Hurricanes on Alabama: ‘It’s a big game, but it’s not the biggest’
CORAL GABLES — For all the “big games” the Miami Hurricanes have played in recently, it would be understandable for them to get overly excited for their season opener against Alabama on Saturday.
It’ll be the third time in 20 years that No. 14 Miami has played the top-ranked team in the nation, and first time during that timespan that the top-ranked team the Hurricanes were facing wasn’t Clemson (2017 ACC Championship game and 2020 Week 6).
The Hurricanes’ last matchup against the nation’s No. 1 team that wasn’t Clemson came on Oct. 7, 2000, when UM beat then top-ranked Florida State, 27-24.
The Miami-Alabama game will be broadcasted nationally at 3:30 p.m. on ABC as part of the Chickfil-A Kickoff Game matchups, with
Louisville playing No. 25 Ole Miss on Monday as part of the series over Labor Day Weekend.
So as the Hurricanes inch closer to opening their season against the defending national champions, a focus has been on making sure guys don’t get too nervous for Saturday.
“It just comes with preparation,” starting quarterback D’Eriq King said Tuesday afternoon following practice. “We had two weeks to prepare, and I think we feel good about the gameplan.
“It’s a big game, but it’s not the biggest game. It’s the first game of the season. We want to win, then we got 11, 12 other games after that.”
How do the Hurricanes approach a matchup against Alabama, which has won three of the past six national championships and six since Nick Saban took over the program in 2007, like they would any other?
For redshirt junior safety Bubba Bolden, it’s by knowing the Crimson Tide are “just another team.”
“They bleed blood, just like me,” he said. “They’re in college, just like me. They’re the same age as me. It’s simple as that.”
The last time the Hurricanes matched up against the then top-ranked team in the country was in their fourth game of the season last year when they fell to Clemson, 42-17, after falling behind, 21-3, late in the second quarter.
Bolden said a lesson the Hurricanes learned from that loss was not letting moments get too big for them, which he felt they did last year.
“Ever since then,” he added, “we haven’t let a moment get too big.”
The message to younger players who don’t have the same big-game experience like veteran players such as King and Bolden?
“You just got to go up there and do your job,” King said. “Don’t get too high, don’t get too low.”
Wide receiver movement:
One of the younger UM players who’s expected to receive significant playing time against Alabama is second-year freshman Michael Redding III, who was listed as a backup wide receiver behind Key’Shawn Smith.
Redding, a former fourstar prospect out of IMG Academy who had three receptions for 19 yards and a touchdown in seven games last year, has impressed his coaches and teammates with his consistency during preseason practices.
“He’s a guy who doesn’t get talked about a lot, but he comes in and does everything right,” wide receiver Mike Harley said. “He takes everything from the classroom to the field.
“He’s always been consistent, but last year with contact tracing, he was out for a couple games, you couldn’t really see him sprout.”
Mark Pope, a fourth-year player who struggled with drops last season, was a veteran wide receiver who wasn’t listed on Miami’s two-deep roster for Saturday. After playing outside wide receiver, Pope’s moved into the slot and is behind Harley and secondyear freshman Xavier Restrepo in that spot.
“We feel like that’s the most natural position for him,” offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. “He’s really proven that to be the case. Sometimes when you have a guy play on the outside all year and you move him into the slot, it takes some time to learn a new spot.
“When you got guys like Harley and X who’ve already been there, they’re probably ahead in that regard. We still have a lot of confidence in Mark if the opportunity presents itself [for him] to get in there.”
King, Ragone NIL deal:
King and linebacker Ryan Ragone, who host the The King and Ragone Show, agreed to a name, image and
likeness deal with Miamibased Sports Grill Restaurants that will make the restaurant the presenting sponsor of their podcast.
King and Ragone, who are roommates and both Houston natives, had regularly been eating at Sports Grill together for over a year before the NIL come to fruition.
“Sports Grill is a place that just makes you feel at home,” Ragone said in a statement. “From the moment you step in you are just able to relax and be able to have a great meal and be treated like family by their employees.”
The partnership will include “in-person events for fans to be able to meet and hang out with King and Ragone. As the athletes play in the Fall 2021 football season, Sports Grill will announce these events as they come to fruition,” according to a news release.
Practice notes: Starting left tackle Zion Nelson was practicing with the team on Tuesday during the
20-minute portion of practice that was open to the media, with coach Manny Diaz saying he’ll be ready to play Saturday after missing a few practices in recent weeks.
Al Blades Jr. was once again working with the safeties during Tuesday’s practice, lining up beside second-year safety Keshawn Washington in what appeared to be Miami’s third safety unit.
Bolden and Gurvan Hall Jr. are the first-team safeties while true freshmen Kam Kinchens and James Williams are the listed as the primary backups. Blades, a fourth-year player, remains listed as a cornerback on Miami’s roster and depth chart.
Multiple players were wearing different jersey numbers as part of Miami’s scout team to prepare for Alabama, including thirdyear redshirt freshman wide receiver Mykel Tubbs, who switched from No. 47 to No. 1 to imitate Ohio State transfer and Crimson Tide wideout Jameson Williams.