Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Bowl drought
NFL draft-eligible Kaaya, Njoku, Thomas look to Mountaineers
Hurricanes focus on ending losing skid.
CORAL GABLES — As the Hurricanes returned to the practice field and began the work of preparing for their matchup against West Virginia in the Russell Athletic Bowl later this month, three of Miami’s drafteligible players weren’t much interested in talking about their respective futures.
Instead, quarterback Brad Kaaya, tight end David Njoku and defensive end Chad Thomas said their primary focus now remains on ending one of the most frustrating droughts in Hurricanes’ history — Miami’s 10-year stretch without a bowl victory.
“Right now, I’m focusing on this game. We haven’t won a bowl game in like 10 years and that’s a pretty big deal at this school,” said Kaaya, whose decision about whether to return to Miami for his senior year or declare for the NFL draft has been the subject of much speculation on social media this week. “Right now, it’s all about beating West Virginia. That’s a damn good football team. I can’t be thinking about anything else besides their defense.”
Added Njoku, a redshirt sophomore, “I’m going to worry about that after the bowl game. … It’s exciting [to think about], but I’m just trying to stay focused on West Virginia. We’ll think about that after.”
That the Hurricanes haven’t won a postseason game since their 21-20 victory over Nevada in the 2006 MPC Computers Bowl hasn’t just been a topic of conversation
among those who could be playing their final game in orange and green.
Players say coaches have brought up the bowl win drought on a nearly daily basis ahead of Wednesday’s practice. And the Hurricanes acknowledge besting the 16th-ranked Mountaineers (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) on Dec. 28 at Camping World Stadium will do more than just end that maddening streak — it will give the Hurricanes momentum going into the offseason and prove, they say, that Miami continues making progress under first-year coach Mark Richt.
“I think we’ve turned over a lot of new leaves this year,” receiver Braxton Berrios said of Miami, which closed the regular season with an 8-4 record. “I think we are heading in the right direction in a lot of different phases and as a football team, in general. To end that bowl streak of losses is another leaf we must turn over.”
There’s no doubt, though, that the Hurricanes will be a better team moving forward if the draft eligible players opt to stay. During Miami’s 40-21 win over Duke to close out the regular season, Kaaya threw for 396 yards, passing Ken Dorsey to become the Hurricanes’ all-time leading passer. And Njoku, who has 38 catches for 654 yards this season, has been one of this top targets this season.
That’s why the pair, who project as Miami’s two best draft prospects, found themselves answering multiple questions about their futures after Thursday’s practice, even after their initial comments about wanting to keep the focus on preparing for the Mountaineers.
Still, amid questions from reporters, their own teammates and even fans, neither said they expect all the draft talk to be a distraction. Kaaya — who earlier this week posted and deleted a cryptic tweet that included a photo of himself with Njoku and reference 2017 — said he’s now trying to stay off social media. And Njoku acknowledged that while he and several other players requested information from the NFL’s draft advisory committee, they haven’t seen the results yet. Instead, Njoku said, they’ll sit down and evaluate the information with Richt once the season has ended.
’Canes earn degrees
The Hurricanes typically practice early in the day, but Thursday’s practice was pushed back to late afternoon to accommodate the four players who participated in Miami’s commencement ceremonies.
Fullback Gage Batten, offensive linemen Alex Gall and Hunter Knighton and defensive end/tight end Standish Dobard were among the 16 current and former Miami athletes that earned degrees this semester. Former football players Asante Cleveland, James Jackson, Kenny Phillips and Randy Phillips were also among the Hurricanes earning degrees Thursday.