Things to know about Miami:
Miami University CANTON — coach Chuck Martin had a blunt answer when asked how the 2017 Mid-American Conference football media day differed from last year’s version.
“Not everybody thinks we suck,” Martin said with a laugh.
In a media poll announced Wednesday, Martin’s team was picked to finish second in the MAC East, trailing preseason favorite Ohio by just two points. The RedHawks received one more first-place vote than the Bobcats (12 to 11) while Bowling Green also appeared at the top of one ballot.
That type of optimism about Miami was just about unimaginable as recently as the middle of last season.
The RedHawks were 0-6 after losing 35-13 at Akron on Oct. 8, a defeat that left them 5-25 in Martin’s first 2½ years in Oxford.
One loss was by four to Eastern Illinois, and there were seven-point defeats at the hands of Western Kentucky and Cincinnati.
Then came a breakthrough 18-14 win over Kent State on Oct. 15. That started a sixgame winning streak that wasn’t snapped until the dying moments of the St. Petersburg Bowl, where Mississippi State blocked a field goal to preserve a 17-16 lead.
“Obviously we’re all excited about the way we finished last year,” said Martin, whose team returns 17 starters. “The biggest thing moving forward is the confidence of our whole program. The confidence of our kids. As opposed to trying to convince our kids we can do this, (telling them), ‘We’re gonna do this,’ now the kids know we were 6-2 (in the MAC), we were conference (division) co-champs with OU, we won six straight games, we made history . ...
“We’re excited about the expectations. We’re excited we got second. No one used to talk to us on media day. Now people want to talk to us.”
Here are four more
Among the players expected to be a leader for the RedHawks this fall is cornerback Heath Harding, a fifth-year senior from Dayton Christian. He had four interceptions and 67 tackles last season, and this year he is on the preseason watch lists for the Bednarik and Thorpe Awards.
“The sky’s the limit for Heath,” Martin said, “and not just in football. In a lot of other areas of his life, he’s pretty darn talented.”
Quarterback Gus Ragland’s impact isn’t hard to see. The RedHawks were 0-6 without him last season and 6-1 after he returned from a knee injury.
The Moeller product threw for 1,537 yards with 17 touchdowns