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Miami @ Ohio State Player Reviews

Four Jacory Harris interceptions, miscues galore and penalties killed Miami’s hopes of getting revenge for their 2002 Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State. Meanwhile, Terrelle Pryor had an outstanding game and the Buckeyes capitalized on every Miami turnover to negate the two special teams touchdowns by the Hurricanes. Here’s a look at some highlights and lowlights put forth by the eye-catching players in this contest.

It is no secret that Terrelle Pryor can run the ball, yet defenses seem to be unable to stop him even though they know his runs are coming.  On the fourth play of the game, Pryor took off running and gained 12 yards before being touched. Pryor was fearless while running with the ball, but he needs to be more careful with the ball and shy away from contact from time to time if he wants to play in every game. He showed off his accuracy and arm strength on a beautiful deep ball to Posey early in the second quarter. It was placed beautifully and caught him in stride for a big gain. He had a defender breathing down his neck while making the throw, but stood tall in the pocket to deliver the perfect strike to his receiver. The very next play, he threw a pass that showed how much he has developed as a passer. Brandon Saine lined up in the slot and beat Sean Spence while heading toward the pylon. Pryor threw to his back shoulder, where only Saine could catch it, which he did for the tying score. However, he stared down his receiver and was nearly picked off because of it. Pryor repeated the stare down later in the second quarter and should have been intercepted by Ray Ray Armstrong. He needs to look off receivers and then come back to them to make the defense shift. He later escaped what looked like a sure sack and turned it into positive yardage, displaying his ability to avoid the rush and make something out of nothing. Pryor’s best run, however, came early in the fourth quarter on a play designed for him to run to the right. The Miami defense seemed to have it sniffed out, but Pryor reversed field and ended up scampering for a 26-yard gain. The final dagger for Miami was his consistent ability to pick up first downs with his legs late in the fourth quarter.

And then there was Jacory Harris, who looked shaky for most of the game. This wasn’t the type of performance expected out of a quarterback who was supposed to be progressing. He has a noticeable flaw in his throwing motion where he brings the ball down in his wind up, much like former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. He failed to display elusiveness in avoiding the Buckeye pass rush and never threw the ball away when under duress. He was consistently hit because he held onto the ball too long, similar to Chicago Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler, who has been criticized for the same issue.

On his second interception, he threw to receiver Travis Benjamin, who wasn’t even looking for the ball. He stared Benjamin down and Chimdi Chekwa read his eyes and made the easy interception. That mistake led to a quick score by Ohio State and was the second Harris turnover that led to Buckeye points. To be fair, two of Harris’ four interceptions came off deflections of his own receivers. His third pick went in and out of Benjamin’s hands and into Chekwa’s. His final interception came on a third and goal on Miami’s opening drive of the second half. Harris attempted to throw to his running back but never saw Heyward drop back into coverage. That killed Miami’s chance to make it a one-score game. Instead, Ohio State capitalized and scored two plays later. Once again, Harris locked in on his receiver and the defender read his eyes and jumped the route. His terrible game concluded with errant passes in the fourth quarter that didn’t have a receiver in sight. Unfortunately, there weren’t many positives for Harris in this game. He made a couple of good throws, but the mistakes overshadowed them to say the least. Needless to say, Harris’ decision making needs to take a turn for the better, otherwise both he and the ‘Canes will be in big trouble down the road.

Dan “Boom” Herron had some explosive runs. After a Miami turnover midway through the first quarter, he took a handoff from the 15-yard line and burst through a hole, making a man miss in the process, and scampered into the end zone (the play was called back for a hold). He also had a spectacular cutback run late in the third quarter for 47 yards, displaying his shiftiness.

Brandon Saine has solid hands out of the backfield and knows his responsibility on every play, displaying a high football IQ. On Ohio State’s first drive, he sat in the open area five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, caught the pass and made a quick turn to gain five more yards and a first down. Later in the second quarter, Saine made an outstanding catch over Sean Spence for the tying score. He needed to have good body control while turning around to catch the ball, which was thrown toward his back shoulder. He constantly hit the hole hard and lowered his shoulders on his runs. Saine may not have had the big runs that Herron did, but he was still effective gaining yardage. He looked like a complete back against a very solid defense.

Both Mike James and Damien Berry failed to find much running room in the first half against a strong Buckeye run defense. Berry dropped a ball that would have kept a drive alive late in the second quarter. On the opening drive Berry had a huge 41-yard run, setting up a first and goal. A couple of plays later he made a huge mistake by stopping short on his route. The pass was intercepted as a result. After that play, however, he did seem to settle down and ran very well the rest of the way. On Miami’s next possession, he bounced off tacklers on his way to a 12-yard gain. Even though Berry had several miscues and mistakes, he was the more effective back on the day.

