Eye on the U

B-Rad First-Team All-ACC; Football roster making space; McDermott on Rimington Watch List.

Bryan Radziewski was not his usual self during his last regular-season start, but he was amazing all season -- coming off shoulder surgery nonetheless.

The left-handed junior was among five starting pitchers named to the 2013 All-ACC First Team on Monday.

B-Rad, as he is called by his fans and teammates, ended the season ranked among the conference leaders in nearly every statistical category. He ranked third in ERA (1.64), tied for second in wins (eight), tied for second in complete games (two), third in strikeouts (96) and first in batting average against (.175).

Radziewski is one of three pitchers in the ACC averaging more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings (11.27). The former Baseball America Freshman All-American has recorded 204 Ks over 33 starts and has a 19-4 career record and career ERA of 2.64. 

Miami begins its quest for an ACC title at 3 p.m. Thursday, when it meets No. 1 seed North Carolina in a Pool A matchup in Durham, N.C.

UM lost in the title game to Georgia Tech last year.

RICARDO WILLIAMS OFFICIALLY OFF FOOTBALL TEAM

   Chris Yandle, director of communications for UM athletics, just confirmed to me that 6-5, 251-pound defensive end Ricardo Williams is no longer on the team. A redshirt sophomore, Williams is out of Homestead Senior High. Williams played in one game last year -- against North Carolina. 

   Williams' name has already been removed from the football roster.

   Wide receiver Robert Lockhart Jr., who also has been granted his release, according to Canesport.com, is still on the roster.

    "As far as Robert Lockhart, I have not been informed about anything,'' Yandle said.

   Lockhart is a 6-1, 183-pound redshirt sophomore out of Fork Union Military Academy, via West Boca Raton High.  Lockhart was a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and ESPN. As a high school senior he had 34 catches for 686 yards and six touchdowns. He chose UM over Virginia Tech. Lockhart played in two games last season -- UNC and FSU -- but sustained a season-ending knee injury.

 SHANE McDERMOTT ON RIMINGTON WATCH LIST   

     UM center Shane McDermott is one of 44 players named to the 2013 Rimington Trophy spring watch list. The award is presented annually to the nation's top collegiate center.

    McDermott, a junior, missed spring practice after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.

     An All-ACC honorable mention selection in 2012 by league coaches, McDermott started all 12 games at center for UM. UM had the ACC's third-best passing offense (295.4-yards-per-game average) and fifth-best total offense (440.2). As a redshirt freshman in 2011, he played in 10 games, allowing no sacks and not being flagged for any penalties.

    McDermott is from Lake Worth. He was awarded the Walter Kichefski Endowed Football Scholarship at the most recent UM Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet. He will earn his bachelor's degree this summer.

    McDermott's younger brother (I won't say "little'' brother as he's 6-6 and approaching 300 pounds), Kc McDermott, has already pledged his commitment to UM for the Class of 2014, a huge get for the Canes.
 Kc is a four-star lineman, according to Rivals.com, and is listed as the 40th best player overall, regardless of position. He is listed as the fifth best tackle in the Class of 2014.

   Notre Dame also wanted Kc, and actually still wants him, but Kc said he's not budging from his commitment to the Hurricanes.  

     SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN

D'Onofrio: Biggest concern at linebacker is continuity; compares finding right combination to solving 'Rubik's cube'

Got a chance to speak to defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio Wednesday for a quick one-on-one conversation about the state of his linebackers, who have been hobbled by injuries throughout camp.

With the season set to begin on Sept. 1 is D'Onofrio worried he might not have enough talent or depth?

"The only thing I'm concerned about is getting the continuity we want by having three starters and three backups and guys who may be involved as role players, special teams. Just getting that thing set," D'Onforio said. "We've had a lot of mix and match lineups throughout camp. Unfortunately, I went through it last year at all positions. So, there's always a silver lining. When this happens you create depth at multiple positions. Guys have to play. Anytime you go through this you're creating more layers of depth that are solving problems. Now, if you get a situation during the season, it's quicker to solve the problem. You're not not scrambling on a Monday to figure out who you can plug where. That said, we're still a ways away from the game. We got some guys coming back. Hopefully we'll get some continuity over the five or six practices here and have it look the way we want it to look."

