Miami Football: Final 2014 Positional Grades for the Hurricanes

The dust has settled, emotions have cooled and the Miami Hurricanes are back on the practice fields, preparing for the Independence Bowl clash against South Carolina.

However, the levelheadedness also provides an opportunity to hand out final regular-season grades for each positional unit before the bowl meeting arrives.

The marks given are based on collective performance, though individual contributions from key players are taken into account.

Postseason awards and draft stock may be mentioned but are not factored into the process.

Quarterback

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Brad Kaaya was named ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the freshman deserved every bit of that honor. He led the conference with 25 passing touchdowns and a 148.2 quarterback rating.

Additionally, Kaaya earned the seventh-most efficient season in school history, completing 58.6 percent of his attempts. Plus, two touchdowns in the bowl game would give him the third-most scores in a single campaign.

The principal concern with Kaaya is he was all touch and rarely powerful. Though the Californian is certainly not on Jacory Harris-esque floated-pass levels, Kaaya could learn to snap a few attempts when the situation demands it.

Nevertheless, while he has a handful of developmental stages ahead of him, Kaaya is clearly a special talent and an obvious four-year starter at "The U."

Grade: B+

Running Backs

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What did you accomplish this year? Well, Duke Johnson messed around and set Miami records.

The junior registered at least 88 rushing yards in every game, topping the 100-yard barrier six times and reaching 249 against Virginia Tech. Overall, he racked up 10 touchdowns and more than 1,500 rushing yards, eclipsing Ottis Anderson for the top mark in program history.

What's more, Johnson caught 33 passes for 370 yards and three scores. He wasn't a phenomenal pass-blocker, but the receiving prowess helped his status as an NFL prospect.

Freshman Joe Yearby sliced his way to 489 yards and one touchdown, while Gus Edwards bullied opponents to a tune of 324 yards and five scores. Combined, the reserves averaged 6.0 yards per carry and logged five games of 85-plus yards.

Walter Tucker made significant strides as a fullback and will be a stalwart in the offense for two more seasons.

Grade: A

Wide Receivers

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Phillip Dorsett was outstanding. The senior receiver tallied an FBS-leading 26.7 yards per catch, aided by eight of his nine touchdowns being recorded at 27 yards or more.

Beyond Dorsett, however, the Hurricanes receivers were a mess.

Expected standout Stacy Coley completely disappeared, snagging just 19 passes for 153 yards. He also dropped a potential 76-yard touchdown against Duke, which perfectly encapsulated his severe sophomore slump.

Of course, Herb Waters shined opposite the Blue Devils, and his five-catch, 81-yard, one-touchdown performance was the highlight of his season. Other than that superb day, Waters was only a garbage-time fixture and snared half of his passes when the final result was obvious.

Malcolm Lewis' campaign was overshadowed by suspect blocking, while a mere seven of his 23 catches resulted in first downs. Braxton Berrios started quickly, logging at least one catch in his first seven games—including three touchdowns—before making a single reception for six yards during the final five outings.

Grade: D+

Tight Ends

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Kaaya the freshman needed a security blanket. Kaaya the quarterback established a season-long rapport with Clive Walford. The senior tight end quickly became his gunslinger's go-to weapon, reeling in a team-best 44 receptions along with 676 yards and seven touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Walford's year has ended due to injury, per Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post.

Standish Dobard emerged as a decent blocker and slowly began to show the pass-catching ability Miami will demand next season. He managed three receptions for 44 yards during the regular-season finale and should be a key contributor in the bowl game.

Both Walford and Dobard lost costly fumbles against Florida State, which lowers their collective grade one notch. With that being said, tight end was an otherwise solid position for the 2014 Canes.

Grade: B

Offensive Line

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The O-line has an opportunity to be remembered for providing the program's second-most-prolific offensive season in terms of pure yardage output. With just 365 yards against South Carolina, the Canes would only trail the 2002 squad.

Miami's blocking brigade allowed just 19 sacks and didn't allow those to necessarily reflect the final result —excluding a terrible four-sack day at Virginia, of course.

