Miami Hurricanes Football: 10 Things to Expect from the Spring Game

The Miami Hurricanes can finally focus on the football side of things after an offseason that included many off-the-field issues and a future that lies in the hands of the NCAA. Miami has already begun spring practice and will play their spring game that kicks off on April 14.

In this game there will be many things to pay attention to and things to expect as they only return four starters on the offensive side of the ball. They also lose four key members on defense and have suffered many injuries throughout spring.

As we inch closer to the spring game, here are 10 things you should expect when it gets here.

Brandon McGee Will Make Some Plays

The cornerback position is very young for this Hurricanes team except for senior Brandon McGee. The problem is that he has yet to live up to his potential since coming to Miami as a 4-star recruit in 2009. He did finish last year with 48 tackles, an interception and a sack but will need his production to increase even more if this secondary is going to improve.

"He has all the skillset you want," Head coach Al Golden said. "Now he’s 190. One thing about Brandon in the scrimmage is that he was physical for the first time since I’ve been here. He’s more confident about his body, and the physical nature of being 190."

Let's hope he can show us something in the spring game before we begin to give up hope on the young man.

Anthony Chickillo Will Play

Defensive end Anthony Chickillo finished last season with five sacks and was having a fantastic spring before injuring his back. Good news for Hurricane fans is that he is healthy and should be ready to go for the spring game. He's also a lot more comfortable in the defense, which should mean more success on the football field. 

“I'm a lot more comfortable [than last year],” Chickillo said. “There's still a lot more things to work on. I still need to get stronger and faster and work on my technique.”

He's been a force throughout spring and should have Hurricane fans extremely excited about next season with the performance he'll likely have in the spring game.

Eduardo Clements Will Emerge at RB

With Lamar Miller no longer in the picture, the running back position is one wide open competition for the Hurricanes. There are many players that will push for the starting job including, Randy Johnson, Danny Dillard, Mike James, Eduardo Clements and Dallas Crawford. But with James struggling early on and the Johnson having a lack of experience, Clements looks to be the leader in this race.

“I like Eduardo,” UM coach Al Golden said. “He’s a guy that lights up the building. He’s got a lot of energy. He brings a swagger about him.”

The word "swagger" is all that needed to be said when it comes to Miami. Expect him to continue to make an impact in the spring and become one of the leading running backs heading into the regular season.

Rashawn Scott to Put on a Show

The entire offense was hit hard this offseason, and the Hurricanes really lack playmakers at the wide receiver position. Meet receiver Rashawn Scott who has been absolutely tearing up the spring the last couple of weeks and looks to be that guy for this offense.

“That’s the way this kid works, period,” UM coach Al Golden said. “It’s the same guy every day. He’s got the work ethic, he’s got the toughness, and he’s got the skill set. He has a chance to have what amounts to a rare combination.

“He’s just very consistent, and the slant he caught for a touchdown is a) Something that’s been missing from our repertoire, and b) Something he does in practice."

Scott ended up missing all of last year due to shoulder surgery but seems to be on the road to success this season and should make a few big plays during the spring game.

The Cornerback Position to Have More of an Answer

We already talked a little bit about Brand McGee in the first slide, now the question remains on who is going to be the starter on the other side of the field? The two likely candidates are either Ladarius Gunter or Thomas Finnie. Both have had terrific spring practices and their fair share of great plays.

It's great to have depth and many players playing well at one position, but this just makes the decision difficult for the coaches. Expect the decision to be made a little easier with whoever ends up playing better in the spring game.

The Offensive Line to Struggle a Bit

The offensive line hasn't been making the headlines for good reasons so far this spring. In fact, they're currently looking for walk-ons along the unit to try and fill some of the holes. Denver Post's Woody Paige went as far as to go on ESPN to bash the Hurricanes program recently.

"That they're in deep trouble," Paige said when asked what the flier said about UM's football team. "Two hundred-and-thirty pounds for an offensive linemen? In college football today, you wouldn't beat anybody. [If] I'm a quarterback there, I'm transferring out as quickly as possible."

Palm Beach Post writer Jorge Milian also reported that the Hurricanes offensive line has been terrible so far in the scrimmages. 

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In scrimmages, there’s no doubt that defenses have the advantage. They’ve gone against the same plays in practice repeatedly and basically know what’s coming. Still the work of UM’s offensive line on Friday night left plenty to be desired. It allowed 10 sacks in about 100 plays (I can assure you, that’s not a good ratio) and provided little space for the running backs.

"

Some will say great defense, some will say horrible offense. Either way, the offensive line is going to need a lot of work before the season starts.

The Defense to Dominate

This is expected throughout majority of spring games. The offense is always slow to get going, and the defense is always more prepared and looks like the better unit. But with many of the starters gone on the offensive side of the ball and the injuries, the defense should continue to dominate the offense.

“We were getting a lot more turnovers, a lot more three-and-outs, and keeping them out of the end zone,’’ Defensive end Anthony Chickillo said.

That's how it's been throughout spring practice, and you really shouldn't expect much different once the spring game kicks off. So if you enjoy high-scoring and offensive shootouts, this may not be the spring game for you.

Ryan Williams Will Have Miami Buzzing

Miami is handicapped at the quarterback position with Stephen Morris still recovering from back surgery. But that doesn't mean that backup Ryan Williams can't do well in the spring to make for an interesting competition when Morris comes back.

“He had good command,” UM coach Al Golden said. “He distributed the ball well. His corner routes I thought he threw really well for us. He did a good job in the naked [bootleg] game, for such a big guy to be able to get out of the pocket and throw it as accurately as he did. And he ran it well."

Williams has played well enough throughout the spring to even push Morris for the possible starting job in the spring. Golden told ESPN:

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We want to see how these guys develop this spring. Certainly, Ryan, because he has game experience at the Division I level, is a little ahead of those guys but they’re all going to continue to get reps with the ones and we’ll see how they develop in the summer. Someone, if not all, will challenge Stephen between now and summer camp.

"

Expect Williams to have a solid spring game and create a little bit of controversy leading to the regular season opener.

Denzel Perryman at Middle Linebacker

Denzel Perryman was the second leading tackler on this team a season ago with 68 and had 6.5 tackles for loss on top of that. He played outside linebacker last season, but we'll likely see him move to the middle this season.

“It just looks like the better lineup for us right now because of the growth of the guys who didn’t play [at outside linebacker] last year for us,” Golden said. “We think that’s the lineup that gives us the most depth, Ray [Buchanan] not withstanding. We’re going to go with that. Denzel has been handling it pretty good these last two days."

This is in large part of the other members on defense stepping up, which makes it easier to switch him to the inside. He's one of the hardest hitters in the ACC, and this move should only payoff big for the Hurricanes this year.

Well, of course we could find out a lot more once the actual spring game kicks off.

Dallas Crawford Will Make an Impact Somehow

Redshirt freshman Dallas Crawford has been all over the place for the Hurricanes. At first he was going to defensive back, then quarterback, then safety and now he's lined up to play running back and slot wide receiver.

Whichever position he ends up playing, he will make some type of impact in a positive way for this team.

“What caught our eyes is that he needs the ball in his hands,” Golden said. “That’s why we’re using him at running back.”

That's because Crawford is a playmaker and has that game changing ability. He may not be the biggest player at 5'10", 185 pounds, but he has great speed and instincts on the football field. Expect to see him on the field somewhere, and he should make a play or two to ignite some excitement back into this offense.