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Hurricane Ian: Real Life Interrupts Our Football Fantasy

As Miami Hurricane football fans we are addicted to sports and fantasize about winning another National Championship. Sure, we all want to see "The U" get their 6th National Championship ring. That would be very nice indeed.

But today, real life makes all of that seem so irrelevant and unimportant.

Earlier today Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida as an extremely highly rated Category 4 storm. It is likely to go down as one of the top five strongest hurricanes to ever hit The Sunshine State. This is not a good thing.

The official impact point was Cayo Costa near Fort Myers, but as one of the largest storms in terms of sheer size it's impact will be felt State-wide.

This powerful hurricane will not only be life threatening, but incredibly devastating and very long lived for those who live in the area. While it followed a very simialr track as Hurricane Charlie in 2004, another Cat 4 storm that devastated Punta Gorda where it took a decade to rebuild, Ian dwarfed Charlie is size and scope and will also have a significantly larger impact.

One of our long-time bloggers RoachCane lives in Englewood-Venice area that is very near the central impact point. In late August, my wife and I had dinner with Roach and his wife when we were on our vacation in Manasota Key Beach near Englewood. We had a great time reminiscing about the UM glory days and shared a delicious seafood meal together. Good times with good people.

Here is a previous article I wrote in 2019 about him and his amazing coaching accomplishments: Roach Coach

Today as the storm made landfall I was very concerned so I texted him to see how he was doing. I asked if he evacuated or hunkered down.

It turns out he stayed and was hunkered down with his wife in their "safe room", an interior closet with no windows. He thought that they may have lost part of their roof and that the situation was bad and seemed to be getting worse.

In times like this, football or any sport becomes completely irrelevant and insignificant. Real life, and real people, always matter so much more.

We hope and pray for Coach Roach and all other people in the path of this deadly hurricane. May they be safe and protected from harm.

That Is All She Wrote

It has been real. It has been fun. 

But it is now officially over.

Your Miami Hurricanes are toast after losing to Middle Tennessee State.

Mario Cristobal is not that guy. And never will be.

And I am out as your host here at Canespace.

KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid

The goal for Miami is simple: find a way to go 1-0 this week.

“We always assure that when you leave a game, whether you win or lose, you still assess ‘Was it your very best?’ and whatever it was, you have to elevate it. For us, it’s always going to be that,” Cristobal said.

“Losing a game, for myself personally, it doesn’t get any more difficult than that, especially when you played at a place you coach at. It probably hits a million times harder and that’s okay, as long you’re using that as continued motivation to get back to process and get better.

“You still have to go back. How can we get better? How can we improve? That’s the only way to make progress towards your goal. We feel like we have made progress. We feel like we are improving the areas that showed up in negative way on Saturday. But there’s no flinching. There’s no hesitation as it relates to that. It really is full speed ahead, with nothing on our minds but improving.”

Two of the areas the Hurricanes have focused on this week are Improving their efficiency in the passing game and in the red zone. While Miami (2-1) outgained Texas A&M 392-264, the Hurricanes had just three field goals from kicker Andy Borregales to show for it. Drives ended because of penalties and miscues.

Making things tougher was the fact the Hurricanes were without top receiver Xavier Restrepo, who is sidelined with a foot injury. Miami’s available receivers dropped a handful of quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s passes.

Van Dyke finished the day 21 of 41 for 217 yards.

“We each have to focus on our execution. That’s the thing. That’s what it comes down to. It’s the little details,” said fifth-year senior tight end Will Mallory, who had a team-high 56 receiving yards against Texas A&M. “Every little bit is something that we have to really, really focus on. We have to improve on that. All of us feel we’ve got playmakers. We’ve got nothing but belief in everybody. We’re going to keep spreading that ball around.”

Said offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, “We’ve obviously got some deficiencies there from a depth standpoint, some challenges we’re facing. But we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be better consistently. That’s across the board. That’s ball placement. That’s quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends, wide receivers. 

Too many balls were on the ground. Too many open opportunities. Obviously, when you lose someone as important as Restrepo, he’s our leader, captain, there’s a significant difference in that room. We have to overcome it. There are no excuses. There’s challenges and we have to overcome.”

Miami’s defense, meanwhile, did a solid job of pressuring Aggies quarterback Max Johnson throughout the game, sacking him three times and hurrying him three more times. The unit will look to do the same this week against a Middle Tennessee (2-1) offense that likes to move quickly and pass the ball.

