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Miami Q&A with Category Six

By TB
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If you haven't seen our two excellent Q&As with SB Nation's Miami blog, The Seventh Floor, then you should definitely check them out. Another MIami blog, the excellently named Category Six, asked me about doing a Q&A this week, too. You can check out my answers to their questions here. For their responses to our Miami questions, just keep doing what comes naturally. Reading, that is. You pervs.

I watched the Miami-BC game and much like us, it seemed the ‘Canes had some serious issues getting a pass rush and defending receivers. How much of a concern is that going forward?

C6: It is only a serious concern if it becomes a trend. We'd like to take a wait and see approach. Miami has the athletes along their front 7 to do a much better job rushing the QB. Anthony Chickillo in particular is expected to be a double digit sack guy. True Freshman Gabe Terry has been a force in practice and should be a very good situational pass rusher as the season progresses. The secondary should improve as well as young players like Thomas Finnie, Ladarius Gunter, and Deon Bush get their feet wet. Also let's give some credit to BC for doing a great job with their passing game.

Hit the jump for more...

Freshman running back Duke Johnson looked pretty spectacular as he racked up 135 yards on seven carries and took two 50+ yard runs to the house. Is he for real and does he get more carries this week?

C6: Duke Johnson absolutely is the real deal. Every 5 star RB's high school youtube highlights look impressive, but Duke's had that little something extra that make you unable to look away. And from the first time he stepped on the practice field he's had an IT factor. At one point he even motivated UM Offensive Line Coach Art Kehoe to tweet about how good he looked in practice. I expect Johnson will get anywhere from 10-15 carries depending on the flow of the game, and continue to have a steady role in UM's passing and return games as well.

Do you think Miami's passing game is going to be mostly short, quick hitters like it was last week or are there some deep threats capable of emerging? Can Stephen Morris make those throws?

C6: I think the bubble screens will be a regular part of the offense, as Miami has very good athletes at WR in Malcolm Lewis, Allen Hurns, and Rashawn Scott. Morris' arm however is anything but a question mark. He has an NFL caliber arm, and can easily make the down field throws. More then likely, the play calling last Saturday was designed to build his confidence, rather then an indictment of his arm strength. Expect a few more deep shots this weekend. Watch out for speedster Phillip Dorsett when Miami goes deep.

Is Kansas State lucky to get this young team early in the season, and is it going to be significantly different from what we saw a year ago?

C6: That's a very good question. The young players seem to be more mature then your average freshmen. They handled the adversity of falling behind to BC 14-0 very well last week. But perhaps there is a small chance they will get caught up in the moment this weekend, and it will work to K State's advantage. Last year and this year are completely different stories. The turnover on UM's roster has been incredible. Gone are QB Jacory Harris, WR Tommy Streeter, LB Sean Spence, OT Brandon Washington, RB Lamar Miller, among others who played key roles. As its been well documented Al Golden has promised anywhere from 15-18 true freshman will play this year. I think last weekend was just a glimpse of what's to come.

What has it been like for Miami fans to watch Arthur Brown establish himself as one of the best linebackers in the Big 12, if not the country?

C6: It is somewhat disappointing he never fulfilled that promise while at UM. I think most UM fans wish him well. That could very well change if he has a HUGE game this weekend. The good news for Miami fans is that rising sophomore MLB Denzel Perryman appears to be a star in the making. That softens the blow some.

What is the perception towards the current investigation and if there will be penalties?


C6: We feel that the program has been very cooperative with the NCAA and hopefully that will help. A large # of the players involved in the scandal were punished last year, while they were still at UM (see the suspensions of Ray Ray Armstrong, Olivier Vernon, etc). Rumors are that the players mentioned in the probe from years past have not returned the NCAA's calls. So in our opinion there isn't much of a case. Our best guess is UM self serves an additional one year bowl ban this season, and in March the NCAA puts Miami on probation and they lose a few scholarships. The bottom line is Nevin Shapiro is a convicted felon with an axe to grind against the University. Most of his allegations can not be corroborated.