With Miami’s secondary suddenly short-handed, JJ Dunnigan has moved from promising freshman to immediate answer.
The Hurricanes have been forced to reshuffle after starting cornerbacks OJ Frederique Jr. and Xavier Lucas were ruled out for at least the next few weeks with injuries. That opened the door for sophomore Bryce Fitzgerald, who had mostly been playing safety, to slide to outside cornerback in No.
5 Miami’s record-setting win over Florida A&M. It also pushed Dunnigan into a bigger role, with the freshman taking Fitzgerald’s spot at safety and making his first career start.
For Dunnigan, the moment fit the vision.
“I think it’s been really fun,” Dunnigan said after the win. “It’s something I always dreamed of doing.
So just to be out here is really a great opportunity for me, a big blessing. I’m ready for the games to come.”
That confidence has been building since he arrived on campus in the spring. Miami flipped the former four-star prospect from Kansas, and the early reviews came fast.
Safety Zechariah Poyser described him as a “God-gifted, freak athlete.” Fitzgerald used even stronger language this week.
“He’s just … a freak of nature,” Fitzgerald said.
The staff clearly noticed the work long before the injury shuffle forced the issue. Dunnigan logged 33 defensive snaps against Stanford, the most of any freshman on defense, and he did it in his college debut. Freshman offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell played 34 snaps on offense, the only freshman with more total action in that opener.
Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman pointed to Dunnigan’s preparation as a big reason he’s already trusted in meaningful snaps.
“He’s always in the office,” Hetherman said. “He’s always watching film.
He has great questions. He’s always pushing himself to get better.
You can see it. If he goes out and struggles … he’s going to get it fixed, and the next day, he doesn’t make the same mistake again.”
Cristobal said Dunnigan’s grasp of the defense is what makes the trust possible.
“He understands what we’re doing,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “When you start a football player, he’s got to know what to do, how to do it and why we’re doing it that way.
He has to have an understanding of the concepts and what’s going on around him because defensive players, offensive players, you have to know where your help is and where it isn’t. And … we feel strongly and we trust him that he does.
He is one of those guys. And when he triggers, he goes - there is no hesitation in him.
Very physical, downhill, reliable, dependable, invested. He is off to a great start.”
What makes Dunnigan especially useful is that Miami can move him all over the field. The Hurricanes have used him in the box, near the line of scrimmage, at nickelback and at true safety.
“He can play strong (safety), he can play nickel, he can play free (safety),” Hetherman said. “He’s got good size.
We can use him down in the box in different situations. He’s a physical player.
He’s a good tackler. He blitzes well.
So there’s a lot of different things we can do with him. That’s what we want in recruiting … We want to evaluate people, not positions: Who are the best players?
Who can run, who can cover, who can blitz, who’s physical, who can defeat blocks, who can tackle? Those are the things we want to evaluate.”
Before his first start, Fitzgerald said Dunnigan was asking plenty of questions, digging into the little things that matter when sorting out runs from passes. That detail work showed up in the way Miami handled the transition.
Through two games, Dunnigan has two tackles, but the advanced numbers have been encouraging. Pro Football Focus gives him a 73.5 defensive grade through his first two games, second in the nation among freshman safeties who have played 20 or more snaps. Hudl IQ credits him with two run disruptions.
“I feel like he took that step, and he’s ready for it,” Fitzgerald said.
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One date stands out right away: Wake Forest is set for Friday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, giving Miami another primetime spot on a night stage. Cristobal has already talked about the teams preparation and practice schedule, a reminder that even with the calendar still well ahead, the Hurricanes are thinking about how to manage the work required for a schedule that does not look forgiving from the start. [Read more 🡒]