Hurricanes hire Justice to coach offensive line

The Miami Hurricanes parted ways with offensive line coach Butch Barry and hired Garin Justice replace him.

“He boasts an extensive and impressive background as a position coach, coordinator and head coach, and we’re looking forward to seeing him work with our offensive linemen,” UM coach Manny Diaz said of Justice.

Justice was most recently UNLV’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2019.

Last season, UNLV allowed 29 sacks (94th in the country) but UM — whose line had more highly recruited players than the Rebels’ line — relinquished 51, which was 127th, in Barry’s only season as offensive line coach.

UNLV also rushed the ball more successfully than UM did last season, even though the Hurricanes had more highly recruited backs. UNLV averaged 4.6 yards per carry, which was 58th in the country. Miami averaged 3.8 yards, which was 120th.

A former three-year starter at offensive tackle for West Virginia, Justice worked as offensive line coach at FAU in 2016 and 2017 and previously was a head coach at Campbell — an Athens, West Virginiabased Division II school — and went 40-17 from 2011 through 2015,

AA day after Cleveland Browns executive and former UM great Alonzo Highsmith said the door was “closed” on him taking a job at UM, Highsmith met with Hurricanes athletic director Blake James on Friday and Highsmith joining the staff is apparently once again a possibility. Highsmith and James

to

declined to comment.

FCS CAMPIONSHIP

A North Dakota State

28, James Madison 20: Redshirt freshman quarterback Trey Lance ran for 166 yards, with a clutch 44-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter, and North Dakota State held on to claim its eighth FCS national championship with a win over James Madison on Saturday in Frisco, Texas.

James Hendricks had an interception at the goal line in the final seconds for the Bison (16-0), who stretched their FCS-record winning streak to 37 in a row and completed the first 16-win season in any division since Yale in 1894.

After stopping Lance short on a fourth-and-2 at its 36 with 2:51 left, James Madison (14-2) drove to the 3. Hendricks, who earlier had a 20-yard touchdown run on a fake field goal, then picked off the pass by Ben DiNucci.

Lance’s 44-yard TD came on a third-and-23 play to open the fourth quarter and put the Bison up 28-13.

Riley Stapleton’s 5yard TD catch with 7 minutes left was his second of the game. He also had two TD catches in the national title game two years ago, when the Dukes lost to North Dakota State. That was a season after they won a semifinal game at the Fargodome and then beat Youngstown State for the title.

The Bison won their eighth FCS championship in nine years, after five NCAA Division II national titles between 1983-90.

While Lance was only 6 of 10 passing for 72 yards, he has now attempted 289 passes for the Bison without ever throwing an interception.