The CaneSport On3: Ranking Miami’s position strength on defense

With spring practice set to begin next month, the Miami Hurricanes will use the 15 sessions to learn a lot more about their team, v. 2024. Among the most important lessons will be the level of depth at each position … and there will, of course, be plenty of competition for spots at every level of the roster.

With that in mind, today we rank each defensive position by how strong we see it entering the spring:

RANKING MIAMI’S POSITION STRENGTH ON OFFENSE

5. CORNERBACK

This spot was hit hard by graduation, with starters Jaden Davis and Te’Cory Couch gone. The lone returning starter is Daryl Porter, Jr., who was solid in coverage last year but isn’t going to wow you with his physical attributes. Miami also has back Damari Brown, who emerged as a starter late last season as a true freshman and held his own for the most part. So with some continued development he could be a very good corner. The rest of the depth here? Well, there’s not much that’s proven or experienced. Jadais Richard came in as a transfer last year and didn’t play much but has nice size and potential upside. Likewise JUCO arrival Demetrius Freeney redshirted last year and will hope to prove himself this spring. Plus Robert Stafford redshirted but could emerge as a former highly touted recruit. It might be a big ask, but perhaps a true freshman could also step up. As you can see from all the above, there are a lot of question marks at this position … hence it being ranked at the bottom of this list.

4. SAFETY

The team’s two standout starting safeties – Kam Kinchens and James Williams – are gone early to the NFL. Without a lot of in-house talent readily apparent, Miami turned to the transfer portal for help here. A big addition was Mishael Powell, who started for Washington’s team that reached the national title game. He has the versatility to play corner, so he has cover ability, and go ahead and pencil him in as one starter – he started 26 games in his Huskies career and had three interceptions last season. The other side is more of a question mark, although Miami did add transfer Savion Riley, who had some good moments as a redshirt freshman last year at Vanderbilt. Markeith Williams could also have a say in things after he flashed a bit in the bowl game with eight tackles. But Williams is very much unproven. Jaden Harris (7 tackles) got action for Miami last season when Kinchens was banged up but was hit-and-miss. Brian Balom has been a depth guy and almost transferred prior to last season, and Kaleb Spencer also could make a splash here in Year 2 since he has good size and athletic ability. This is a position where it’s hard to see a true freshman emerging. So really you’ve got one pretty good safety here and then a bunch of question marks after that depth-wise.

3. DEFENSIVE TACKLE

There are concerns here with starters Leonard Taylor and Branson Deen gone. The depth will be helped by a couple of transfers – it’s expected that NC State starter CJ Clark will start, and Miami also added Marley Cook from Middle Tennessee. While Clark is a three-year starter who had four TFL and a sack last season, Cook will have to make a big transition to this level. Jared Harrison-Hunte was serviceable playing a lot of reps last season (26 tackles, 2 sacks), so he can also be a factor. A guy that could emerge as a force is second-year tackle Joshua Horton. He has the combination of size/quickness that has coaches excited about what he can accomplish. Plus there is the possibility that Rueben Bain can move inside, and Akheem Mesidor could also be a third down pass rusher from the interior. So while there are some question marks here given the losses of the two starters, there is intriguing potential and the possibility this will be a strong position for Miami in 2024.

2. LINEBACKER

Good news here is that MLB Francisco Mauigoa and his team-high 18 TFL and 7.5 sacks return, so really no worries there. With Miami often using a STAR that is a DB, the WLB spot returns Wesley Bissainthe. He needs to make a jump up in his play this year after two so-so seasons given his vast potential – he began last year backing up KJ Cloyd before emerging as the starter, and had 44 tackles and two sacks. The only other linebacker with more than a year on his resume is oft-injured Chase Smith, so the depth here will be filled by young guys. Raul Aguirre, Marcellius Pulliam, Malik Bryant and Bobby Washington will battle to be in the two-deep in Year 2, and freshmen are Adarius Hayes and Cam Pruitt. So it will be interesting to see how the depth chart shakes out here.

1. DEFENSIVE END

This is the strength of the defense, and it’s not even close. You’ve got a returning freshman All-American in Rueben Bain, who had 7.5 sacks, plus Akheem Mesidor will be returning off injury. Mesidor only played in three games last year, and in 2022 he 10.5 TFL and seven sacks. Plus Nyjalik Kelly, who started last year before injury cost him the final nine games, will be back. He has plenty of potential in his own right and had four sacks as a backup true freshman in 2022. Oh, and did we mention that the team added Elijah Alston from Marshall? He played under coordinator Lance Guidry there and had 10.5 tackles for loss and five sacks there last season with an interception and 16 QB hurries. Jayden Wayne also got some reps off the bench as a Miami true freshman last year and has plenty of potential, and there’s a host of talented newcomers that will look to factor in. This position is loaded with top-end talent and potential. Also of note is that Bain and Mesidor can work inside, which will allow Miami to get a bunch of these talented ends reps.

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