The Miami Hurricanes began the Mario Cristobal era with their spring game on April 16th. The Hurricanes look like a fresh squad with quarterback Tyler Van Dyke at the helm, and Miami has the talent at skill positions to compete in the ACC. Overall, there are a lot of key plays and players that stood out during today’s battle between Team White and Team Orange. Here’s a recap of the Miami Hurricanes’ spring game.
Miami Transitions to Pro-Style Offense
Miami fans saw the importance of a high-level passer at quarterback when Van Dyke took over for D’Eriq King. During Cristobal’s time at Oregon, he was more attributed to a dual-threat quarterback and run-style offense. However, with an elite passer like Van Dyke, it’s obvious for Miami that a pro-style game plan on offense is best.
Van Dyke connected on passes with Xavier Restrepo, Henry Parrish Jr, and Kahlil Branley to start the game. Miami’s first-team offense had the tendency to force a few balls deep, and the outside receivers should’ve come up with some catches on those throws.
The running game is clearly efficient for Miami, and that balance will be necessary for this squad to have a 10-win season. While a spring game is not always a great indicator of success, the Hurricanes’ offense clearly looks better than it has in previous years.
Decent Play By Defense(s)?
There’s no doubt that Miami has elite skill players on offense, but the defenses did seem to struggle against runs up the middle and outside coverage. The red zone defense was not bad, but there were some miscommunications on the back end that resulted in penalties. Over time, Cristobal will have to decide how to structure his defense to defend better against passing offenses.
Concluding Thoughts
The spring game for Miami is always a great way to look forward to the season. Ed Reed was even in attendance, and it’s clear that fans are content with the forward state of the program. Now, this squad will have to regroup and make conscious efforts to push everyone to be better and work as a unit; anything is possible in 2022 for the Miami Hurricanes, the spring game showed that the sky is the limit.