Donno Mailbag: Miami Hurricanes Too Conservative At A&M? Van Dyke Not Right For This Offense?
The Hurricanes were in the game right up until their final possession. There is plenty of good, bad, and ugly to unpack from an unsuccessful trip to College Station! If you'd like to submit questions or comments for a future edition of the mailbag, you can tweet them to me @AlexDonno or @LockedOnCanes or leave a comment on the Locked On Canes YouTube channel. Let's vent!
A: I am so pleased with how physical and aggressive Miami's offensive line has become. From one season to the next that unit has gone from a weakness to a strength. Credit to OL coach Alex Mirabal, Mario Cristobal, and strength coach Aaron Feld. Miami's line gave up zero sacks and opened things up for 175 team rushing yards. Job well done!
And yes, you are correct about Miami missing Xavier Restrepo (#7). As we were reminded of 11,000,000 times on the broadcast, he is Tyler Van Dyke's roommate and go-to target. Cristobal said postgame that Restrepo will be out at least six weeks. Get well soon, X! Tyler spread it out to eight different receivers but no one created consistent separation and there were too many drops.
A: The Hurricanes offense looked completely discombobulated in the red zone. Players and coaches are to blame. When Miami got inside the Aggies' 20, every pass attempt was underneath and the running plays were too predictable. Josh Gattis' play-calling was fine for 80 yards of the field but not bold enough near the goal line. Coming away with zero touchdowns from five red zone trips won't win you any games. They appeared to be calling plays not to lose rather than to win. You've got to put more trust in your quarterback.
A: I am not ready to bench Tyler Van Dyke. He proved last season and in fall camp this year that he is the best quarterback on this roster. I believe in giving your QB the opportunity to play through adversity. How he responds from a tough performance in the coming weeks will truly show us what he's made of. In the meantime, Jake Garcia will stay ready in case an opportunity arises.
All in all, Miami suffered too many self-inflicted wounds. The muffed punt by Tyrique Stevenson was a back-breaker. The missed field goals in the first half wasted a couple promising drives. The penalties on top of poor red zone execution loomed large. Still, I saw a team that looks ready to compete physically with any opponent and I believe most of Miami's problems are fixable. Everyone will need to take a long look in the mirror and learn from what didn't go right.
Thanks everyone for the questions and comments. Let me also add that Miami's defense looked excellent at every level. Coordinator Kevin Steele called a near perfect game, knowing when to rush four and when to dial up more pressure. Leonard Taylor really stood out on the line, Corey Flagg had another excellent game at linebacker, while DJ Ivey and James Williams stood out in the secondary. It certainly wasn't the defense's fault that the Canes couldn't pull this one out!
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