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The gnawing question and the concern with Hurricanes’ rebuild. And evaluators on Van Dyke

A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes and thoughts on a Wednesday:

Those defending Mario Cristobal in the wake of Saturday’s embarrassing 45-31 loss to Middle Tennessee make the point that he deserves a couple of years to get his own players in place after inheriting a team comprised mostly of Manny Diaz’s players.

And that’s a reasonable point.

But that argument is also a tough sell considering that:

  1. Not a single player on Middle Tennessee was offered a scholarship by UM and

  2. The transfer portal allowed UM to add nearly a dozen players this offseason, several of whom aren’t making any sort of tangible contribution on offense or defense (Daryl Porter Jr., Colbie Young, Logan Sagapolu, Jonathan Denis).

One former Canes player this week bemoaned how several UM coaching staffs — apparently including this one — cannot prepare their teams well enough to face inferior competition.

When you look at the particular players who tormented UM, it makes the loss even more exasperating.

Quarterback Chase Cunningham, who threw for 408 yards, was so lightly regarded as a prospect that he didn’t even have a Rivals.com page; one of his other offers was from NAIA Union College.

Receiver DJ-England Chisholm, who had catches of 71 and 98 yards, had no Power 5 offers.

Receiver Elijah Metcalf, who caught a 69-yard touchdown, also had no Power 5 offers and chose Middle Tennessee over Charlotte, Kent State, Liberty and Tennessee-Martin.

Receiver Jaylin Lane, who had four catches for 130 yards, also had no Power 5 offers. Wofford, St. Augustine, North Greenville were among his other offers.

Defensive tackle Zaylin Wood, who had two of Middle Tennessee’s four sacks and one of the two interceptions, had one Power 5 offer (Iowa State), according to Rivals.

Credit all of these players; they all deserve respect. Perhaps all were underestimated by every FBS school.

For perspective, several of the Hurricanes specifically victimized by these players all had at least five Power 5 offers: quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (Michigan and Wisconsin were among his best competing offers) and cornerbacks Jaden Harris, DJ Ivey and Te’Cory Couch (Michigan was among his offers).

Now, none of these three aforementioned cornerbacks — and there were plenty of others to blame — were elite prospects, players who were considered enormously better than the Middle Tennessee receivers who beat them deep.

And UM’s talent isn’t top 15 caliber. As WQAM’s Joe Zagacki correctly noted on Hurricane Hotline this week, “Who are you afraid of?” on this UM roster. “Who are you game planning around? Maybe James Williams, but he’s a safety.”

So while there’s a clear gap in talent between the two programs, it might not be as lopsided as we all believe.

Even so, the loss was inexcusable, and this remains the unanswered question:

How does UM — on at least three occasions in the past four years (FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee) — lose to rosters that, on paper, are clearly inferior?

Miami entered as 25.5-point favorites. Per ESPN, Middle Tennessee’s victory was the largest spread upset against Miami since the 1978 FBS/FCS split.

Jakai Clark said, on WQAM, that “we weren’t as prepared as we should have been” but also said that players need to listen more to coaches and improve technique and get in better shape.

This is my main concern with the rebuild moving forward: It took UM 10 years to find an offense that played at an elite level, and when the Canes finally implemented one that flourished (an up-tempo spread), Cristobal abandoned it. (Rhett Lashlee wouldn’t have stayed; he already had taken the head job at SMU.)

I understand Cristobal’s reasoning; UM thrived with a pro-style offense long ago, and the system obviously can work with superior personnel.

I appreciate his efforts to build another Alabama, a team with elite offensive and defensive linemen, exceptional linebackers and great skill position players.

Cristobal is widely known as an excellent recruiter. But can he — heck, can anyone — recruit well enough to construct that type of roster here, especially on offense?

Or does UM need a gimmicky spread offense to give itself the best chance to win?

That must play out over time.

In the meantime, there are no easy answers to the most vexing of questions: How can these losses to inferior teams be rationalized?

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., after watching Van Dyke this season said: “It’s not just on Van Dyke, but NFL scouts really want to see potential first-round picks dominate on Saturdays. They have to flash star potential. And after a stellar finish to the 2021 season, we haven’t seen that from him through four games, throwing four touchdowns and three interceptions while posting a 44.5 QBR. He’s missing open receivers and not taking what has been given to him.

“Van Dyke’s arm strength is elite, but he has to get more reps to refine his all-around game. I don’t see a quarterback who is ready for the NFL.”

Kiper this week dropped Van Dyke to fifth on his draft-eligible quarterback prospect list, behind Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis, Alabama’s Bryce Young and Florida’s Anthony Richardson.

If Cristobal is mulling a quarterback change to Jake Garcia, he isn’t going to share that until next week. UM was scheduled to practice this week but has no media access during the bye week. The Canes next play at home Oct. 8 against North Carolina (4 p.m., ESPN2).

ESPN’s Matt Miller, on Van Dyke: “To be fair, I think at least some of Van Dyke’s issues are centered around poor offensive line play and a scheme that’s asking him to be an in-the-pocket, dropback quarterback. That said, he is also taking too many risks with his arm talent. We know Van Dyke has great arm strength, but he tries to test defenses way too often rather than taking what’s available.”

John Ruiz has spent hundreds of thousands of his own money on NIL deals with more than 115 Hurricanes student-athletes.

Did he question that commitment watching UM’s loss to Middle Tennessee, or wonder ‘Why am I spending money on this’?

“No, not at all,” Ruiz said by text message. “It’s working very well for us. Our ROI [return on investment] isn’t tied to wins and losses. Adversity always brings out the best in those that overcome. One loss doesn’t define a career or in [this] case the make up of a team. It is what happens from here on out that does.”

UM basketball lost Charlie Moore, Kam McGusty and Sam Waardenburg from its Elite Eight team but returns key pieces in Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller, plus Anthony Walker, Wooga Poplar, Jakai Robinson, Bensley Joseph and Harlond Beverly. And the Canes added two potential impact players in the transfer portal with forward Norchad Omier (Arkansas State) and guard Nijel Pack (Kansas State).

Jim Larranaga told Zagacki that UM’s NCAA Tournament run “was instrumental in signing Norchad Omier and Nijel Pack. They love the way we played. Nijel sees himself as another Charlie Moore. He was first-team all-Big 12.”

None of the four highly regarded freshmen (AJ Casey, Christian Watson, Favour Aire, Danilo Jovanovich) need to be rushed.

Wong, who averaged 15.3 points and 4.3 rebounds last season, will be asked to do more.

“He’s such a tough competitor, such a great scorer,” Larranaga said. “When he’s at his best, he’s also playing great defense and defensive rebounding.

“Kam McGusty last year elevated his defense and rebounding and that led to him being first team all-ACC. I would like Isaiah to do the same. When he defends and rebounds, we become a much better team.”

Miller could be UM’s second-best player. He “fit in so great last year,” Larranaga said. “A very versatile performer. I love the improvement he has shown. I think he’s going to have a great year.”

Here’s a look at the times and TV networks for UM’s games this season; this was announced Wednesday morning.