Miami Hurricanes’ Anthony Chickillo looks to pick up productivity

Chickillo’s stat line — zeros across the board except for three assisted tackles — mirrored what was a lost evening in the national spotlight for UM’s entire defense, which allowed 376 rushing yards and a school-record 34 first downs. Matched against Notre Dame senior left tackle Zack Martin, a Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy candidate, Chickillo proved to be a non-factor in the loss.

Citing a desire “not to look behind,” Chickillo declined to talk about the Notre Dame game this week in any detail. But coach Al Golden said Chickillo would “be the first to tell you he made some errors in the game uncharacteristic of him. He knows that. That’s the challenge for him this week, to get back to business.”

Getting back to business for Chickillo would mean serving as the defensive playmaker he appeared to be developing into after a strong freshman campaign that earned him a third-place finish in the ACC Rookie of the Year balloting.

Is Chickillo battling a sophomore slump? Not according to defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio, who said the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Chickillo was coming off “three really good games” in victories against Bethune-Cookman, Georgia Tech and North Carolina State before the Notre Dame meltdown.

In the 42-36 overtime win over Georgia Tech on Sept. 22, Chickillo had a season-high seven tackles with three tackles for losses and one sack. He made made several key stops in the fourth quarter as the Hurricanes erased a 17-point deficit. That was the kind of impact UM fans expected Chickillo would make this season on a regular basis.

So what’s the story?

Chickillo said his sack total would be far more impressive if not for whiffing on five opportunities this season when he made “contact” with an opposing quarterback but failed to bring him down.

“That’s disappointing for me,” said Chickillo, whose grandfather Nick and father Tony were standout UM football players. “To put it in perspective, last year I missed one sack and this year I’ve missed five. That’s unacceptable. That’s not my standard. I’ve got to correct that.”

Chickillo is also drawing far more attention from opponents’ blocking schemes, particularly in passing situations, than he did last season, when UM was loaded with experienced defensive linemen and pass rushers.

This season, Chickillo is getting very little help from his defensive linemates, and that’s putting it nicely. Of the four defensive linemen scheduled to start against the Tar Heels — Chickillo, defensive end Shayon Green, and defensive tackles Olsen Pierre and Corey King — Chickillo is the only one who has a sack.

That's ever, not just this season.

One other factor that might be keeping Chickillo’s sacks total down is that opponents find little need to throw against the Hurricanes (4-2, 3-0 ACC). UM is allowing 250.7 rushing yards per game, which ranks 116th out of 120 FBS teams.

Last week, Notre Dame threw only three passes in the second half, preferring to slowly bleed the Hurricanes with its ground game. Among ACC teams, only Maryland’s defense has faced fewer pass attempts (139) than Miami’s (164).

UM figures to get the same treatment this week against North Carolina and tailback Giovani Bernard, who is averaging 9.1 yards per carry and is coming off a 262-yard performance against Virginia Tech last week.

Senior cornerback Brandon McGee said he has advised Chickillo to be patient.

“I just tell Chick to remain consistent,” McGee said. “The plays will come. It’s when you try to do too much, that’s when you end up making more errors.”

Chickillo said he chooses to focus on the positive.

“We’re 3-0 in the ACC, we have an ACC game this week and it’s a must-win for us,” Chickillo said. “Everything else will work its way out.”