It’s Almost Nesta Silvera Time In Miami

Wednesday practice for the Hurricanes and there was a glorious sighting, Nesta Jade Silvera was there and participating. This was the first time we’ve seen #1 on the field since the sophomore defensive tackle suffered an injury to his right foot early in fall camp.

One of the stars of the 2018 recruiting class along with Brevin Jordan and Lorenzo Lingard, Silvera was expected to make a big jump in his second year especially after Miami lost Gerald Willis to the NFL. Nesta was ranked as the number two defensive tackle in his recruiting class.

Silvera had a solid spring and offseason after playing in 10 games as a freshman in 2018. Last year, Nesta finished with 13 tackles and 1.5 TFLs. He also blocked a punt against Savannah State.

The main thing that sticks out about Silvera’s game, as you can see in the video below, is his incredible athleticism and quickness for his size. For a guy that’s over 300 pounds, the speed that he possesses is something that Miami will be glad to have on the defensive line.

The American Heritage product is going to join a solid defensive tackle rotation that already has Pat Bethel, Jonathan Ford, Jordan Miller and transfer Chigozie Nnoruka. Defensive line coach Todd Stroud has also been impressed with true freshman DT’s Jalar Holley, Jared Harrison-Hunte and Jason Blissett Jr.

Miami’s defense will surely benefit from Silvera when it comes to pass rushing, which the Canes are currently struggling with. In 2018, UM was 13th in the country with sacks, but are now 76th so far this season. Though, Miami has done well against the run, which is something they had trouble with last season, ranking eighth at the moment through three games in 2019.

Coach Manny Diaz is hopeful that Silvera will be able to return in the next several weeks, and possibly when the Virginia Tech Hokies come to Miami on October 5th, or perhaps the next week against UVA.