Miami unveils ‘The Crib’ touchdown rings, but the new turnover chain will have to wait
The debut of the fourth edition of the Miami Hurricanes’ infamous turnover chain will have to wait at least a week.
Miami didn’t manage any takeaways in its season-opening 31-14 win against the UAB Blazers, meaning the unveiling of the new version of the chain won’t come until at least Sept. 19, when the Hurricanes open Atlantic Coast Conference play on the road against the Louisville Cardinals.
The second edition of the turnover rings, however, didn’t take long to make an appearance. Cam’Ron Harris ran for a 66-yard touchdown in the first quarter, then headed to the sideline wear he was presented with a pair of four-finger rings, spelling out “The Crib” when he held his fists together.
The Hurricanes went for it on fourth and 1 from their own 34-yard line in the opening quarter, and running back burst through a hole to run virtually untouched into the end zone for the first time this season, tying the score at 7-7.
He then got to show off Miami’s newest prop. The right hand ring read “The” and the left read “Crib” in a script typeface. Collectively, they spelled out “The Crib,” a nickname for South Florida popularized by defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera when he signed with the Hurricanes on National Signing Day in 2018. The “Touchdown Rings 2.0” are encrusted with orange and green sapphires, and contain 829 stones. The rings took about three months to make, the university said in a press release.
Miami debuted the first version of the touchdown rings in 2019 as an offensive equivalent to the turnover chain, which coach Manny Diaz hoped would fire up his offense to play with the same intensity as his defense. The four-fingered rings, first worn by star tight end Brevin Jordan, said “Hurri” on the right hand and “canes” on the left.
They were the follow up to the turnover chain, an invention pioneered by Diaz in 2017. Diaz, a Miami native, was the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator at the time and decided to award his defensive players his players a gaudy chain anytime they forced a takeaway.
Miami debuted the turnover chain in its season-opener against the FCS Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in 2017 and it has been a fixture on the Hurricanes’ sideline in every season since. The first variation was a diamond-encrusted, green-and-orange “U” hanging from a gold Cuban link chain. In 2018, the Hurricanes started a tradition of changing up the chain every year, swapping in a diamond-encrusted Sebastian the Ibis hanging from the gold chain. Last year, Miami’s turnover chain had a diamond-encrusted “305” hanging from the chain, with a small “U” logo above the common Miami area code. It drew a raucous reception when the Hurricanes unveiled it in their opener against the Florida Gators last year in Orlando.
There’s no clue yet about what the new version might entail. It could either be some sort of alternative Miami logo, or some other distinctly South Florida catchphrase or design.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 11:59 PM.
