Miami Ohio University Athletics
RedHawks Set to Invade Kinnick Stadium
8/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 24, 2003
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Storylines
1. An End to All the Hype: Or is it the beginning ... after a preseason of hype around junior quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the much heralded junior will look to become the first quarterback in Miami history to post 3,000-yards passing in three straight seasons.
2. Looking for a Decade of Excellence: Miami opens up its 115th season of football in search of its 10th straight winning season.
3. Starting with a Bang!: The RedHawks have won six of their last seven season openers, including wins over Bowl Championship Series opponents North Carolina (twice), Northwestern and Vanderbilt.
4. Re-Writing the Record Book: Junior quarterback Ben Roehtlisberger, who already owns nine school passing records, could break two major career marks with 182 yards passing and three touchdown strikes.
5. Under New Management: Today marks the first game with Pat Narduzzi at the helm of the Miami defense. Narduzzi and the defense will be looking to improve upon last year's ranking of 109th (273.0 yards per game) against the pass.
General Team Notes
TELEVISION COVERAGE: Live coverage of this week's game versus Iowa will mark the first of three scheduled games Miami will have on the ESPN Networks this year. Pam Ward and former Ohio State standout Chris Spielman will call the game at Iowa for ESPN2. Airtime is Noon ET. The RedHawks return to national television in November as they play back-to-back weeknight games on Tuesday, Nov. 4 and Wednesday, Nov. 12 versus Bowling Green and Marshall, respectively. Prior to this year Miami had been on national television just two other times, including last year's Wednesday night contest at Marshall. Miami is 0-2 on national television.
SEASON OPENERS: The RedHawks have captured six of their last seven season openers dating back to 1996 and bring an all-time mark of 77-31-6 (.713) in lid-lifters into Kinnick Stadium. Four of the six wins are against BCS programs - North Carolina (twice, 1998 and 2002), Vanderbilt (2000), and Northwestern (1999).
PLAYING FOR A DECADE OF EXCELLENCE: With its 38-20 win versus Ohio last season, Miami ensured itself of its ninth straight winning season. The RedHawks are 64-35-2 (.643) during this current string. The school record for consecutive winning seasons is 17 (1943-1959), while the record for consecutive non-losing seasons is 33 (1943-1975).
ONE OF THE TRULY ELITE: In the history and lore of college football, Miami University stands as one of sports the most storied programs. Now entering its 115th season of play, Miami ranks among with the elite of college football as one of just 25 schools with 600 or more wins (611) while holding the 14th-best winning percentage (.635) in college football. In the third game of the season at Colorado State, Miami will join another elite crowd, becoming just the 14 school in NCAA history to play in 1,000 or more games. NOTE: For a complete rundown of the NCAA's all-time winning percentage and victories list see page 190 of the Miami media guide.
THE MAC DADDIES: In 55 years of play in the Mid-American Conference, the Miami has dominated the conference winning a MAC-record 231 games while on its way to 13 conference titles - three more than second-place Bowling Green.
Miami vs. Big Ten: Miami is 12-33-2 all-time vs. the Big Ten Conference. The RedHawks are 0-2 vs. Illinois, 3-10-1 vs. Indiana, 0-3 vs. Michigan, 1-3 vs. Michigan State, 0-1 vs. Minnesota, 5-1 vs. Northwestern, 0-3 vs. Ohio State, 3-8-1 vs. Purdue and 0-2 vs. Iowa. The RedHawks last win against a Big Ten team came in the 1999 season opener, defeating Northwestern, 28-3, in Terry Hoeppner's debut as the head coach at Miami. After adding Iowa in 2001, the RedHawks have played every Big Ten school except Penn State, which joined the league in 1990, and Wisconsin, a charter member. Miami has at least one Big Ten team on each of its next three season schedules, including a home game versus Northwestern in 2006.
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: For the first time since the early 1990s, Miami will head into the season with permanent captains. After a team vote during preseason camp, the players decided to name two permanent captains that will be joined by two additional game captains each week. Senior linebakcer Terrell Jones (St. Louis, MO/Mehlville) and senior offensive linemen Frank Smtih (Cedarburg, WI/Cedarburg), a former walk-on, will handle the duties. This week the pair will be joined by two other senior game captains, who will be named later this week.
The "ROADHAWKS": Miami finished last year with one of the nation's best road records, going 5-2 away from Yager Stadium. The RedHawks' five road wins were just one short of tying the school record of six, which has been equaled eight times. The five road wins are the most by any Terry Hoeppner-led squad, surpassing his 4-2 mark in 1999.
