{"id":373142,"date":"2026-08-16T18:20:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T18:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/373142\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T18:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T18:20:23","slug":"miami-getting-everything-from-new-look-safety-bryce-fitzgerald","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/373142\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami getting everything from new look safety Bryce Fitzgerald"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bryce Fitzgerald <\/a>was an elite ballhawk as a freshman. In part-time action, he had six interceptions, tied for the lead in the ACC. Who will ever forget his second at Texas A&M in the College Football Playoffs which sealed the game and allowed Miami to advance?<\/p>\n

Now Fitzgerald is growing up fast. He\u2019s a second-year sophomore as the Miami Hurricanes prepare to go to Stanford for their season opener. He\u2019s also transforming himself from that playmaking newcomer into a complete, physical and vocal leader of the Miami Hurricanes secondary that has been the talk of fall practice.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald has proven he can find the football. Now he is determined to prove he can do just about everything else. He isn\u2019t interested in spending his second season trying to recreate his first.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year was last year,\u201d Fitzgerald says. \u201cThis is a brand-new year.\u201d<\/p>\n

And this version of Fitzgerald looks considerably different.<\/p>\n

After moving between safety and nickel previously, Fitzgerald is transitioning into a full-time safety role for the Hurricanes. That has required more than simply learning the position. Miami wants Fitzgerald to become a more complete defender \u2014 bigger, stronger, more physical against the run and more capable of handling everything that comes with playing in the middle of the Hurricanes defense.<\/p>\n

So Fitzgerald went to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust been in that weight room, film room, just getting bigger, faster, extra film,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cJust staying in with the coaches, watching film with the receivers, just getting better at everything I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

You will notice the change immediately. Fitzgerald has added 17 pounds of force to his body. You hear it in such simple things as tackling drills at practice when the target is a simple dummy. Fitzgerald packs some punch. And he says he has added the weight without sacrificing the speed that gives him range.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald (13) intercepts a pass intended for Texas A&M Aggies tight end Theo Melin Ohrstrom (17) during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I ran 22 miles per hour the other day,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cSo just still keeping that speed, and I got a different size. It\u2019s going to be a different thing in my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The difference has become especially noticeable now that Miami put the pads on this week. It becomes obvious pretty quickly that Fitzgerald\u2019s 2026 contribution is not just going to be limited to tracking balls in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being around the ball more,\u201d Fitzgerald said of the biggest difference in his game. \u201cNot only ball-hawking, just tackling, being physical around blocks, everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust me being bigger and faster. I can get off blocks now. I can tackle. Just being more violent. That\u2019s really what the coaches were looking for in me, and I\u2019m doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The physical development could determine how good Fitzgerald ultimately becomes. This is recruiting at face value. Coaches must project what high school football ballers will look like a couple years down the road. Miami\u2019s staff clearly has hit on Fitzgerald.<\/p>\n

At safety this season, Fitzgerald will need to be able to deal with more traffic, diagnose plays from depth, tackle in space and occasionally come downhill into situations where receivers, tight ends and offensive linemen are trying to prevent him from reaching the ball carrier.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The added weight gives him another tool. So does his experience.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald was used at both safety and nickel during the spring, and that versatility remains part of his value to Miami.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the spring, I played both,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cSo just knowing that the coaches know that I\u2019m versatile and they trust me and Omar (Thornton), it\u2019s just whatever the coaches need us to play, really, just to win. I\u2019m willing to do whatever is behind Coach Hetherman, so I\u2019m going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Miami defense has been looking for leaders and Fitzgerald has been stepping up alongside guys like Ahmad Moten and Mo Toure.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Hetherman has just been telling me I need to be vocal, communicating with the guys,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cIf you\u2019re out there with freshmen, just communicating and letting everybody know, just do the one-on-one and we\u2019re going to be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald points to Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas as players whose approach last season guided him and helped show him what leadership inside a secondary is supposed to look like.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, Keionte Scott, definitely Jakobe, just all of them,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cWhen Keionte went down, people get down on themselves, but he just came in firm with me like he was still playing. So just taking on that leadership from him and stepping up into that role is just great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freshman JJ Dunnigan has been a special target of his leadership in camp. Miami players watch Dunningan out there on the practice field screaming with potential. He is so smooth. He runs like a deer. He has veteran instincts. He can be the Fitzgerald of 2026, the freshman who comes off the bench and makes a major contribution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI taught him a few things, but he came in and he was ready to go,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have to tell him much. He learned his way. He had his struggles, but now JJ, he\u2019s on a whole other level.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Miami advantage for all of the defensive backs is practicing against a deep, impressive Miami receiver room. Fitzgerald, for example, benefits from daily battles with Malachi Toney which are one of the awes of training camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cEvery one-on-one rep, we go first. So it\u2019s the battle, best of the best. It\u2019s iron sharpens iron. He gets me, I get him. It\u2019s great going against Mali.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like he\u2019s the greatest receiver in the country. So going against him in practice every day, it\u2019s going to make it easy for me in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there is quarterback Darian Mensah.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald says Miami\u2019s defense tries to disguise its intentions against Mensah, only to watch the quarterback diagnose them anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very calm in the pocket,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cLike, he\u2019s not fazed. He can run, he can throw, he can throw on the run. He can read any defense. Like, we try to disguise everything; he still can read it. So just having a quarterback that good is definitely preparing us for the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Fitzgerald is bigger, stronger, more physical and more vocal. And if he has his way, he will be every bit as dangerous when the ball is in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a blessing,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cRight now, I\u2019ve just got to focus on the team. Yeah, that\u2019s one of my goals, but I\u2019m a team-first player. So whatever we\u2019ve got to do to win, the goals come at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bryce Fitzgerald was an elite ballhawk as a freshman. In part-time action, he had six interceptions, tied for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-373142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}