Steve Mitchell – USA TODAY Sports
Miami Hurricanes junior wide receiver Phillip Dorsett’s play this season will dictate the success or failure of offensive coordinator James Coley’s offense this coming season.
Dorsett was quarterback Stephen Morris’s favorite receiver last year. He led the team with 58 receptions and 842 yards. More than that, Dorsett was a playmaker averaging nearly 15 yards every time he touched the ball.
Dorsett is also ridiculously fast; he ran a 4.29 forty yard dash and competes on the Hurricanes track team. With Coley going to more of a vertical passing game, Dorsett should continue to be a factor. If Dorsett can blow the top off the coverages of opposing teams, it will open up the short and intermediate routes run by tight ends Beau Sandland and Clive Walford and wide receivers Rashawn Scott and Malcolm Lewis. The ability to attack any level of the defense will in turn help the running game. As teams drop more defenders in pass defense, the number of run defenders decreases. Miami has one of the best run blocking offensive lines in the nation. If teams ask their down lineman to play two gap defense, Coley’s offense will blow open huge running lanes for Duke Johnson.
If Dorsett has one weakness, it is an unusual number of drops. Dorsett’s drops arguably cost Miami the Notre Dame game. He had a bad habit of dropping potentially huge receptions. If this bad habit continue this season, teams will not respect the deep ball allowing them to keep more defenders underneath. Suddenly the tight ends and slot receivers are not open, and the running lanes become clogged.
Hopefully for Miami, Dorsett can get a grip.
Chris Cunningham is a college football writer for www.RantSports.com. You are encouraged to troll him on Twitter @cunn1431.
