The Rundown Take
Trending in the Right Direction: U Talk Breaks Down Spring Game QBs, the Draft Haul and the Case Against Alabama
Devin welcomed Larry Frank Jr. as a regular voice alongside Egray for a jam-packed Friday show mixing spring game film, NFL Draft reaction and an early staring contest with the Alabama season opener. The panel dug into who separated themselves behind D'Eriq King, which returning pass-catchers are wearing out their welcome, and why six first-round picks has Miami feeling like the 2001 team again.
Key Takeaways
- Early enrollee Garcia stole the spring game with poised, veteran-like pocket presence & ball placement, while Tyler Van Dyke (TVD) flashed talent but held the ball too long and showed happy feet.
- Safety Cameron Kitchens laid a hit that knocked a receiver out of the spring game — panel loved the intensity, worried about the timing this early.
- Six Hurricanes went in the first round of the NFL Draft, tying the program record, including Jaelan Phillips to the hometown Dolphins and Gregory Rousseau to Buffalo, who publicly thanked Manny Diaz for standing by him through his opt-out season.
- Panel calls out two unnamed returning receivers (referred to only by jersey number) for chronic drops, wants Rhett Lashlee and Manny Diaz to bench them for playmakers like Rambo and Keyshawn Smith.
- Amari Carter's move off deep safety into a hybrid, closer-to-the-line role drew praise as a natural fit heading into fall camp.
The Quarterback Room Behind King
With D'Eriq King's health still the swing factor for the season, the spring game turned into an audition for QB2. Larry Frank came away convinced Garcia looked like a natural & a poised veteran running the twos, while TVD showed the tools but not yet the timing — holding onto the ball past the point defenders would've gotten home in a real game. Both hosts credited Manny Diaz for empowering King to check plays at the line late in the spring game, calling it the kind of trust you only extend a veteran who's earned it.
Butterfingers Need to Sit
The panel's sharpest frustration was reserved for two returning receivers — identified only by jersey number out of respect — who've carried a drop problem from last season's bowl game straight into spring ball. Larry Frank argued the business case as much as the football one: a five-star receiver taking an official visit isn't signing up to watch guys who can get separation but can't catch, especially with Rhett Lashlee's offense needing a vertical threat after Brevin Jordan's absence left the Hurricanes' tight end as the deepest option downfield last season.
Draft Weekend Bragging Rights
Six Canes hearing their names called in round one tied the program record, and the panel treated it as validation of the program's trajectory — Jaelan Phillips staying home in Miami with the Dolphins, Gregory Rousseau landing in Buffalo after thanking Diaz by name in his post-draft interview, and JC Horn's early Panthers success used as a projection for how Miami's press-heavy corners should translate to the league. The conversation looped back, as always, to Alabama: a Tide team replacing its entire offensive line, receiver corps and quarterback against a Miami roster returning almost everyone.
"We are not getting blown out. We're either gonna lose that game by a close margin, or we gonna shock the world."