Miami Spring Football Notes

March 16, 2001

3 ALL-AMERICANS RETURN: The Hurricanes return a bevy of all-star candidates for the 2001 season, led by a trio of players who earned first-team All-America recognition for their efforts during the 2000 season. Leading the way is strong safety Edward Reed, who was a consensus first-team selection last year. Also, both Miami offensive tackles – Joaquin Gonzalez and Bryant McKinnie – return after earning first-team recognition in 2000. McKinnie earned first-team honors from The Football News while Gonzalez made the first team of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). That trio joins departed seniors Dan Morgan and Santana Moss on All-America lists last year. Morgan, a linebacker, and Moss, as a receiver and return man, also earned consensus first-team All-America notoriety in 2000.

HURRICANES ARE EARLY NATIONAL TITLE CONTENDERS: While it is extremely early to be making predictions about success for the 2001 season, at least one national media outlet has already made an early guess as to the elite teams of the upcoming campaign. That service forecasts another national title run for the Hurricanes. CBS Sporsline.com unveiled its 2001 preseason top 25 in February and ranked the Hurricanes second in their rankings behind Florida. That poll predicts a Miami-UF rematch in the 2002 Rose Bowl, the game that will determine the national champion for the Bowl Championship Series. Miami and Florida, of course, last met on January 2 in the Nokia Sugar Bowl with UM taking a 37-20 victory over the Gators in the first meeting between the old rivals since 1987. Just in case you’re wondering, the 2002 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, will be played January 3, 2002.

RETURNING STARTERS: The Hurricanes return 14 starters from the 2000 season, including six players on offense and eight on defense who started at least six games last year. Also, both kicking specialists return in placekicker Todd Sievers and punter Freddie Capshaw. Among the returning players, the offense loses returning starting fullback D.J. Williams, who has moved to weakside linebacker, but four of the five offensive line starters return. That quartet of linemen has a combined total of 83 career starting assignments between them, 71 alone among center Brett Romberg and the right side of the line – tackle Joaquin Gonzalez and guard Martin Bibla. Defensively, Miami is blessed with eight returnees who combine for a total of 122 starting assignments while wearing a Hurricane uniform. Three of four starters return in the defensive line, two of three linebackers return and three starters are back in the secondary. All told, including quarterback Ken Dorsey, placekicker Todd Sievers and punter Freddie Capshaw, Miami returns players who have 271 career starts between them.

ALL-BIG EAST: A conference-record total of 15 Hurricanes were listed among the 2000 All-BIG EAST First and Second teams, including 12 First-Team honorees. Miami also set a league mark for first-team selections in a single season with 12. A breakdown of Miami’s All-BIG EAST honorees from the 2000 season:

First Team: Santana Moss (WR), Joaquin Gonzalez (OT), Bryant McKinnie (OT), Jeremy Shockey (TE), Ken Dorsey (QB), Santana Moss (KR/PR), Damione Lewis (DT), Dan Morgan (LB), Mike Rumph (CB), Edward Reed (FS), Al Blades (SS) and Freddie Capshaw (P).
Second Team: Reggie Wayne (WR), James Jackson (RB) and Leonard Myers (CB).
Lewis, Morgan and Virginia Tech’s Lee Suggs (RB) were the only three unanimous selections on the first team.

Conference Award winners:
Offensive Player of the Year – Santana Moss (Miami), Antonio Bryant (Pittsburgh), Lee Suggs (Virginia Tech).
Defensive Player of the Year – Dan Morgan (Miami)*
Special Teams Player of the Year – Santana Moss (Miami)*
Rookie of the Year – Grant Wiley (West Virginia)
Coach of the Year – Butch Davis (Miami)

* – unanimous selection

FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICANS: Two Miami players who performed as true freshmen in 2000 earned mention on Freshman All-America teams. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma (Coral Gables, Fla.) was named to the first team of the Rivals.com Freshman All-America team. Also, fullback D.J. Williams (Concord, Calif.) earned honorable mention status. Vilma ranked 10th on the team in tackles in 2000 with 38 stops (29 unassisted) and had five tackles for losses. Williams, who moves to linebacker this Spring after switching to fullback during Fall two-a-days last season, rushed 16 times for 50 yards and a touchdown in addition to catching 12 passes for 143 yards and a score in extensive action last season.

