Miami's defense set the tone for the majority of training camp. I am fine with that for two reasons: 1- The Hurricanes offense, which ranked 5th nationally in points allowed last season, is expected to be elite again and 2- It's normal for a defense to be ahead of the offense in camp.
With that said, I am pleased with the feedback on the offense from Friday's scrimmage number two.
Shannon Dawson's unit bounced back with multiple explosive plays. Tight end Elija Lofton and receiver Josh Moore were reportedly on the receiving end of two of those. Lofton will be tasked with leading a not-so-deep tight end room while Moore is competing for the final open starting receiver spot.
I'm told starting quarterback Darian Mensah continues to perform well with a combination of the best attributes from predecessors Cam Ward and Carson Beck. Mensah has the athleticism to extend plays in addition to the vision to see every receiver downfield and never lock onto just one target.
Miami's rushing attack continues to provide consistency. True freshman Javian Mallory is making the most of his opportunities and could become an instant contributor.
While the second scrimmage featured more success for the offense, the defense continues to perform at elite levels. My understanding is that the first time offense was neck and neck with the first team D, but the second and third team defense performed better in scrimmage than the backups on offense. A source told me there is no significant drop-off from the starting defense to the backups.
Friday's scrimmage marked the end of training camp. From the weekend forward, the team shifts to game prep for the season opener on Labor Day Weekend. The Hurricanes will open the season at Stanford on Friday, September 4th at 9:00pm ET.
