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Miami Goes Undefeated, Beats Clemson 58-0!

Who said that the shortened 2020 college football season, due to COVID-19, would be a difficult one for the Miami Hurricanes?

Who said that the new starting QB wouldn't be the best QB in college football in 2020? Who said that the new offensive coordinator wouldn't make a HUGE impact on the team's performance? Who said that the new offensive line coach wouldn't make the biggest imact on the team?

Who said that? Was it OGV? Go Canes? SolarCane? Was it NativeCane? AeroCane? RaizeCane? Was it KYCane? Terrance? MaryLou? Or maybe it was CGNC?

Well, I can't remember who said it, but whoever said it was WRONG!

The Miami Hurricanes finished the 2020 season as ACC Champs and National champs. And they beat the crap outta Clemson 58-0 to top it off! The 2020 college football season turned from being a horrible year into the best year ever for the Miami Hurricanes and their resilient and dedicated fans.

At least a guy can dream, right?

Now the only question is...Can we actually get to play a season in 2020?

And, well, can we get a repeat in 2021?

De-fense, De-fense

Two Miami Hurricanes added to their preseason accolades Tuesday when they were selected to the watch list for the 2020 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, honoring the national defensive player of the year.

Redshirt sophomore Greg Rousseau and redshirt senior Quincy Roche, who were both picked as players to watch for the Chuck Bednarik Award earlier in July, were both recognized by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) as candidates for the Nagurski Trophy. Both players are expecting stellar seasons.

Miami was one of just 18 schools with multiple players selected.

In a breakout redshirt freshman season, Rousseau was named 2019 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and to the 2019 All-ACC First Team. Rousseau led the ACC in sacks (15.5) and tackles for loss (19.5), ranking No. 2 nationally in sacks and tied for No. 9 in TFLs. Rousseau’s sack total tied the second-best mark in a single season in Miami history, and he became only the second Hurricane ever to win ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

After a dominant career with the Temple Owls, Roche transferred to Miami for his final season of eligibility. Roche racked up 137 total tackles, 39.5 tackles for loss and 26 sacks in his career, and ranked No. 5 in sacks (13.0) and No. 11 in TFLs (19.0) a year ago. Roche was selected as American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in his final season with the Owls, and he finished his career with seven PBUs, six forced fumbles and three blocked kicks.

The winner of the 2020 Bronko Nagurski Trophy presented by LendingTree as the National Defensive Player of the Year will be chosen from five finalists selected by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association’s full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Nagurski Trophy finalists. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.

The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football, then became a star for professional football’s Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw “Bronko” Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org and @NCFAA on Twitter to learn more about the association.

Restrepo To The Rescue!

The messages pop in every morning, and every morning, Donald Chaney Jr. finds himself inspired. The texts aren’t from a coach, a mentor, a trainer or a parent. They’re from one of his teammates.

And with every one, Xavier Restrepo tries to remind Chaney and the rest of Miami’s freshmen that they have the opportunity of a lifetime.

It’s their job now to capitalize on it.

It’s their job to make the Hurricanes better.

“When I wasn’t in spring, I can verify one person who was on everybody, who was taking care of a lot of things and it was Xavier Restrepo,” said Chaney, a running back who has since recovered from the shoulder injury that sidelined him during Miami’s spring drills earlier this year. “We get a morning text from Restrepo every day telling us, ‘Let’s work today, boys. Let’s grind. Let’s go do this.’ I wake up every morning looking for Xavier’s text.”

That Restrepo is starting to emerge as one of the positive forces in Miami’s 2020 recruiting class comes as no surprise to those who know him best, including his new Hurricanes teammates.

The former four-star prospect at Deerfield Beach High has long wanted to play at Miami, spurning offers from the likes of Georgia, Louisville, Boston College and Oregon, among others, to sign with the Hurricanes. His 4.5 GPA intrigued several Ivy League programs, too.

But Restrepo held firm.

Miami was where he wanted to be.

“Honestly, there’s not much more I can say other than it’s a dream come true,” the 5-foot-10, 190-pound receiver said of his chance to be a Hurricane. “It’s really been like that my whole life. I’ve always wanted to play for the University of Miami and being able to have the opportunity to play and a compete at a high level is amazing. It’s an amazing feeling.

For more click here: https://miamihurricanes.com/news/2020/07/13/restrepo-living-a-dream/

I Tried To Tell You, But Nobody Listens

Even as some States begin to relax COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, many federal, state and local officials are beginning to develop plans on if, when and how their cities, states and the Country as a whole can eventually resume normal operations. These plans also include when large crowd events such as religious services, concerts and sports events can resume.

The fact that the ratings for something as mundane as the 2020 NFL Draft from the Commissioner's basement was among the highest rated TV "sports events" ever held demonstrates how important the need to get back on the field, the court, the rink or the track is in terms of healing the Nation's psyche and restoring any sense of normalcy.

While I am not a medical professional or elected official, I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and I also graduated from the University of Miami (with honors) so I decided I would give it my best shot at solving this situation.

We will divide this effort into four sections: The stadium requirements (seating and sanitizing), the players, coaches and other team personnel requirements (testing and treatment), the fan requirements (testing and PPE) and the season schedule (several options).

STADIUM REQUIREMENTS: 

All stadium personnel tested and cleared before returning to work and once a month during the season.

Sanitize entire stadium including food service areas, bathrooms and seating areas before each game.