STICKING AROUND THE HOUSE: Becoming bigger ... stronger ... faster doesn't just happen over night and with the new NCAA restrictions on summer practices and preseason camp, players have had to take on more responsibility this year to get ready. The Miami football team took that responsibility head on as 95 percent of the team spent the summer in Oxford lifting and running together. That hard work has paid off as 15 RedHawks are now bench pressing over 400 pounds, led by fullback Andy Capper and offensive lineman Joe Serina at 425.
SEMPER FI, DO OR DIE: This summer head coach Terry Hoeppner along with field hockey coach Lil Fesperman had a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn leadership from some of the world's best ... the United State Marines. In July, Coach Hoeppner travelled to Quantico, Va., to take part in a three-day leadership seminar to learn the principles behind what it takes to be a Marine officier. Starting back in the winter, once he learned of his trip, Hoeppner divided the team into nine groups to create competition during winter conditioning and gave them names from the military alphabet such as Alpha, Bravo, Tango and Zulu. As Coach Hoeppner has been quoted, "We're like the Marines. All we need is a few good men."
JUST ONE OF THE GUYS: Building team chemistry is always something a coach tries to build each year during preseason. During camp this past month, head coach Terry Hoeppner did something out of the ordinary to build chemistry. Rather than spending nights at hom sleeping in his own bed, he moved into the dorm with the players for camp.
THE SCIENCE OF GRASS: Miami's Yager Stadium is joining the ever-growing list of NCAA and NFL teams opting for FieldTurf's grass-like surfacing solution. FieldTurf's recent installation contracts have included the University of Michigan (Michigan Stadium), the University of Missouri (Faurot Field), the University of Wisconsin (Camp Randall Stadium), Penn State (Holuba Hall), the University of Hawaii (Aloha Stadium-also the site of the NFL Pro Bowl), the NFL's Atlanta Falcons (Georgia Dome) and the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets (Giants Stadium). Miami's new field will debt Sept. 27 as the RedHawks take on area-rival Cincinnati for the 108th meeting of the Battle of the Victory Bell.
UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE: One thing head coach Terry Hoeppner and his staff noticed at the start of camp this fall was the abilities of their incoming freshmen. "I can't remember a time I have ever identified so many true freshmen so soon that could end up playing for us this season," said Hoeppner. And five of them might get to make that a realilty as five has been named to the travel squad for this weekend at Iowa: wide receivers Ryne Robinson and Darren Paige, quarterback Mike Kokal, defensive lineman Tranaine Sills and defensive back Jerrid Gaines.
THE OFFENSE
SCOUTING REPORT: Armed with a Heisman Trophy Candidate quarterback in junior Ben Roethlisberger, a pair of accomplished tailbacks in seniors Luke Clemens and Cal Murray and a receiving corps with just the right combination of veteran savvy and young talent, Miami University's offense aims to continue its ascent among the nation's elite this season. A year ago, Miami ranked 19th nationally in passing offense and 26th in scoring offense while averaging more than 400 yards of total offense per game. Third-year offensive coordinator and former North Carolina State quarterback Shane Montgomery directs the offense, which, for the first time in program history, produced both a 3,000-yard passer (Roethlisberger) and 1,000-yard rusher (Clemens) in 2002. The 2003 RedHawk offense returns seven starters from last season's squad.
WHERE HAVE YOU BEN?: One of the emerging stories in college football this summer has been junior quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who enters the season as a dark horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy. In his first two seasons, Roethlisberger has passed for an impressive 6,343 yards, ranking among the top 10 active quarterbacks in college football. One of just four Mid-American Conference quarterbacks to pass for more than 3,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, Roethlisberger aims to join the likes of current NFL quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich by adding a third straight 3,000-yard passing season. A two-time second-team all-MAC selection behind Leftwich, Roethlisberger has completed an impressive 63 percent of his career passes and hooked up on 47 touchdown passes.
ROETHLISBERGER'S RECORD CHASE: Despite having just two full seasons behind him, Miami's Ben Roethlisberger is poised to own every Miami career, single-season and game passing record within the first several games of the 2003 season. The junior enters the season needing just 182 yards passing to move past Mike Bath (1997-00) as the RedHawks career passing yardage leader and just three touchdowns to move past Bath and become the first RedHawk quarterback to throw for 50 touchdowns in a career. The only other record not presently owned by the incredibly accurate Roethlisberger, who broke Miami's career completion record last season, is for pass attempts, where he is still 100 throws away from surpassing Bath.
IN THE TRENCHES: Paving the way for Miami's offense is a veteran offensive line that returns four starters from last year and weighs in at an average of nearly 300 lbs. per man. The senior trio of right guard Jacob Bell, left tackle Ben Herrell and left guard Frank Smith have made a combined 62 starts over the past the past three seasons. Redshirt sophomores Todd Londot, who started seven games in 2003, and Nate Bunce, the lone newcomer to the line, round out the offensive line, holding down the center and right tackle responsibilities, respectively. Despite weighing in as one of the heavier offensive lines in Miami history, the RedHawks are not sacrificing athleticism with their front five. According to strength and conditioning coach Dan Dalrymple, four of the five have vertical leaps of at least 30 inches.
