How the RedHawk offense soared again

The continuous grind of a college football season brings peaks and valleys to every team.

Oftentimes, coaches and analysts across all levels of the sport point out the importance of finishing strong. Championship teams often get better as the season progresses and play their best when the pressure mounts. Coaches and analysts across all levels of the sport point out the importance of finishing strong.

The Miami University RedHawks are looking to do just that.

After a magical 11-3 season in 2023, the RedHawks started the new season with three straight losses. The expectations of repeating as Mid-American Conference (MAC) champions seemed bleak before October.

A stagnant offense was a primary reason for the slow start, specifically in the running game. The RedHawks combined for 174 rushing yards in the first three games and averaged 58 rushing yards per game, which ranked as the fourth worst in all of college football at the time.

But Miami continued to believe.

“Even though we started off a little rough within the first few games, the offensive line and running backs stuck together,” senior running back Kevin Davis said. “We knew it was going to continue to get better.”

Miami rushed for 168 yards in the rain en route to a 23-20 overtime win over the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, its first of the season. Even after a loss to the University of Toledo Rockets the next week, the RedHawks started to roll and are now on a six-game winning streak.

During the winning streak, Miami averaged 183.67 yards per game on the ground. Head coach Chuck Martin credits the whole offense for this improvement.

“Running the ball is a full team thing,” Martin said. “It starts with the o-line, starts with our tight ends, starts with the receivers.”

While the offensive linemen were getting the job done up front, the running backs were also giving them enough time to set up their blocks, a fact not lost on senior running back Keyon Mozee.

“[Coach] has always been preaching on pressing a hole and giving our o-linemen time to set up the blocks so we can get downfield,” Mozee said. “Once we do, we get downfield quickly.”

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No one at Miami has been able to get downfield as quickly as Mozee. After combining for 60 yards through the first three games, he has run for 100 or more yards in six of the last eight games. He is the first RedHawk running back to have six 100-yard games in a season since Travis Prentice in 1999.

However, there’s one area in particular that Mozee wanted to improve on throughout the season.

“Hitting the ball vertically,” Mozee said. “Earlier in the season, I felt like I was trying to do too much rather than just hitting vertical seams.”

Keeping things simple has paid off for the senior running back. His improvement throughout the season isn’t much of a surprise for Martin and the rest of the coaching staff.

“Here’s a kid that’s showing such a big jump in his game his senior year,” Martin said. “People think, ‘Well, that’s not possible,’ but that’s just a kid that keeps working, keeps taking coaching, keeps paying attention to detail and keeps trying to improve his game. Now, you’re seeing the results go along with it.”

Another reason why Mozee has made a big jump this year is because of an increase in touches. He became the team’s main running back in 2021 and 2022, but he only saw 34 touches last season after Rashad Amos took over his duties.

Many players may have opted to transfer out after a decreased role, but Mozee stayed with Miami. Now, he stands third in the MAC in rushing yards at 846.

“I decided to stay here mostly because I feel like I had a point to prove,” Mozee said. “It just made me angrier, and I felt like I just had a point to prove, and I had something to get across.”

As the RedHawks enter the homestretch of the season, the offense will look to maintain its current form, with the offensive line looking to create open lanes for their star running back, who is looking to prove himself further by leading the team to Detroit.

mill2361@miamioh.edu