Miami Football Spring Game 2013: What Defensive Line Needs to Improve on

After an abysmal 2012 season, the Miami Hurricanes' defensive line took the brunt of the criticism for Miami's lack of production on defense. From getting little penetration on running plays to seemingly never disrupting the opposing QB last season, the big boys up front had plenty to improve upon during spring practice.

During the spring game, the defensive line for the Orange team definitely outshined the White team, but there were bright spots on both squads.

Luther Robinson was credited with two sacks for the Orange, while Curtis Porter and Shayon Green both added a tackle for loss. Junior Anthony Chickillo also earned a sack, but the White team didn't put much pressure on QB Stephen Morris.

Ultimately, what should Hurricanes fans take from this?

The defense combined for three sacks in 44 minutes of action, so in essence the line had one sack for every 15 minutes on the field. Considering that the 'Canes managed only 13 sacks in all of 2012, two sacks per game would be a welcome result this season.

Rutgers, Oklahoma State, Ohio and Duke each had 25 sacks last season and were tied for 66th in the nation, ranking right near the middle of college football.

Why does this apply?

If the defensive line gets 25 sacks in 13 games—just under two sacks per game—they are an average defense. With another year of experience under their collective belts, the defensive line needs to reach that point at least.

Yes, I hear those of you saying, "But Miami didn't win five national championships because of average defenses!" And I agree, but if the 'Canes even had an "average" defensive front in 2012, they likely would've won two more games.

But the magic words "if, could've, would've and should've" don't matter anymore, so I'll move forward.

The Orange team's defensive line stood out on Saturday with all three sacks and five tackles for loss, but another stat is even more encouraging.

Danny Dillard and Dallas Crawford (in the first half before being traded to the Orange team) barely managed 25 yards on double-digit carries.

Even if it was a lot of second-string offensive linemen for the White team, the Orange didn't let big runs happen, and that certainly counts for something. The push from Porter and Robinson on the line of scrimmage was essential to the team's success and positively affected the running lanes all day.

Miami allowed 217.92 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked ninth-worst in the nation, but the spring game showed steps in the right direction.

Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald noted why 'Canes defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio wasn't too concerned with the play of most of the defense.

"

D'Onofrio said not to take too much away from today's struggles on D. Lot of vanilla defense. Two schemes: basic man, basic zone #UM

— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) April 13, 2013"

Navarro also said D'Onofrio was not showing many blitz packages throughout the day. Therefore, the Orange team's defensive line was performing well mostly due to its own play.

Making the first man miss and taking up an extra blocker are the keys to disrupting an opposing offense, and that's something Miami needs to improve on this season. But on Saturday, Porter and Robinson certainly showed signs of progression in their ability to clog the middle, while Green and Chickillo played well on the outside.

The trick, however, is to see this improvement carry over to Miami's season opener on August 31 against Florida Atlantic.

Note: 2012 statistics courtesy of NCAA.com and 2013 spring game stats via Michael Casagrande of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.