From player to coach

Unit girds for potential ACC title game rematch

Kelly: Renaldo Hill ready to mold defensive backs.

CORAL GABLES — There are more than three months until the season opener and a slate of games both Miami and Clemson must win to set up a potential ACC Championship Game rematch.

But as the Hurricanes continue working their way through their offseason program, many of them believe Miami has the talent to return to the championship this December. And their expectation is if they get back to Charlotte, they’ll likely line up again against Clemson, one of the most consistently successful teams in college football today.

For some members of Miami’s defense who are still smarting from the 38-3 loss to the Tigers last year, a chance to face Clemson again would mean an opportunity for redemption. They’re determined to make sure things turn out differently.

This time, they vow they won’t be nearly as starstruck as they were last year, when the Hurricanes won their first Coastal Division crown and played for their first conference title. This time, they believe they have the experience to better challenge Clemson and help bring the Hurricanes back into the national championship conversation, a conversation they were in briefly after opening 2017 with 10 straight wins.

That streak came to an end in late December when the Hurricanes dropped their regular-season finale at Pittsburgh. But Miami had, to that point, done enough to earn the Coastal Division’s berth in the ACC title game, and there Clemson dominated.

The Tigers amassed 331 yards of offense. They scored on three of their first four possessions. Quarterback Kelly Bryant completed his first 15 passes on the way to earning championship game MVP honors.

The Hurricanes allowed a season-high 38 points in that game and managed just