WR Richards feeling better,
INSIDE
CORAL GABLES — Ahmmon Richards hasn’t had the type of season he expected after a record-setting freshman year. UM is encouraged, however, he might be more of a factor in the bigger games to come.
Richards, who is perhaps UM’s fastest player when healthy, strained his hamstring in camp and added an ankle injury to his list of woes in the first month of the season. Coach Mark Richt revealed Tuesday the former Wellington High star also has a “problematic” Achilles, “whether it’s tendinitis, I’m not sure exactly what it was.”
“He looked good this week, Sunday night when we ran our gassers,” Richt said. “He was flying pretty good. It was good to see. You go from sideline to sideline and back, but he stuck his foot in the ground and changed direction and did it with a lot of energy. I thought that was a good sign.’
Richt said Richards “hasn’t missed any reps” this week, after catching a 10-yard touchdown pass against Virginia. It was his first score since Sept. 29 at Duke, and second this year. Richards was targeted four times against Virginia and caught four passes for 51 yards; he was targeted four times in the first half the week before against Notre Dame and didn’t record a catch.
Richards, who missed three games because of injury this year, had never been kept off the stat sheet during a game in which he appeared. He has 21 catches for 392 yards this year, after setting a UM freshman record — and garnering freshman All-American status — with 934 yards and three touchdowns on 49 receptions a year ago.
“He’s doing well when he’s in there and feeling healthy,” Richt said. “He’s still not 100 percent. But he’s fighting through it.”
Senior Braxton Berrios has been Miami’s top receiver, with a teamhigh 522 yards, eight touchdowns and 41 catches. Eight players have caught a touchdown for Miami.
Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown admitted it was surprising to see Berrios have a quiet junior year (12 catches, 178 yards, two touchdowns), even though Stacy Coley and David Njoku played the slot, his natural position. “He’s the model of consistency for our program,” Brown said.
Richt called Berrios the “smartest player on the team.”
■ Brown, on how Miami might use freshman DeeJay Dallas next year: “Football player.” Dallas will stick on offense and needs to improve his pass-protection but remains a weapon UM will use.
■Who has been the best UM offensive lineman of late? Brown said “all of them,” but mentioned right guard Navaughn Donaldson and left tackle Kc McDermott by name.
■ Brown on Travis Homer’s touchdown celebration: “He has to explain all of them to me . ... I knew it was Dragonball Z. I used to watch that when I was a kid. I haven’t watched that in a while. He’s a big anime guy, in case you haven’t realized. He’s educated me on the difference between anime and cartoons. I thought they were the same thing.”
Diaz up for Broyles award:
Miami’s defensive coordinator is one of 15 semifinalists for the award that goes to the country’s top assistant coach.
Diaz runs an aggressive 4-3 defense that ranks high in all major statistical categories: first in both sacks and takeaways per game, fourth in tackles for loss per game, 15th in points allowed, 33rd in yards per carry allowed, seventh in opponent passer rating, 17th in yards per play allowed,
What would Richt say to promote him for the award?
“I don’t get into all that,” he said. “I’ll let them decide. Just like, if you have a Heisman candidate, I don’t think you promote him. I think he just plays and promotes himself. Same thing with coaches.”