Put it away! Miami Hurricanes unveil new Turnover Chain ... a little bit prematurely

The Miami Hurricanes were down 27 points in the first half, but it didn’t stop them from breaking out their new Turnover Chain against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday in Atlanta.

Even if it was a little too early.

Kamren Kinchens got to be the first Miami player to wear the new chain in 2021, only it technically never happened. The safety forced a fumble in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and had the chain placed around his neck to celebrate a turnover that never actually happened.

Kinchens lowered his shoulder and popped the ball out of Alabama running back Roydell Williams’ hand with a little less than four minutes left in the half. Fellow safety Gurvan Hall wound up with it, but a review showed Williams actually picked up his own fumble.

It was a premature reveal of the new-look chain, which depicts an old-school Hurricanes helmet hanging from the typical Cuban link chain. Quickly, No. 14 Miami had to stuff it back into its protective case, as if nothing ever happened.

The Hurricanes did eventually get to officially break out the chain, though. Chantz Williams notched a strip sack in the third quarter and fellow defensive lineman Jordan Miller pounced on the loose ball to let Miami actually unveil the chain.

This is the fifth version of the Turnover Chain, in existence since Mark Richt was still coach in 2017. And it seems, perhaps, to have sparked progress. Since the chain’s creation, Miami entered the 2021 season tied with Iowa and Syracuse with 92 turnovers forced — the third most among Power 5 teams, behind only Clemson’s 97 and Alabama’s 95.

It was always coach Manny Diaz’s invention, though. The Miami native was the defensive coordinator at the time and decided to hand out the gaudy chain as a reward for takeaways. Coincidence or not, the Hurricanes’ defense was among the best in the nation in 2017, piling up 17 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries and 43 sacks to help Miami peak at No. 2, and reach the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game for the only time in program history.

The Hurricanes debuted the Turnover Chain in their season-opening blowout of the FCS Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in 2017 and it has been part of the program’s identity ever since.

The first chain was a diamond-encrusted, orange-and-green “U” logo, hanging from a Cuban link chain. In 2018, Miami started changing the design each season, going with a diamond-encrusted Sebastian the Ibis in 2018, a “305” in 2019 and a silhouette of the state of Florida in 2020, with Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties all spotlit in orange and green.

This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 5:33 PM.