Canes Football Preseason Questions: Who Will Lead The Team In Sacks?
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Continuing on with our preseason questions here at AllHurricanes, the defense for Miami is a unit that is widely expected to be the driving force of this team.
Miami's defense is highlighted by their star safety play with reigning All-American Kamren Kinchens and former blue-chip recruit James Williams both patrolling the middle of the field.
While the safety tandem heads into the season as one of the best in the country, the Hurricanes have a defensive line that is in position to dominate this upcoming season.
Therefore, we asked Hurricanes fans who they thought would lead the team in sacks along the defensive line. The results were as follows:
This season, which #Miami Hurricane finishes with the most sacks?
— All Hurricanes (@AllHurricanes) July 29, 2023
If you think another Canes player leads the team, respond to this post!#TheU
Coming with a 42.1% and a majority of the votes is Akheem Mesidor, who returns to the Hurricanes coming off a season where he posted a career-high seven sacks in just ten games.
While Mesidor did walk away as the top vote getter, Leonard Taylor and Nyjalik Kelly finished within three precent of each other with Kelly taking the edge.
Kelly burst onto the scene for the Hurricanes in fall practice last season, and put up four sacks despite limited playing time. Therefore, it's obvious why Canes fans see the potential for Kelly to lead the team.
Taylor while coming in third, may make his presence more known disrupting the interior of the line. Taylor still managed to total three sacks this past season, and could be on his way to a breakout season and see his name called in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Miami's Jahfari Harvey comes in last, despite being second on the team in sacks last season behind Mesidor. However, Harvey could very well see a reduced role with so much talented options at the position.
Speaking of so, the replies to the poll were fans giving recognition to freshman Ruben Bain as a possible dark horse candidate to lead the team. Despite being a freshman, the hype is real for the South Florida native who had over 29 sacks in his senior season at Miami Central.
No matter who leads the team in sacks, new defensive coordinator Lance Guidry has no shortage of talent on the edge this coming season. If the defense takes jump under Guidry, there's no telling how great this line can be.
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