Miami has now won two of its last three games and it seems there is some positive momentum heading into the final two games of the season. The offense finally looked alive and the defense was playing up to standard as the push for a bowl game is underway.
Here are the five standouts from Saturday's game:
Quarterback Jacurri Brown
First start. Homecoming. No problem. Freshman quarterback Jacurri Brown was lights out against Georgia Tech. He completed 70 percent of his passes, proving he has enough accuracy.
He got Miami in the end zone three times, all in the air and to three different receivers - something Miami failed to do in almost three games. He led the team to a perfect red zone game. He ran for nearly 100-yards - something that was almost mythical last season.
It is not time to crown Brown for the total future of the program, but this performance provides hope that he at least can be a capable signal-caller. Brown has the skill set and intangibles to be a true dual-threat quarterback, a skilled player that has the highest ceiling since...maybe ever. His three-touchdown pass game was the first by freshman quarterback in his first start since Gino Torretta in 1989.
Running Back Jaylan Knighton
Running Back Henry Parrish was a surprise inactive for the game and it seemed like Miami had yet another reason to struggle offensively. It seemed as if Jaylan Knighton was completely removed from the offense by mid-season but he came to life on Saturday.
The sophomore back rushed for over 100 yards, scored a touchdown, gave Miami another 20-yard run after his 48-yard rush last week, and averaged 7.4 yards per carry.
The rushing duo of Brown and Knighton was instrumental in leading this offense to its highest point total since the season-opener against Bethune-Cookman. Let's hope the offense is able to utilize Knighton and Parrish as we had hoped over the last two games.
Safety Kam Kinchens
The MVP of this team is South Florida native and potential All-American safety Kam Kinchens. This was a performance for the ages. Three interceptions. Led the team in tackles. Took a pick back 99-yards for a score. Had one of the highest PFF grades of the season (94.9). All season, Kinchens is the only true constant on the back end of this defense.
This was not a one-off performance. He came into this game with three interceptions on the season already and is going to be in the discussion for All-Conference consideration. This performance elevated him to stardom, though, and thankfully, he will be a building block player for the Canes hopefully over the next two seasons.
The sophomore leads the nation in interceptions with six.
Linebacker Wesley Bissainthe
Miami finally has a linebacker folks. It has been years, but Wesley Bissainthe is the native son that has come to save the position. Bissainthe got his first start, something the Miami community has been clamoring for pretty much the entire season, and lived up to the billing. He earned the highest grade out of all the linebackers (73.3) and played his highest snap count of the year (43).
The stats do not pop for Bissainthe (six tackles) but he was all over the field. He has the skillset to modernize the linebacker position for Miami. Speed, physicality, coverage ability, leadership, attitude. He has it all. We talked about Bissainthe as a breakout player for the second half of the season and it has now come to fruition. Bissainthe was named the starter by Mario Cristobal today on local radio.
Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson
Kinchens is going to get the shine in this game, but cornerback Tyrique Stevenson deserves some praise as well. It has been an up-and down-season for the Georgia transfer, but it was up when it came to Saturday.
He was the second-highest-graded player on the team and had one of the four interceptions on the day. Georgia Tech completed just 53.4-percent of their passes for just 234 yards on 43 attempts and Stevenson was a huge part of that.
He comes back for another season and since he used his free pass already, it looks like he will be coming back. If he can continue this strong play through the final two weeks, he could be the CB1 Miami needs to allow a potential strong freshman class at the position to get the time they need to grow and develop.
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