University of Miami Head Coach Mark Richt told reporters on Saturday that he was still “generally pleased” with his team’s discipline in his first year at the school, despite leaving seven players behind before Wednesday’s Russell Athletic Bowl.
Those seven players, none of which who were entirely vital to the team’s success, failed to adhere to “the expectations set by the program” according to reports from the university. From the sounds of things, Richt was the one who made sure that those guys didn’t make the trip to Orlando this past weekend.
“It’s a message to them and to the other guys that we’re going to do things right around here,” said Richt.
The ex-Georgia coach has sent a lot of messages in his inaugural season in the Miami Gardens area, the ACC, and the rest of the country. His Hurricanes played well down the stretch, which got them to their fourth bowl game in a row.
After the bumpy ride with Al Golden and Larry Scott in 2015, they really needed a tone-setter. Scott went 4-2 in the final six games of the season, however, the ‘Canes were looking for someone that would be a long-term answer, in which then Richt was called in from the SEC.
SEC coaches know how to win, right? The conference has taken nine national championships since 2003 (four by Alabama alone), so that adds quite a bit of validity. Richt had coached with the Bulldogs for 15 years, only going sub-.500 once in 2010. He coached former Plant QB Aaron Murray to a 3,893 passing yard season in 2012, as well as 2015 NFL Rookie of the Year Todd Gurley to a 1,385 rushing yard season in the same year.
Richt’s experience was obviously a major factor to UM Athletic Director Blake James, who hired him just over a year ago. He coached the Bulldogs to a 145-51 record.
“It would be a big deal if we got the victory. When I was finishing my playing career, I never thought that I would be coaching, let alone coaching here at my alma mater. Miami does mean a lot to me and to be the head coach and to feel the acceptance from the former players and the community has been a blessing. I want everything that this community wants,” Richt said on Tuesday.
The recruiting has been solid so far for the Hurricanes, with ten four-star recruits and a multitude of three-stars with still a month to go until National Signing Day. Miami snagged Jefferson QB Cade Weldon in March and almost had Jesuit RB Malik Davis until Florida swooped in. Richt has the 15th best recruiting class in the FBS, according to 247Sports.com.
ACC and in-state rival Florida State has the second-best recruiting class in the country (behind Alabama), while Clemson follows in second in the ACC (11th overall).
Miami almost took down the Seminoles, however, a blocked PAT lifted FSU to a 20-19 victory for their seventh straight victory against the Hurricanes, tying the most all-time in their history. Miami still leads the series, 31-30.
The next step for Richt is defeating the in-state rival, while also making a run for a conference championship. Playing in the weaker division in the ACC may be a little misleading – Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, North Carolina are not easy teams to beat, much less having either Clemson, Louisville, or Florida State waiting in the ACC Championship.
Either way, Richt still feels confident they’ll get there in time.
“If we do things right, I truly believe that we will get back to the point where Miami is going to be talked about higher than it even is today,” Richt said.
Next season, he’ll could possibly be without three-year starter Brad Kaaya, who is projected to be a second to third round NFL draft pick in the upcoming draft, if he enters. As a junior, Kaaya has the most passing yards in a career for the Hurricanes, and he could push his totals to 10,000 with a great game against West Virginia on Wednesday.
“To this point, Brad has been nothing but the starting quarterback since the day he walked on campus. There’s a big responsibility. He has been a tremendous leader and face of this program,” Richt said of his quarterback. “His picture is all over everything that you can put a guy’s picture on or image on, and it’s mainly because of how well he plays on the field but also how he represents the university.”
If he does declare that he will go into the the draft, the next guy up is Malik Rosier, a redshirt sophomore out of Faith Academy (Mobile, Ala.) where he compiled 3,153 yards in his senior season. There will be holes for Richt to fill, in which the recruiting becomes a huge factor, but it also invokes the ‘next man-up’ feeling for a lot of the sophomores and juniors that aren’t a big factor.
For those seven players that had been suspended for the Russell Athletic Bowl, it’s a time for them to reflect that Richt isn’t going to play around with silly off-field decisions. It’s a message to them, to the new recruits, to the fans, to the ACC, and to the rest of the country that his program is focused on winning games.
The Hurricanes 2017 schedule includes a trip to Arkansas State, who recently defeated UCF in the AutoNation Cure Bowl, as they play host to Toledo and a revamped Notre Dame on Veteran’s Day. They’ll hit the road to play Florida State, as well as ACC Coastal opponents North Carolina and Pittsburgh.
It won’t be until 2018 when the Hurricanes travel to Arlington to face LSU at AT&T Stadium and they’ll wait until 2019 to get a crack at Florida.
Wednesday’s Russell Athletic Bowl will say a lot about the kind of team that Miami will be in the upcoming years, as playing against a tough Big 12 school in West Virginia is not an easy task. It could very well be the start of something new for the Hurricanes, or something all too familiar and recent for the fans.