Tonight when your Miami Hurricanes travel to Wallace Wade Stadium to face ACC Coastal Division foe Duke (7 p.m. / ESPNU) a new era in UM football will start. Larry Scott will replace the fired Al Golden on the sidelines as the new head coach of the Hurricanes.
Here are some quick facts about the teams, the series and the game from www.hurricanesports.com:
-The Hurricanes carry a commanding 10-2 all-time series lead against Duke, including a 5-1 mark in Durham. UM won the 2014 matchup between the schools, a 22-10 decision at Sun Life Stadium.
-Duke, ranked No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches Poll & No. 22 by the Associated Press, represent Miami’s third ranked opponent of 2015; the Hurricanes played at No. 8/12 Florida State on Oct. 10 and played No. 6/6 Clemson last weekend (Oct. 31).
FIVE THINGS:
1. Interim head coach Larry Scott will be coaching his first game at the helm of the Hurricanes against No. 22/18 Duke.
2. Miami carries a 10-2 all-time record against the Blue Devils into Saturday’s matchup, including a 5-1 all-time mark in Durham.
3. QB Brad Kaaya’s 1,846 passing yards are tops among ACC quarterbacks; he is averaging an ACC-best 263.7 yards per game.
4. Miami’s +11 turnover margin is the second-best mark in the nation; Miami has lost just five turnovers, sixth-fewest in FBS.
5. Both redshirt senior WR Rashawn Scott (1,019) and junior WR Stacy Coley (1,042) surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards last time out against Clemson.
When you think of any of the most significant, long time, truly dedicated and experienced coaches at the University of Miami, the name of current UM Offensive Line Coach Art Kehoe has to come to mind first and foremost.
Kehoe played and coached at UM through many of the National Championship years that built Miami's amazing reputation for dominating college football. So then one has to ask, when Al Golden was sent packing, why wasn't Kehoe assigned the interim head coaching spot?
Here is the summary of the curious case of Art Kehoe according to Canespace:
Art Kehoe is in his fifth season as the offensive line coach on Al Golden’s staff and his 31st year overall as a Miami Hurricane. Kehoe, an integral part of The U Football legacy, has coached some of the best offensive linemen to ever play the game.
This past season, Kehoe continued Miami’s offensive line legacy as he coached three offensive lineman, which would go on to sign NFL contracts following the 2014 campaign, including offensive tackle Ereck Flowers, who was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.
Under Kehoe’s leadership in 2014, the Hurricanes’ line paved the way for an offensive unit to average 430.3 yards per game, a figure that ranked fourth in the ACC. In addition, Miami’s offensive line cleared lanes for three Hurricane running backs to rush for over 5.0 yards per carry. As a team, Miami averaged 180.4 rushing yards per game.
During the 2013 campaign, Miami’s offensive line averaged 160.3 yards per game on the ground and saw four running backs average over 4.0 yards per carry.
In 2012, Kehoe coached an offensive line that paved the way for the ACC’s third-best passing offense led by Stephen Morris’ 3,345 passing yards and FWAA Freshman All-American Duke Johnson, who rushed for a UM freshman-record 947 yards.
In his first season back at Miami since 2005, Kehoe coached a 2011 line that helped UM to one of its most efficient offensive seasons in memory. The line blocked for the likes of Lamar Miller (1,272 rushing yards) and protected quarterback Jacory Harris (2,486 passing yards) en route to a national ranking of No. 3 in offensive efficiency, according to Footballoutsiders.com.
Kehoe returned to his alma mater in 2011, where he served as an assistant and eventually offensive line coach from 1981-2005. Kehoe began his coaching career in 1981 as a student assistant at UM. A 1982 graduate of Miami, he was an integral part of the Miami football renaissance since its beginnings in the late 1970s. He came to Miami in 1979 as a transfer from Laney Junior College in Oakland, Calif., and started at guard for the Hurricanes for two seasons under head coach Howard Schnellenberger.
Kehoe’s tenure of 28 years at Miami, a span during which he has either played or coached for six head football coaches, ranks among the longest of any UM athletics figure.
During his time working with the Hurricanes’ offensive line, Kehoe has produced seven players (Eric Winston in 2005, Brett Romberg in 2002, Bryant McKinnie in 2001, Joaquin Gonzalez in 2000, Richard Mercier in 1999, K.C. Jones in 1996 and Leon Searcy in 1991) who received first-team All-America honors. In addition, 23 more of his protégés went on to play professionally, including 19 all-conference honorees, one Outland Trophy winner and the 2002 Rimington Award winner.
Kehoe was on the staff for all five of UM’s national championship teams, two Heisman Trophy winners and eight of the Hurricanes’ nine 1,000-yard rushers rushed behind the blocking of Kehoe’s offensive linemen. His 2000 and 2001 units are often considered among the highest-performing offensive lines in recent college football history, and his 2002 unit was widely considered the nation’s finest by many observers.