When UM released it's most recent depth chart, sophomore Thurston Armbrister (6-3, 222) was listed at first team at strongside linebacker along with sophomore Denzel Perryman (middle linebacker) and senior Ramon Buchanan (weakside). While D'Onofrio is certainly happy with the growth Armbrister has displayed over the first 14 prctices of camp, the more likely scenario is junior Jimmy Gaines, who is currently listed as the backup to Perryman in the middle and who has experience playing all three positions will end up starting for the Canes Sept. 1.

But Armbrister, a former safety, has worked himself into a role at the very least.

"He's a guy who I think is going to help us, provide depth for us. I think he can be a factor in different packages in third down and obviously he has to do a great job on special teams," D'Onofrio said.

"The thing that surprised me about Thurston is he's a long guy who plays with great leverage. He's got long legs, limbs. I think he's going to be really big. He can play up on the tight end and do a good job in space and he's tough and he's physical. But he's learning. It was one of those moves where you go ahead and take a look at it and feel like you hit it on pretty good. "

Beyond his veterans and Armbrister, D'Onforio said he thinks redshirt freshman Eddie Johnson "is extremely talented. He has all the skills you would look for and he understands the defense. So I think he'll help us.

"Gionni [Paul] is a guy who has a year under his belt. Again, these are just guys who have been banged up, so they haven't gotten as much [reps] as we've wanted at this point and were held out of the scrimmage. We're just trying to put it all together.

"It's like a big rubic's cube right now. But we do have enough guys right now that can play for us and help us win. It's just a matter of getting them all healthy at the same time and getting them in the right spots. That's what we're working on in the next six days."

MORE TIDBITS

> UM coach Al Golden said while Kirby's injury will not require surgery, "he will be out awhile." Kirby was spotted on crutches and wearing a hard cast on his right leg from the knee down on Wednesday.

"Crushed," Golden said of his own reaction to the injury. "Great kid. Worked really hard. I think knowing his work ethic and character I wouldn't rule out him from coming back this season. Maybe he'll have a chance to come back midseason."

Still, Golden said MRIs have to be performed, so he isn't 100 percent if that will be possible.

> Defensive end Anthony Chickillo was practicing in a yellow jersey for limited contact Wednesday. Chickillo told me he had a stomach flu. But Golden said he heard something about a sinus infection. Either way, Chickillo expects to be out a couple days. He said he's taking medicine.

> UM had a special teams scrimmage Tuesday afternoon and Golden said freshmen Malcolm Lewis and Duke Johnson each had punt returns for touchdowns. Punter Dalton Botts also looked strong, Golden said. Safeties Kacy Rodgers and Deon Bush had great days in special teams coverage, Golden said.

> Turns out Armbrister got his first name Thurston from his grandmother, who happened to be a big fan of Gilligan's Island and Thurston Howell III. Armbrister, by the way, said he has an older brother who was a walk-on at Florida State.

As for his own recruitment to Miami, Armbrister was a late summer addition in 2011. His other offer: Northern Colorado.

"I feel like I have a chip on my shoulder, something to prove because people didn't think I could do it," Armbrister said. "A lot of schools didn't give me a chance."

> While coaches have been hoping for someone to break out at defensive tackle, D'Onforio told me: "I think it's going to be a group by committee as opposed to saying we have an elite guy or an elite star. We need some young guys who came in to keep improving."

D'Onofrio said freshman Dequan Ivery, listed by mistake as the starter, "flashed in Sunday's scrimmage" and has stood out among the freshmen defensive tackles.

"At defensive end, Chickillo, Shayon Green, Kelvin Cain have played a lot. I think we're looking to get something else, too," D'Onofrio said. "It's going to be a common theme -- guys who have been around and guys who haven't -- mixing and matching. I think that's good. We're not going to lose many guys from this defense and they'll keep growing."

Freshman LB Kirby has hard cast on right leg; Golden hopeful he will return midseason

Freshman linebacker Raphael Kirby, injured in Sunday's scrimmage, was seen walking onto campus on crutches Wednesday morning. Kirby had a hard cast from his knee down on his right leg.

UM coach Al Golden said before practice that the injury will not require surgery and that he hopes Kirby will be back mid-season. 

Before getting injured, Kirby had been running on the second team at middle linebacker behind Denzel Perryman.

We'll have more from Wednesday's practice shortly.