Blue Raiders quarterback Chase Cunningham has completed 71.9 percent of his passes through Middle Tennessee’s first three games. That ranks 12th nationally. He’s also thrown for 592 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Frank Peasant, meanwhile, has totaled 218 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Both will pose their own unique challenges for Miami on Saturday.

CANESPACE PREDICTION: CANES 49 - MTSU 13

Heard It From A Friend Who

Heard it from a friend who, heard it from another that Mario has just been messing around. Well that is what the word on the street is anyway. Whether you like the REO or Pitbull version of the song is not what is important here.

What IS important is that Super Mario has this University of Miami Team ready to play hard, play well and win their first prime time game of his tenure in tonight's match-up with Texas A&M.

Was Mario really holding back the reigns in the first two warm up games against Bethune Cookman and Southern Missouri?

Were the Canes really going straight vanilla with their play calling during the opening contest aginst lesser oppoenents?

Is the defense better that what they showed and can the DBs cover anyone?

Is the new offense up to the task and can UM run effectively on TAMU?

Is talented QB Tyler Van Dyke ready for the bright lights of Saturday night?

Miami fans are still suffering post traumatic stress syndrome. They want to be hopeful, they want to be confident, but they have been burned so many times in recent years they are only cautiously optimistic of the outcome.

To be honest, nobody outside the team has any idea how this game is going to go and anybody who tells you that they do is lying. Miami is a 6.5 underdog to TAMU so Vegas is not buying the fact that the Hurricanes are back just yet.

Only time will tell but we are feeling bold enough to predict a Miami win tonight by the following score:

Miami 31 - Texas A&M 30.

Sleep Walking Can Be Very Dangerous

Some University of Miami football fans may have been very happy with today's home win at Hard Rock Stadium over the University of Southern Mississippi.

Sure we understand that they may feel snug, happy and comfortable with the second win of the 2022 season and the final 30-7 score.

But not me or any other hard core, long time Hurricanes fan. No, not even close. We have seen this movie way too many times in recent years.

What we saw was a slow start. A lack of motivation. Poor game planning. And of course playing down to the competition. This must end now.

Fans absolutely hate this and will not tolerate it any longer. There, I said it, and out loud too. Mario was hired to kill this disease that has permeated this campus, team and culture. But the stench is still lingering around it seems.

We all counted on Super Mario to fix all of this. He was hired, along with what seems to be 35 other coaches, assistants, advisors,  administrators and other support personnel to make UM right and make all of this go away for good.

But what is in the water, or the flawed system at Miami, appears to have lingering effects. The hangover is real and it needs to be gone tomorrow.

In my opinion, he should run, hit and punish this team for their performance on their home field in only the second game of the first year as head coach.

I know, I know, you home grown fans think this is way too much and way too soon. But after the last 15 years of total suckage we are done with poor execution, poor motivation and lack of accountability for mediocre play.

No other major media sites will address this, or report on this, because they need to hold on the media credentials. But we the fans are allowed to speak our minds and demand better. This is not good enough.

Mario, I know you are just waking up to your new job, but you are now on the clock. Pay close attention. Focus on details. You must do better.

And I hate to beg, but please, please, please...make us proud!

And So The Season Begins

It’s a moment that’s been months – some might say years – in the making.

When the Hurricanes take the field at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday afternoon for their season opener against in-state foe Bethune-Cookman, it will mark the start of a new era.

A talented quarterback will look to build on a remarkable rookie season. Some new faces will don orange and green for the first time. And a former two-time national champion offensive lineman will again run through Miami’s famed smoke, this time as his alma mater’s head coach.

But as special as that moment may be, Mario Cristobal insists it should not be about him. His focus, as it has been since he returned to Coral Gables last December, is on the 16th ranked Hurricanes – the players, the coaches and the staff that he wants to be in a position to succeed, not just on Saturday, but on every day that will follow, too.

“I think I’m the smallest part of this thing, as small as it could be,” Cristobal said this week. “It’s about making sure I’m doing all the things to make sure our players, our coaches, our administrators, our recruiting department, development department, you name it, analysts, everybody can do their job at the maximum level as we put together this game plan – which is already in place and we’ve practiced for a couple of days – so we can operate at a really high level and always get the players the best chance to be successful.

“I have to make sure I do my job and stay in my job and make sure we get to game day and work through the game and beyond, so again, we can have the best chance to always come out 1-0. I’m simple. And boring. You don’t have to worry about me getting caught up in anything.”

The Hurricanes have already learned first-hand how process-oriented and driven their coach is.

