Corners:
Carlos Armour, 6-2, 200, SR
Chavez Grant, 5-11, 175, JR
Brandon Harris, 5-10, 175, FR
Bruce Johnson, 5-11, 175, SR
Tervaris Johnson, 6-2, 220, SO
Vaughn Telemaque, 6-2, 190, FR
Demarcus Van Dyke, 6-1, 170, SO
Safeties:
Ramon Buchanan, 6-1, 190, FR
Jared Campbell, 6-0, 195, rFR
Ryan Hill, 5-11, 190, JR
C.J. Holton, 6-0, 205, FR
Joseph Nicholas, 6-1, 190, SO
Randy Phillips, 6-0, 205, SR
Lovon Ponder, 6-0, 205, SR
Anthony Reddick, 6-0, 205, SR
Joseph Wylie, 6-2, 190, FR
Corners:
One of the bright spots of last year’s defense was the play of freshman Demarcus Van Dyke. Now a sophomore, Van Dyke has good height, excellent speed, good cover skills, and now has a year’s worth of playing experience under his belt. He’s probably the team’s top cover guy going into the season.
Last season’s nickel back, Chavez Grant, is coming off a very productive spring and will compete for more playing time. Grant finished his sophomore season with 19 tackles and one pick. Bruce Johnson and Carlos Armour, both seniors, have plenty of experience. They combined for 56 tackles and one pick last season. Tervaris Johnson has made his mark primarily on special teams up to this point but he’s got an excellent size/speed combination and will look to push for playing time at corner. The Canes are hoping a couple of incoming freshmen – Brandon Harris and Vaughn Telemaque – can make an impact and challenge for playing time.
Both were major recruiting prospects last year. Harris has excellent cover and ball skills and despite being the shortest corner on the roster, look for him to challenge for playing time right away. He’s a big time cover guy. Telemaque, physically, reminds you some of a young Mike Rumph. With good size and speed, Telemaque will hope to challenge for playing time this season.
Safeties:
With the top two guys at safety from last season gone (first round pick Kenny Phillips and Willie Cooper), the Canes are hoping to replace those guys this season. Seniors Randy Phillips, a converted corner who had three picks last season, and Lovon Ponder have the most experience.
The Canes are hoping Anthony Reddick, who had an excellent freshman season before knee injuries have prevented him from playing ever since, can return to the field healthy again. He went through some of spring and started the spring game. If he can return to the form he showed as a freshman, he could be a pleasant surprise in the secondary for the Canes this season.
Ryan Hill was moved back to the secondary after spending some time at receiver. He started his career at Miami as a cornerback. JoJo Nicolas is a talented sophomore and will be counted on to provide depth this season. The key guy here could be Ramon Buchanan, a big time recruit who has a tremendous size/speed combination. He could push the older players for early playing time.
C.J. Holton and Joseph Wylie, whose father played basketball at Miami, are other true freshmen who will hope to contribute. Getting Holton was huge, considering he comes from FSU country.