5 Defensive Players To Watch For During Miami’s Second Scrimmage

The Miami Hurricanes will be having their second scrimmage of fall camp this Saturday, and there are several players to watch out for, and some that have something to prove.

Earlier, I listed 5 players on offense to watch for, now let’s talk about the defense.

1. Quincy Roche

Last weekend, Miami’s star transfer defensive end didn’t participate, but Manny Diaz expects Roche to be on the field for the second scrimmage. Especially without Gregory Rousseau, the Canes are counting on Roche even more now, hoping he can recreate the dominance he had at Temple. Roche finished 2019 with 13 sacks and 19 TFLs. So now preparing for his first game-like experience, there’ll be a lot of eyes on how Roche does.

2. Nesta Jade Silvera

In my opinion, few players for the Hurricanes this year have more to prove than defensive tackle Nesta Silvera, In the first scrimmage, Silvera was limited, but Manny Diaz expects him to see more action on Saturday.

With Roche and Jaelan Phillips leading the way at DE, Silvera holding down the middle will be crucial for Miami’s defense in 2020. Silvera missed the first half of 2019 due to an injury suffered in fall camp, but now with a clean bill of health, many are expecting Silvera to make the jump to superstar in 2020.

3. Chantz Williams

Miami’s true freshman at defensive end played very well last Sunday, picking up 2 sacks and 5 tackles. With the departure of Greg Rousseau, Williams could become #4 on the depth chart at defensive end, and another strong performance in the second scrimmage would help his chances even more.

4. Bradley Jennings Jr.

At linebacker, Jennings has had to endure several injuries since arriving at Miami, but was mentioned often by Zach McCloud when talking to the media after Tuesday’s practice.

“He’s had to battle through a lot in his time here. To come in and not miss a beat, against this type of offense, and not flinch, that’s a great thing about him,” McCloud said, regarding Jennings.

Miami is looking for their other starter at linebacker opposite of McCloud, and it’s been said Jennings has been running with the first team defense lately. I think the battle could come down to Jennings and Sam Brooks Jr. Brooks had a nice night on Sunday with 5 tackles and a sack.

5. Gurvan Hall Jr.

One of the highlight performers from the first scrimmage was junior safety Gurvan Hall, who finished the night with a team-high 7 tackles.

“Gurvan Hall might have had his best scrimmage as a Miami Hurricane. He was everywhere,” coach Manny Diaz said on Tuesday. Hall and fellow safety Bubba Bolden have been receiving high praise thus far in fall camp, even from quarterback D’Eriq King.

Miami needs another leader on defense to step up, and Hall poses as a strong candidate, we’ll see if he can keep it up on Saturday.