Shortly after taking the reins of Miami’s program, Cristobal put together a top-notch coaching staff that includes the likes of 38-year coaching veteran Kevin Steele as defensive coordinator, 2021 Broyles Award winner Josh Gattis as offensive coordinator, three-time national championship coach Charlie Strong as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach and veterans Alex Mirabal and Joe Salave’a as offensive line coach and defensive line coach, respectively.

He helped bring former Stanley Cup winner Eric Renaghan to Coral Gables to work with strength and conditioning coordinator Aaron Feld as the head of Miami’s new sports science department. He added Pro Football Hall of Famer and Miami Dolphins legend Jason Taylor as an analyst. And he has worked closely with Hurricanes great Alonzo Highsmith, who returned to his alma mater earlier this year to work as Miami’s general manager of football operations after more than two decades of working in the NFL.

All of that knowledge, experience, and know-how – combined with their coach’s drive – will make a difference this season, the Hurricanes say.

“He’s going to make sure everybody’s in line,” sophomore safety Kamren Kinchens said of Cristobal. “He just brings the energy. It may come off serious to most people, but it just comes off as great energy to us. That’s what we know we need behind us. It has everybody going. After he gives any speech, we’re ready to run through a wall for him."

Junior cornerback Tyrique Stevenson said, “It’s nothing but love that [Cristobal] has for this program. All the practices that he puts himself into and everything that came behind him. I feel like it’s love and I feel like that’s the main reason he’s so serious and on top of everything. He wants everything to be a certain way because he knows how this organization is and he knows what this organization means, what it means to the world. I think it’s just his love for the University and everything, just to have him locked in and always going.”

And Saturday will be the Hurricanes’ first opportunity to see just how much they’ve grown over the course of the last 10 months, a stretch that has included offseason workouts, spring drills and most recently, fall camp.

Miami’s offense will be led by quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year who, last season, threw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in six straight games before finishing the year with 2,931 passing yards and 25 touchdowns.

High Expectations

The University of Miami football team is favored to claim the 2022 ACC Coastal Division title, as announced Tuesday by the league office.

The preseason poll is based off votes from 164 media members, including those credentialed for last week’s ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C.

Of the 164 voters, 98 put the Hurricanes atop their ACC Coastal ballot. Miami finished with 1,036 points in the voting. Pittsburgh, the reigning ACC champion, placed second in the Coastal with 38 first-place nods and 911 total points.

North Carolina (18), Virginia (six), Virginia Tech (three) and Georgia Tech (one) all garnered Coastal first-place votes, as well.

Miami, picked to win the Coastal for the first time since 2018 and sixth time since joining the league, also received eight votes to win the league, third-most of any school. Only Clemson (103) and NC State (38) earned more such votes.

In the final year of a divisional format in the ACC, the Coastal and Atlantic champions will meet Dec. 3 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte in the ACC Championship Game.

ACC PRESEASON POLL (164 votes)

Overall Champion
Clemson – 103
NC State – 38
Miami – 8
Wake Forest – 4
Pittsburgh – 3
Virginia – 3
Florida State – 2
North Carolina –1
Boston College – 1

Atlantic Division
(first-place votes in parenthesis)
Clemson (111) – 1,080
NC State (44) – 959
Wake Forest (6) – 783
Louisville – 591
Florida State (2) – 509
Boston College (1) – 469
Syracuse – 201

Coastal Division
(first-place votes in parenthesis)
Miami (98) – 1,036
Pittsburgh (38) – 911
North Carolina (18) – 823
Virginia (6) – 667
Virginia Tech (3) – 592
Georgia Tech (1) – 343
Duke – 221

When A Hall Of Famer Talks, People Listen

During his first few days on campus, all he could do was chuckle.

As he’d make his way through the hallways of Miami’s football offices, the Hurricanes’ weight room or the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility, Jason Taylor noticed how more than a few of the Hurricanes would try to duck out of his way or stay silent as he walked past them.

That shyness, that sense of awe didn’t exactly last long. At all.

“Now, they cut me off. They don’t hold the door open for me. And that’s how it should be,” said Taylor, the former Miami Dolphin and Pro Football Hall of Famer who joined head coach Mario Cristobal’s staff as a defensive analyst in March. “They’re in awe a little bit, but once you get around a little, they start seeing that you’re just a normal guy. You’re a person that’s been somewhere they aspire to be and they start to become sponges and ask questions.”

And Taylor is more than happy to answer any and all questions the Hurricanes lob his way.

The opportunity to help the next generation of Miami players is part of the reason Taylor – a former defensive coordinator at Fort Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas High School – opted to join Cristobal’s staff, even with all his responsibilities as a broadcaster for the Dolphins and as a father with two sons that will be playing Power 5 football this fall.