2001 SCHEDULE A TOUGH ONE: The Hurricanes will face one of the toughest schedules in the nation, including games with six teams that played in bowl games in the 2000 season and three games with teams that ended the season ranked in the top 10 nationally. The Hurricanes, one of college football’s top television ratings draws, also have three games penciled in for national telecasts. Miami will be featured twice on Thursday night ESPN national telecasts – September 27 at Pittsburgh and October 25 vs. West Virginia at the Orange Bowl – and will take on Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, Virginia, on December 1 in a nationally televised game on ABC. Six home games are on tap, including contests with Rose Bowl champion Washington and the previously mentioned game with Music City Bowl champion West Virginia. The Hurricanes open the season with a trip to State College, Pennsylvania, to take on perennial power Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 1. Miami returns home to take on BIG EAST rival Rutgers on Sept. 8, followed by a visit from Washington on Sept. 15. After a week off, Miami resumes its BIG EAST schedule on Sept. 27 with the Thursday night tilt at Pittsburgh on ESPN before returning to the Orange Bowl for a non-conference matchup with Troy State on Oct. 6. Miami’s annual showdown with Florida State takes place Saturday, Oct. 13, at Tallahassee as the Hurricanes and Seminoles square off for the 45th time. After an off week on Oct. 20, Miami hosts West Virginia on Oct. 27 and Temple on November 3 before hitting the road to take on Boston College on Nov. 10. The Hurricanes close their home slate against Syracuse on Nov. 17 and have an open weekend on Nov. 24 before the season-ending clash with Gator Bowl champion Virginia Tech on Dec. 1. Additional television selections will be announced as they are made.

UM FACING SIX BOWL TEAMS FROM 2000: The six bowl teams on Miami’s schedule are: Washington (Rose Bowl winner), Pittsburgh (Insight.com Bowl), Florida State (FedEx Orange Bowl), West Virginia (Music City Bowl winner), Boston College (Aloha Bowl winner), and Virginia Tech (Gator Bowl winner). Washington (third), Florida State (fifth), and Virginia Tech (sixth) finished the 2000 season ranked among the nation’s top 10 teams by the Associated Press.

2000 FINAL RANKINGS: The Hurricanes’ 11-1 record and the victory over Florida in the Nokia Sugar Bowl enable Miami to finish second in the Associated Press and USA Today/ ESPN Coaches rankings at the conclusion of the 2000 season. The No. 2 rankings are Miami’s best national finishes since the end of the 1991 season when UM also ranked second. Miami’s ranking also marks the seventh time a UM team has finished ranked either first or second in the Coaches’ rankings since 1983. Miami now has posted nine top-five finishes in the AP poll since 1983 and 12 top 10 finishes in the AP rankings since 1981.

A NEW MAN AT THE HELM: Former offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Larry Coker took over the helm of the Miami football program on February 3 when he was officially announced as the 19th head football coach in the Hurricanes’ proud gridiron history. Coker has been at Miami as an assistant since 1995. His hiring marked the first time in 25 years that the University of Miami looked to one of its own when finding a football coach. Coker’s promotion was not only a symbol of the high regard with which he is held by Miami football’s inner circle. It also is the byproduct of a career in which excellence has been consistently achieved. Coker’s highly successful stint at UM is his most recent stop in a 31-year coaching career, including the last 22 seasons as an assistant at the collegiate level. Prior to that, Coker was offensive coordinator at Tulsa (1980-82), Oklahoma State (1983-89) and the University of Oklahoma (1990-92). Coker also was in charge of quarterbacks at Miami prior to his appointment as head coach. He also has been quarterbacks coach at Tulsa (1979) and Ohio State (1995).

CHUDZINSKI PROMOTED TO OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Tight ends coach Rob Chudzinski was promoted to offensive coordinator by head coach Larry Coker on February 9. The 32-year-old Chudzinski moves into his new post after serving as the Hurricanes’ tight ends coach for the past five seasons, a role he will maintain while directing the offense. Prior to becoming Miami’s full-time tight ends coach in 1996 he worked with the UM tight end corps in 1994 and 1995 as a graduate assistant. Chudzinski has been instrumental in the emergence of the tight end position in the Hurricanes’ offense. UM tight ends have totaled over 400-yards receiving in each of the last six seasons. Two of his former players, Syii Tucker (Carolina Panthers/Miami Dolphins) and Daniel “Bubba” Franks (Green Bay Packers), have gone on to play in the NFL. Chudzinski was a starting tight end for the Hurricanes from 1988-90 and was a member of the 1987 and 1989 National Championship teams. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami in 1990, was the school’s first NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship recipient after maintaining a 4.0 GPA during the 1989 season, and earned his Master’s of Science in Business Administration from Miami in 1996. Born May 12, 1968, Chudzinski is a native of Toledo, Ohio.

