Canes Set to Face Rival Gators in Opener
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For the last eight months, they’ve prepared.
There was the work on Greentree, obviously. The sessions in the weight room. The hours studying film. The meetings with their coaches.
But as the 19th-ranked Hurricanes moved closer and closer to their season opener against Florida, there was one more thing head coach Mario Cristobal and his staff made sure their players understood: the depth of the Miami-Florida rivalry.
So, to make sure that happened, the team re-watched some of the series’ most iconic moments, including one that happened decades before the Hurricanes were born.
“I was in there watching and I didn’t know that it started because I think the whole Florida defense laid down on the ground and I guess they let Miami score so their quarterback could get some stats or something like that,” said junior offensive lineman Anez Cooper, who hails from Pleasant Grove, Alabama and will get his first taste of the Hurricanes-Gators rivalry on Saturday in Gainesville. “I saw that, and it got me excited. I’m just ready to play. … I don’t really know much about Miami history back then, I’m still learning. … But when I saw that, it just got me ready to play. I’m excited to play Saturday. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”
Cooper isn’t the only Hurricane excited to take the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville on what is expected to be a sweltering Saturday afternoon.
Whether they grew up in the Sunshine State and learned about the Miami-Florida rivalry from family and friends or, like Cooper, are from outside Florida and are learning about it now, every player that’s gone through the rigors of offseason preparation and the challenges of preseason camp are ready to get on the field and get the new season started.
It will be, many of the Hurricanes say, their first opportunity to show just how much work has gone into getting ready for what they hope will be a season to remember.
“I’m excited to see all the work we’ve been putting in, since the beginning of the year until Friday, seeing all the adversity we’ve been through, all come out on Saturday,” said offensive lineman Jalen Rivers. “We just put it out there. We’ve been preparing and we want to earn that win. Running out of the locker room onto the field is going to mean a lot. It’s important for us to not let the loudness of the environment get to us. That’s going to be a challenge. But, like I said, we’ve prepared for this moment, and we can’t wait to put it out there on Saturday.”
Said Cristobal, “Motivation in football should always take care of itself and when you play a rivalry game like this, it tends to crank up a couple levels. But I think it’s important to always recognize that games like this, and games in general, are won throughout the offseason. They’re won in your Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday practices. You almost play the game before you play the game, right? Every block, every tackle, certainly the bodies change. There’s always some surprises, but every ounce of focus has to be on the preparation before that game.”
To get ready for Saturday – and beyond – the Hurricanes worked to build a roster they believe can continue moving the program forward after Miami posted a 7-6 mark last season, Cristobal’s second leading his alma mater.
Veteran quarterback Cam Ward joined the program after two impressive seasons at Washington State, where he threw for 6,963 yards and 48 touchdowns, while rushing for another 13 scores.
Those numbers, and Ward’s experienced, steady leadership, earned him spots on the preseason watch lists for a number of college football’s biggest awards and he was voted the ACC Preseason Player of the Year.
Also joining the Hurricanes were veteran defensive back Meesh Powell, who spent five seasons at Washington and was part of last season’s run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game; running back Damien Martinez, who starred at Oregon State; receiver Samuel Brown, who played at both Houston and West Virginia; veteran defensive linemen Tyler Baron, who played at Tennessee last season, former Michigan State defensive lineman Simeon Barrow, Jr., former N.C. State defensive lineman C.J. Clark, former Marshall defensive lineman Elijah Alston and former Middle Tennessee defensive lineman Marley Cook.
To that mix, the Hurricanes added a number of talented freshmen, including tight end Elija Lofton, wide receivers Ny Carr and Joshisa “Jojo” Trader, defensive linemen Marquise Lightfoot, Cole McConathy II and Justin Scott, along with defensive back OJ Frederique.
All of them will supplement a core of veterans – including Cooper, Rivers and fellow offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, running back Mark Fletcher, Jr., linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, defensive linemen Rueben Bain, Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, among others – who will look to have an impact Saturday in Gainesville, and every week after.
Like their rivals in Coral Gables, the Gators are hoping to start the season on a positive note, especially after enduring a challenging 5-7 campaign last season.
Quarterback Graham Mertz, now in his second year in the Florida offense, is expected to be one of the Gators’ leaders after notching a career-high in completions (261), passing yards (2,903), touchdown passes (20), completion percentage (72.9) and passing yards per game (263.9) before missing the season finale with an injury.
One of his top targets will likely be receiver Eugene Wilson III, a former Freshman All-American who last season, had 61 catches for 538 yards.
They – along with the Gators’ big offensive and defensive lines – will pose challenges, but they’re challenges the Hurricanes say they feel they’re ready to handle after all the work they’ve done this offseason.
Miami’s players and coaches also know they’ll have to contend with a raucous crowd at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and they say they’ve done their best to prepare for the environment, as well as the opponents they’ll see on the other side of the ball.
They say all of it is an opportunity to show how much they’ve grown and how ready they are to be a force in college football this season.
“I see it, even [in] the guys that Coach Cristobal and the staff brought in. The transfers, the freshmen, they have a sense of urgency of wanting to do better,” Rivers said. “They want to improve quickly. They’ve come in with a mindset that they want to get better, and they want to win.
“The guys that have been here for a minute, like myself, I’ve been through a lot here. I’ve been through the ups and downs, and we’ve had enough. So, of course, the guys that they brought in, the freshmen, the experienced guys that are here just like me, I just think we’ve had enough, and we just want to win and we’re going to do everything possible to achieve that.”
