Football News

Miami Hurricanes Phase MVP’s

Honoring Miami’s best on Offense, Defense, and Special Teams.

By KappaCane@KappaCane Dec 9, 2019, 7:03pm EST

The season has ended, and this Miami Hurricanes team is sitting worse off than they were last season with a disappointing 6-6 record. With the obvious stated, Miami had players who did things the right way throughout the season, and played their hearts out on behalf of their teammates, their coaches, and ultimately their fans. This article is dedicated to those individuals. While there is no trophy awarded alongside these picks, know they carry the collective gratitude of many of the fanbase at large.

I chose to look at the three phases of the game (Offense, Defense, and Special Teams), and to honor 1 Most Valuable Player and 1 Honorable Mention for each phase.

Without further ado, let’s dive into my picks.

Offensive MVP - DeeJay Dallas

Dallas led the way for Miami by rushing 115 times this season for a total of 693 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns, but topped the century mark only twice this season. He added 14 catches for 140 yards and Two touchdowns out of the back field. He did so in spite of missing 2 games due to injury. His season was initially truncated after enduring an injury in the Georgia Tech game and he sat out for Two weeks missing the Pittsburg game. Two games after returning, Dallas was again injured against Florida International University when he dislocated his elbow which brought an early end to his best season as a Hurricane. He subsequently missed the regular season finale against Duke.

Although I would be happy to see him return for his senior season, he now has a family to provide for, and he’s playing a position with a limited career lifespan, so I see him forgoing his senior season in leu of an opportunity to become a compensated professional. I stress the compensated part because DeeJay has been a professional since he committed to the program back in 2017. He’s represented the program with class, and an attitude that many in the fanbase admire. If this is the last we have seen of Mr. Dallas in a college uniform, I would like to thank him for his service, his leadership, and his embodiment of a Miami Hurricane Student Athlete.

35 Games Played
20 Touchdowns - 17 Rushing, 2 Receiving, 1 Punt return
1527 Rushing Yards on 265 attempts
317 Receiving Yards on 28 receptions
191 Punt Return Yards on 11 returns
420 Kick Return Yards on 20 returns

Offensive MVP - Honorable Mention - K.J. Osborn

Osborn came to Miami from the University of Buffalo to improve his NFL draft stock. I believe he did just that. He led the team in receptions this year as I expected he would have in the preseason. I will be the first to admit that Miami didn't use him to his fullest potential, but none-the-less he has found a way to thrive. KJ started all 12 games this season and had a team leading 45 receptions for 491 yards (4 yards shy of team leader Brevin Jordan), and 5 receiving touchdowns (also a team lead).

Osborn was a multifaceted weapon as he led the team in returned punts with 13 for 208 yards including a 52 yard punt return against Georgia Tech, and he returned kickoffs at a clip of 9 for 185 yards (3 punts shy of team leader Jeff Thomas). Osborn also ran the ball 4 times for 11 yards (net) which was typically reverses around the goal line... I know... not his fault though.

A grad transfer from Buffalo came to Miami and led the team on and off the field. His work ethic in the offseason set the standard for the rest of the receiving corps. First man in, and last man out was his M.O.

Osborn also mentored the younger receivers like Mark Pope and Dee Wiggins this season, so I think that will translate to a bump in his stock come the April 2020 NFL draft. Miami fans should appreciate the effort, maturity, and poise he has shown as one of our own.

Defensive MVP - Shaquille Quarterman

Shaq played in all 12 games during the regular season, and he has been the heart and soul of the defense for the last four seasons. This season he led the team with a career high total of 96 tackles, 47 of which where solo tackles. His 15.5 tackles for loss was good for 2nd on the team, an incredible feat seeing as he was responsible for dropping into coverage often. He finished the season with 7 quarterback hurries, 1 sack, 5 pass break ups, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble. His leadership on and off the field was admirable during his tenure at Miami, and he will be missed. He leaves with the record of most consecutive games started in a Miami Hurricanes uniform at 51 (prior to the bowl game).

Bravo Mr. Quarterman, Bravo.

Defensive MVP - Honorable Mention - Gregory Rousseau

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 21 Central Michigan at Miami

I was high on Greg since he signed with Miami as a member of the class of 2018. An ankle injury sidelined him the majority of last season, but that was a minor setback for a major comeback. Greg managed to accumulate significant stats while playing the first 5 games of the season as a back up, and ended the regular season with 49 tackles, 14 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery.

Rousseau was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his efforts against the Florida State Seminoles, and ended the regular season as the 2019 ACC DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, and as a member of the 2019 ALL-ACC, FIRST TEAM.

I wish that someone from the staff would have nominated him for the Comeback Player of the Year because not only he has overcome a lot in a short amount of time, he’s rebounded better than anyone else in the Atlantic Coast Conference and was tied for second place nationally in sacks.

Kudos, Mr. Rousseau. Kudos.

Special Teams MVP - Lou Hedley

The awesome Aussie aka Lou Hedley was a big reason we were able to reach 6 wins this season. He routinely flipped the field with 55 punts for 2437 yards, and was able to drop 17 kicks within the opponents 20 yard line. The 44.31 yard average could have been much higher were it not for kicking on short fields often. Hedley reached career longs of 59 yards, 61 yards twice, 65 yards, and later 67 yards this season and 14 of his 55 kicks were for 50 yards or better. I think we all can recall his fake punt run for 21 yards for a first down, something I wish we would have seen more of. Most importantly, in spite of our troubles along the offensive line, Hedley had no kicks blocked this season. Lou is slated to return with 2 more years of eligibility remaining.

Special Teams MVP - Honorable Mention - Camden Price

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 14 Bethune-Cookman at Miami

In a season that saw many routine type kicks missed from short yardage, our third string walk on kicker, Camden Price, managed to shine in limited yet increasing duty. Price made his career debut this season against Bethune-Cookman by connecting on two PAT’s in relief of Bubba Baxa. He returned to the field about a month and a half later against Pittsburg where he made his first and only field goal attempt along with a PAT. He made 2-of-3 field goals against Florida State, and then another field goal against Louisville while connecting on 7-of-7 PATs that game. Price scored another field goal against FIU, and then closed the season out with another made field goal against Duke.

All things considered, a third string walk on emerged as our most accurate kicker this season, and he tied Cam’Rom Harris for the 2nd highest leading scorer on the team (36pts) behind DeeJay Dallas (62pts). Price finished the regular season with a stat sheet of 6-of-7 field goals and 18-of-18 extra point attempts. For comparison, our starting scholarship kicker (Bubba Baxa) was 5-of-10 on field goal attempts, and our back up walk on kicker (Turner Davidson) was 1-of-3 on field goal attempts.

Scholly soon come? I certainly think he deserves it.

Thank you, Camden.

What do you think?

Let me know in the comment section below.