UM at the midway point: Biggest hits, misses and takeaways through Year 1 of Cristobal era

Takeaways, thoughts from the first half of Mario Cristobal’s first season as Miami Hurricanes coach:

▪ The best things that can be said about Cristobal and his staff’s work through a disappointing 3-3 start:

1). They did a good job of identifying and landing players in the transfer portal, adding four who have made a genuine impact (Akheem Mesidor, Darrell Jackson, Henry Parrish Jr., Frank Ladson) and others who are emerging (Colbie Young, Daryl Porter Jr.).

Pro Football Focus rates Jackson the 18th-best interior defender in the country this season, and that was an impressive portal hit because his body of work at Maryland was fairly limited (225 snaps as a freshman last season).

Mesidor is tied for 18th in the nation with five sacks.

2). Despite the .500 record, Cristobal hasn’t lost any of the 17 commitments from a 2023 UM recruiting class that’s ranked 11th nationally by 247 Sports.

3). The Canes are allowing just 3.0 yards per rushing attempt, which is 14th in the country and ninth among Power 5 teams. UM’s tackling has improved from dismal to decent, and the starting defensive line (Mesidor, Jahfari Harvey, Jackson, Leonard Taylor) and the backups are a top-20 caliber group.

4). The coaching staff wisely adjusted and began running more up-tempo and spread plays to maximize Tyler Van Dyke’s comfort level and effectiveness. The question is whether that should have been done sooner. (Spoiler alert: Yes.)

▪ The worst things that can be said about the Cristobal era so far:

1). There’s no excuse for losing to Middle Tennessee under any circumstances. Not a single player on that team received a scholarship offer from Miami.

The composite 247 rankings for UM’s past five recruiting classes is 15th, one spot ahead of North Carolina (which beat UM) and two spots ahead of undefeated Tennessee, which just knocked off Alabama.

The Canes aren’t the only top 15 composite team that’s currently unranked; LSU’s composite is seventh and Oklahoma’s eighth.

And several of the players who helped UM earn those rankings aren’t playing much or at all either due to injuries (Don Chaney Jr., TreVonte Citizen, Xavier Restrepo and others) or coaches’ decisions (Avantae Williams, as an example).

And some of UM’s acquisitions over those years, particularly on the offensive line, seemed to have been overrated by evaluators. As Manny Diaz said, there’s no position tougher to evaluate in the prep ranks than offensive linemen.

Other four-star prospects, such as linebacker Avery Huff, simply haven’t panned out. That’s not Cristobal’s fault.

2). Time management has been questionable, and that falls on Cristobal, Van Dyke and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. Too much time was frittered away at the line of scrimmage late in the Texas A&M game, with UM trailing.

And with the Canes nursing a lead late Saturday at Virginia Tech, Van Dyke twice snapped the ball with more than 10 seconds left on the play clock. Either Van Dyke needs to be more cognizant of that, or Cristobal and Gattis need to remind him.

3). UM hasn’t yet achieved Cristobal’s vision of becoming a power running team that imposes its will on the opposing defensive line.

Much of this is beyond Cristobal’s control, because the team’s best lineman (Zion Nelson) has played only 61 snaps due to injury, and the running back room has been badly depleted by injuries. Among 131 FBS schools, UM is 78th in yards per carry at 3.98.

Perhaps with Nelson, Chaney, Citizen and a fully healthy Parrish, it would be a somewhat different story. But UM’s putrid running attack against a porous North Carolina defense (24 carries for 42 yards) was particularly disappointing.

That dominating running game doesn’t seem likely to be achieved with this offensive line and with Jaylan Knighton needing to carry the load in the backfield. Knighton — better suited as a third-down, pass-catching back — has averaged just 3.8 yards per rush on his past 181 carries since the start of last season.

4). UM should have gone up tempo in the Texas A&M game to try to create a spark.

