Ninth-Ranked 'Canes Preparing for Trip to UCF
Oct. 13, 2009
Click here to watch a replay of Tuesday’s press conference with head coach Randy Shannon.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 9 Miami plays its third consecutive nonconference game of the season when the Hurricanes head to Orlando to take on UCF Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at Bright House Networks Stadium. It will be Miami’s first trip to Orlando for a football game since 1936.
The Hurricanes are coming off a 48-16 win against Florida A&M at home. Miami registered its first win over a Top 10 opponent since 2005 – having defeated No. 8 Oklahoma, 21-20, a few weeks ago. The Hurricanes have wins at No. 18 Florida State, vs. No. 14 Georgia Tech and vs. No. 8 Oklahoma.
Jacory Harris continues to be off to one of the best starts for a quarterback in school history, winning Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week honors after each of Miami’s first two games. The sophomore from Miami ranks 17th nationally in passing efficiency (152.13), has 1,225 passing yards in five games and has already accounted for 11 touchdowns (10 passing, 1 rushing).
Junior running back Damien Berry had a breakout performance in his first career appearance at tailback. Berry ran 14 times for 162 yards and a touchdown. His performance followed senior running back Javarris James’ 150 yard rushing performance against then-No. 8 Oklahoma one week earlier.
Running back Graig Cooper ranks 14th nationally as an all-purpose runner, averaging 165.0 all-purpose yards per game. Cooper, James and wide receiver Travis Benjamin have combined for 49.6 percent (1,342 of 2,702) of Miami’s all-purpose yardage through the season’s first five games. Cooper, who has a team-high 660 yards, leads the team in kick-return yards (400) and has 200 rushing yards. James leads the team with 297 yards on the ground and adds another 54 through the air. Benjamin, who scored his second touchdown of the season against OU, has a team-best 234 receiving yards.
Linebacker Colin McCarthy has a team-high 38 tackles (17 solo, 21 assisted), which includes four tackles for loss. Linebacker Sean Spence ranks second in tackles (27) on the team while linebacker Darryl Sharpton and defensive back Brandon Harris are tied with 25 tackles.
Senior defensive tackle Joe Joseph picked up a career-best 3.5 tackles for loss against Florida A&M, leading a defense which had 11 tackles for loss against the Rattlers. As a team, Miami already has 39 tackles for loss through five games, which ranks 13th nationally.
Cornerback Brandon Harris picked up a career-high five pass breakups in the win over Florida A&M and leads the ACC with 10 pass breakups on the season. He also picked up his second career interception.
GAME 6 INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009
Location: Bright House Stadium (Natural Grass), (74,916) in Orlando, Fla.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (ET)
TV- CBS College Sports
Tom Hart (play-by-play)
Aaron Taylor (color)
Tape Delay Telecast – CSS
Mon., Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.; Thurs. Oct. 22 at Noon
LOCAL RADIO – 560 WQAM, 1450 ESPN Deportes
560 WQAM
Joe Zagacki (play-by-play)
Don Bailey Jr. (color analyst)
Fans can also listen online at www.wqam.com
1450 ESPN Deportes En Español
Joe Pujala (play-by-play)
Joe Martinez (color analyst)
WEBSITES
Miami (www.hurricanesports.com)
UCF (www.ucfathletics.com)
THE MIAMI-UCF SERIES
– Saturday’s game marks just the second meeting all-time between Miami and UCF.
– The series started just last season, with Miami winning 20-14 at Land Shark Stadium.
A `CANES WIN OVER THE KNIGHTS WOULD GIVE…
– The `Canes a third-straight win over a non-conference foe this season.
– Miami its second road win in the state of Florida after beating FSU in Tallahassee on Sept. 7.
– Miami its first 5-1 start since opening the 2005 season with an 8-1 record.
THE COACHES
– Randy Shannon is in his third season as Miami’s head coach and owns an overall record of 16-14. George O’Leary is in his sixth season at UCF and has a overall record of 81-71 in 14 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
– UCF comes into Saturday’s contest with an overall record of 3-2, with wins over Samford, Buffalo and Memphis and losses at Southern Miss and at East Carolina. The Knights, who are coming off a bye week, defeated Memphis, 32-14, two weeks ago to pick up their first conference victory.
– The UCF offense is centered around sophomore running back Brynn Harvey. Heading into this weekend, Harvey ranks 16th nationally with an average of 107.2 yards per game on the ground. Through five games, he has carried the ball 128 times for 536 yards and six touchdowns. Senior quarterback Brett Hodges has tossed for 908 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions. Ricky Ross (17 catches, 220 yards) is the team’s top receiving threat.
– Defensively for the Knights, linebacker Cory Hogue and safety Derrick Hallman are tied for a team-high 40 tackles. Defensive ends Bruce Miller and Jarvis Geathers each have 4.5 sacks. Geathers has forced two fumbles thus far while Miller has a team-best 6.5 tackles for a loss. Corner Darin Baldwin has five pass break-ups.
