Sports

Colleges

Unfamiliar spot

First-time head coach Randy Shannon runs a team fighting to regain stature.

By MICHAEL SNYDER
Published August 31, 2007

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CORAL GABLES - Irrevelvant?

That's not a position the Miami Hurricanes, who have five national championships and only one losing season in the past 27 years, are accustomed to. Yet, on the cusp of another season that's where the 'Canes largely find themselves - on the periphery.

The depths to which the 'Canes have fallen was apparent on the team's media day. Where in the past, national, and sometimes international, media would descend on Coral Gables, there was just a small gathering of mostly local reporters.

That's what happens when you haven't reached double-digits in wins in the past three years. That's what happens when you're unranked to start the season.

"It's not a terrible thing," guard Derrick Morse said. "It's the first time we haven't been ranked in a while. It's kind of good, puts us under the radar a little bit. We've got a good team ... we can come out and surprise people."

The 'Canes begin the season with a new coach, albeit a familiar face, as former defensive coordinator Randy Shannon takes over from Larry Coker, who was fired after last year's 7-6 season.

Coker won a national championship in his first year, came within a disputed penalty in double overtime of winning another, racked up a 60-15 record (an .800 winning percentage, behind only Dennis Erickson and Jimmy Johnson in school history) and never had a losing season.

It still wasn't enough to save his job.

Last year, Miami was in the national spotlight, but for all the wrong reasons. A preseason shooting incident. An ugly brawl with Florida International. And, worst of all, the murder of defensive lineman Bryan Pata.

"Last year is last year," Shannon said after a recent practice.

Shannon, a four-year letterwinner and linebacker on Miami's 1987 national championship team, has preached an attitude of more accountability by his players. He has changed rules, added some, and is generally regarded as tougher than the grandfatherly Coker. But none of that concerns fans on autumn Saturdays. Shannon, above all, realizes that.

That's why he has talked of the national championship being the goal when most pundits feel eight or nine wins would be a very successful season.

"You know what a great season is? Everyone wants to win a national championship. That's a great season," Shannon said. "Some people say, 'Well, coach, you're thinking too unrealistic.' If I'm a coach, do you want me to say I'll be 7-5, 8-4 or say it's a (work in) process, that we're about four years away to get it done?"

"As a coach, you like athletics and you like to compete. Most coaches will take a job that's 8-3, 9-3, 7-6 and be happy if they go to a bowl game. Miami is not a place you can come up and say, 'You know what, we can be 9-3, 8-4, we'll be okay.' At Miami those are challenges you have to accept."

One distraction Miami had last year was a quarterback controversy between Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman. Shannon gagged the quarterbacks, allowing them to speak to the media only once all summer where they both tried to dispel any notion of off-the-field friction.

"It's all about the U, it's not about me, not about a quarterback controversy," Freeman said. "We're out to win football games."

Wright said, "Kirby and I get along just fine on and off the field. Competition is competition. Kirby and I have been friends since we got here, and that's the way it's going to stay."

Miami's once high-flying offense has struggled the past few years no matter who has taken the snaps. There are potential stars, including tailbacks Javarris James and Graig Cooper, receivers Sam Shields and Ryan Hill and tight end Richard Gordon. But they'll need to step up to a higher level if the 'Canes are to be successful in new coordinator Patrick Nix's offense.

Until they do, the defense will be counted on to carry the team. The 'Canes might have the nation's top defensive lineman in Calais Campbell and one of the top safeties in Kenny Phillips. The 'Canes, who allowed only 2.3 yards per carry last year, look to be especially strong up front.

"We'll get back to No.1 ranked in total defense, because that's how good we are this year," safety Lovon Ponder said.

The biggest unknown is simply how Miami will respond to the adversity of last season, and the reality that they're no longer feared by most foes.

"Last year guys grew up," Morse said. "It was a tough season with everything off the field and on the field. We're trying to put that past us. Everyone's excited to become a great team this year."

Shannon, an intensely private man - he wouldn't allow his family to be photographed for the team's media guide - knows it's not just fans and alumni who will place him under the microscope. While attention is focused on programs like Florida, Southern California, and Michigan, one off-the-field incident, one "kids being kids" moment, and the spotlight will glare down on UM again.

But there's really only one thing that will make Miami relevant and make people stand up and take notice - wins.

[Last modified August 29, 2007, 10:05:30]

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