OXFORD — The Miami RedHawks gave fans a look at their current roster during the annual intersquad Spring Showcase on Saturday inside the Dauch Indoor Sports Center.
Though not every player saw the field, the usual blue-collar expectations were still evident.
“Everything with our program is the same. We’ve got all new guys,” Miami coach Chuck Martin said. “Whether they’re young or old or they’re inexperienced within our systems, every rep we get is crucial for growing and getting better.
“I think there’s ton of talent. We’ve got a lot of injuries right now. We’re going to get most of those back. We probably had a third of our skills guys out here. There’s starters that you didn’t even see today that are going to be really good players on both sides of the ball. But people are out here getting work and getting better.”
Miami completed its 15th and final spring practice, and plenty of eyes were focused on transfer quarterback Dequan Finn — who this offseason signed with the RedHawks after a year at Baylor and five years prior at Toledo.
Finn led the offense on the opening drive with a touchdown pass to Florida State transfer Darion Williamson. Finn, in the process, used his legs on several scrambles while showing off his running ability.
Finn joined the program following the departure of longtime quarterback Brett Gabbert, who was invited to the Miami Dolphins minicamp.
“The nice thing is that if you have a mobile quarterback, he can extend plays, and it’s just not good enough for the DB’s to cover the guy right away because then we scramble and you’ve got to keep covering,” Martin said. “It’s nice to have a mobile quarterback that make the DB’s continue into coverage. Scrambling and making plays is one of the hardest things to defend. So, we got a lot of good work on that this spring.”
Redshirt sophomore receiver Cole Weaver stole the show by catching a combined three touchdowns from quarterbacks Henry Hesson and Thomas Gotkowski, who are both back from last season.
“Today was just an example of what we’ve been working on for the past couple months.” said Weaver, who played in six games and caught a 24-yard TD pass against Eastern Michigan in 2024.
“Cole had a great day,” Martin added. “Took the ball away from a couple DB’s”
The RedHawks, who are coming off a 9-5 season and a 43-17 victory over Colorado State in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, will not look the same personnel wise.
But Martin said pieces of the roster puzzle are coming together after some graduated or entered the transfer portal following 2024.
“It was kind of like all spring — there was a lot of good, there was a lot of OK, there’s some bad stuff,” Martin said. “You take the knowledge from the spring, the pressure’s off in the summer, the coaches aren’t tipping you around. They’ll do a lot of football on their own without a coach breathing down their neck.
“If you take the knowledge from the spring and then apply it to the summer, you can make really good strides in the summer,” Martin added. “That’s kind of the next thing we’re looking for. These guys take everything they learned this spring.
“We had 11 early enrollees. Well, they learned a lot this spring. We had 13, 14 transfers. Well, they learned a lot this spring. Can they take that and put that into play all summer long and get ready for fall camp?”
That will have to be done with a fresh offensive line.
Redshirt junior and Lebanon graduate Drew Terrill, redshirt junior Eric Smith, redshirt junior Gavin Rohrs, redshirt sophomore Greg Smith Jr. and redshirt freshman Kris Manu were up front during the first series on Saturday.
Those five saw action in a combined 39 games in 2024. Smith was named Miami’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
“O-line, we’ve probably got eight or nine guys that are fighting for starting jobs,” Martin said. “We’ve got a lot of good young O-linemen that had good springs. But they’re not consistent enough.”
Redshirt senior Jordan Brunson, redshirt senior Nate Milanowski and redshirt freshman D’Shawntae Jones got most of the action at running back on Saturday. Redshirt junior Kam Perry saw time at receiver, and senior Brian Shane played some at tight end.
Senior linebacker Oscar McWood, senior linebacker Corban Hondru, junior linebacker Adam Trick, junior linebacker Eli Coppess and senior defensive back Silas Walters were players on the other side of the ball who saw significant amount of time in 2024. All of them are redshirted.
“We probably have less depth at the D-line,” Martin said. “But played a lot of young guys. Figured out, ‘When I play with good technique and pad level, I’m OK. When I play high and try to make plays, not much fun to take on a double team.’ They’re coming along.”
Senior Dom Dzioban and sophomore Kellan McLaughlin, both redshirts, are back as placekickers.
“We love the group,” Martin said. “The pieces are there. We do a good job, and it’s everybody else just buying in and doing the dirty work on special teams — not the kicking and the punting. We’re going to work really hard on special teams, and we take a lot of pride in it.
“We always anticipate to be good on fourth down here. Fourth down is very important. We’re going to try and beat you on fourth down every chance we get.
“We’re a long way from where we want to be. We’ve got plenty of talent out here. We have plenty of good kids who want to compete. We have kids who will play for one another, so our chemistry has been really good. We have a long way to go as far as far execution on O, D and special teams, but overall, very pleased with this spring.”
