2015 CFB Preview – Miami University


Miami University
RedHawksGo to Team Page
RedHawksGo to Selection Page

 
   

Even after all the improvements, the RedHawks were still 2-10.

By Pete Fiutak | @PeteFiutak

The MU offense came up with 2,710 yards of total offense in 2013 in a disastrous season in an 0-12 season, but last year the attack started to work again and was far more fun as former Notre Dame QB Andrew Hendrix provided a spark on the way to over 4,500 yards.

But it was still the fourth straight losing season after the stunning 2010 MAC championship campaign.

So was it Hendrix in his one year, or did Chuck Martin show a glimpse of what MU football is going to be like with a passing game that averaged 278 yards per game and with five of the losses coming by eight points or fewer? This was a program that couldn’t find anything to work in any sort of way for a few seasons, and now, at least, Martin is making Martin more interesting.

But how far is the program away from being a MAC superpower again like it was in the early-to-mid 2000s? With eight losing seasons in the last nine, MU has become an afterthought mostly because of miserable offensive line play and a running game that hasn’t gone anywhere, but Martin knows how to win, going 74-7 with two national titles at Grand Valley State, and as a former offensive coordinator at Notre Dame he knows how to get an offense moving.

But Miami still only won two games last year, and it’s still going to be a fight to make a bigger splash.

Three starters are gone on the offensive front, RB Dawan Scott and WR David Frazier are done, and the man who made it all go, Hendrix, is finished. Can the offense keep progressing forward without so many key parts? Can the defense that loses just one starter pick up the slack and start to become a factor?

Martin’s first season showed the potential, but this year has to show more improvement. Could this be one of those out-of-left-field MAC teams like MU was in 2010?

If Martin and offensive coordinators George Barnett and Eric Koehler are as good as expected, maybe.

What You Need To Know About The Offense: The RedHawks finally found an offense, but it all came from QB Andrew Hendrix. Now he’s going, and the hope is for Andrew Kummer to try to provide the same sort of spark. Three starters are done on the O line that gets back OG Trevan Brown and OT Collin Buchanan, but the production has to be better for a backfield that loses top back Dawan Scott. Spencer McInnis will get the first look as the main runner, while Jared Murphy, Rokeem Williams and Sam Martin should step up in the receiving corps to make up for the loss of leading-target David Frazier.

What You Need To Know About The Defense: MU’s D had a few nice moments, but not enough of them. It couldn’t stop the run and didn’t do enough in key times against the decent quarterbacks. Leading tackler Heath Harding is back in the secondary along with fellow safety Tony Reid and CB Marshall Taylor. All three linebackers are back led by Joe Donlan in the middle, and all four starters are back on the defensive front led by the pass rushing end tandem of J’Terius Jones and Bryson Albright.

What to watch for on offense: How will the offense replace what Andrew Hendrix provided? The team ran for 11 touchdowns, and Hendrix came up with six of them, and while he only completed 49% of his passes, he threw for 3,280 yards and 23 touchdowns and nine scores while keeping the team in games time and again. Drew Kummer has the experience to take over, but he hasn’t shown much of anything when given the chance, while Austin Gearing is more of a baller who’s trying to come back from an injury. Will new recruit Billy Bahl be on the field right away? With no running game to count on, if the quarterback and passing game aren’t great, the offense won’t go anywhere.

What to watch for on defense: The experience has to translate into pass rushing production. The RedHawks came up with seven sacks in the first two games and started to look like a dangerous and aggressive D, but they registered just ten over the other ten games and didn’t do enough in key moments. Bryson Albright and J’Terius Jones at least look the part on the end with both of them tall, athletic defenders, but they have to be even more disruptive. If they’re just a little bit better, all of a sudden the secondary should look fantastic after taking its lumps last year. MU started three underclassmen who should now form a foundation of an improved D. They need pressured quarterbacks, though.

The team will be far better if … the offensive line is better and the running game works. It’s broken record time for a program that hasn’t been able to run a lick for several years. Having Hendrix taking off and running helped the overall cause last year, but Dawan Scott led the team with just 384 yards and the team finished with just 1,171 rushing yards and 11 scores, averaging just 3.27 yards per try. The fact, though, is that’s it’s been a long, long, LONG time since MU had a running game, and with an O line that has to come up with several replacements after allowing 43 sacks – and 270 over the last six seasons, an average of 45 per year – it’s time to start blocking someone.

