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CBS Sports Graphic

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — There is a long line of Miami fanatics and diehards soaking in the Hurricanes' College Football Playoff run, flashing "The U" loudly and proudly as their team pursues a national title for the first time in 24 years.

But always standing in the front and center is a Hall of Famer.

Michael Irvin is the most recognizable Miami superfan on the planet, and maybe the rowdiest. The former Hurricanes star and 1987 national champion has been a constant presence on the sideline all season, cheering, burrowing into team huddles, crawling on all fours during tense moments, hooting, hollering and hugging just about anyone within reach.

Last week, after Miami's 24-14 quarterfinal victory against Ohio State, Irvin ripped a belt from his waist and lashed a water cooler draped in a Buckeyes jersey.

"I told you not to come to this stadium!" he screamed.

For anyone tuning in for the first time Thursday night in the Fiesta Bowl semifinals against Ole Miss, prepare for the most entertaining smash hit of the season: The Michael Irvin Show.

For Miami, it's just another game day. 

"I love him," Miami quarterback Carson Beck said. "The energy that he brings to this team -- it's irreplaceable."

Irvin isn't the only familiar face roaming the sideline. Heck, walk through the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility in Coral Gables, and you might spot Jonathan Vilma in the weight room. Even former national championship coach Butch Davis attended spring practices in April. National champion superstar Andre Johnson sometimes offers advice to the Hurricanes' quarterbacks and receivers. Ray Lewis watched last week's upset of Ohio State in a suit, pacing nervously inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Warren Sapp was also there, watching from a field-level suite. Beloved former Miami assistant Ed Orgeron was even a guest on the sideline.

"A lot of the places you go, you see the pictures on the wall, you see the alums, you see the articles, you see the old clips," Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said. "Here, they're always there."

An open door

That was intentional. When Mario Cristobal took over in 2022, he made reconnecting Miami's past with its present a priority. Cristobal, a former Hurricanes offensive lineman during the late-1980s heyday, wanted alumni -- not just the legends -- to feel welcome.

"It also gives our players a chance to experience that brotherhood that we have always spoken so strongly about," Cristobal said.

And that brotherhood is real. Moments after Miami beat Ohio State on New Year's Day, Cristobal halted his own postgame interview when he spotted former coach Jimmy Johnson, who recruited him and led Miami to the 1987 national title.

"There you go, brother. Greentree practice field!" Cristobal yelled, referencing the iconic practice fields on Miami's campus.

Miami receiver CJ Daniels is no stranger to hallowed grounds. He transferred from LSU, another program steeped in history, but Miami, he said, feels different. Former players are "more hands on," he said.

"They're more intentional, and they're more engaged with players when they come to speak to us."

That engagement is personal. Pregame speeches. One-on-one conversations.

After an early fumble against Ohio State, Mark Fletcher Jr. walked off the field, and former Miami running back Edgerrin James was waiting on the sideline. He pulled him aside and asked if he was OK. 

"[He told me] 'Things happen, it's all good. Just calm down and let's back into it," Fletcher said. "I was able to calm down and get back into the game and just play," 

Hetherman, hired from Minnesota last winter, got his first real taste of the Miami Family during the season opener against Notre Dame.

"I look down the sideline, and I think we gave up a touchdown," Hetherman said. "Ray Lewis is yelling at me on the sideline. Usually, you don't see that at games."

Miami's players still get starstruck when they see the Hurricanes of yesteryear. Sacks leader Akheem Mesidor wore Lewis' No. 52 as a youth football player, and upon bumping into Lewis for the first time at Miami, his curious mother prodded him for details.

"'Did you talk to him? Did you take a picture with him?'" Mesidor smiled. "I'm like, no, mom, I'm gonna focus on the game. But, yeah, seeing Ray Lewis was just so special."

With about eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and Miami clinging to a 17-14 lead against Ohio State, Beck was on the sideline watching the defense force a punt. He looked to his right, and there was Irvin, celebrating. To his left was Lewis. Beck, who grew up dreaming of playing linebacker like his father, Chris, at the Naval Academy, idolized Lewis. With Miami's playoff dreams on the line with six minutes remaining, the Hall of Fame linebacker approached the quarterback.

"He introduced himself, and he's like, 'Go win us the ball game,'" Beck said. "Well, now I have to. We literally have to go score. I can't let this dude down."

Ten plays later, the Hurricanes sealed a spot in the semifinals with a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive.

Superstitions die hard

What's easy to forget about football's legends is that they're often as superstitious as the fans in the stands. Irvin, especially, is pure nervous energy on game days.

"I can't just sit still," Irvin said on The Rich Eisen Show last week. "I have to be in front of our offense like I'm helping. I'm saying, 'Come on this way, pull this way!' And then I'm behind the defense, like I'm trying to stop the other offense."

On third-and-5 plays, he said, he takes five steps to the side and pulls an invisible rope like a mime "so we can get the first down." During a 25-point rally last season at Cal, Irvin spent most of the second half on his hands and knees, convinced he might jinx the rally if he stood up.

Lewis is calmer, but the two constantly dissect plays and schemes together. They were even caught on Irvin's YouTube channel last week debating how to slow Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith during a timeout.

As for Irvin's antics? Legendary.

Irvin laughed as he recalled Lewis pulling him aside last week, sharing on The Rich Eisen Show that Lewis told him to "calm your black ass."

"Why do we believe we are affecting the game in some way? It blows my mind, man, but I just love it," Irvin said.