Quarterbacks Looking to Have ''Massive Impact'' in Opener

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – When 19th-ranked Miami travels to Gainesville to kick off a new season against rival Florida, there will be a frenzied crowd at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, a national audience tuning in on ABC, and plenty of excitement on both sides.

There will also be two, talented experienced quarterbacks hoping to do their part to make an impact on the game and ensure their team gets the new season started on a good note.

Earlier this year, Cam Ward arrived in Coral Gables with an impressive resume built after two seasons at Washington State.

There, he started 25 games, completed 66 percent of his passes and threw for 6,963 passing yards with 48 touchdowns, while rushing for an additional 13 scores.

The senior was voted the ACC Preseason Player of the Year and enters the season on the watch list for several major college football awards, including the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, the Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.

Florida, meanwhile, will counter with redshirt senior Graham Mertz, who started 11 games for the Gators before an injury kept him out of the season finale.

Before getting hurt, though, Mertz notched a career-high in completions (261), passing yards (2,903), touchdown passes (20), completion percentage (72.9), and passing yards per game (263.9), while throwing only three interceptions, a career low.

On Monday, Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal praised both signal callers, noting both have the ability to make to make a difference in Saturday’s season opener.

“Not enough can be said about their quarterback. I mean, statistically, he leads the country in accuracy under pressure. Certainly, the touchdown to interception ratio leads you to understand how accurate, how decisive [he is], what kind of caliber decisions he makes,” said Cristobal, now in his third year leading his alma mater. “He’s on point. He’s a very well-coached player. He’s a very smart player, but he is also elusive. He’s got great feet, great body control, [and] he’s got great awareness in the pocket. He’s a winner, you know, and I think now going through a second year in their system, he’s certainly a guy that you have to control throughout the course of the game.”

And Ward, Cristobal noted, has emerged as not just a playmaker for the Hurricanes in his seven months on campus, but as a leader who will go a long way in setting the tone, both on and off the field for Miami.

“Cam Ward has been at different places and at every place he’s been, he’s just gotten better and better and better,” Cristobal said. “Sometimes, he’s been playing from ahead, and sometimes, from behind. But he just plays, and he plays at an extremely high level, and he’s done that since the day he got here. There’s no limitations as it relates to installs, game plan. Sometimes, you’ve got to slow it down so that everybody gets it, but a quarterback like him, he’s so focused and concerned about the team doing well that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make the team do well. All in all, a winner and an alpha leader. So, they will have a massive impact on this game.”

Coach-to-Player Communication Comes to College Football

When the Hurricanes take the field on Saturday, they – like every other team in the Bowl Subdivision – will be able to take advantage of new rules allowing for coach-to-player helmet communication in games, similar to the way NFL teams communicate.

A single player on offense and a single player on defense will be able to hear from their team’s coach, with communication being turned off either when the ball is snapped or when there are 15 seconds left on the play clock, whichever comes first. The players selected for the coach-to-player communication will be identified by green dots on their helmets.

Cristobal said on Monday the Hurricanes have been working to make sure their communication is “airtight” given the fact he expects a loud, hostile environment in Gainesville.

“The noise level itself, nowadays, you’ve got to simulate that in practice, right? And everything’s got to work,” Cristobal said. “This year, we have the player-coach communication devices, but if you watched games this week, right, you saw a lot of guys squeezing their helmets, trying to get clear communication because that certainly can’t be counted on. So, what happens next? Everything else has to kick in: your wristbands, your signals, your other methods of communication. So, that’s been part of our process, which we’ve worked really, really hard to make airtight in every regard. And then you have to simulate the noise itself … It’s a loud place. They do a great job with the game day atmosphere. In terms of the opponent itself, it’s the most important part.”

Building on His Success

Last year, Rueben Bain, Jr. had a breakout season for the Hurricanes, earning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after totaling 44 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks.

This season, the sophomore is expected to again be one of the leaders on Miami’s defense and Cristobal said he believes Bain will rise to the challenge, especially given the number of talented playmakers around him on Miami’s new-look defensive line.

“The best thing we could do for Rueben Bain is bring in guys like [offensive lineman] Francis Mauigoa, bring in [offensive linemen] Markel Bell, and Tommy Kinsler IV, bring in guys that will challenge him on a daily basis at the line of scrimmage,” Cristobal said. “Getting [defensive lineman] Akheem Mesidor healthy, bringing in [defensive linemen] Elijah Alston, Tyler Baron, Armondo Blount, bringing in guys that are going to just not allow you to get comfortable. That’s a great accomplishment, but that was last year. We owe it to Rueben Bain to absolutely push him to the edge, to make sure he maximizes his great potential. He doesn’t shy away from that competition. He’s taken a great step forward in terms of leadership, so we expect him to take another step forward as well in his performance.”

Rivalry Renewed

While the Hurricanes and Gators have played each other 56 times and have a shared history that dates back to 1938, the two programs have only met seven times since 2000.

Saturday’s game will mark the first game of a home-and-home series that will include a matchup at Hard Rock Stadium next year and will be Miami’s first visit to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium since 2008.

It’s a rivalry Miami VP/Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich says is one that is special to both programs, and one he hopes will continue in the future.

“It is important, because this is inside the state of Florida,” Radakovich said. “These young people know one another from being in high school, competing against one another. They’re a great SEC opponent and a great historical opponent. … We want to be able to move forward [and] have some conversations to see if we can put another one on the books here in the not-too-distant future.”