Miami Hurricanes’ new veteran receiver and basketball coach Larranaga address their future
Without prompting, new Miami Hurricanes receiver Charleston Rambo referenced the question that immediately comes to mind when perusing his stats at Oklahoma:
“I’m hearing guys say, ‘Can he get back to the person from 2019?’” Rambo said in his first Zoom session with South Florida media since transferring from the Sooners to the Hurricanes in January.
“I see that. I’m a better person than that. Other than that, do better with the job. Bigger, faster, stronger Charleston.”
The drop in production from 2019 to 2020 at Oklahoma was dramatic, and largely a byproduct of reduced playing time and fewer games due to the pandemic.
In 2019, he caught 43 passes for 743 yards (a 17.3 average) and five touchdowns in 14 games.
Last season, he lost playing time to two younger players and closed with 25 catches for 312 yards (a 12.5 average) and three touchdowns in nine games.
He had four drops in 2020 and his yards after catch plunged from 344 in 2019 to 142 last season.
UM pounced on the 6-1, 175-pound receiver as soon as he entered his name in the transfer portal, eager to add speed and experience to a position that was generally disappointing last season, aside from Mike Harley Jr.
“A lot of schools came at me; my options were pretty open,” he said. “I saw that they [Miami] wanted me.”
He said UM was appealing in part because of quarterback D’Eriq King (“just knowing how he played at Houston”) and because of a comfort level with receivers coach Rob Likens and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and the offense UM runs.
“I was like, ‘OK, I can fit in here,’” Rambo said. “Coach Likens, hearing him out and how he goes through things and built up his receivers over the years. Me and Coach Likens are on the same page. It felt right.”
It was meaningful to Rambo that Likens coached two first-round receivers at Arizona State: N’Keal Harry and Brandon Aiyuk.
UM’s wide receiver tradition also held some appeal. He said both Miami and Oklahoma “are special. Both have players in the league, both visionary coaches. Older receivers like [Michael] Irvin did some things. I’m like, ‘OK yeah, I can fill shoes.’”
Rambo played about three-quarters of his snaps on the boundary at Oklahoma last season and the rest in the slot.
With Harley established in the slot, Rambo likely will compete with Mark Pope, Dee Wiggins and perhaps Keyshawn Smith and Michael Redding for two starting boundary jobs. Rambo almost assuredly will be in the rotation and has a very good chance to start.
The addition of Rambo, who made 24 starts at Oklahoma, gives the Hurricanes 12 wide receivers on scholarship.
“Going through mat drills, workouts, 7-on-7, throwing the ball around with the QBs, we have a lot of potential with the young guys,” he said. “We want to feed off each other. They can watch me and I help them. We just learn from each other right now, bonding.”
Asked to assess his own game, he said: “I’m good [at] blocking. We block good at OU.” He also cited his “route running, speed” and ability to “get open.”
He’s also an option in the return game. At Oklahoma, he returned 13 kickoffs for 326 yards (25.1 average) and one punt for 11 yards. The Sooners also handed him the ball four times and he gained 37 yards on those carries.
Rambo already has had one memorable moment at Hard Rock Stadium: He caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Murray in a national playoff semifinal against Alabama in December 2018.
Rambo has two years of eligibility remaining, but could opt to go pro in 2022 if he has a productive season in 2021.
“Most important is get my work done, do my thing, get to the league,” he said.
LARRANAGA ON FUTURE
With UM basketball set to close a forgettable, injury-ravaged regular season on Friday against Boston College (6 p.m., ACC Network), I asked coach Jim Larranaga, 71, if he ever ask himself why he needs the aggravation of continuing to coach as opposed to enjoying life in retirement.
“I’ve been coaching for 50 years. I absolutely love coaching. I never want to retire,” he said Thursday. “But after we lose, I always think, ‘What am I doing this for?’ Not now, not this year. Back when I was 22 years ago. We would lose a game and I’d think, “I’ve got to go into the business world.’ There’s always that feeling that you want to do better. I just want to do my job better.
“I spent an hour and half this morning listening to a podcast about how to improve your teaching. I just want to be better at doing my craft. I want to help my players. My coaches want to help our players improve.
“We want to have a winning program consistently. We went seven straight years of very, very good basketball here. We were one of only four teams in the league — Virginia, Duke, Carolina and Miami — that had won 10 or more conference games for [four] straight years [2015-18]. We want to get back to that.
“In order to get back to that, I have got to do my job somehow better. Maybe it’s better planning in practice or teaching our defense better or coming up with a new drill or two that can help us become a better passing team. Whatever it is, my coaching staff and I are working on it.”
Larranaga’s job remains secure, because the school appreciates what he has accomplished in 10 seasons here (including four NCAA Tournament appearances and two Sweet 16 appearances and a NIT runner-up) and his outstanding teaching skills. The administration also knows factors that were beyond Larranaga’s control (a bogus FBI investigation and injuries) contributed significantly to losing records this season and the previous two (14-18, 15-16).
Injuries essentially torpedoed this season.
Point guard Chris Lykes, a preseason All-ACC selection, played in only two games this season because of an ankle injury that never fully healed. Sam Waardenburg, a projected frontcourt starter, missed the season with a left foot injury sustained in practice.
Center Rodney Miller, after playing in only five games, was ruled out for the season with a knee injury sustained Dec. 19.
Well-regarded freshman small forward Earl Timberlake was ruled out for the season Feb. 16 because of a shoulder injury. He ended up playing in only seven games.
Last week, guard Harlond Beverly was ruled out for the season with a back injury. He played in UM’s first 19 games.
Guard Kameron McGusty has played in 16 of UM’s 23 games, missing some time with a hamstring injury.
Guard Isaiah Wong has played through an ankle injury.
UM is 3-15 in the ACC — ahead of only 14th place Boston College — and 7-16 overall. Miami enters its regular-season finale on a six-game losing streak.
The Hurricanes will participate in next week’s ACC tournament.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 2:59 PM.
