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Freshman defensive end Joe Jackson gets a big start.
Miami freshman defensive end Joe Jackson has established himself as one of the top young pass rushers in college football this year, and Wednesday, Miami coaches rewarded his performance this season by giving him just the second start of his career.
Jackson entered the Russell Athletic Bowl with 7.5 sacks, a number that ranked second at the end of the regular season among freshmen nationwide. He was a standout in Miami’s regular-season finale against Duke, notching three tackles and two sacks.
Jackson’s lone start before Wednesday came at Virginia Tech, when Miami’s defense was depleted due to injuries. BIG CATCH: Hurricanes receiver Malcolm
Lewis likely won’t forget his first catch the game.
The redshirt senior caught a 3-yard pass from quarterback Brad Kaaya and put his foot down just inside the end zone to give the Hurricanes a 13-6 lead — their first of the game — late in the second quarter.
Lewis came into the game with just 14 catches for 192 yards on the year.
The former Miramar High standout seemed off to a promising career as a freshman before suffering a gruesome ankle injury during a game against Georgia Tech in September 2012. He was sidelined for the rest of the year and has struggled to rise on Miami’s depth chart since. UM GIFT: During a pregame tailgate Wednesday, Miami native Marcus Lemonis, known for his starring role in CNBC’s “The Profit,” announced he will match donations from Hurricanes fans to the athletic department up to $1 million.
Lemonis launched the campaign by presenting UM athletics director
Blake James with a $250,000 gift Wednesday. His goal is to raise $2 million to “enhance the student-athlete experience and resources in the classroom, in competition and in life skills and career development.”
Lemonis owns Camping World, which owns the naming rights for the stadium where Miami faced off with West Virginia. TEAM LEADERS: Miami’s captains for the bowl were Kaaya (a junior), senior punter/kicker Justin
Vogel, senior defensive back Corn Elder and senior offensive lineman Danny Isidora.
The two teams got into a shoving match during a competitive charity event ahead of the bowl, but the
coin toss interaction didn’t get heated.
However, during the first half, players on the field got into a brief shoving match after UM center Alex Gall was called for a personal foul for a late hit. HIGH SCHOOL
SALUTE: During the game, Russell Athletic unveiled its new “Dear Seniors” program with a commercial that aired on ESPN. The program, which includes messages from high school football coaches to their seniors, focuses on the life lessons that players learned during their football careers that are relevant after they stop playing the game.
“One thing that I know for sure is that [my coaches] prepared me for life well beyond the football field,” said former Ohio State Heisman winner and NFL star Eddie George ,whoisa spokesman for Russell Athletic and the “Dear Seniors” program. “They coached the person, not necessarily the player.”