A native of Conshohocken, Pa., Kehoe served instrumental in the rebirth of Miami football, playing on the 1979 and 1980 teams that returned UM to national prominence with a victory in the 1980 Peach Bowl (UM’s first bowl win since 1966). After his playing days ended, Kehoe stayed at UM as a student assistant coach in 1981 and a graduate assistant coach from 1982-84. He ascended to full-time status in 1985 and worked with the offensive line through the 2005 season. From 1992-94, Kehoe also tutored tight ends in addition to his duties with the offensive line.
As a coach, Kehoe went to 22 bowl games with the Hurricanes and tutored some of the greatest players in Miami history including Leon Searcy, Mike Sullivan, Jones, Mercier, McKinnie, Gonzalez, Romberg and Vernon Carey. A contemporary of legendary UM quarterback Jim Kelly, Kehoe has developed offensive lines that have protected many of the Hurricaenes’ outstanding quarterbacks including Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde, Steve Walsh, Craig Erickson, Gino Torretta, Ken Dorsey and Jacory Harris.
Kehoe, 56, is working for his sixth Miami head coach, spanning the likes of Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis, Larry Coker and now Al Golden. Kehoe even served as UM’s interim head coach for 19 days during the transition from the Erickson to Davis era in 1995.
In addition to his coaching accomplishments, Kehoe was inducted into the University of Miami Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.
Many believed he could not fail, but Randy Shannon failed too.
After winning a National Championship in 2001, and almost winning back-to-back BCS titles with a shot at number two in 2002, Larry Coker faded from our rear view mirror as fast as the hot South Florida sun setting over the horizon.
Not wanting to repeat the same mistakes that have doomed the Miami Hurricanes football team to mediocrity over the past decade or so, I thought it would be wise to ask the fans to provide reasons why each of the last three coaches have either failed or faded as the head coach at UM.
But before we begin, some quick points of clarification.
This is not intended to be an open door for venting your anger at or attacking the coaches personally or professionally. None of the three previous coaches are bad people nor do they deserve personal attacks. However, they either failed to get the job done in the first place or just drove the program into the ground to resemble the current dumpster fire that we all see.
No, actually this is about trying to have a sensible, mature, productive, realistic, fact based, stat driven discussion about why each of these three seemingly well-intentioned, hard working and qualified coaches simply could not get the job done in Coral Gables.
I doubt it will work as planned, but it is at least worth the attempt and effort.
The only issue is, at least judging by his results and current employment status, Al Golden is not a very good football coach. That is a very sad fact indeed.
And, since that is his primary job, that is not a very good thing.
With unprecedented excitement surrounding the 2015-16 University of Miami men’s basketball team, Hurricane fans have responded in record numbers, already setting a new program high for most season tickets sold.
Fewer than 1,000 seats are still available for sale, after accounting for seats sold as season tickets plus those held for current UM students and team use.
"When we first arrived at Miami, we were told it would be tough to sell out the BankUnited Center and it would be hard to build a basketball fan base," said Head Coach Jim Larrañaga. "But in four short years, we have set all kinds of records with both sellout crowds and student attendance."
Season ticket pricing for remaining seats start at $249, following a sellout in the $130 sections. Click here to view remaining availability and pricing or call 1-800-GO-CANES to order by phone.
Due to record season ticket sales, seats may not be available on a single-game basis."It's exciting to see our fans and the local community rally around our men's basketball team," said Jason Layton, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Sales & Communications.
"With fewer than 1,000 seats remaining for sale, a month before we've played our first game, we could very reasonably sell out each of our ACC games if not the entire season."
The 17-game home schedule opens on Nov. 13 and includes a non-conference matchup with Florida on Dec. 8 plus ACC contests against Duke, Syracuse, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and two-time defending ACC Regular Season Champion, Virginia.
Ranked No. 21 in the latest CBS Sports Preseason Top-25 poll, the Hurricanes return the core lineup from a squad that advanced to the championship game of the 2015 NIT, including seniors Angel Rodriguez, Tonye Jekiri and Sheldon McClellan, who was among the 20 players named to the watch list for the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.
"This is going to be a fun year and we are excited to hear that our fans are getting behind this team even before the games begin by purchasing season tickets in huge numbers," Larrañaga said. "Our players and coaches are working extremely hard to take Miami basketball to the next level."
Junior cornerback Artie Burns was named ACC Defensive Back of the Week following the Miami Hurricanes’ 30-20 victory over Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon at Sun Life Stadium. Burns received the award after he tallied a career-high two interceptions, including one late in the fourth quarter, which helped seal the Hurricanes win over the Hokies.
