For Miami, the 2012 season looked like it would distance the program from the Nevin Shapiro scandal and, as coach Al Golden hopes, serve as the first step in the Hurricanes' eventual rise back to prominence in the college football world.
Then Friday’s Yahoo! Sports report came along, alleging recruiting violations against Golden and his staff, and brought the whole ordeal back to the forefront. Golden had to deal with the questions all over again at the ACC Kickoff. Though he could not go into specifics, he did defend himself.
Obviously, Golden doesn’t need these added distractions. He will have plenty of on-field issues this fall, mainly dealing with a roster that includes 32 true freshmen and 51 first- or second-year players. With so many new players, Golden isn’t even thinking about class or age.
“I told the team and I’m going to continue to tell the coaches there’s no classification by age this year,” Golden said. “There’s too many young kids in the program to talk about freshman running backs or senior running backs.”
There are high expectations for a lot of the true freshmen, including defensive back Tracy Howard, linebacker Raphael Kirby, and running back Duke Johnson. With running back Lamar Miller’s decision to enter the NFL Draft, Johnson could have an opportunity to make an impact in the backfield this year alongside senior running back Mike James.
“Hopefully, [Johnson] will study his playbook and learn and really respond for us,” Golden said. “He’s a young guy that has the tools and the make-up to be a significant contributor on this team.”
Miami will have to get consistent play out of its quarterback, whether that is junior Stephen Morris or Memphis transfer Ryan Williams. Golden said Morris is fully recovered from offseason back surgery. He is the favorite to win the job, but Williams started 10 games at Memphis before transferring and sitting out last season.
Consistency is the key not only at quarterback but for the program as a whole. Last year, you never knew which Miami team you were getting on a given week. The Hurricanes would beat Georgia Tech 24-7 one week then trail Virginia 17-0 in the second quarter the next.
“Somebody called us an EKG last year because we were up and down and that’s right,” Golden said. “But we were up and down in the weight room. We were up and down on the practice field. We were up and down with our weights. We were up and down with our class attendance. We really just got to get to the point where we’re the same team and the same people every day.”
Defensively, Miami will need defensive end Anthony Chickillo and linebacker Denzel Perryman to step up in their sophomore seasons. Chickillo was a highly touted recruit who tied for the team lead with 5 sacks in 2011 while Perryman was second on the team with 69 tackles. Despite safety Ray-Ray Armstrong’s dismissal, the secondary still has some experience with seniors Vaughn Telemaque and Brandon McGee. However, it’ll need to make more plays because Miami had just 6 interceptions all of last year.
The schedule certainly doesn’t do this young Miami team any favors. The Hurricanes play non-conference games at Kansas State, in Chicago against Notre Dame, and at home against South Florida. The home conference schedule sets up well with Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and NC State all having to play at Sun Life Stadium. For the second year in a row, Miami opens with a road conference game, and the freshmen will be tested early with a trip to Boston College.
“There’s a lot of guys that have never played Boston College that are going to play in that game,” Golden said. “Maybe they’re too young to figure out they’re nervous.”
While the Nevin Shapiro talk doesn’t look to be ceasing anytime soon, Al Golden knows of a certain way to shift the focus.
“For us to get back to where we want to be in the college football world, we can talk about everything and what the expectations are and anything on the outside, but the reality is for us at the University of Miami, right here, right now, there’s only one way out,” Golden said. “And that’s to win the Coastal Division.”
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