DeVier Posey made big plays all game. With under a minute left he made a nice leaping grab on a third and 16 for 26 yards, setting up a first and goal. He excelled as both a possession receiver and a flanker. Posey caught a beautifully thrown deep ball earlier in the quarter, setting up the tying score a play later.

Leonard Hankerson displayed his athleticism and ability to hold onto the ball while taking a massive hit.  Thanks to his 6’5” frame he was able to go up and get a high pass from Harris. He took a hard hit and landed flat on his back, but he held onto the ball. Hankerson did a nice job of shielding defenders and caught virtually every pass thrown his way. He made several nice catches throughout the second half and without a doubt has the ability to be a successful receiver at the next level.

Lamar Miller had an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown after an Ohio State field goal in the first quarter. He made a nifty move to make a would-be tackler completely whiff, and then turned on the burners to hustle into the end zone and give Miami the lead. Then, late in the second quarter, Travis Benjamin took a punt the distance for the score. He was nearly leveled as soon as he caught the punt, but instead made a couple of moves and used his impressive speed to leave everyone in the dust. It was the return game of the Hurricanes that kept them in the ballgame.

Cameron Heyward manhandled left guard Harland Gunn to get into the backfield and trip up the ball carrier for a two-yard loss, displaying his incredible power. On Miami’s opening possession in the second half, Heyward dropped back into coverage and picked off a pass intended for Damien Berry and returned it all the way to the Miami 13. That play demonstrated that Heyward is not only a great pass rusher, but he can drop back into coverage and make plays as well.

Allen Bailey is outstanding at stopping the run. On the third play of the game he gained outside position and sealed his man off to make the stop on Brandon Saine, who was trying to get to the edge, for negative yardage. Three plays later he did it again, overpowering his opponent to get into the backfield and make the tackle for a loss. Midway through the second quarter he chased down the speedy Pryor for a five-yard loss, using his great burst to cut off the edge. Despite the extensive amount of time the Miami defense spent on the field, Bailey never seemed to wear down.

Olivier Vernon came up the middle on a third down play deep in Miami territory and forced Pryor to throw the ball away. Late in the second quarter he stuffed a run for no gain. The sophomore definitely has bright future ahead of him.

Colin McCarthy is a tremendous blitzing linebacker. Late in the first quarter he rushed up the middle on a blitz and made a big tackle for loss. Midway through the fourth quarter he burst through a hole to tackle the ball carrier for a loss. He proved all game long that he is one of the best rushing linebackers in college football.

Ross Homan showed off his good sideline-to-sideline speed by chasing down Damien Berry when it looked like he had the edge, limiting him to a one-yard gain. With speed like his it’s no wonder he led the Buckeyes in tackles a year ago.

Sean Spence was responsible for shadowing Pryor and had some impressive plays during the contest. On one occasion he flushed Pryor toward the sideline by rushing through the line and nearly sacking him, which forced a bad throw by the Ohio State signal caller. He did, however, get beat in man coverage by Brandon Saine and gave up the tying touchdown. On that play, he never got his head turned around to see the ball and surrendered the score because of it. Spence made an outstanding play in the backfield late in the third quarter for a two-yard loss. A couple plays later he came in fast from the secondary and bottled up Pryor for yet another loss. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, he came up as a run stopper and stuffed the ball carrier for a minimal gain. Despite his one major miscue, Spence was a bright spot on the Hurricane defense.

Jamale Hines showed off his speed by coming from the weak side safety position to make a tackle for loss on the other side of the field on Miami’s opening possession. With speed like that, scouts are sure to take notice.

Chimdi Chekwa had a ball slide through his hands on what should have been an interception. Nevertheless, it was a good defensive play. Late in the second quarter Chekwa read Harris’ eyes and jumped in front of the receiver to make the interception, his first of two on the day. That was a big play because it happened deep in Miami territory and Ohio State scored two plays later. His second interception came with a minute left in the first half when he closed in on Benjamin, who had the ball go in and out of his hands, and literally took the ball away from the receiver. He held his own in man coverage and was even better in zone coverage.

Brandon Harris showed he can be a lock-down corner by defending a pass late in the first quarter. He had great position due to his sound technique, keeping his eyes on both the quarterback and his man at the same time and then planting his foot and closing in quickly to make the deflection. There was a reason Pryor stayed away from him for most of the game.

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