Miami Hurricanes defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman preaches three simple words to sum up his defensive mindset.
“Every single day (when) we start our meeting, it’s written ‘E.S.V.’ on the presentation board,” defensive end Akheem Mesidor said. “Play with excitement, swarm to the ball, and play with violence.”
Through four games, the No. 2 Hurricanes have lived up to those three words. Most recently, they dominated in-state rival Florida and held it to only seven points.
“E.S.V., man. Coming in, playing excited, swarm to the football, playing violent,” defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. said. “You see it in that first drive; when one person is on the ball, it’s probably about five, six, seven orange jerseys running to the ball. That’s the way coach Hetherman coaches us. He wants all 11, so we’re still working on that. But we come in and come to the building excited every day. Every time the ball is thrown or handed off, swarm to the ball.”
The defense’s swarming nature was on display throughout the win over the Gators, whether it was safety Jakobe Thomas blowing past the UF offensive line to sack quarterback DJ Lagway, Bain breaking off a pass rush so he could sprint to take down a receiver in the flat or any number of players delivering hard hits on Florida ball-carriers throughout the game.
Miami’s dominance over Florida is represented in several statistics. The Gators failed to convert a third down all game and went three of six on fourth downs. UF managed only 141 total yards — the lowest for the program this century. Pro Football Focus gave the Gators an 8.5 grade in pass blocking (out of 100) — re-evaluated after an initial score of 0.2.
“They’re extremely physical, just from an assignment standpoint, on point with communication and quite frankly, they were kind of tired of hearing all year long how last year was a fluke up there at the Swamp,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal told WQAM. “… You start getting that positive anger, and you start building up towards the game, and they were just mentally locked in to go get after it.”
Miami ranks among the nation’s top 20 defenses in several categories. UM is 15th in points allowed per game (11.5), 13th in rushing yards allowed per game (76.25) and 11th in opponent third-down conversions (24 percent).
Advanced metrics also show the Hurricanes are performing well. Miami is in the 87th percentile in expected points added allowed per play and in the 91st percentile of rushing expected points added allowed. PFF gives UM the No. 6 defensive grade in the country, tied with Texas. The Hurricanes are third in run defense and second in pass rushing.
“I think the whole concept of swarming to the football and playing with violence and physicality is really kicking in,” Cristobal said.
The Hurricanes’ defensive line has been especially dominant early in the season. Bain is arguably the best defensive player in the nation through the first four games. The junior defensive end has the highest PFF defensive grade of any player with 10 or more snaps.
Mesidor is not far behind, ranking eighth in the nation among defenders with 100 or more snaps with a 91.4 defensive grade.
“I think it’s also important to point out those guys now being hardened upperclassmen, they’ve played through the bumps and bruises and some of the things that come with playing this sport,” Cristobal said. “And their demeanor on the field, their leadership is really leading us. It’s leading us in a big-time way.”