Burns currently leads the team with five interceptions on the year. His five picks are the most by a Hurricane since Sean Taylor had 10 in 2003. In addition, Burns’ five interceptions ranks fifth nationally. The Hurricanes return home this weekend as they welcome sixth-ranked Clemson to Sun Life Stadium. Kickoff is set for Noon and will be aired nationally on ABC.
When an offsides penalty gave Brad Kaaya a free play, he cashed in with a long completion to help the Miami Hurricanes beat Virginia Tech.
The 45-yard gain led to the touchdown that put the Hurricanes ahead to stay. Kaaya also directed a 75-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes of Saturday's 30-20 win.
Kaaya finished 19 for 30 for 296 yards. His pivotal completion came with the score tied, Miami at its own 11-yard line and 42 seconds left in the first half.
The Hurricanes were trying to run out the clock, but on third and 20, Virginia Tech jumped offsides. The Hurricanes took advantage by switching to deep pass.
"If they jump offsides, it's an automatic go route," Kaaya said.
"Brad is really sharp with that," coach Al Golden said.
Kaaya hit Herb Waters for a gain to the Tech 44, and Miami went on to score with four seconds left in the half.
"That's a game-changer right there," Kaaya said. "It changed momentum. I think it changed the outcome."
Miami (4-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) bounced back from a loss a week earlier at Florida State and beat the Hokies (3-4, 1-2) for the second year in a row. The Hurricanes are hoping for a rematch with the Seminoles in the ACC title game in December.
"We preached we can't worry about last week," Kaaya said. "We want to see Florida State again. To do that, we have to handle business."
Miami's defense forced four Tech turnovers and had three sacks. Brenden Motley threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, which led to 10 Miami points.
"We played great on defense," end Chad Thomas said. "We were greedy."
After Tech scored a touchdown to cut Miami's lead to 23-20 midway through the fourth quarter, Kaaya led a nine-play drive and capped it by throwing a 2-yard touchdown pass to Rashawn Scott with 2:44 to go.
Artie Burns then sealed the victory with his second interception of the game. The Hurricanes committed no turnovers.
"We made too many mistakes, gave them too much," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said.
Beamer second-guessed himself for deploying an aggressive defense at the end of the first half, when Miami went the length of the field to score on Kaaya's 7-yard pass to Scott.
"If I have to do it over, I play before the half different," Beamer said.
Motley went 14 for 23 for 136 yards. He was replaced midway through the second half by Michael Brewer, who played for the first time since he broke his left collarbone in Tech's season-opening loss to No. 1 Ohio State.
Brewer threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Ford before the Hurricanes answered with their final touchdown drive.
"Unfortunately it wasn't enough," Brewer said. "But it was nice to get out there and get my feet wet a little bit."
Miami played the last 20 minutes without middle linebacker Raphael Kirby, who was carted to the locker room with a right knee injury. His replacement, sophomore Juwon Young, had an interception and a tackle for a loss.
"I've been kind of down, waiting for my chance, and today I got it," Young said. "It made me feel good my preparation paid off."
A month removed from its first competition of the season, the Miami Hurricanes swimming & diving team makes its return to the pool Friday for the first of three dual meets over a two-day span.
The Hurricanes will face off against FAU, Rice and FIU as part of Dual-a-Palooza hosted by FIU at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center on October16-17.
Miami faces off against FAU at 4 p.m. Friday, Rice at 10 a.m. Saturday and wraps up against FIU Saturday at 3 p.m.
“It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through October and we’re going to swim again after competing a month before,” head coach Andy Kershaw said. “A lot of times this is where we start our competitive season. But our training has been very good, it’s gotten more grueling, and our team is putting in those important building blocks for the season.”
Kershaw has been impressed with his team’s work ethic in the pool since returning from the All-Florida Invitational in Gainesville on Sept. 20, where he says intensity has maintained at a high level.
“[Intensity] is one of the areas we’ve improved the most on, not just this year but over the last little bit here, it has been a challenging environment,” Kershaw said. “That’s been good. That’s what we want to prepare for.”
Crucial to maintaining that intensity has been the leadership of veterans across the team, including senior captains Kara McCormack and My Fridell.
“Kara and My are two tremendous captains,” Kershaw said. “They’ve definitely fulfilled those roles to the fullest. Kara more so with the divers, while My has been the one keeping things moving in the right direction in the pool with our swimmers.”
Several others – including junior Angela Algee, junior Cameron Davis, junior Christina Leander, sophomore Julie Suarez and sophomore Ksenia Yuskova – have also been pivotal in keeping training at a high level.
Kershaw hopes that training pays off this weekend, as Miami competes against two local teams and another familiar opponent from his time on the coaching staff at SMU in Texas.
“They’re three great programs, and I have a lot of respect for all of them,” Kershaw said. “All four of us are all a little different in the way we’ve designed our programs, our training and things like that.”
