UM players say Clemson is team to beat and that is the goal.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The drive from the airport to downtown Charlotte — site of ACC Kickoff, the conference’s annual media days event — isn’t particularly long.
But early Wednesday morning, it proved more than a little painful for Hurricanes safety Jaquan Johnson, who couldn’t help but get angry as he, teammate Ahmmon Richards and Miami coach Mark Richt drove past Bank of America Stadium.
It was there, last December, that Johnson and the Hurricanes saw their dreams of winning the first ACC title in program history and playing in the College Football Playoff slip away after an ugly 38-3 loss to Clemson.
That night, the Tigers — then the defending national champions who had won two straight conference titles — thoroughly outplayed Miami, jumping to a quick two-touchdown lead in the first quarter that proved too much for the reeling Hurricanes to overcome.
Johnson, one of Miami’s more emotional vocal leaders, hasn’t forgotten any of it — not how badly the Hurricanes fared or how the players felt later.
“There were missed opportunities, poor communication on the defensive side. You just wish you could have that chance back. But the only way we can get back to it now is dominating the Coastal, going up against all these great teams that we’re going to be playing up against,” Johnson said Wednesday. “I definitely got mad when we passed the stadium. I tapped Ahmmon. He was looking at his phone and he was like, ‘That’s the stadium?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ I’m never going to forget that stadium. I’m hoping we really get back to the ACC Championship this year.”
Injuries healing
As Miami moves closer to the start of camp in early August, Richt said that several injured players who were limited in the spring — including linebackers Zach McCloud (wrist) and Charles Perry (Achilles) — have continued improving and should be ready for the start of practice.
Richt also said redshirt freshman Evidence Njoku, who suffered a knee injury in October that sidelined him the rest of the year, has started running routes with his teammates during workouts and has impressed.
“They said he made a big play yesterday just high-pointing the ball and bringing it down,” Richt said of Njoku.
A good impression
Although graduate transfer Venzell Boulware has been at Miami for just a few weeks since arriving from Tennessee, he’s done enough already to earn praise from his coach — who expects him to compete for playing time on an offensive line that had its share of struggles during the spring.
“The guy played SEC ball for three years. He’s a graduate. He’s a mature guy. Even to graduate in three years, it shows a sign of maturity. He’s a sharp guy, he’s built well. He looks like he’s in really good condition. He’s probably 305 pounds-ish. He looks like he can move and function,” Richt said.
Boulware, who left the Tennessee program last October, played in seven games for the Volunteers as a redshirt freshman in 2016.
He is eligible to play at Miami immediately.
Walker list
Travis Homer has already earned himself a spot on the watch list for one major college football award.
Now the Hurricanes running back has claimed a spot on another.
Homer, who last season stepped into Miami’s starting role after Mark Walton suffered a season-ending injury in October, was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list on Wednesday. The award is given annually to the nation’s top collegiate running back.
The former Oxbridge Academy standout was also named to the Maxwell Award watch list earlier this week.