As Canes rallied, they played for peers

CORAL GABLES As the Hurricanes gathered in the locker room during halftime of their game against Florida State, things were looking grim.

Miami’s offense hadn’t been able to do much against the Seminoles defense and quarterback N’Kosi Perry — who was making his first appearance in the storied rivalry — was struggling as he tried to get his footing and hit his targets. The defense, meanwhile, had given up 20 points and had yet to force the kind of momentumchanging turnovers the Hurricanes pride themselves on.

Then safety Jaquan Johnson — playing in his first game after suffering a hamstring injury against Toledo last month — decided to speak up.

And when he did, he reminded his teammates that the opportunity some of them may have been taking for granted that afternoon was one two injured Hurricanes — cornerback Malek Young and receiver Ahmmon Richards — would give anything to have.

Young, a former standout at Coconut Creek High, injured his neck in Miami’s season-ending Orange Bowl loss to Wisconsin last December and had careerending surgery weeks later. And Richards, though he was on the Miami sideline Saturday afternoon as the Hurricanes rallied for a 28-27 win, wasn’t in uniform and didn’t play.

At that point, the Hurricanes had been without Richards for weeks after he suffered a knee injury in the opener against LSU. While some of his teammates may have figured he was dealing with an issue far more serious than the knee problem, it wasn’t until later that most of the Hurricanes — and

Miami’s fans — learned Richards’ football career was over after he, too, suffered a neck injury.

And so, when Miami looked listless and lost, Johnson’s speech became a sobering reminder that the Hurricanes could — and had to be — better, not only for themselves, but for the teammates who would have loved to play with them that day.

“Even with my injury, and their injuries, any play can be your last and you want to give it all you’ve got every time,” Johnson said. “You can’t feel sorry for yourself out there. You have to play for the man next to you.”

Johnson’s message heard loud and clear.

After giving up one more touchdown and falling behind 27-7 early in the third quarter, the Hurricanes scored 21 unanswered points. The defense forced two key turnovers the offense capitalized on and as Miami clawed its way back, television cameras captured Richards’ joyous reactions.

But now, that game behind them, the Hurricanes have to deal with the reality that Richards won’t be on the field with them — as a player — again.

Miami coach Mark Richt said earlier this week the former Wellington High standout will stay on scholarship at Miami and could serve as a sort of assistant coach, something Young has done since his injury.

But there’s no doubt news of Richards’ injury has rocked the Hurricanes. was

Running back DeeJay Dallas — who initially got to know Richards when he hosted Dallas on his recruiting visit — said he cried when he heard Richards would not play again. Other Hurricanes described the loss as “sad” and “devastating.”

“He meant so much to me as a brother and a teammate,” Dallas said.

Said defensive tackle Gerald Willis, “I was in shock. Ahmmon is one of the great people. One of the guys I can tell my kids about, [that] we had Ahmmon Richards on our team. He was … the best wide receiver I’ve ever seen. I’ll continue to keep him in my prayers. I hope the best for Ahmmon.”

For now, the Hurricanes say they will rally around Richards, in much the same way they have rallied around Young. And more than a few of them have expressed confidence that Richards will be successful in whatever he chooses to do now that his football career has ended.

“You guys knew Ahmmon was a first-round talent. He’s a first-round person. He’s a great dude. He was a light to the room. On bad days he would step up. He was a heckuva player,” center Tyler Gauthier said. “I’m sure Ahmmon is going to do great in his life no matter what he does. He puts his head down and he works for anything he does. It’s sad. It definitely breaks your heart to see a kid like that go down. But like I said, we all got his back and we’re going to make sure he does good.”