UM’s Cristobal explains why UM kept George after costly penalties and gives injury updates
After Jacolby George committed three costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalties late last season, coach Mario Cristobal had a choice to make: jettison the Canes’ second-leading receiver or give him another chance.
Cristobal opted for the latter.
Asked Thursday if removing George from the roster was a consideration after the three mindless November/December penalties, Cristobal said:
“Initially, yeah, that comes to mind right away because it’s not part of the DNA, not what we want to be as a program. But you have to stop for a second and think it’s your job to find a way to get it right until you can’t get it right. We’ve invested a lot in him. There has been a lot of growth and development.
“It’s time for that to show as a teammate…I believe we’re heading in the right direction…. I think it’s going to end really well with him. That’s the path we have chosen to take.”
Speaking for the first time since two particularly dumbfounding infractions in the Pinstripe Bowl, George was asked if he felt remorse for committing the penalties - those two, another against Georgia Tech and another late in the November loss to Louisville.
“Of course,” he said. “That messed up the team. We could have won the game and that kind of set us back.”
He had a heart-to-heart talk with Cristobal after the season.
“I had to gain his trust back and be able to move on and be a better teammate and be a better player on and off the field,” he said. “I just want to gain the trust of my teammates and coaches.”
Did any teammate tell him those kinds of penalties cannot be tolerated? “It was more [receiver coach Kevin] Beard, helping me get on the right path... As I gain the trust of my coaches and players, that helps me be a better person and better player.”
On the field, George took a major step last season, catching 57 passes for 864 yards (a 15.2 average) and eight touchdowns after catching 13 for 130 the previous season. He was named third team-All ACC and his 864 receiving yards were third most in the conference.
But the positive vibes around his game diminished when George and then UM-teammate Brashard Smith were assessed 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the closing minutes of Miami’s loss to Louisville. The penalties torpedoed Miami’s chances to potentially get into range to possibly tie the game.
As punishment, Cristobal benched both players for the first quarter of the following week’s game against Boston College. George nevertheless caught six passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in that regular-season finale.
Discipline remained an issue with George in the Pinstripe Bowl loss to Rutgers.
During one sequence, George pushed a Rutgers player’s facemask after a play was over, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Later, well after a play was over, George cheap-shotted a defenseless Rutgers player with an aggressive shove in the back, drawing another penalty and costing UM 15 yards after a run. But even after that second penalty, UM didn’t bench him.
UM’s radio announcing team sounded fed up with George. “It’s almost like he’s intent on doing stuff like this,” Don Bailey Jr. said on the game broadcast.
“This is costing your team and your program,” WQAM’s Joe Zagacki added that day.
George previously was suspended for the first two games of the 2022 season for reasons that were never disclosed.
There was another incident involving George this offseason:
He was arrested in January in Volusia County and charged with two misdemeanors:
racing on the highway and attaching an unlawful registration, according to court records. Charges were subsequently dropped, according to multiple reports.
George, who will be a senior, said he believes being more mature will “help a lot” with making him more disciplined.
UM needs him. George and Xavier Restrepo - and to an extent, Isaiah Horton - are the only veteran receivers on the roster with a proven body of work.
George has “had a really good spring,” Cristobal said.
George said he and new quarterback Cam Ward “had chemistry off the bat,” and praised the Washington State transfer’s ability to “extend plays and make great throws.”
THIS AND THAT
Cristobal offered updates on two players whose careers have been sidetracked by significant knee injuries.
It remains unclear if former starting left tackle Zion Nelson will be able to play again after missing last season and logging just 61 snaps during the 2022 season. The persistent knee problems have sidelined him again this spring.
“Just hoping he gets better; I know he’s trying,” Cristobal said. “That will be up to him and his medical situation whether it can happen or not.”
There’s better news on running back TreVonte’ Citizen, who hasn’t played in a game since a serious knee injury sustained in August 2022, just before his freshman season.
With Citizen, “something clicked today,” Cristobal said after Thursday’s practice. “We’ve been seeing a guy who has been a little bit tentative, and then today this was legitimate a guy running behind his pads, running at 230 pounds, accelerating, running through contact, catching the ball really well.
“Today was his best day. Today gives us hope that he can transform.”
▪ Cristobal again indicated that UM will seek roster additions in the weeks and months to come.
“Hopefully it’ll be a good portal season for us,” Cristobal said.
He wants to see more of a handful of young linebackers before deciding whether to seek another veteran linebacker in the portal.
This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 1:13 PM.
