Fantastic Freshman: Stacy Coley
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes have a long tradition of homegrown talent showcasing itself on the football field.
Canes legends like Michael Irvin, Sean Taylor, Jonathan Vilma, Santana Moss and Bennie Blades are just a handful of South Florida natives who shined while donning Miami’s orange and green.
Over the course of the 2013 football season, HurricaneSports.com will honor a Hurricane football player with South Florida ties as the Milam’s Market Homegrown Athlete of the Week. This week’s player spotlight is Pompano Beach, Fla., native Stacy Coley.
Devin Hester made his mark when he returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown against Florida as a freshman in 2003.
Duke Johnson burst onto the college scene in the 2012 season opener with 135 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on seven carries in a road win at Boston College. That was the beginning of a historic season in which Johnson rushed for a freshman-record 947 yards and 10 touchdowns and amassed 2,060 all-purpose yards – second-most in program history.
Several other Canes have made key impacts as freshmen recently including Steelers linebacker Sean Spence, Dolphins pass rusher Olivier Vernon and current Hurricanes Anthony Chickillo, Phillip Dorsett and Denzel Perryman.
Freshman wide receiver Stacy Coley is one of several newcomers who have made a big impact for the 2013 Hurricanes.
The Pompano Beach, Fla., native was a highly-rated recruit out of Northeast High School, where he played for former Hurricanes running back Donnell Bennett.
Coley was recruited nationally by some of the top programs in the United States, but the speedy wideout spurned offers from in-state rivals Florida State and Florida, as well as Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon and a host of other schools. Coley chose to stay close to home and join the Miami Hurricanes.
The talented receiver has made plenty of noise in his first season as a Cane. Coley has played in 10 of Miami’s 11 games this season, making three starts.
Coley heads into the final week of the regular season with 27 catches, third-most on the 2013 Canes. The first-year receiver is tied with fellow receiver Herb Waters for second on the team with five receiving touchdowns, while his 486 receiving yards are second-most by a Miami player this year. Coley’s 81-yard touchdown reception against Virginia Tech is the second longest by a Hurricane this season.
Beyond his impact on offense, Coley has also been a standout on special teams. His 373 kick return yards rank second on the team to Duke Johnson’s 396 yards. Coley is also the only Miami returner to take a kickoff to the end zone, bursting 88 yards for a score against Savannah State.
Coley also has a team-high 220 punt return yards, including a 79-yard return for a touchdown against Duke. With that punt return touchdown, he became the first Cane since Hester in 2004 to have a punt return touchdown and kickoff return touchdown in the same season.
The 6-foot-1 receiver made an impact in Miami’s victory over Virginia, catching a short pass from Stephen Morris and scampering past the Cavalier defenders for a 62-yard touchdown.
Coley will look to continue his success in Friday’s regular season finale at Pittsburgh.