SHANNON IS NEW DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Head Coach Larry Coker announced February 20 the hiring of former UM linebacker Randy Shannon as defensive coordinator. Shannon just completed his third season as a NFL coach following a seven-year stint as an assistant at Miami. He was promoted to linebackers coach for the Dolphins prior to the 2000 season, after spending each of his first two years with the club as a defensive assistant. The 34-year old Shannon played linebacker at UM from 1985-88. He started at strongside linebacker each of his final two years, and was a member of the Hurricanes’ 1987 National Championship team. Shannon also was the recipient of the Christopher Plumer Award as Miami’s most inspirational player his senior season. Following his collegiate career, Shannon was the 11th-round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. After two years in the NFL, Shannon began his coaching career when he was named as a graduate assistant at UM in 1991, working with the linebackers and special teams. He split time with the linebackers and defensive line on a full-time basis the following year, prior to being named linebackers coach in 1993. He held that post through the 1997 season before joining the Dolphins. A native of Miami, Shannon earned his degree in criminal justice from UM. He was an all-state linebacker at Norland High School in Miami, where he also performed on the school’s basketball team. Shannon was born on February 24, 1966, in Miami.

STOOPS TO COACH DEFENSIVE BACKS: Marks Stoops was named UM’s defensive backs coach by head coach Larry Coker on March 5. The 33-year-old Stoops was co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of Houston last year after serving three seasons as Wyoming’s secondary coach. The highlight of Stoops’ tenure at Wyoming was the 1997 season, the best in school history for the Wyoming secondary. Stoops joined the Wyoming staff after spending the 1996 season as the defensive secondary coach for the University of South Florida. Prior to coaching at South Florida, Stoops was the athletic director for the Nordonia Hills School District in Macedonia, Ohio, from 1992-96. While at Nordonia Hills, he also served as the defensive secondary coach at Nordonia High School. A 1989 graduate of the University of Iowa, he was a three-year letterman for the Hawkeyes, and two-year starter at defensive back. Following his graduation from the University of Iowa in 1989, he served as a graduate assistant football coach at his alma mater. Stoops’s responsibilites centered on organizing scout team preparation and assisting with defensive backs on game days. Stoops comes from an accomplished football family. His father, Ron, was the defensive coordinator at Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio, for 28 years. His brother, Bob, is the head coach at the University of Oklahoma. Another brother, Mike, is the co-defensive coordinator for the Sooners and his third brother, Ron, is the defensive coordinator at Boardman High School in Boardman, Ohio. Stoops was born July 9, 1967.

SOLDINGER TO COORDINATE SPECIAL TEAMS: Running backs coach Don Soldinger will add the title of special teams coordinator to his workload, Hurricanes head football coach Larry Coker announced March 5. Soldinger, a native of South Florida who is currently in his second stint as a UM assistant coach, has been instrumental in developing 1,000-yard rushers in four of the last six seasons. Soldinger also served as linebackers and tight ends coach at UM from 1984-89 before taking the head coaching reigns at Miami’s Southridge High School from 1990-94. A legend in the Florida high school coaching ranks, Soldinger also led the Southridge High program from 1977-83 and has a career won-loss record of 104-35-1 in 12 seasons as a high school head coach. Soldinger led his teams to two state titles and four state championship game appearances during his 12-year head coaching career.

ACADEMIC ALL-STARS: Ten Miami Hurricanes were selected to the 2000 BIG EAST All-Academic Team. Ken Dorsey, Andre King, Will McPartland, Ivan Mercer, Jim Sikora, Michael Stewart, Brian Stinson, Matt Walters, Joaquin Gonzalez and Jim Wilson made the list. Dorsey and Gonzalez gained the distinction of earning all-conference honors both for their academic and athletic feats. Stewart completed his career with his fourth consecutive selection to the team while Gonzalez, McPartland and King were named for the third time in their UM careers.

MIAMI’S RECRUITING CLASS RANKED AMONG NATION’S BEST: Despite a head coaching change that occurred during the final nine days leading up to National Signing Day on Feb. 7, Miami hauled in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes during the offseason. The highest ranking for the Miami class was a No. 2 listing by Rivals100.com. Here’s how Miami fared in the 2001 national recruiting rankings as of Feb. 7:

Rivals100.com (Bobby Burton): 2nd
Prep Football Report (Tom Lemming): 7th
USA Today (Max Emfinger): 8th
SuperPrep (Allen Wallace): 12th

SULLIVAN RETURNS AS UM ASSISTANT: Head Coach Larry Coker announced recently that former Miami offensive lineman Mike Sullivan has joined the UM staff as a graduate assistant and will work with the offensive line. A native of Chicago, Sullivan was an offensive lineman at UM from 1987-90. He started a school record 47 consecutive games for the Hurricanes and helped Miami set school records in total offense and passing offense while earning third-team All-American honors by The Football News as a senior. Sullivan is one of only two major college players who started on two national championship teams during the 1980’s, the other being former UM defensive end and current Hurricanes defensive line coach Greg Mark.

POSITION CHANGES: Several players will move to different positions for Spring practice. Ethenic Sands, who moved to quarterback prior to the 2000 season and was second-team there, has moved back to receiver. Jason Geathers, who played as a tailback and receiver last year as a true freshman, returns to full-time work at receiver. D..J. Williams played extensively at fullback in 2000, but returns to linebacker this Spring.