Sixth Sense
By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – After days of studying film and practicing what he and his teammates would do if North Carolina ran the play, Romeo Finley had his chance.
He read the quarterback’s eyes, drifted into position and when the slant pass came his way, Finley grabbed the ball and ran. Eighty-three yards later, he caught his breath in the end zone while his teammates and the Hurricanes faithful at Hard Rock Stadium celebrated.
Finley’s interception return was one of three touchdowns the Miami defense scored and one of six school-record tying turnovers it forced in the Hurricanes’ dominant 47-10 win over the Tar Heels last September.
Now, as Miami prepares for Saturday’s ACC opener at North Carolina, there’s no doubt the Hurricanes defense wouldn’t mind putting together a similar performance.
“It was one of those things where you score, you score, you get a pick and you get a pick,” Finley said. “It was just fun. Everybody wanted the ball. For me, the interception was a great experience. It was game-changing. One of the highlights of my year. And it was my first time getting the [Turnover] Chain. So, that was cool.”
Ahead of last year’s game against North Carolina, questions about Miami’s offense and quarterbacks dominated the headlines. It didn’t take long after kickoff for the Hurricanes defense to prove it was worthy of the spotlight itself.
On the Tar Heels’ second possession, senior linebacker Shaquille Quarterman and junior defensive end Jonathan Garvin teamed up on a play that resulted with Quarterman sacking quarterback Nathan Elliott, who fumbled as he was taken to the ground. Garvin picked up the loose ball and scored on a 9-yard run that put the Hurricanes up 14-3.
Miami’s defensive onslaught would only continue, with former end Joe Jackson scoring on an interception return in the second quarter, Finley’s touchdown in the fourth and the Hurricanes collecting three sacks and 14 tackles for loss in between.
“There were some really special individual plays involved in all of that. The little twist that Garvin and Shaq were in, it’s one of the poetic things about football,” said head coach Manny Diaz, who was the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator at the time. “Garvin did a great job rushing his gap, which allowed it to open up for Shaq. Shaq sacked the quarterback, which allowed Garvin – who did the initial thing – to end up scoring. Then Joe Jackson made a spectacular play on a screen he was able to score on and Romeo Finley, that was something we’d practiced and we felt like we had a chance to make a play on. It turned out to be one of those deals where what happened on the practice field came through.
“There were other ones mixed in, but it also showed that it’s a team thing. And as we got ahead, they had to put the ball in harm’s way more often. That gives you the opportunity to get even more turnovers. … Sometimes, you have a performance like that early in the year and it sort of jump-starts the rest of your season.”
Months after that win over North Carolina, the Hurricanes defense finished among the end-of-season leaders in several statistical categories including total defense (No. 4 after allowing an average of 278.9 yards per game), tackles for loss (No. 1 with an average of 10.46 TFLs per game) and passing defense (No. 1 after allowing an average of 135.6 yards per game).
While the Hurricanes were able to force four turnovers in their season-opening loss to Florida two weeks ago, Miami wasn’t able to convert those into points, on offense or defense. And correcting some tackling issues was a priority, with defensive coordinator Blake Baker noting he saw an intensity in drills that he believes will make a difference in Chapel Hill.
Miami’s defenders expect North Carolina, which will be playing its first home game under coach Mack Brown in front of a sellout crowd, will be looking to avenge last year’s loss. And given how tough it’s sometimes been for Miami to escape Kenan Memorial Stadium with wins, the Hurricanes defense knows it has to do its part.
“That game was probably one of the best defensive performances we had last year. It was all about execution. Individually and on a team level, we were amazing,” Garvin said. “We just have to come out and do the same thing all over again, but it’s important we treat them like we’ve never played them before. We need to come in with the mentality that they’re a new team and we’ll be fine. … We made those plays because we were already confident in ourselves. We just have to be the same way this year.”