Miami fell by one point to FIU in last year’s dual meet on Senior Day, and Kershaw expects the Hurricanes to be incentivized by the chance to capture a victory Saturday.
“Both FIU and FAU are local, so it brings an added element of energy,” Kershaw said. “I’m sure all three teams are keen on that fact, I know that we all feel that way. You want to beat the teams that compete close to you.”
Kershaw expects the team to be ready for Friday’s Dual-a-Palooza opener against FAU before closing Saturday with Rice and FIU.
“These are all programs that have swimmers at the NCAA Championships, and that’s what we want to compare ourselves against,” Kershaw said. “We want to come Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon and say, ‘Bring your best against our best.’ And when it’s all said and done, we’ll get back to working on the season.”
University of Miami head baseball coach Jim Morris announced the hiring of Norberto Lopez to the position of assistant baseball coach Friday.
Lopez, who got his start playing baseball at Monsignor Pace High School in Hialeah, Fla., before moving on to Broward College and Nova Southeastern, will oversee catchers and will also assist coach Gino DiMare with the Hurricane hitters.
“Coach Lopez is exactly what we need. He’s a Miami guy, he’s someone who has caught in college and professional baseball, and he is a great source of knowledge for our players at that position,” Morris said.
After being drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 1999, he spent three years in the organization. Lopez advanced to AAA and made an appearance in the Angels’ major league camp.
Most recently, Lopez served on the UTPA Broncs coaching staff from 2009-2015. He was promoted to the position of Broncs associate head coach prior to the 2015 season.
“I’m extremely excited – I can’t express it in words,” Lopez said about joining the Miami staff. “Growing up in Miami, I was a big fan of UM, and now I get to work alongside a legend in Jim Morris, a great recruiting coordinator in Gino DiMare and a tremendous pitching coach in JD Arteaga.”
Behind the plate Lopez will be working with 2015 All-America and All-ACC first team selection Zack Collins, as well as all of the Hurricanes catchers.
“I’m very excited about having him and what he can bring to our program,” Morris said. “Coach Lopez can help elevate Zack and all of our catchers to the next level.”
Lopez was an assistant coach for FAU where he helped the Owls compile a .341 batting average with 93 homeruns in 2007, and a .321 batting average with 99 homeruns in 2008.
Prior to his time at FAU, Lopez spent two years at Broward Community College from 2004 through 2006 where he led the team to a third place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series. Serving as the hitting and catching coach, Lopez saw his team hit .301, set the home run record at the state tournament and win the Florida Community College Activities Association state title.
Lopez graduated from Nova Southeastern University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1999. In 2006, he earned a master’s in exceptional student education from Nova Southeastern.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity that Coach Morris has given me,” Lopez said. “When you have that much talent on the team, and you get to work with those types of players and people, you’re blessed. I’m excited to get started.”
The University of Miami volleyball team picked up a big road win on Sunday, beating Duke in a five-set thriller on the Blue Devils’ home floor.
The Hurricanes (11-5, 4-2 ACC) took the opening set, 25-22, thanks to a balanced attack that saw five different Canes register at least one kill against the Blue Devils. But Duke evened the match at one set apiece, taking the second set 28-26 to send the Canes and Blue Devils into the break tied 1-1.
Duke took the third set, 25-19, finishing off the set scoring eight of the final nine points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. But a resilient Miami squad returned the favor with a 25-19 win in the fourth set that forced a decisive fifth set at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Miami outlasted Duke, 15-12, in the fifth set to clinch the Hurricanes’ first win in Durham since Nov. 10, 2012. The victory extended Miami’s current winning streak to four, with the Canes earning their fourth ACC victory of the season.
The Hurricanes had several players step up in Sunday’s road tilt, but few could match the high level of play brought by senior Alexis Mourning. The gifted middle blocker tallied 15 kills, while hitting a team-best .500 against the Blue Devils. Mourning also was a force at the net defensively, recording a team-leading seven blocks.
Olga Strantzali led the Canes with 18 kills, adding a career-high 20 digs to finish with her second double-double of the weekend and eighth of the season.
Senior Taylor Scott was the third Cane to finish with double-digit kills, recording 15 kills to go with her nine digs, four blocks and a team-high two service aces.
Haley Templeton dished out a career-high 56 assists in Sunday’s win over Duke. The sophomore setter added 10 digs and a block to record her fifth double-double of the season.
Miami also got solid production from junior Kelsie Groot and freshman Kolby Bird. The duo combined for 15 kills, 12 digs and two blocks. Senior libero Kalysta White tied her career-high with 27 digs.
The Hurricanes saw several players different players contribute on Sunday afternoon, with Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara using 12 different players against the Blue Devils.
Middle blockers Sakile Simmons and Lucia Pampana, as well as defensive specialist Sylvia Hernandez, outside hitter Anna Haak and setter Caitilin Donahoe saw action against Duke.