An update on UM’s football plans amid state’s rising COVID cases. And a looming concern
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes football notes on a Monday:
▪ The record-setting number of coronavirus cases in Florida in the past 10 days has not altered the University of Miami’s plans to play college football this fall, but school president Julio Frenk left the door open to make a change if he believes it’s necessary, and Miami-Dade’s mayor said Monday that he’s not as convinced that a football season in Florida can be achieved.
I asked Frenk in the past few days if he has given any thought to speaking with other Atlantic Coast Conference presidents about possibly pushing the season back to the spring, to allow more time for development of treatment for COVID-19 and the development and distribution of a vaccine.
“In my conversations with [UM athletic director] Blake James and conference leadership, the ACC is currently investigating all options for the upcoming college football season,” Frenk said in an email to the Miami Herald. “Although the University of Miami is considering various alternatives and scenarios, our goal is to proceed with the current schedule.”
Unlike some schools, UM is declining to reveal how many players have tested positive for COVID-19. One player indicated that even players aren’t certain.
“It’s definitely like the elephant in the room,” said UM star defensive end Greg Rousseau in an interview with WPLG-ABC 10’s Will Manso regarding whether the season will be played. “We talked about it.”
One potential concern is that UM plays early season games against Wagner and UAB, two schools that might not have the budgets to test players as regularly as Power 5 schools such as Miami.
The athletic directors at Wagner and UAB refused to say whether they would discuss their testing procedures - and frequency of testing — with UM so that the Hurricanes players are aware of their risks in those games.
Wagner’s athletic director said he fully intends for his school, which plays in FCS, to play its Sept. 12 game at Miami.
UM has not said how often it will test players for COVID, and regularity of tests will vary even among Power 5 schools.
Jackie Hamilton, the mother of Notre Dame cornerback Kyle Hamilton, told The Washington Post she believes her son’s school is handling the situation correctly but worries about the Fighting Irish opening the season against Arkansas, which is testing players only if they show symptoms or if they know they were in close proximity to an infected person.
“Do I want my child on the field, tackling some kid who may have it but doesn’t know because he’s asymptomatic?” she said. “How is that supposed to work? . . .
“It just seems like everyone’s freelancing. The NCAA has rules and guidelines for everything under the sun . . . How are they not making any rules for this?”
Temple, which visits UM in the season opener for the Hurricanes, declined to say whether it would share its COVID testing information with UM’s athletic department before its scheduled Sept. 5 game.
Meanwhile, when asked about the chances of a football season for the Dolphins and UM, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez told WQAM’s Joe Rose Show on Monday: “I was much more optimistic a couple weeks ago. Let’s see how this rise goes. It really all depends on their plan. In college, what do they have about 100 players?...
“If they [football teams] don’t really quarantine those teams, there are going to be issues with them. The safest thing to do is keep them quarantined throughout the season.”
Nearly the entire UM football team is on campus and participating in social-distanced workouts, in the weight room and on Greentree Field.
▪ The final seven members of UM’s 2020 recruiting class arrived on campus during the weekend and are due to enroll this week: cornerbacks Marcus Clarke and Isaiah Dunson; safeties Avantae Williams, Jalen Harrell and Brain Balom; and defensive linemen Elijah Roberts and Quentin Williams.
One potential member of that 2020 class — former Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna defensive lineman Willie Moise — announced Friday he’s enrolling at Coastal Carolina, in part because UM could not assure him a scholarship. Moise would have been part of this class had he qualified academically in time for the December or February signing periods.
▪ In Jordan Reid’s interview with Brevin Jordan, UM’s starting tight end said being named first team All-ACC last season “really didn’t mean much. I mean, we went 6-7, then to the Independence Bowl and lost to Louisiana Tech. What really matters to me is winning games. You saw it last year. The first guy selected from our team was in the fourth round. That’s not like Miami. We have to win some games. That’s the main thing for me.”
Asked about his skill set, Jordan said: “I’m the type of tight end that if you give him the ball on a bubble, he can take it 40 or 50 yards. You can put him in line to block a defensive end or linebacker and I’ll get it done. I will pull around and block. I also can be out wide, outside, and run a deep go, comebacks. I also can play from the backfield as well.... Put me in the game and I’ll do some damage for you.”
▪ A UM player said he has not seen chief of staff Ed Reed around much yet, but he is having an impact in recruiting.
UM director of player personnel Andy Vaughn told WQAM’s Rose that Reed “has been fantastic as part of the staff. Speaking from that personal experience has been huge for the kids, especially for the parents. Speaking about his time at the University of Miami, why he came here. He has been amazing to have on those calls. Besides the wow factor [of Ed Reed], he is so down to earth, easy to talk to. That translates really well to kids and the parents.”
▪ If only a limited number of fans — or no fans — are permitted at this season’s national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium, the Orange Bowl would have a strong case to be awarded another national championship game sooner than planned.
So will the OB ask for another championship game to make up for that?
Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms said that has not come up and “we have not engaged in any conversations regarding hypotheticals.”
He said the “host committee’s focus is to continue to work with the CFP on the planning and implementation of the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021.”
▪ Quick stuff: After helping Dolphins receiver Preston Williams last season and UM’s Mike Harley Jr. this offseason, former Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall is also taking Miami Northwestern receiver Romello Brinson — a Canes commitment — under his wing…
Miami isn’t the only school trying to flip Texas four-star quarterback Jalen Milroe. So is Alabama. But Milroe continues to say his commitment to Texas is solid. Miami will keep trying...
After recent UM pledges from receivers Brinson and Jacolby George, Miami has risen to 10th in Rivals’ 2021 class rankings and 11th in the 247 rankings. Miami has 16 commitments and room for 25 in this 2021 class.
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 3:35 PM.
