No. 7 Miami's Return to an 'Exciting' and 'Explosive' Offense is Expected
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — No. 7 Miami has most of its production from the National Championship appearance returning on the defensive side of the ball.
Offensively, the Canes have a new offensive line, a new quarterback, and a completely new wide receiver room.
Moreover, the quarterback and receivers are highlighted as some of the best in the country. It's one of the many exciting parts of offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson's day. He expects Miami to be explosive and fun to watch this season, similar to two seasons ago.
"I am excited about it," Dawson said about how explosive Miami's offense can be. "We have probably stretched the field as much as I have here. I am excited about our ability to play fast and be explosive. Ultimately, it starts with running the ball effectively. I don't think you can be explosive if you don't run the ball well.
"Our running back room is loaded and we are going to lean on those guys like we have done every year. At times we are going to ride those guys. If you run the ball well, then defenses have to bring people down to stop the run and that is when you can get explosive."
Miami's running attack led the charge last season directing them to a deep College Football Playoff run. However, Carson Beck wasn't at 100 percent, keeping the passing attack from being as explosive as it could be.
With Darian Mensah, Dawson knows he can open up the offense more thanks to his IQ and his ability to make tough decisions in tight spots.
"He understands football," Dawson said. "He has come into a place and picked up the offense fast and that is a testament to him and his mental make-up. His football IQ is very high. He is very confident and secure about what he likes and what he doesn't like. I like that from a quarterback.
"Tell me if you don't like something and I'm good with that. His football IQ is high and I don't know if you can play in this system if it isn't because there are so many moving parts. There is a lot of protection stuff, run game stuff, and movement. If you don't have a high football IQ, it makes it tougher. His capacity is very high."
However, there is still more that Dawson expects out of this team. They are still gelling together and do have off days because of a talented defense opposing them daily.
"In spurts it is good," Dawson said. "Probably like everywhere else in the nation right now, you have good days and you have bad. We've had some bad days because our defense is really talented, but the good thing about it is that if we have a day where we are a little bit off, we bounce back and have a good day. That is what you want to see with some back and forth between the two sides."
Miami will test its offensive power against Stanford in the season opener in an important ACC clash on Sept. 4.
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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.
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