The other major reason he decided to join the Hurricanes? Cristobal himself.

“The first thing about Mario, and people always talk about it, he’s intense now. And he’s relentless. I’ll be honest – I’ve been talking to Coach Cristobal since he got hired here,” Taylor said. “It was a two-and-a-half month process of back and forth. He was busy trying to get a staff and recruit, but he’s relentless. When he wants to get something done, he’s going to get it done. He was determined to bring together a staff of professionals, of guys that know the game, where iron can sharpen iron and guys that are familiar with the process and the identity he wants to establish here. He gets after it and that’s contagious…”

There’s no doubt Taylor brings plenty of know-how to a defensive staff that includes veterans like Kevin Steele, Charlie Strong, Joe Salave’a, Jahmile Addae and Rod Wright, who between them, have decades of college coaching experience and multiple championships.

Taylor added the experience of a 15-year NFL career that included six Pro Bowl appearances, a nod as the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a selection to NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s and 139.5 career sacks, a number that ranked sixth in the league at the time of his enshrinement in Canton in 2017.

Still, Taylor admits that in his first staff meetings, he was as in awe of the coaches around him as the Hurricanes players were during their first encounters with him.

An encouraging late-night text from Steele made the Hall of Famer feel a bit more comfortable speaking up in staff meetings and now Taylor is happy to share his thoughts with the veteran coaches around him.

“It’s been interesting and enlightening and empowering. It’s been great,” Taylor said. “Actually, the first couple days, I was just like the kids in the staff room. Kevin Steele has been coaching this game for 42 years. Jahmile just won a championship last year at the University of Georgia. Charlie Strong is a three-time head coach. Joe Salave’a has been with Mario out in Oregon and coached one of the top guys coming out in [Kayvon Thibodeaux] in the draft this year…There’s a lot of camaraderie, a lot of banter back and forth…I understand I’m the lowest guy on the totem pole in that staff room and I’m okay with that. I’m here to help and learn in any way I can.”

In terms of what Taylor will do with the Hurricanes, the aspiring coach will be helping coaches break down film and study opponents. He won’t be on the field, but he’ll help the Hurricanes self-scout and yes, his primary focus will be helping Miami’s edge players be the best they can be.

He’ll again be working with Wright, a former teammate of his both with the Dolphins and briefly, the New York Jets. And Wright is, understandably, excited to once again have Taylor on his side.

“Why do I listen to Jason Taylor? He’s a freaking Hall of Famer, right? You want to listen to guys who’ve been there, who’ve done it. That brings credibility,” Wright said. “And it’s not just about ability – it’s about being a pro, understanding I have to show up early. I have to take notes. I have to look at the notes. I have to apply that. I have to get better every single day. Those are things that kids aspire to be, so they listen to that. They’re like ‘Hey, this guy’s been there. This guy’s done that.’…To be able to bring that credibility, those kids are just champing at the bit to hear the knowledge that we have and the things that we’ve learned because that’s what they want to do one day.”

Legends Of The Fall Return To Campus

With dozens of former Hurricanes greats behind him and hundreds of young football players in front of him, Michael Irvin delivered a simple, passionate message.

If any of those young football players aspired to be Miami Hurricanes themselves, to eventually play in the NFL and leave their mark on the game, there was no easy path for them to follow.

No filmed Instagram workout would get them there. No quick practice would do the trick.

Hard work – and lots of it – would make the difference and on this particular Saturday morning, they’d have the chance to do some of that work in front of some of Miami’s biggest names.

But Irvin didn’t merely speak to the hundreds of young campers that filled the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility. The Hall of Fame receiver joined them on the Greentree Practice Field, showed them how to run routes and offered advice to more than a few attendees of Miami’s Legends Camp.

The event, the first under new head coach Mario Cristobal, brought together Miami’s past, present and potentially its future, with current and former Hurricanes players guiding the campers through drills.

And, Cristobal said, it served as a reminder of what Miami has the potential to be again.

“I feel that we’re working to address the things that need to be addressed, right? This is month seven and there’s work to be done. That’s what excited us about coming to Miami, amongst other things and we feel that’s being done,” Cristobal said. “We feel like the gap is closing. That people, once they set foot in Coral Gables, they realize how special Coral Gables is, how special the University of Miami is.