TWO IF BY LAND: For the third straight season, Miami senior tailbacks Luke Clemens and Cal Murray will be expected to play major roles in the RedHawk backfield. Clemens was a 1,000-yard rusher last season, amassing 1,009 yards and ranking among the nation's leaders with 16 rushing touchdowns. Murray, who has been slowed by injuries at times in his career, is just 77 yards shy of surpassing 1,000 yards rushing for his career and has averaged nearly six yards per touch as a RedHawk. Miami's running backs also have become more involved in the passing game recently, combining for 588 yards receiving last season-the highest receiving total by Miami's running backs since 1986.
SUCCESS STORY: Nothing has come easy for running back Luke Clemens, but, after three seasons of hard work and taking advantage of his opportunities, the senior has emerged as another Miami success story. Clemens, who walked on at Miami after rushing for a school-record 5,300 yards at Dayton's Bellbrook High School, worked his way onto the field as a special teams player and reserve defensive back as a true freshman. During his sophomore campaign, Clemens rode a strong off-season into the starting tailback position to open the season and finished the season as the RedHawks' second-leading rusher. As a junior, Clemens enjoyed a breakout season in which he became the first RedHawk to top 1,000 yards rushing since NCAA record holder and Arizona Cardinal Travis Prentice. Clemens was honored last season with second-team all-MAC honors.
IN HIS BLOOD: The son of former Ohio State standout running back Cal Murray, Sr., Cal Murray, Jr., is looking to finish out his Miami career with a memorable senior season. Despite being plagued by an array of injuries that have caused him to miss action in each of his first three seasons, Murray has shown flashes of brilliance as a RedHawk, including a 2000 performance against Kent State in which he scored a Miami record four touchdowns and a 2001 outing against Ball State in which he erupted for a career-high 183 yards and three touchdowns. Murray, who is aiming to stay on the field this season, enjoyed a strong off-season in which he bulked up to 200 lbs. and set personal bests across the board in the Miami strength and conditioning program.
AN END WITH MEANS: Over the past two seasons, junior Matt Brandt, a native of Toronto, Ontario, has made sure his tight end position stays involved in the RedHawk offense. During the Randy Walker era at Miami (1990-99), tight ends were used almost exclusively as blockers and caught very few passes, but Brandt has quickly made believers out of his coaches. In 2002, Brandt finished third on the team in receptions with 33, including 25 over the last six games. Brandt's 348 yards receiving in 2002 were the most by any Miami tight end in more than a decade. His accomplishments led to Brandt being taken by the Montreal Alouettes in the third round of the Canadian Football League's Draft last spring.
ON THE RECEIVING END: With five letterwinners gone from last season's wide receiver corps, Miami quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be locking on to some new targets in 2003. Of eight wide receivers who caught a Roethlisberger pass in 2002, only senior Korey Kirkpatrick, junior Michael Larkin and sophomore Martin Nance are running routes for the Red and White this season. An injection of young talent is expected to keep the Miami passing attack right on target, however, as redshirt freshmen R.J. Corbin and Ryan Busing, a converted quarterback, and true freshmen Ryne Robinson and Darren Paige are expected to contribute right away. According to offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery, though a little short on experience the 2003 RedHawk receivers are long on big-play potential.
DEEP THREAT: Miami's top returning wide receiver this season likely will go down as one of the program's all-time best at the position. Junior Michael Larkin, who became the fastest Miami receiver to 1,000 career yards last season-achieving the feat in just 19 games, returns after totaling 436 yards and a team-high eight touchdown receptions in 2003. For his career, Larkin has amassed 1,108 yards receiving and is less than 400 yards away from cracking the RedHawks' all-time top 10 in receiving yards. The speedy Larkin, who is a second cousin to the same Larkin family as Cincinnati Red Barry Larkin, also is on pace to become just the eighth Miami wide receiver to surpass 100 career receptions.
Touchdown Tandems: In two short years, Ben Roethlisberger has tossed 47 touchdown passes to nine different receivers. His favorite two targets have been wideouts Jason Branch and Michael Larkin. The trio have hooked up on 23 of Roethlisberger's 46 touchdown passes. His 13 touchdown passes to Larkin are second-most touchdowns by a combination in school history.
