Miami Hurricane Football: 8 Guys Who Need a Great Spring Performance

With spring practice just five days away (March 3), the Miami Hurricanes begin their quest for a better outcome than last season's 6-6 record.

The Hurricanes have a lot of holes to fill on both offense and defense.

The biggest questions marks before spring even starts is who will be starting at quarterback, who will fill the wide receivers positions and will the defensive backs improve after a sub-par year?

Here are the eight players that need a great spring performance.

Stephen Morris, QB

With Jacory Harris graduating, it is time for Stephen Morris to pick up his game. After having a decent freshman season, Morris sat on the bench last year playing a limited role.

Morris has the skills to compete at a high level, but he tends to throw way too many interceptions, a problem that has plagued Miami for awhile.

Morris will have competition this spring with Memphis-transfer Ryan Williams and true freshmen Gray Crow and Preston Dewey.

If Morris truly wants to be the Hurricanes starting quarterback, he will need to cut back on turnovers and produce early to give Al Golden and staff some reassurance on his abilities.

Mike James, RB

No one has bigger shoes to fill than Mike James. With Lamar Miller leaving for the NFL after just his sophomore season, James will definitely need this spring to hone his skills.

I have faith in James though, he is a terrific north-south runner that is hard to tackle. He is surprisingly shifty, but lacks the acceleration and second gear that Miller had.

James also had problems with fumbles last year, and getting an early start this spring will only help him.

Eduardo Clements is the other running back that James will have to compete with this spring as true freshman phenomenon Duke Johnson won't be at Miami until later this summer/fall.

Brandon McGee, CB

The Hurricanes cornerbacks struggled all season long. With JoJo Nicolas and Mike Williams out of the picture, Brandon McGee really needs to pick up his game.

McGee needs to have a strong spring session as he has many underclassmen that will be competing for his job during the offseason.

Thomas Finnie, Tracy Howard and Dallas Crawford all have the skill set to start ahead of McGee.

McGee needs to step his game up to save his position and to help a very questionable cornerback group.

Phillip Dorsett, WR

When Tommy Streeter decided to forgo his senior season, the first person that popped into mind that needed to fill his shoes was Phillip Dorsett.

Dorsett is a superb athlete with good hands and tremendous speed (4.4/40) and by now, should understand the offense a little more.

With getting a lot of snaps this spring, Dorsett could separate himself and become the other starting receiver beside Allen Hurns.

The wide receiver position has to be the biggest concern for Golden after losing Streeter, Travis Benjamin and LaRon Byrd.

Curtis Porter, DL

Out of anyone on the defensive line, I truly believe that Curtis Porter could have the biggest impact on defense that struggled most of the time last year.

Porter played in eight games as a true freshman in 2009 and just one game in 2010 before an injury ended his season.

Last spring he was expected to compete for the right defensive tackle position, but a knee injury kept him out of all but the last two games of the season.

Those two games showed everyone what kind of player he really could be as he finished with 10 tackles, including one tackle for loss.

He has great size (6'1", 300 pounds) and can overpower offensive linemen. The only real concern he shows is that he has yet to play an entire season.

Porter needs all the extra time he can get so he can stay healthy for an entire season.

Jalen Grimble, DL

Just two years ago Jalen Grimble was to be the next big thing. 

The 5-star recruit had originally planned to attend USC, but the Trojans pulled the scholarship from Grimble.

He came to Miami with high hopes last season but didn't produce at all. He played in seven games, but didn't even record a tackle.

Grimble will need to use this spring session to elevate his skill, which he has tons of. Grimble is a very strong, surprisingly quick lineman that can get to the quarterback with ease.

The defensive line is another position which has depth issues, and if Grimble plays to his ability, it will be one less position to worry about.

Thomas Finnie, CB

As I stated in the previous slide about Brandon McGee, Thomas Finnie needs to play to his outstanding potential.

With 5-star recruit Tracy Howard coming in, Finnie will need to have a strong spring session to stay ahead of the true freshman.

Finnie has the skills and quickness to be a starting cornerback at Miami and got plenty of opportunities last season playing in 11 games.

With the cornerbacks a big question mark, Finnie will also need to have a spectacular offseason to help himself and the team.

Rashawn Scott, WR

Rashawn Scott is a very dynamic receiver with good size (6'2", 185 pounds) that could certainly add some much needed depth.

Scott saw action in six games last year (one catch) before a season-ending injury in the seventh game stopped his progress.

Scott will certainly need the reps this spring to compete for a wide open starting wide receiver position. If he can stay healthy this spring, he will have every chance in the world to snag the other starting spot.