Youth Litters No. 7 Miami's Defense, Except for One Specific Area
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — It may be shocking to some, but the Miami Hurricanes have one of the youngest teams in the country.
Highlighted by star sophomores Malachi Toney and Bryce Fitzgerald, Miami's team is on the younger side with some older players sprinkled in the mix.
However, in one area, the range compared to the median and mode is drastic. Miami's projected starting linebackers are entering their sixth and eighth year of college football. All for the good of the Canes.
Chase Smith and Mohamed Toure lead the middle of the field for the Canes, and their age makes this outlook all the better, given what they have to offer.
Both talents finally played a fully healthy season last season — the reason they are a tad bit older than the rest. Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman also loves what he sees from the two and the linebacking core as a whole.
Time will tell how they fully pan out but Hetherman is excited.
“Yeah, I’m excited about the group," Hetherman said. "I think just in the offseason, what the strength and conditioning staff did, what the nutrition staff did, what sports science did with our guys, I think we’re a bigger, faster group. I think we can do a lot of different things, whether it’s in coverage or it’s blitzing or fitting the runs at a really high level.
"We have guys that have different skill sets and I’m excited to play different guys. We’re going to throw guys out in different groups and different waves as we go through the season. But I feel like right now, and we’re not at that point in camp yet where it’s settled, but I think guys are continuing to compete every single day. Guys are continuing to get better every single day. And I feel really comfortable throwing a good group of those guys out on the field right now against an opponent.”
Moreover, with their experience, the younger talent can learn from them, and Smith is excited about the future of the room.
"Really, honestly, the mental part of it has really progressed [for them]," Smith said about the younger players. "They’ve always been extremely physical guys, been athletic, been able to really move very well. But now, they’re really fine-tuning their mental part of the game, understanding what’s coming before it happens, being able to anticipate things before we even see it sometimes. And that’s like we’re all growing off each other and it’s really good to see their progression."
Their age will be a key to this team this season. Both are expected to be key contributors and explosive impact players.
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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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