Miami's Depth Limited by Injuries and Suspensions

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Multiple suspensions and injuries have limited the depth Mark Richt will have in his first season and particularly his first game as Miami’s new Head Coach. The dismissals of their top three defensive players from last season and injuries along the front seven defensively have severely limited Miami’s depth heading into the opener against Florida A&M.

The Hurricanes will open their season against the Rattlers without multiple players that were slated to be key contributors this season. Miami’s three top tacklers in 2015 were slated to return this fall. They were all dismissed following a scandal involving a local car company. The ‘Canes second leading tackler Juwon Young was dismissed in June and their leading and third leading tackler Jermaine Grace and Quan Muhammad were dismissed this week.

The Miami injury report has also put a dent in the depth in the front seven on defense. Five Defensive linemen and one linebacker are listed on the injury report. Defensive Tackle Gerald Willis who sat out last season after transferring from Florida has been suspended for one game for violating an unspecified team rule. He will be back next Saturday for the game against Florida Atlantic.

The injuries have mounted up along the defensive line. Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz and Line Coach Craig Kuligowski are going to have to get creative to keep the line fresh in the opener. In addition to Willis’ suspension, four other linemen are listed on the injury report.

Tyreic Martin and Scott Patchan are out indefinitely with undisclosed knee injuries. Trent Harris is listed as questionable but expected to play after breaking his hand in practice this week and Anthony Moten is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. Asked by the Palm Beach Post if he is worried about his defensive line being thin, Kuligowski responded “No…I’m happy to be here. It’s a great place. We have a great defensive line. I hope we perform our best on Saturday. That’s my expectation.”

Harris is expected to start at the Viper/Defensive End position. Kuligowski explained Viper as DE who can stand up in a 3-4 defense. Joining him up front will be Chad Thomas at the other end spot and Kendrick Norton and R.J. McIntosh at the tackles.

Linebacker Darrion Owens is also listed as questionable. Owens tore his ACL last season against Florida Atlantic and missed the rest of the season. He is listed as still recovering from the injury. The dismissals of Grace and Young and injury to Owens has placed three freshmen in the starting lineup at linebacker for the opener.

The rest of the units are fairly healthy. The only other significant injuries are wide receiver Lawrence Cager who is out for the season with a torn ACL and running back Trayone Gray who was also lost for the season with what was deemed a major knee injury.