Striker Romeo Finley is getting a lot of first team reps, and he says the team’s doing plenty of rotating at the spot that also includes returning starting SLB Zach McCloud along with Derrick Smith and De’Andre Wilder.

“We all work at ones, have that one mentality - we’ll see what happens when we get to Dallas,” Finley said. “We’re all battling.”

Finley arrived at UM as a safety, making the transition to Striker in the spring (Striker is essentially a linebacker with coverage skills). It wasn’t a big transition for Finley.

“In high school I was an in-the-box safety,” he said. “So coming back down in the box, guarding slots every day and getting in the run game a lot, I like doing that.

“When coach told me (about Striker in the spring), I was like `This is what I’m accustomed to, playing in the box.’ So when he told me I was going to play this I liked it. First day out I just felt comfortable. I’m just trying to get better every day.”

* Finley said he’s doing a lot of man coverage on the slot receiver and has had to guard Jeff Thomas and Mike Harley.

“That’s helped me out in my man game,” Finley said. “And when we’re in zone I’m playing run game, getting in, fitting right.”

* Finley says he weighs “about the same as last year,” at 215 pounds.

Like Romeo Finley, Derrick Smith is a safety who has transitioned to the Striker role.

He’s worked in behind Finley most of this fall.

His thought on playing Striker?

“I’m very competitive, so wherever they put me I’m just going to work,” he said. “I love (Striker), you can do everything at once. They’re using me to my full ability, so I like that.”

* Smith explained the Striker position as “someone who can cover the slot but also can fit in the run like a linebacker.”

* Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said today that helping create the Striker spot was simply how much talent was at safety.

“You have a lot of talent at one position, so how do we get all those guys on the field?” Diaz said. “Bringing those guys closer to the box, their ability to play man, be physical and to play the run, come off the edge and do a lot of different things is really what it’s about. It’s not necessarily any schematic invention, we’ve been playing nickel forever. It’s just `Hey look, here’s the deck of cards we have, how do we best deal these guys out?’”