Miami Football: Who Needs to Step Up Against Kansas State?

The Miami Hurricanes face the Kansas State Wildcats this weekend for the first time ever.

The Wildcats roll in with the No. 1 scoring defense in the country, giving up a little over three points per game; granted, it was against Eastern Kentucky and Kent State.

Even after a convincing win against Ohio State, there are still some players that need to step up this week.

Jacory Harris, QB

I know what you are saying: Leave the kid alone, and my answer is simple. I just can't.

I don't want to be known as a hater, but it's hard not to get upset and negative when a player just doesn't correct his mistakes like a talented quarterback can.

Harris has a lot of talent; there is no denying it.

After his sophomore season, when he looked like he was about to be the next Ken Dorsey, I had nothing but great things to say about him.

Now, unfortunately, that's in the past.

Miami needs Harris to stay on top of his game and to stop throwing interceptions, plain and simple.

Although Miami manhandled 17th ranked Ohio State last week, he still threw two more interceptions, giving him 41 in two and half years.

Harris needs these games for himself to improve on, and there's not a better way to start than Saturday against the Wildcats.

LaRon Byrd, WR

Last year, when leading receiver Leonard Hankerson graduated from Miami, LaRon Byrd was going to be the man to step up with Travis Benjamin.

So far, it hasn't happened. Byrd only has three catches for 32 yards in two games.

Last year, he was the third leading receiver with 41 catches for 442 yards and a touchdown.

I am not 100 percent sure if he is hurt or if he is just not able to beat out leading receivers Allen Hurns and Tommy Streeter?

Whatever the case is, Byrd needs to step up his game and help out the receiver corp, especially when teams start stacking eight people on the line to stop Lamar Miller and Mike James.

Travis Benjamin, WR

Last year, Travis Benjamin was Miami's second leading receiver, catching 43 balls for 743 yards and three touchdowns.

Last week, in his first game of the season, he caught just one pass for three yards.

Miami needs to get Benjamin the ball somehow, as he is not only their best receiver, but also their most explosive player.

In a sport in which speed kills, Benjamin needs to get his hand on the ball at least 10 times per game, because every time he does, he has a chance to take it to the house.

In other words, get him the damn ball!

Tight End, Any of Them

A true pro-style offense must have a legitimate tight end.

Asante Cleveland, Clive Walford, and Chase Ford have a total of five catches for six yards this year.

With starter Blake Ayles out for the season, one of the above tight ends needs to become more aggressive and step up to help the quarterbacks.

Head coach Al Golden even stated before the game that they needed to get the tight ends some more catches, which they did not.

There is no better game than now for one of them to make some plays.

Adewale Ojomo, DT

Ojomo missed the season opener due to a one game suspension, but came back last game against Ohio State and was virtually unheard from.

With Olivier Vernon missing another four games, Ojomo must step up.

Ojomo had a terrific freshman year and sophomore year with 60 tackles and 12 and a half tackles for loss.

With true freshman Anthony Chickillo making some waves at defensive end, Ojomo will need to pick his game up to not only keep his starting position, but to add depth to a very thin defensive line.

Marcus Forston, DL

Marcus Forston came into the season as one of the most highly touted defensive linemen in the country, even getting some attention as a possible All-American.

Forston was suspended the first game, and when he came back last week against Ohio State, he was nearly non-existent, making only two tackles.

Miami had problems going up against the big offensive linemen of Ohio State, and Forston was to be the difference maker.

If Miami wants to truly become one of the greatest defenses in the conference, Forston needs to play much better.

I believe he will; after all, it was just his first game of the season.

Thomas Finnie and Lee Chambers, CB

As everyone knows, Miami lost three defensive backs to the NFL this year.

To add insult to injury, their best defensive back, Ray Ray Armstrong, was suspended for four games due to NCAA infractions.

That leaves JoJo Nicolas, who was moved from safety to cornerback, to head back to safety to fill in for Armstrong.

The two cornerbacks are Brandon McGee and Mike Williams.

McGee is the only experienced cornerback on the team.

What that means is ex-running back Lee Chambers and true freshman Thomas Finnie are the back up corners.

Miami's defensive backs played superb against Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are having plenty of issues of their own at quarterback, which could have been part of the reason the Hurricanes looked so good on defense.

The first game against a quality quarterback, Danny O'Brien, showed us that Chambers and Finnie need to pick their game up, as Miami needs depth at corner.