After a long offseason, made longer by virtue of a horrific 2018 season, Miami Hurricanes Football is (almost) back! And, with the 2019 season just days away from starting, I convened our SOTU contributors for a roundtable Q&A to give their thoughts and predictions for the season. Here’s the first part of our discussion, with the second part coming tomorrow.

Question 1. What are your expectations for year 1 of the Manny Diaz era?

Cam Underwood: Call me crazy, but I’m expecting a step forward. Manny Diaz might not have experience as a head coach, but he did yeoman’s work rebuilding Miami’s defense after the previous DC turned the unit into a laughingstock.