Miami Football: 2012 Season Preview for the Hurricanes

The 2012 Miami Hurricane season is finally upon us. There are just a few days left before Miami heads to Boston College to take on the Eagles.

Miami is entering its eighth season in the ACC, hoping to finally get to the ACC Championship.  Unfortunately for the Canes, they still look to be another year or two away from winning their first conference title.

That doesn't mean they won't compete, because there is no doubt in my mind they will.  Even though they return just 11 starters from a year ago, they have enough experience to finally make waves in the ACC.

Here is a preview of the Miami Hurricanes' 2012 season.

Offense

The Miami Hurricanes offense will once again be the biggest question mark of the 2012 season—it doesn't help they only return four starters from a year ago.

This year they are without their starting quarterback (Jacory Harris), top two wide receivers (Tommy Streeter and Travis Benjamin), and their 1,000 rusher (Lamar Miller).

To add fuel to the fire, the Hurricanes will also be without four starting offensive linemen from last season.

The good news is that head coach Al Golden used so many players last year that all of them are well-versed in how the offense runs. 

The biggest key to Miami's offensive success will be on the shoulders of junior quarterback Stephen Morris. This isn't the first time Morris will lead Miami onto the field as he has already logged five starts over his career.

The bigger question is will he be ready to turn around his career which has been plagued with turnovers.  Heading into the season Morris has thrown more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (7).

If Morris can't stop turning the ball over they will have the services of Memphis-transfer Ryan Williams to try to control the bleeding.

Williams was thrown to the wolves in his true-freshman season for the the Tigers in 2010 when he became the starter in the third game of the season and never relinquished the spot.

Due to transfer rules, Williams sat out last season but has looked very good over the spring and fall practices. Although he doesn't have the arm strength Morris has, he is a little more accurate and is more of a pure pocket passer.

The running back position took a hit when Miller left the program after a terrific 1,272 yard season. He will most likely be replaced by Mike James.

James is finally getting his chance after sitting behind Miller and Damien Berry the last three years. The senior is a very strong running back with enough elusiveness to be a very effective every-down back.

Eduardo Clements is James' back up and will certainly get a good amount of carries himself. Clements had a terrific fall season and could certainly compete for the starting position sometime this season.

Even though James and Clements will receive a majority of the carries, all eyes will be on true freshman Duke Johnson. 

The five-star recruit from Miami Norland is already being heralded as the next great Hurricane back—by yours truly.

He posses terrific speed, field vision and quickness.  Johnson is able to sneak into the smallest of lanes and turn three yards into nine in a second.

I had originally thought the wide receiver position would be another question mark but after seeing them perform this spring and fall, I have no doubt in my mind they will be OK.

Allen Hurns, Phillip Dorsett, Rashawn Scott, and Malcolm Lewis have looked outstanding so far in practice.

Overall, the biggest concern on offense will be the play of the offensive linemen.  Miami needs to find three starting replacements from last years' unit.

One thing they do have going for them is the emergence of true freshman Erick Flowers who has recently been listed as the starting right tackle. Flowers is a terrific player with great size (6'6", 314 lbs) and very quick feet. 

With the ongoing issues with Seantrel Henderson, Miami desperately needed someone to step up and it looks like Flowers has done so with his play this fall.

Defense

Even though the defensive unit is loaded with tremendous talent, there are still plenty of unanswered questions—especially the defensive line.

Earlier this year, during the spring game, the defensive line looked terrific as they didn't allow a touchdown until the last drive of the game.

Unfortunately that seemed to be so long ago as this fall has proved that the defensive line may just be like they were last year—flat.

During the first scrimmage, the Miami running backs ran all over the defensive line causing plenty of concern for Coach Golden and his staff.

The good news about the defensive line is the play of Anthony Chickillo.  He has had multiple sacks this fall and is looking a lot leaner than he was last season.  He will definitely be the leader of the defensive front.

Going into the fall session I thought the linebackers were going to be the brightest spot on the entire defense, but the injury bug has caused some major depth problems at the position.

In fact, the only truly healthy linebacker at this point is sophomore inside linebacker Denzel Perryman, who is coming off a tremendous freshman season in which he finished second on the team in tackles with 69.

Senior linebacker Ramon Buchanan is back after suffering from an season-ending ACL tear last fall.  Even though he has already been listed as a starter, he isn't quite 100 percent and it will take a couple games for him to get back to where he was before the injury.

The defensive backs could be the most surprising unit on the defense. 

True freshman cornerback Tracy Howard has been playing extremely well, even earning the black jersey a couple times this fall—black jersey represents a starting position.

The release of Ray Ray Armstrong could have been deadly if not for the play of another true freshman, Deon Bush.  Bush is currently competing with Kacey Rodgers for the vacant position.

Overall, the defensive line will determine how good this defense could be. They will either be one of the best defenses Miami has had in years, or just another sub-par, overachieving unit we are used to seeing.

Special Teams

Not only is special teams the best unit on the 2012 Hurricanes team, it is also one of the best in the country.

Jake Wieclaw is returning after a spectacular year in which he finished as a semi-finalist for the Lou Groza award last year—given to the best college kicker in the country.

Wieclaw made 11 of 14 field goals last year including a game-winner against South Florida.

Dalton Botts will be the returning punter for the Hurricanes after a very successful season in which he averaged 42.7 yards per punt. He is the only Hurricane to make the preseason All-ACC team.

The kick and punt return duties will most likely land on the shoulders of wide receiver Phillip Dorsett. 

Dorsett is one of the fastest players on the team and has the field vision to create havoc for the opposing teams.

If Duke Johnson doesn't get a lot of reps at running back, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they give him a few opportunities in the kick return department.

Prediction

It isn't hard to come to the conclusion that the Miami Hurricanes will not be be playing for the national championship this year, but that doesn't mean they won't be competitive.

The only thing that really concerns me is the schedule. Miami faces four preseason ranked teams—Florida State, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, and Kansas State.

Even with the schedule and uncertainties, the Hurricanes have a very young, experienced team that could end up surprising a lot of teams this year. Do you hear me FSU and Virginia Tech?

Overall, there are two factors that determine my final conclusion—quarterback consistency and the defensive line.

If the quarterbacks can limit turnovers and the defensive line can be put more more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, Miami could easily be an 9-3 team.

If Miami struggles though, it could easily turn into an 7-5 season and yet another year of mediocrity.