– After limiting FAMU’s elite return man LeRoy Vann last week, the `Canes will once again have to focus on defending returns. Ricky Ross is 16th nationally in punt return average (13.9), Quincy McDuffie has a 95-yard kick return for a touchdown and the team averages 28 yards per return this season.
– Punter Blake Clingan averages 36.7 yards per punt while kick Nick Cattoi is 9-of-11 in field goals, with a long of 50.
TURNING THE CORNER
– Sophomore cornerback Brandon Harris is off to a strong start through the first five games of the 2009 season. He currently leads the Atlantic Coast Conference with 10 pass break-ups, ranks in a tie for third on the team with 25 tackles, and he just recorded his first interception of the season last week against Florida A&M.
– He recorded a career-high nine total tackles at FSU in the season-opener, earning ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors for his effort in Tallahassee.
– Harris, a 2009 All-ACC Academic Team member, recorded 30 total tackles and had just three passes defended in 13 games as a true freshman last season.
SPENCE OF OLD
– After a slow start to the season, sophomore linebacker Sean Spence has come on the last three games against Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and Florida A&M.
– After recording a combined five tackles in Miami’s first two games (3 at FSU, 2 vs. Georgia Tech), Spence has averaged over seven tackles per game since, recording eight tackles at Virginia Tech, a career-high tying 10 vs. Oklahoma and four last week against FAMU.
– Spence, ACC’s Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, currently ranks second on the team in tackles with 27.
40 SOMETHING
– While Javarris James (50 yards) and Damien Berry (49) have the two longest plays from scrimmage this season, three wideouts share the longest gain on offense through the air this season.
– LaRon Byrd, Travis Benjamin and Leonard Hankerson each have a team-leading 40-yard reception this season.
– Benjamin and Hankerson each had a 40-yard catch at FSU in the season opener while Byrd’s 40-yard catch came against Georgia Tech (Both Benjamin and Byrd scored on their 40-yard receptions).
HIGHSMITH MAKES HIS DEBUT
– True freshman quarterback A.J. Highsmith saw his first collegiate action last weekend against Florida A&M.
– Highsmith — son of former UM running back Alonzo Highsmith – played the entire second half against the Rattlers, completing all three of his passes for 38 yards, including a 29-yard toss to fellow freshman Tommy Streeter.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
– Quarterback Jacory Harris completed a pass to 11 different receivers in Miami’s win over the eighth-ranked Sooners two weeks ago. Harris, who finished the night 19-for-28 for 202 yards, successfully found Aldarius Johnson (4 times), Travis Benjamin (3), Dedrick Epps (3), LaRon Byrd (2), Jimmy Graham (1), Tervaris Johnson (1), Mike James (1), Javarris James (1), Thearon Collier (1), Graig Cooper (1) and Leonard Hankerson (1) against OU.
– On the year, Harris has found 14 different receivers, with Patrick Hill, Tommy Streeter and Kendal Thompkins also recording a reception a piece.
McCARTHY RETURNING TO FORM
– Five games into the 2009 season, junior linebacker Colin McCarthy has emerged as one of the ACC’s top tacklers after missing most of the 2008 season with an injury.
– He currently leads the Miami defense with 38 total tackles. He ranks in a tie for sixth in the ACC with a 7.4 tackle-per-game average despite having played against four ranked teams to open the season.
– As a sophomore in 2007, McCarthy ranked third on the team with 68 total tackles, including 12 for a loss.
U. Miami Football Press Conference 10/13/09
U. Miami Head Coach Randy Shannon
Opening Statement:
“[UCF] Coach [George] O’Leary has done a great job to get that program where it needs to be at. They are a tough football team. They want to keep the game [close] in the fourth quarter so they have an opportunity to try and win the game. For us as a team, we have to get back to starting fast like we did against Florida A&M and finish the game strong. We have to go out there and try to win all four quarters of this football game.”
On talking to the team about letdowns:
“We only talk about getting ready as a football team, and we focus on what we are trying to get done. Last year, they were a tough team and Sharpton made that play on the last play of the game to get us that victory.”
On defensive tackle Joe Joseph:
He is doing a great job for us. He has been here five years. He is starting to make some plays for us, and he is always good about doing what the coaches ask of him as far as technique.
On redshirt freshman safety Vaughn Telemaque:
He is doing a great job for us. If you notice the last two games, he has made some calls for us against Oklahoma. The more he plays, the better off he will be as a football player.
On freshman running back Mike James:
Good kid. All he wants to do is win. He plays kick returner, fullback and tailback and does everything asked of him. When he gets the ball, he makes plays for us. When we need him to block, he blocks for us. A lot of the things that he has done has been the key to our success.
On linebacker Jordan Futch’s injury:
Someone has to step up. We have more guys at that position so someone has to step up and get ready to play.
