The Rundown Take
Five Days Out: U Talk Calls This a Clean-Slate Canes Team Ready to Punch Somebody in the Mouth
With kickoff against UAB less than a week away, Devin brought Just Saying Sports host E-Gray back on the show for a full season-opener breakdown. Between scouting the Blazers, dissecting Rhett Lashlee's new offense and arguing over who steps up at receiver, the pair kept circling the same idea: after last year's flat finish, this team gets to start clean.
Key Takeaways
- E-Gray's UAB scouting report: the Blazers put up 459 total yards and held the ball for over 37 minutes in their opener, but allowed just two sacks and play a lot of man coverage — a matchup Devin hopes gets D'Eriq King's receivers rolling early.
- The panel is fully bought into Lashlee's new power-spread attack, calling it the long-awaited exit from Miami's "old pro-style offense" and the system finally built for the roster's speed.
- Devin and E-Gray split on the breakout receiver: E-Gray's money is on Mark Pope for speed, Devin wants D wiggins to have his year, with Mike Harley expected to work out of the slot.
- Correction on the record: Manny Diaz is entering year two, not year three — with Blake Baker now fully running the defense Diaz built.
- Bonus segment: three greatest NFL linebackers ever. Both Devin and E-Gray land on the same trio — Ray Lewis, Lawrence Taylor and Mike Singletary — before caller Ready Mike phones in from California with Ted Hendricks, Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis.
The Power Spread Arrives
E-Gray broke down what Lashlee is installing: a run-emphasis spread that opens up the deep ball once the offensive line controls the trenches. Devin agreed the roster has been miscast in a pro-style scheme for years, name-checking transfer lineman Jerry Williams as an X-factor up front. Both panelists pointed to the turnover chain and a defense that should force more takeaways as the pieces that complete the puzzle, with Devin admitting he wants to see the chain "a couple times" on Thursday night.
Who Steps Up at Receiver?
With Jeff Thomas gone, the panel debated who becomes the go-to target opposite Brevin Jordan. E-Gray leaned Mark Pope for his speed to take the top off defenses; Devin wants D wiggins to dominate matchups as the bigger body, with Mike Harley working the slot. Both agreed it likely takes a full receiver room stepping up together, not a single star, to force safeties away from Jordan over the middle.
Manny's Second Year and Blake Baker's Defense
The two dug into Diaz's development after a sit-down with Jimmy Johnson on the art of stepping back from play-calling to run the whole program. With Blake Baker now overseeing the defense Diaz built, E-Gray noted Baker is drawing head-coaching buzz of his own — a good problem if it means results on the field. Devin flagged last year's over-rotation on defense as something he wants fixed, wanting Miami to "put the best guys out there" instead of shuffling in and out of rhythm.
"I want to see somebody punch the other team in the mouth. I don't give a damn whether it's special teams, whether we got the ball first, are we on defense — I want to see somebody punch the other team in the mouth."
The two closed by running the ACC slate — Louisville on the road, FIU in-state, then Clemson-Pitt-Virginia before a bye, NC State, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and a season-ending trip to North Carolina in what E-Gray called the scheduled "coastal decider." Devin's parting message to the family: this year gets a clean slate, no freshmen at either position group, and no excuses left for a team he believes is finally built to compete.