Brian Smith and Alex Donno discuss which Miami Hurricanes players hold the keys to a possible College Football Playoff run next season.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Ryan, you wrote a compelling article this week and again, you're trying to get me to drink this
00:04 Kool-Aid on a 2024 college football playoff run. Outside of, and I'm glad you noted this in your
00:11 piece because players like Cam Ward and Reuben Bain are very obvious that they hold keys to
00:17 the season. So you can kind of take them out, that's just known. Players outside of Ward and
00:22 Bain that you think are keys for Miami to make it to the CFP? Three, two, one. Number one out of that
00:29 group going down the list, it's got to be Restrepo. And the reason I point him out is he's,
00:35 in my opinion, you can certainly talk about this more, Alex, he's the backbone of that locker room.
00:41 If there's a guy more respected than X, boy, I want to meet that dude. I want to shake his hand
00:47 because everybody I've talked to loves what X does. Like if they're up 20 and they're down 20,
00:52 his attitude when he walks out onto the field is the same. That's as rare as it gets. And he
00:57 obviously produced, he had a thousand yards and all the touchdowns and all that. Here's the one
01:01 thing that I think makes him different for this year. The only game that he didn't ball out last
01:06 year is the one that he probably wanted to more than any other. And that's the Florida State game,
01:10 didn't have a catch. Obviously, Emory was in the game. They didn't have much togetherness,
01:16 if you will. And he probably dropped one, but it was just a couple of they just weren't on,
01:19 they weren't on the same page. He was open. I would bet my bottom dollar he's going to get
01:25 a pass in the first two to three plays of that game. Because I mean, let's be honest, Mario knows
01:29 that. So does Shane and Dawson. So does Kevin Beard and probably Florida State too. But I just
01:35 think you're going to get him to ball more and that's going to be a key. If they're going to
01:38 be Florida State this year, and that'll be a good game like it is every year, it has to be partially
01:43 at least for Struppa making the play. If Miami is going to get the playoff and that's a barometer,
01:49 he has to be that guy. The second guy is Carpenter. He's the kid that came down from Indiana.
01:54 When you can get guys that have been in college football as long as he has, be fifth, six year
01:59 senior as your pivot guy with a new quarterback, I know Cam's talented. It's still important.
02:04 Look what Matt did last year. >> He was amazing.
02:06 >> I'm not saying he's Matt Lee. Let me be very, very, very, very clear. Matt's going to start in
02:11 the NFL. Starting at center in the NFL, that is the ultimate war daddy kind of thing. Because the guy
02:17 in front of you snorts and is not friendly. So he's that guy. Carpenter's still pretty darn good
02:23 though. And I think that's going to help them because Miami should, correct me if I'm wrong,
02:28 have a top 10 or line. But if you're not making the right line calls, that talent is mitigated.
02:33 Going against Florida State, going against Florida and some of these other teams are
02:37 going to play, there's going to be chances to screw up. I'm sure if he doesn't take his game
02:41 up even another notch, he's got Maui Noah and all these guys with him. Miami may not make the
02:46 playoff, but I think his experience, mirrorball coaching him, he's going to be a big thumbs up.
02:50 Finally, it's a guy I mentioned a little bit ago. It's Damari Brown. Miami needs somebody
02:55 that, I mean, nothing wrong with Darrell Porter and some of the guys they've had,
02:59 a bigger bodied corner to go against top notch teams. It's either you have size or you don't.
03:06 Damari is a physically strong young man. He's going to have this off season. He's my number
03:11 one player for Miami to make the playoff because you need a dominant dude. It could be somebody
03:14 else. I'm not saying it's not. I just, I'm a little biased. I know him from recruiting,
03:19 good kid, and he takes his craft seriously. If Miami is going to make the playoff,
03:23 I think he will play a very large role.