“And when they’re around guys like this…I mean, let’s call it what it is on that field right there and…in that indoor right now. These are the best players in college football, the best players in pro football. Guys they still see on TV. Michael Irvin addressed the entire audience. It’s great to see a guy like Reggie Wayne, who is now the wide receivers coach for the [Indianapolis Colts] be here…able to mentor and encourage guys as they go through workouts. It’s just very real. It’s organic. Let’s look back at the days when Miami was doing what Miami does, look at the sideline. You had an extra 40 assistant coaches in the form of Pro Bowlers and Hall of Famers. Those are some of the things we’re encouraging and working on, to make sure that alumni bond, that brotherhood is there for the world to see and that it’s real. It’s no BS.”

Among the Hurricanes greats that were in attendance Saturday along with Irvin and Wayne were Antrel Rolle, Brett Romberg, Jon Beason, Rohan Marley, Bennie Blades, Greg Mark, Jeremy Shockey, Hurlie Brown, Martin Bibla, Lamar Thomas, Tolbert Bain, Duane Starks, Roscoe Parrish, Randal Hill and Bryant McKinnie, to name a few.

Some of the newer members of Miami’s NFL fraternity were in attendance, too, including Greg Rousseau, Jaelan Phillips, Duke Johnson, Deon Bush, and Jonathan Feliciano.

Also on hand was Hurricanes great Alonzo Highsmith, who joined the Miami staff last month as the program’s new general manager of football operations.

His return – like Cristobal’s – was one welcomed by many of the former players in attendance. They expressed hope that Highsmith’s years of experience as an NFL executive would only be a boon as Cristobal continues the work of reshaping Miami’s program.

“To see [Cristobal] come back and take the reins, but also interject the right people…Miami’s done a good job this time around, getting Alonzo here also,” Irvin said. “That’s big. I talk to Zo all the time. I called him when he got this job and I said ‘Man, it’s so, so great.’… I said to him, ‘Nobody saw those hours you put in. Nobody saw the work you put in. You’ve earned this spot. Nobody gave it to you.’ We need that throughout the building. That’s what I talked about with Coach [Cristobal], too…

“Winning championships doesn’t just happen on the practice field. It happens within the building. The whole building has to be on championship alert and that’s what we’re getting back to now. That’s what Coach has talked about. You can’t be half and half on this…It has to be from the top down and everybody’s got to work toward the same thing.”

Homecoming For Highsmith

The University of Miami has hired longtime National Football League executive and Hurricanes great Alonzo Highsmith as general manager of football operations, head football coach Mario Cristobal announced Thursday.

“Alonzo is a true Miami Hurricane,” Cristobal said. “He understands the commitment and sacrifice it takes to be a champion on and off the field. His tremendous passion for the University of Miami and this city is unparalleled.

“Alonzo brings experience as a student-athlete, a first-round NFL draft pick and an NFL executive. He shares our vision for the trajectory and the culture of this football program, and his knowledge and experience will allow him to make a positive and powerful impact on our program and community. I am fired up to welcome home another Miami Hurricane!”

As general manager of football operations, Highsmith will work directly with Cristobal to support all administrative functions of the football program, including budget related items, culture building, program imaging, and working directly with staff members both on and off the field. He will also serve as a liaison between the administration and football program, serve as a liaison between former Miami players and staff, assist with scouting and roster assessment and supervise NFL relations.

“We are excited to welcome Alonzo back to Coral Gables.” Vice President/Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich said. “His extensive experience as an NFL executive will provide tremendous value to our football operations. In addition, we are looking forward to having him as a member of our senior administrative team.”

Highsmith, who played running back for the Hurricanes from 1983-1986, boasts 29 years’ experience and 18 playoff appearances as an NFL player, scout and executive. He has spent the past 23 years in scouting and personnel, most recently serving as senior executive advisor to the general manager for the Seattle Seahawks.

“It is an honor to come back to the University of Miami and I am very humbled,” Highsmith said. “The opportunity to work with Mario Cristobal and Dan Radakovich, as well as my passion and love for the city of Miami is what brought me back. I could not pass up this opportunity and this challenge.”

Prior to his stint in Seattle, Highsmith served as vice president of personnel for the Cleveland Browns from 2018 to 2019. Before joining the Browns, he spent 19 seasons in the Green Bay Packers’ player personnel department.

Highsmith joined the Packers as a college scout in 1999 and spent 13 years on their college scouting staff. He was promoted to senior personnel executive in 2012 and remained in that role through the 2017 season. During his time in Green Bay, the Packers earned 13 trips to the playoffs, captured nine NFC North division titles and won Super Bowl XLV.

Highsmith starred at Miami’s Columbus High School before lettering four years at Miami, playing for legendary coaches Howard Schnellenberger and Jimmy Johnson. As a freshman fullback he led the Hurricanes in rushing in the 1984 Orange Bowl, helping Miami defeat Nebraska to win the first of its five national championships.