The schedule: The Redhawks need to get everything in place over the first half of the season, and come up with a few wins, because the chances will be there in the second half of the year playing four home games in five weeks.
– Getting Northern Illinois from the West is a rough home game, though, and that’s followed up by a trip to Western Michigan. Buffalo, Eastern Michigan and Akron have to be must-wins at home.
– The three game early on road tilt at WKU, Kent State and Ohio needs to yield at least one win. Most likely, Kent State.
– Can MU push Cincinnati? There’s always a good fight in the rivalry, but coming off a road game at Wisconsin and going to WKU, a massive upset would be a huge plus.
– WATCH OUT FOR … the lack of a week off. The RedHawks run the season with no break. Getting the open week at the very end of the year is no help whatsoever – unless MU gets to the MAC title game.

Best offensive player: Junior WR Rokeem Williams. The best player needs to be one of the quarterback options, but Williams and fellow receivers Jared Murphy and Sam Martin have to make the quarterback better and have to be the ones who make the offense to. Leading receiver David Frazier is done, but Williams is a dangerous deep threat who averaged close to 20 yards per catch and can explode once in a while to change the game. Can he be consistent? If not, the other options have to do even more, but he’ll be the one defensive coordinators have to worry about.

Best defensive player: Senior LB Kent Kern. It’s a defensive loaded with experience and producers, but it’s Kern who should be the leader and star of the bunch if he can stay 100%. He’s a strong, tough inside defender, but that’s sometimes a problem considering he’s always dinged. Even so, he should be one of the team’s leading tacklers no matter where he plays in the corps. With Joe Donlan and other veterans around him, the linebacking corps should shine.

Key player to a successful season: Junior RB Spencer McInnis. Of course the quarterback situation takes center stage and the eventual start will be the key to the season, but he’ll need some help from a ground game that hasn’t been there in years. Dawan Scott ran well when he got his chances, averaging 5.19 yards per carry, but only getting the ball 74 times. Unlike Scott, McInnis is a shiftier, quicker back who can catch a little bit and should be given the ball at least 150 times. He doesn’t have a great line in front of him, but he’ll have to produce anyway.

The season will be a success if … MU wins five games. Can the RedHawks be three games better and flirt with a winning record with so many concerns on offense and a D that still has to prove it can shine even with all the veterans? If the coaching staff can work its magic with the O, and the experience comes through on defense, it’s possible to beat Presbyterian, Kent State, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Akron, and/or UMass. MU will lose a few of those, but with an upset win somewhere, getting to five wins would be a huge jump.

Key game: Oct. 3 at Kent State. Miami has a rough run of road games early on in the season, starting out the MAC season on the road against an improved and veteran Kent State team after going to WKU. With a road date at Ohio right after, and with Northern Illinois and at Western Michigan to follow, if could be a rocky start if the RedHawks can’t get by the Golden Flashes.

2014 Fun Stats:
– Sacks: Opponents 43 for 287 yards – Miami Univ. 17 for 97 yards
– Rushing Yards: Opponents 2,399 – Miami Univ. 1,171
– Penalties: Miami Univ. 95 for 739 yards – Opponents 66 for 621 yards

Players You Need To Know

1. LB Kent Kern, Sr.
The veteran beefed up a bit, getting up to 238 pounds on his 6-1 frame, but now he has to stay healthy. He’s a smart, tough hitter who came up with a team-leading 98 tackles two years ago despite missing a game, and last year he missed three games hurt after a big tackle – he took a helmet on the chin – but still made 69 tackles with two sacks and eight tackles for loss. A versatile big hitter who can play anywhere in the linebacking corps and produce, making 13 stops against Marshall and ten against Eastern Kentucky – he’s always in the right spot. If he can stay in one piece, he’s a lock for all-star honors.

2. S Heath Harding, Jr.
The team’s leading tackler, Harding moved from corner to safety and became a tremendous open-field tackler, making 97 tackles with 74 solos. It took a little while to get a hang of the position at corner, but he took to safety without a problem with two interceptions and three tackles for loss to go along with all of his hits. At 5-10 and 182 pounds he’s not huge, but he’s extremely quick, athletic, and fearless. Great against the run, he came up with 16 tackles – 15 solo – and 24 stops in the final two games of the season.

