CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Whenever, wherever, and however are the answers that come with No. 1 Miami's star defensive back, Bryce Fitzgerald.
No matter where you put him on the field, he is an instant impact player, and other teams hope that his ballhawk abilities don't shine on them. However, this season, he has had to be versatile and all over the field.
Against Florida State, Fitzgerald played corner, safety, and nickel, while also dealing with a stinger in his shoulder. Moreover, defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman sees a gem with an elite ability to play wherever and whenever he needs to be on the field.
"Obviously, you play him at corner, you play him at nickel, you play him at safety, you play him in packages," Hetherman said. "He's very smart. He's a very good football player. There's a reason why, he's got a really good skill set. He was a good high school player on offense, played multiple sports, good basketball player. Like, he's got a really good feel for things. He's got a really good understanding of what teams are doing, how they're trying to attack you."
Furthermore, it's deeper than just picking and choosing what spot works best for him, even if it's deep in the backfield at safety. Fitzgerald is a student of the game, keeping everything in front of him as best as he can. His ability to also be an athletic freak, like stealing the ball out of Duce Robinson's hands to seal the win for Miami over FSU,
"He's alert,' Hetherman continued. "He's alert for like different motions and shifts and what they're trying to get into, and he's got good pre-snap awareness. You can see his communication's getting better and better. Yeah, he's a guy that, I think I'm excited for where he keeps going. Going through right now, we're watching Pitt.
"And, you know, last year's a game where we played him a little bit at nickel, we played him a little bit at safety, we did some package stuff with him. We moved him around a little bit more than we had to that point in the season. You can see how much more his game has grown since then.
"He had a sack in that game, and he has a couple big plays, he has a pick. We just watched the pick at the end of the game, but, he's a better and better player.
However, one big concern with him now is staying healthy. He suffered a stinger at the start of the FSU game, and the broadcast reported that he was out for the rest of the game, fearing it was something much worse. Thankfully, for him and an already injured secondary, it wasn't.
His health is a priority, as is fixing the little details in his game. He is a star, and one the Hurricanes will need if they want to make another championship run.
"We got to keep getting him healthy," Hetherman said. "We got to keep getting him, you know, every single week, a little bit more detailed with some of the things we do, especially with tackling and the block destruction as we fit things up and the swarm. The one screen I was a little upset. I want him to put his foot in the ground and get over the top.
"I think he makes a touchdown-saving tackle if he gets over the top. Those are the things where, like, we've been very good in the red zone. We have a shot if we make those plays, we're going to get more. We're going to hold to sevens to threes and we're going to get a takeaway. The other night we took 14 points off the board down there, and those are the little things, like, we're continuing to push him with his game."
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