ESPN List A Miami Hurricane on Defense to be the Sleeper Player of the Year
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In less than two months, sounds of joy, anger, and possible euphoria will be felt throughout the country with the return of college football. Some teams are optimistic that they will reach the pinnacle of the sport, and the Miami Hurricanes hope to shake off all of its bad karma since joining the ACC and finally get a big win and major success.
That is going to start on the defensive side of the ball after last season's botched debacle with the best offense in the country. This season, ESPN believes that one of the best sleeper players on the team is in the secondary — this is one area the Hurricanes consistently got torched in last season.
EPSN believes that Jaxsoncville State transfer defensive backZechariah Poyser is the man for the Canes to change the trajectory of the season.
"You may have heard of Poyser, one of the top available players in the transfer portal this past season," Andrea Adelson of ESPN wrote. "But he should still be considered a sleeper because of the impact he is projected to have in his first year with the Hurricanes. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety played his first two seasons at Jacksonville State, earning Freshman All-America honors as a redshirt freshman this past season with 75 tackles and three interceptions. His addition gives the Hurricanes an instant upgrade at safety, where they struggled at times last season. Miami made other additions at defensive back in the portal, but safety was the most glaring area of need and it appears to be filled.
Poyser knows that this oppurtinity with the Canes is a dream come true. During spring practice, he highlighted this opportunity and was grateful for the chance to wear and produce for the green and orange.
“I'm really excited to be here," Poyser said. "You know, it's always been a dream to be at Miami, so to have somebody like Coach Cristobal, a great guy, a great coach with a great resume, so man, that's a blessing, man."
The Hurricanes will have to rely on the defense this year with a tougher schedule than last season. Any sign of a pulse on defense this season will be great to see, but the Hurricanes are searching for their first ACC Championship in football this season.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.