricanes.com is your home for all things Miami Hurricanes football, recruiting, basketball and other athletics, all the time. Follow along on social media at @AllHurricanes on Twitter and All Hurricanes on Facebook for round-the-clock news and analysis.

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Alex Donno
ALEX DONNO

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