South Florida Speed: 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.
Each week in the 2014 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 on Pompano Beach, Fla., native Stacy Coley.
South Florida Speed is a well-known trait in football circles and sophomore Stacy Coley has tons of it.
The explosive receiver is one of several Hurricanes who can fly on the football field and Coley has shown an ability to be a weapon for Miami’s football team in a variety of ways.
As a freshman a year ago, Coley led the team with 1,461 all-purpose yards – 10th-highest single-season total in school history. His seven receiving touchdowns were the most of any Cane in 2013 and he also ranked second in receiving yards (591) and third in receptions (33).
Beyond his impact on offense, Coley was a standout on special teams. He led Miami in both kick return yards (570) and punt return yards (220). Coley was the only Miami returner to take a kickoff to the end zone, bursting 88 yards for a score against Savannah State. He was also the only Hurricane to return a punt for a touchdown, going 79 yards for a score against Duke to become the first Cane since Devin Hester in 2004 to have a punt return touchdown and kickoff return touchdown in the same season.
Coley’s freshman campaign was historic. The gifted athlete was the only FBS player in 2013 to record a touchdown via rushing, receiving, punt return and kick return.
The South Florida standout received accolades at the conference and national levels, earning a second-team All-ACC selection by Athlon Sports, third-team All-ACC by the league’s head coaches and honorable mention All-ACC by ACSMA. Coley was also named to the FWAA Freshman All-America Team as kick returner and tabbed first-team wide receiver on 247Sports‘ True Freshman All-America Team.
Coley’s immediate impact did not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with his skill set. 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.
He 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.
After a stellar freshman campaign in which Coley played in all 13 games, making seven starts at wide receiver, the talented receiver has continued to flash big play ability for the Hurricanes in 2014.
Coley has contributed in wins over Florida A&M, Duke and Cincinnati this season. A year ago, the elusive Coley reeled in an 81-yard touchdown from Stephen Morris against Virginia Tech. He will look to continue his success against the Hokies on Thursday night in Blacksburg, Va.