▪ Biggest positional disappointment? The defensive backfield. UM’s defense is 92nd in the country, in passing yards allowed per game. No Power 5 team relinquishes more yards per catch.

Beyond Tyrique Stevenson — who has allowed three chunk plays and been solid otherwise — DJ Ivey also has struggled, allowing a 111 passer rating in his coverage area (13 catches in 23 targets for 261 yards and a touchdown).

Per Pro Football Football Focus, Porter Jr (83.9 passer rating against) and Te’Cory Couch (76.2 passer rating against) have been better.

The linebackers also remain deficient in coverage. Corey Flagg has allowed 11 receptions in 12 targets for 119 yards.

▪ Any coach wants his own players, but I’ve been a bit surprised by the lack of playing time for a few of Diaz’s recruits.

Avantae Williams, Rivals’ No. 1 safety in the 2020 class, has played a bit more recently but has logged only 47 defensive snaps overall this season. On a team without a lot of elite talent, UM needs to figure out a way to play Williams, James Williams and Kamren Kinchens together.

“I appreciate the way Avantae has dedicated himself to get better,” Cristobal told WQAM’s Joe Zagacki and Don Bailey Jr. this week.

Defensive end Chantz Williams, who has played just 59 defensive snaps, also might be worthy of a longer look; he’s a naturally gifted pass rusher. But in UM’s defense, Mesidor and Harvey have rightfully earned the bulk of the snaps at defensive end. Mitchell Agude and Nyjalik Kelly essentially have squeezed Williams out of the rotation.

And a bigger role hasn’t materialized for Chase Smith, who has just 12 defensive snaps as a safety/linebacker tweener.

Excluding Taylor, none of Diaz’s final recruiting class of front seven additions are playing much; Jabari Ishmael (just four defensive snaps), Thomas Davis (seven) and Allen Haye (seven). It’s not surprising that they’ve been beaten out by older, better players. The question is whether they will be good enough eventually to become rotation players on a contending Atlantic Coast Conference team.

The same can be asked about 2021 offensive linemen Michael McLaughlin and Ryan Rodriguez, who haven’t played a single offensive snap and aren’t in the top 10 on the offensive line. Diaz’s other 2021 offensive line addition, Laurance Seymore, has logged 21 offensive snaps.

It would be unfortunate if Diaz’s final class of linemen end up being washouts, but it’s far too soon to make that conclusion.

▪ One lesson learned: Don’t discount linebacker Flagg, whose good work against the run and tackling skills have overshadowed his deficiencies in coverage. Only 10 players in the country have more tackles for loss than his 9.5. UCLA transfer Caleb Johnson couldn’t beat him out, and only Mesidor has been more impactful in this front seven.

“His ability to understand the game, the amount of time he spends studying it, he really does a great job,” Cristobal said this week of Flagg.

Among other returnees much improved since the summer: receivers Breshard Smith and Michael Redding III and linebacker Keontra Smith.

▪ Freshmen to watch in the second half: Wesley Bissainthe (the most physically gifted of the linebackers), Kelly, tight end Jaleel Skinner (his blocking and game awareness must improve, but the receiving gifts are obvious and he will be needed with Elijah Arroyo out for the year) and offensive lineman Anez Cooper, who already has shot past the 2021 offensive line recruits on the depth chart.

“Playing guard was new for him,” Cristobal said of Cooper’s work against Virginia Tech. “You can tell he’s not really comfortable. But you can tell the power, the mass, knocking guys back.”

▪ Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded Canes on offense through six games: injured receiver Restrepo, Parrish (4.8 per carry), Young (12 catches, 144 yards in just 91 offensive snaps), DJ Scaife (a top 50 right tackle, per PFF) and Van Dyke (27 TDs, 7 INTs and more than 300 yards passing in his past eight games against ACC teams, including two this season).

▪ PFF’s highest-graded Canes on defense through six games: Mesidor, Antonio Moultrie (hasn’t played a ton), Taylor, Bissainthe, Jackson and Harvey.