However, the third-down conversion clip is what doomed Miami. The Hurricanes moved the sticks on a putrid 52.9 percent of third-down attempts between one and five yards to go, along with 29.6 percent between six and 10.

Whether it was poor run blocking on first down and a pressured incompletion on second (or vice versa), Miami faced an average of 7.2 yards on the pivotal third-down snap.

Yardage is fantastic, but it doesn't mean anything when a once-promising drive stalls and results in 40 yards and zero points.

Grade: B-

Defensive Line

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The easiest way to gauge Miami's success was by looking at opponent pass attempts. If the defensive line shut down the running game and forced the quarterback to win, the Canes typically earned a victory.

However, the D-line was the same old song and dance when it mattered the most, getting overpowered in losses to Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Pittsburgh.

While there was clear improvement by the season-long average output being decreased by 30-plus yards and in meetings with Duke and Virginia Tech, consistency was not a trait of the unit.

Miami averaged 3.2 sacks in victories compared to 1.0 in losses, which is a product of 39.3 attempts per game compared to 21.2, respectively. Had the defensive line contained the opposition's backs, it could have relied on the Canes' solid secondary to limit the damage.

But in the six games the D-line often allowed running lanes, Miami faltered. The bad heavily outweighs the good, even if collective improvement was obvious at times.

Grade: C-

Linebackers

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Though Denzel Perryman amassed a team-high 102 tackles and 8.5 for loss, the senior wasn't the dominant linebacker many anticipated he would become. Perryman was still a force, but he continued to make too many incorrect reads and eyebrow-raising decisions.

Thurston Armbrister exploded onto the scene with 4.0 sacks in the opening three games but slowly returned to a role as an unheralded-yet-decent linebacker. Jermaine Grace picked up where Armbrister left off, however, tallying at least four tackles in each of the last eight games.

Overall, the unit's coverage was collectively lacking, since the Canes were destroyed with intermediate routes all season. Cornerbacks and safeties allowed nothing over the top, which pressured the linebackers to seal every zone.

It's a tall task for the linebackers, but Miami—already the nation's No. 9 pass defense—needed more support underneath.

Grade: C+

Defensive Backs

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Deon Bush showed flashes of greatness, but it was only that. He has the makings of a great safety, but his college production has been a now-and-then occurrence, nothing ever consistent—symbolic of the secondary as a whole.

The defensive backs can really be remembered as the all-potential unit. They allowed the country's 10th-fewest passing plays of 20-plus yards, sixth fewest of 30-plus and zero gains of 50 or more.

While the secondary was sometimes victimized by the lack of a pass rush, it missed—for lack of a better term—the "wow" factor. Dallas Crawford and Nantambu-Akil Fentress were not starting-caliber players, and Jamal Carter never quite established himself as capable of performing at that level right now.

Ladarius Gunter, Artie Burns and Corn Elder were decent, but the once-rising stars in Tracy Howard and Antonio Crawford essentially vanished.

Though the secondary wasn't really a problem, a combined six interceptions didn't change many games either.

Grade: B-

Specialists

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Kickers

The specialist category must be split into two sections so the kickers get their proper grade.

Michael Badgley was outstanding after replacing Matt Goudis, connecting on 12 of 15 attempts with a long of 48 yards. The freshman's lone glaring mistake was a yanked 29-yard attempt against Florida State that haunted Miami in the end.

Once again, the Canes were saved by a transfer punter. Justin Vogel followed the likes of Dalton Botts and Pat O'Donnell, and the walk-on from Florida was an absolute gem.

Vogel tallied 43.7 yards per punt, the third-highest average by a Miami punter. If Golden has the room to offer a scholarship, Vogel absolutely deserves one.

Grade: A-

Everyone Else

Bah, humbug.

Coley's longest kick return was 41 yards, and he managed just 22.5 per attempt. On punts, the sophomore never found running room and trudged his way to 7.0 yards per return.

Miami allowed four blocked kicks (three XPs, one FG) and a kickoff-return touchdown to Louisville. Overall, opponents compiled 24.5 yards per kick return, the 11th-worst clip in the nation by a coverage unit.

Grade: F