THE DEFENSE
SCOUTING REPORT: With a four-year starter and all-MAC performer like senior linebacker Terrell Jones as your captain and a re-energized defense led by new defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, the RedHawks are hoping the defense will return to its glory days of the late 1990s when it was one of the nation's stingiest units. Speed on defense will be a major difference with this unit as it returns a pair of corners - Alphonso Hodge and Darrell Hunter - and Terna Nande at linebacker who all run 4.4 forties. The defense, which finished 96th in total yards, is hoping to avoid its past trouble with the pass and improve even more against the run. Last year while Miami gave up 273.0 yards per game through the air (109th in the country), it allowed just 139.7 per game on the ground, good for 44th in the nation. Miami's defense returns five starters from last year unit.
TAKING THE REINS: Since taking over the Miami defense in late February, new defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi has re-energized a Miami defense that finished 96th in total defense (412.7 ypg) and 109th against the pass (273.0 ypg). Narduzzi became just the second defensive coordinator in head coach Terry Hoeppner's five years at Miami. Narduzzi came to Miami from Northern Illinois where he helped coach the Huskies to shares of back-to-back Mid-American Conference West Division Championships in 2001 and 2002. Last season, the Huskie defense was the MAC's stingiest against the run, allowing 131.8 yards per game, along with allowing the league's second-fewest points (24.8 per game), which ranked 39th in the nation.
THE SECOND COACH: Head coach Terry Hoeppner continually calls senior linebacker Terrell Jones, the smartest football player he has ever coached and says, "It's just like having another coach, but one that's out on the field directing the play." Quarterbacking the defense the last two years, Jones has done nothing to discredit his coach. As a true freshman in 2000 Jones was pushed into service due to injuries and went on to be named a Sporting News Freshman All-American, averaging 11.75 tackles per game. If it were not for injuries last season that slowed Jones throughout the season, the St. Louis native might have earned all-MAC honors for a second straight year. In 2001, Jones earned first-team all-MAC honors.
TRUE SUPER SOPHS: Miami's trio of true sophomores - John Busing, Darrell Hunter and Terna Nande - are set to take on key roles in this year's defense after seeing considerable time last year as freshmen. By the end of last year, Busing and Nande had both earned starting roles in the linebacking corps and combined for 63 tackles, two sacks and one interception. Hunter, the program's fastest player ever, clocking a 4.29 in the 40-yard dash, will take over this season at the corner after spending time a nickel and dime back last season.
CAN'T DODGE HODGE: When Miami broke camp in the spring the once person head coach Terry Hoeppner said that he felt good knowing that possibly the team's most improved player was senior corner Alphonso Hodge, who shaved off 0.2 of a second off his 40 time in the spring and showed great technical improvement. Hodge, who started the first seven games for Miami last year was moved into a reserve role the final five games. He finished the year with 40 tackles, two sacks and a seven passes defended.
PLUGGING UP THE MIDDLE: Anchoring the center of the Miami defensive line will be junior Larry Burt and sophomore John Glavin. Glavin is the typical Miami success story as he went from being a walk-on two years ago to starting this season as a redshirt sophomore. Glavin is made significant improvements during the spring improving most in his quickness to the ball. Burt, who is physically intimidating at 6-4 and 299 pounds, is athletic and is just one of two RedHawks to squat over 600 pounds. To show off his athleticism, Burt has been known to the coaches by doing a standing back-flip flat-footed.
RACKING UP THE TACKLES: Junior safety Matt Pusateri has become a stalwart in the Miami secondary in just two years. Since making 18 tackles in his collegiate debut at Michigan in 2001, Pusateri has been racking up the tackles and is the only RedHawk to post 100+ tackles in each of the last two seasons (122 in 2001 and 125 in 2002). A 2001 third-team Sporting News freshman all-American, Pusateri needs just 150 more tackles to crack Miami's career Top 10 list.
THE X-FACTOR - EXPERIENCE: The Miami defense is the team's most experienced side of the ball in terms of leadership. Linebacker Terrell Jones, defensive lineman Phil Smith and safety Matt Pusateri have each started a minimum of 20 games in their careers, including Jones who has started a team-high 28 games in three seasons. For a complete listing of the starts for each returning player see page ...
SHIFTING AROUND: Sophomore outside linebacker Bryan Tyson has really impressed the coaches during fall drills as he has gone from being a defensive back in the spring to becoming one of the backups in the linebacking corps this fall. What has impressed the coaches the most is his feel for the position and his ability to make the hard hit. Last year Tyson saw action in seven games for the RedHawks, making four tackles.
TRANAINE "SILLS" THE DEAL: Freshman defensive lineman Tranaine Sills could find himself in position to help the RedHawks as a true freshman because the 6-1, speedster has a way of disrupting the quarterback. As a senior last season in Florida at Miami's Northwestern High School, Sills earned first-team all-state accolades, totaling 125 tackles but more impressively 27 sacks - just one short of the national high school record.