Hand Sanitizer stations at entry gates and throughout stadiums at all food service and bathroom areas.

Stagger seating on each row (odd/even #seats) and/or skip rows in between.

First game 20,000 fans allowed with every fourth seat occupied (other seats marked with X).

Second Game 30,000 fans allowed every third seat occupied (see above).

Third Game 40,000 fans allowed every other seat occupied (see above).

Games 4-7 a total of 60,000 fans maximum capacity at all stadiums regardless of seating capacity.

If at any time an outbreak occurs then the season would be halted or canceled.

FAN REQUIREMENTS:

Pre-attendance negative test certification within 30 days of date of first game through private medical doctors, public testing facilities already in place and/or drive thru testing sites located at stadium parking lots (multiple sites/entrances) starting 30 days prior to the season beginning.

Mandatory quick forehead temperature scan at entry.

Fans required to sanitize at entry and throughout stadiums at food service and restroom areas.

Face covering or mask and gloves required for first three games and then recommended after that.

Free college emblem masks and team colored gloves at entry at scrimmage and first three games.

Only season ticket holders may attend. Maximum of 60,000 season tickets may be sold. Season tickets would be priced differently for attending 7, 6, 5 or 4 games in 2020.

This incorporates the fact that during the first three games only 20k, 30k, and 40k fans would attend. For those fans who are younger, in good health and are more willing to take more risk they would be able to attend all seven home games, while for those older or more cautious fans they could choose to attend as few as four games giving both groups opportunities and options.

This also makes testing much easier prior to the season starting and greatly minimizes the risk to a very small sub-group of the population (60,000 max). This also makes it easy to track and trace contacts of this group both while at the stadium and afterwards while in the community.

PLAYERS AND COACHES:

Test all players and coaches prior to practice resuming and scrimmages being held. 

Test all players and coaches prior to each regular season game. 

Any coach or player testing positive to be ruled ineligible to play/coach, isolated and treated with available drug interventions.

All travel is on team only chartered flights and/or buses.

GAME SCHEDULE:

Three week Fall practice schedule in normal time frame (August). Players/coaches tested weekly.

Fall Scrimmages: First scrimmage is closed to the public, no TV. Second Scrimmage is televised but no fans. Third scrimmage is public with 10,000 fans maximum (negative test certification required, social distancing and PPE required) and televised. 

Regular Season Option A: Gradual return with six conference only games with two weeks in between games (12 week season).

Televised team scrimmages in between games that count against other teams.

Two weeks between games allows for additional testing, diagnosis and treatment when indicated.

Two teams selected by conference to play in conference championship game at neutral site.

No National Championship first year, only conference records and championships recorded.

Regular Season Option B: Total return with 12 regularly scheduled games, conference and non-conference.

No changes to regularly scheduled games with seven home games and five away games.

No change to conference or National championship games.

Regular Season Option C:  Eliminate conferences for one year and only intra-state games allowed (8 game practice season).

Eliminates long flights or travel to highly affected areas.

Miami would play all Florida schools: FSU, UF, UCF, USF, FAU, FIU, FAMU, BCC, etc. Teams may play more than once if needed.

From Coral Gables To Canton

The following is from an article at hurricanesports.com. Click to read more:

https://miamihurricanes.com/news/2020/06/30/from-coral-gables-to-canton-jimmy-johnsons-journey/

But, those issues were resolved in short order, with the Hurricanes posting a 10-2 record in Johnson’s second season, an 11-1 mark his third season, and Miami winning its second national title four years into Johnson’s tenure.

During that remarkable run, Johnson filled Miami’s roster with a plethora of talented playmakers and the Hurricanes played a competitive schedule against a series of top-10 teams.

The coach says it was then that he learned to trust his instincts, especially when it came to evaluating players. But it was a disappointing showing against Penn State in the infamous 1987 Fiesta Bowl that forced Johnson to take a hard look at how he was approaching the game.

“In some ways, it was a little bit easy the first few years and I probably got a little bit overconfident that third year when we went through and had a chance to win the national championship and didn’t do it,” Johnson said. “We came up short in the Fiesta Bowl and it was probably the most devastating loss I’d ever had in my career, college or pro.

“It made me step back and realize I’ve got to take care of the small things. I can’t overlook anything. We always have to be aggressive. No lead is safe. That’s why people accused me of running up the score on teams, but I was never going to take a chance on losing a ball game. We played hard for 60 minutes in every game, regardless of the opponent, regardless of the score. It made me a better coach. It really prepared me for the NFL.”

In the NFL, Johnson eventually posted an 80-64 record in nine seasons. He led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl titles and was recognized in 1990 as the Associated Press Coach of the Year.

He became the first of just three coaches to have led a team to both a Super Bowl win and a college national championship, with Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll later joining that elite fraternity.

For years, football fans – and Johnson’s former players, too – wondered when he’d finally get the call from Canton.

It came in January when David Baker, the President of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, surprised Johnson and his NFL on Fox co-hosts during halftime of the NFC divisional round playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers.

The emotional moment left the charismatic and gregarious Johnson in tears. Now, five months later, with his induction ceremony postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that day has become even more special.

“To be honest with you, I’ve had the moment,” said Johnson, who is already a member of the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. “Just going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, that was the moment. Anything else after that is more for the fans and for the people that helped me get to that point. It’s really spending time with them and letting them enjoy it. But I’ve had my moment. My moment came when they said, ‘You’re in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.’”