After kicking off its first practice of the spring on Saturday, UM practiced again on Tuesday.
At the conclusion of practice, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Shannon Dawson and defensive coordinator Lance Guidry spoke to the media.
Here are four takeaways from UM’s practice and the interviews that followed.
1. Tyler Van Dyke is taking well to Dawson’s system.
This will be the third different offense that Van Dyke will be running in as many years under Dawson.
The former Houston play-caller, who helped develop NFL quarterback Geno Smith in his time at West Virginia, had high praise for Van Dyke following Tuesday’s practice.
“Super talented kid … My job is to get [Van Dyke] to understand the offense as quick as possible. He is a good fit for our offense,” Dawson said. “He’s a very accurate thrower of the football. His football IQ is skyrocket. He picks up things very quickly … I’ve been here three weeks, so we’re probably doing things at a rate I probably anticipating because of him.”
Last season under Dawson’s tutelage, Cougars quarterback Clayton Tune threw for 4,074 yards and 40 touchdowns.
2. Jacurri Brown is showing signs of improvement.
Entering college as a raw prospect, Brown was an unexpected contributor for the ‘Canes last season. He was featured in numerous wildcat packages throughout the year and even started two games. Brown totaled 230 passing yards, 223 rushing yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in his freshman campaign.
A lack of consistency, especially with his throwing accuracy, plagued Brown in both practices and games. Brown’s accuracy has improved through his first two spring practices of his sophomore season. He had success in UM’s passing net drill, which was a struggle for him at times last year.
Dawson raved about Brown, saying that the quarterback has “one of the better skillsets I’ve seen on a kid.”
3. Kaleb Spencer already has an impressive build.
Sporting No. 23, Spencer’s physical gifts are already apparent after just his second spring practice as a college football player.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound hybrid safety projects as a versatile chess piece on Miami’s defense, and his linebacker-like build will allow him to play in the tackle box.
Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry thinks Spencer plays well when the “ball is in play,” but admits that the true freshman still has a lot to learn,
“He’s young. He doesn’t know a lot yet but he’s a hitter. I watched his film coming out of high school. He does some good things,” Guidry said. “Whenever the ball’s in play, he does a lot better. When you break it down into passing and more of the drill stuff he struggles a little bit but when the ball is in play he knows how to play football so we’ll just take it step by step and see how much that he can get better and see where he’s gonna fit in this summer and in the fall.”
4. Guidry thinks Jason Taylor has a bright coaching career ahead of him.
Miami defensive line coach Jason Taylor has transitioned to coaching after his praiseworthy playing career, and the former All-Pro linebacker and NFL Hall of Famer is quickly moving up the ranks.
“He’s good. He’s really good. Not only his knowledge but his teaching and how patient he is and he can get on them when he needs to,” Guidry said about Taylor. “Of course he’s got a gold jacket so you respect him as a player … He’s got a bright bright future. He’s gonna be a defensive coordinator either at the college level or [in the] NFL.”
Taylor coached in various assistant roles at powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) High School for five seasons before becoming a defensive analyst for UM in 2022. Hurricanes defensive ends coach Rod Wright moved on to pursue a coaching role in the NFL following the season, opening up an on-field coaching spot for Taylor.
