The Youthful Side of Miami's Secondary Prepares for More Opportunities This Season
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CORAL GABLES — Jakobe Thomas and Keionte Scott are two of the keys to the Miami Hurricanes' National Championship run with their hard-hitting and lock-down ability inside the middle and playing where they need to be.
Now, without them, the Hurricanes turn to the youth of their room, starting with a freshman All-American turned sophomore and another who was thrown into the fire in the College Football Playoff. Some had to learn to be patient for their opportunity, while others made game-saving plays.
Ja’Boree Antoine spent most of his freshman season on the bench, watching and waiting for his turn until star cornerback OJ frediquie was injured in the Fiesta Bowl against Ole Miss. At that point, he was thrown in, and he had to calm his nerves down while playing in the biggest moment of his life.
“Really just being patient, waiting on your turn, really, and just stand down and grind," Antonie said after spring practice. "You never know when your number is going to be called.”
Now with that experience, he looks to use in more opening roles this upcoming season.
“Yeah, each day is an iron-sharpening-iron type of day. Each day you might lose a rep, but you’ve got to have short-term memory and get back to where you started and be grinding.”
Furthermore, Bryce Fitzgerald knows what it is like to be a part of that system. The freshman All-American was pivotal for the Canes at ht eend of the season. He was a ballhawk, something that defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman saw at an early age.
“It’s really great. Coach Hetherman recruited me [when he was] at Minnesota. He just told me playing a lot of different positions helps you get on the field and helps you in the long run. So, him telling me that, I just took it to Miami and I’m just living it up," Fitzgerald said."
Now that he is in a starting role with the Canes, he was forced to mature faster than others and realize that this is the time for him to step up.
Miami Freshman Bryce Fitzgerald: A Career Day #GoCanes pic.twitter.com/M2stfzmqAy
— Eye of the Hurricanes (@CanesCentralSI) December 20, 2025
“Really just got to stop being a kid. [You’ve] got to change your mindset. You’re a grown man now, so really just got to do grown-man things on and off the field. Leading by example, talking to them, not letting them do the wrong thing. You’ve got to do the little things, so they key into it.”
Both look to take spring by storm as the Hurricanes geaer up towards the Spring Game on April 18.
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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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