Miami, Florida Have Solid Protection
Jan. 2, 2001
By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
NEW ORLEANS – Miami’s Ken Dorsey doesn’t like the thought ofdroppingback to pass without Bryant McKinnie protecting his back.
Dorsey might have to do it next season. Florida’s Rex Grossman isfacing asimilar problem if Kenyatta Walker goes for the NFL draft.
McKinnie and Walker, both juniors, anchor two of the best offensivelines inthe country. And along with Miami’s Joaquin Gonzalez and Florida’s MikePearson, the four tackles could be the key to Tuesday night’s game betweenthesecond-ranked Hurricanes and the No. 7 Gators.
“I’m sure we’ll play a huge part,” Gonzalez said. “For both teams, thetackles are going to be key in the running game and especially in thepassinggame.”
The four tackles are good, and each of them has become a success storyinjust a short amount of time.
McKinnie may be the best.
The 6-foot-9, 330-pound left tackle hasn’t given up a sack. Not thisseason.Not in his career. Not ever. Not bad for someone who played bass drum inhighschool and has played football for just five years.
McKinnie’s long arms make it tough for defensive linemen to get aroundhim.His quick feet make it easy for his to pick up line stunts. And his sheersizemakes it nearly impossible to push him around.
He held Florida State’s Jamal Reynolds, an All-American, without a sackor atackle in the Hurricanes’ 27-24 win over the Seminoles in October.
“He could potentially be a first-round draft choice as an offensivelefttackle,” Hurricanes coach Butch Davis said. “He’s massive and he’s quick,buthe’s still a puppy.”
McKinnie joined the football team as a high school junior in Woodbury,N.J.,and made an instant impact on defense. He signed with Iowa in 1997 but wasacademically ineligible and enrolled at Lackawanna Junior College inScranton,Pa., where he was quickly moved to offense and excelled at pass blocking.
That’s continued Miami, where the biggest challenge now might beconvincingMcKinnie to stay another season.
“We’re going to have to take him to one or two meals to get him tostickaround,” Dorsey said. “That might be an expensive meal, but one that Iwouldn’t mind paying for if it means another year of him.”
Grossman may want to make the same offer to Walker, the Gators’ 6-5,302-pound right tackle who will be one of the first offensive linemen takenifhe decides to leave Florida a year early.
Spurned in efforts to move to the left side of the line, Walker insteadthrived on the right and received the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as theSoutheastern Conference’s best blocker.
“Am I definitely leaving? Maybe,” Walker said this week.
The other two tackles re certain to be back.
Pearson had a standout sophomore season at left tackle for Floridadespite apreseason injury that could have sidelined him for an entire year. But the6-7,291-pound Pearson was ready for the season opener and is one of only fiveGators to start all 12 games.
Gonzalez, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound junior, has started all 34 games sincehisfreshman season for the Hurricanes. He turned down several Ivy Leagueschools,including Harvard, Yale and Columbia, to walk on at Miami in 1997, andearnedhis scholarship after his first season. He has given up just two sacks inthelast two seasons.
Now all four tackles have a chance to showcase their skills in front ofanational audience at the Sugar Bowl. It could pay off in their futures.
“If you’re an NFL scout and you need a tackle, this seems like therightplace to be,” Pearson said.
