Scouting Report: Miami

(Ivan Morozov)

Miami might’ve had the most successful makeover in P5 football. New offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee looks like the real deal, Houston transfers D’Eriq King (QB) and Jarrid Williams (OT) are playing well, and transfer defensive ends Roche and Phillips are unleashing havoc in opponents’ backfields.

Usually, it’s a good idea for teams to catch Miami when they’re especially dumb. Sometimes that’s when the Hurricanes keep a guy who throws nothing but interceptions on the field, or it’s when they get the most of their triple-digit penalty yardage on plays that otherwise would’ve stopped their opponent. This Miami squad has been different, so far. King isn’t fumbling much or throwing many picks. And the penalties are better—it took them deep into the first quarter before they got their first unsportsmanlike flag, and it took six minutes (a virtual eternity for Miami) before the next such flag came, this time for an unnecessary roughness penalty. Okay, I’m being a little cheeky here, but as a team, they’ve been better overall about penalties in recent years, both in terms of total yardage and in comparison to their opponents.

OFFENSE 

Scheme and Tendencies

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