3. DE Bryson Albright, Sr.
The team’s best pass rusher, he came up with six sacks and eight tackles for loss to go along with 55 stops. At 6-5 and 243 pounds he’s long, has outside linebacker quickness, and gets into the backfield without much of a problem He has a nice burst, and he should do even more with some decent players around him to take the heat off. Consistent, he’s solid against the run, but he’s at his best when he gets to turn it loose.

4. DE J’Terius Jones, Jr.
The RedHawks needed another option other than Bryson Albright to get into the backfield, and Jones turned into the right guy making five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss along with 50 tackles. One of the team’s most impressive athletes, he has wide receiver speed in a 6-3, 245-pound frame with all-star potential. There’s double-digit sack upside if everything comes into place and he turns into a specialist. However, he can hold up against the run, making eight tackles against Marshall and nine against Western Michigan.

5. WR Rokeem Williams, Jr.
The team’s second-leading receiver was the top home run hitter, averaging 19.5 yards per catch making 35 grabs for 682 yards and three scores. A little bit of a feast-or-famine receiver, he came up with 100 yards or more three times, but disappeared for stretches with more than one catch in just six games. Even so, at 6-1 and 204 pounds and with excellent athleticism, he has the upside to do more.

6. KR/WR Fred McRae, Jr.
Extremely quick, McRae earned Third Team All-MAC honors as a kick returner averaging 21 yards per pop after averaging 20.5 the year before. A decent punt returner, he averaged 9.2 yards per try in 2013 and 8.4 last year – now he has to do more as a receiver. At 5-10 and 178 pounds he has decent enough size to work anywhere in the receiving corps, and he has gamebreaking ability, but he has just 14 catches over his two seasons. The coaching staff has to find ways to get him the ball.

7. RB Spencer McInnis, Jr.
The RedHawks have to find some semblance of rushing production from one of the backs, and it has to start with McInnis. The 5-9, 196-pounder is built a bit like a slot receiver, and while he can catch, he needs to handle more of the workload on the ground finishing with 246 yards on 64 carries. More powerful than his build might suggest, he can work inside or out – but he’ll likely be part of a rotation.

8. WR Jared Murphy, Jr.
The team’s second-leading receiver caught 42 passes for 600 yards and four scores, topping out at seven grabs for 69 yards against Akron and coming up with two touchdowns against Buffalo. At 5-10 and 180 pounds he’s not all that big, but he has great hands and is a solid route-runner – he can handle the ball out of the backfield, too.

9. LB Josh Dooley, Sr.
A good all-around defender who’s built for the outside, the 6-0, 226-pounder made 87 tackles two years ago, but made just 25 last season making just two starts. He’s a good tackler with the quickness to potentially get into the backfield more from the outside, but he has to stay healthy and he has to regain his sophomore form.

10. QB Drew Kummer, Sr.
Can he possibly make up for the loss of all-star quarterback Andrew Hendrix? The former Notre Dame transfer gave MU an offense for the first time in years, and now it should be up to Kummer to keep the production going. A good all-around athlete who can run a little bit and can push the ball down the field, he has 6-3, 207-pound size and a live arm, but he needs to be great right away. He ran for two touchdowns in his limited time two years ago, and completed just 22-of-58 passes in his two seasons of action.

Head Coach: Chuck Martin
2nd year: 2-10
8th year overall: 76-17
Schedule
Sept. 5 Presbyterian
Sept. 12 at Wisconsin
Sept. 19 Cincinnati
Sept. 26 at WKU
Oct. 3 at Kent State
Oct. 10 at Ohio
Oct. 17 Northern Illinois
Oct. 24 at Western Mich
Oct. 29 Buffalo
Nov. 7 Eastern Michigan
Nov. 14 Akron
Nov. 21 at Massachusetts
Nov. 28 OPEN DATE
Ten Best MU Players
1. LB Kent Kern, Sr.
2. S Heath Harding, Jr.
3. DE Bryson Albright, Sr.
4. DE J’Terius Jones, Jr.
5. WR Rokeem Williams, Jr.
6. KR/WR Fred McRae, Jr.
7. RB Spencer McInnis, Jr.
8. WR Jared Murphy, Jr.
9. LB Josh Dooley, Sr.
10. QB Drew Kummer, Sr.