Cradle to Rock in Chi-town
9/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 8, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
STORYLINES
1. Cradle of Coaches Rewind: This week's game is a rematch of Terry Hoeppner and Randy Walker's coaching debuts at their current schools. Walker, who left Miami after the 1998 season to take the Northwestern job, lost to Hoeppner, his defensive coordinator at Miami, in their 1999 season opener, 28-3.
2. Going for Five to Avoid Four: The RedHawks will try to win their fifth in a row vs. Northwestern in hopes of avoiding their fourth straight loss, dating back to last year. A four-game losing streak would be the longest under Hoeppner.
3. Getting Back to Where He's Ben: Despite breaking the school record for career passing yardage against Iowa, junior quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is coming off one of the worst passing days of his career, throwing a career-high four interceptions and no touchdown passes. He looks to get back on track this week.
4. Finding the Endzone: Miami was held without a touchdown last week for the first time since a 21-0 loss at Ball State in 1993, a span of 93 games. The last time Miami went two games without a touchdown was in 1983.
5. Running game needs legs: Miami's running game was held to just 54 yards in the season opener versus Iowa. It was the fourth time in the last 13 games, Miami has been held under 100 yards rushing.
GENERAL NOTES
TELEVISION COVERAGE: Live coverage of this week's game versus Northwestern will mark the beginning of a three-game local TV package for Miami with Cincinnati's WB64 and ESPN Plus, which includes the ESPN Game Plan satellite package. This means the RedHawks will be seen on a minimum of six TV games this season, adding in three national TV appearances on ESPN. Long-time Miami radio color analyst Tim Bray will call the game, while former Wisconsin standout Randy Wright will handle analysis.
CRADLE TIES: Miami has long been known as the Cradle of Coaches, with the likes of Paul Brown, Bo Schembechler and Ara Parseghian strolling the sidelines in Oxford. This week's match-up versus Northwestern is a reunion of sorts as eight coaches from the two staffs-including both head coaches-have either played or coached at Miami. Following a 10-1 season at Miami in 1998, then head coach Randy Walker departed Oxford along with most of his staff, which included several former Miami players, to take on a new challenge at Northwestern. That move opened the door for his long-time defensive coordinator Terry Hoeppner to replace him as the head coach. For a complete look at Miami's Cradle of Coaches see page 14 of the release. Below is a listing of the coaches with Miami ties participating in Saturday's game.
Miami Staff Played at Miami Coaching at Miami Terry Hoeppner, Head Coach - 1986-pres. Bobby Johnson, Tight Ends/Tackles 1992-94 1999-pres. Joe Palcic, Defensive Backs 1994-97 1999-pres. Dan Dalrymple, Strength and Conditioning 1983-86 1989-pres.
Northwestern Staff Played at Miami Coached at Miami Randy Walker, Head Coach 1972-75 1977, 1990-98 Jack Glowik, TEs/H-backs 1974-77 1980-82, 1990-98 James Patton, Offensive Line 1989-92 1998 Jay Peterson, Defensive Line 1980-83 1991-98
Miami vs. Big Ten: Miami is 12-34-2 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 0-3 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 to the schedule 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.
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 the sports most storied programs. Now entering its 115th season of play, Miami ranks among the elite in 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 14th 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, Miami has dominated the conference, winning a MAC-record 231 games on its way to 13 conference titles-three more than second-place Bowling Green.
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: For the first time since the early 1990s, Miami heads 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, are handling 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 were 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 overnight and with the new NCAA restrictions on summer practices and preseason camp, players have had to take on more responsibility 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.
BUSY AS BEE-SINGS: Identical twins sophomore linebacker John Busing and redshirt freshman wide receiver Ryan Busing (pronounced BEE-sing) were busy in Miami's season opener at Iowa as John was the RedHawks' fourth-leading tackler with nine takedowns, including two for losses, and Ryan was the second-leading receiver with four catches for 53 yards. John made his debut last year for Miami as a true freshman, appearing in 10 games and making 17 tackles. Ryan, however, redshirted last year as he learned the Miami offense - not as a receiver, but as one of Miami's back-up quarterbacks. In high school Ryan threw for 2,335 yards and 23 touchdowns as a quarterback his senior season. Entering camp this fall, Miami coaches were looking for a way to take advantage of Ryan's athletic ability and he quickly found a home at wide receiver, earning a spot on the two-deep by the end of 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 were 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. Even though five true freshmen traveled to Iowa, first-year wide receiver Ryne Robinson and defensive back Jerrid Gaines were the only two to see game action. Robinson made one catch for six yards and returned two punts for a combined 16 yards, while Gaines contributed on special teams.
THE OFFENSE
SCOUTING REPORT: After struggling in its season-opening contest at Iowa, Miami's offense, which averaged more than 400 yards per game a year ago, attempts to rebound on Sept. 12 when it travels to Northwestern. 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. 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 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. After throwing for 250 yards in Miami's season-opener and moving past Mike Bath (1997-00) as the RedHawks career passing yardage leader, Roethlisberger needs just three touchdown passes 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 55 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. Murray got off to a good start versus Iowa last weekend, averaging 5.1 yards per carry on nine attempts.
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 freshman Ryne Robinson are expected to contribute right away. In the season opener, Miami's veteran trio of Kirkpatrick, Nance and Larkin combined for 13 receptions and 154 yards.
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, needing 16 more catches.
SMOOTH TRANSITION: Redshirt freshman Ryan Busing, who made the move from quarterback to wide receiver during fall camp, completed a smooth transition last week when he made his collegiate debut versus Iowa. The twin brother of RedHawk linebacker John Busing, Ryan made four receptions and finished second on the team with 53 yards receiving, including a RedHawk-long 26-yard reception in the fourth quarter. Busing was one of four Miami players to make their first career reception last Saturday, including sophomore tight end Dan Tyler, redshirt freshman R.J. Corbin and true freshman Ryne Robinson.
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: Minus two long runs by Iowa's Fred Russell of 66 and 58 yards, the Miami defense took a big step forward against Iowa, limiting it to 237 yards, including just 129 through the air (144 yards below last year's average per game). With four-year starter and all-MAC performer Terrell Jones as the defensive captain and a re-energized defense led by new defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, the RedHawks are hoping the defense continues its return to the glory days of the late 1990s when it was one of the nation's stingiest units. Speed on defense is 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 or better. Last year, the defense, finished ranked 96th in total yards, giving up 273.0 yards per game through the air (109th in the country). It allowed just 139.7 yards 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. Jones showed his all-MAC skills in the season opener against Iowa making 11 tackles, 1.5 sacks, defending one pass and hurrying the quarterback once.
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 as a nickel and dime back last season. The trio didn't take long to make their presence known on the field as they combined to make 30 of Miami's 86 tackles, led by Nande's 10. Nande also led Miami in the game with three tackles for loss, followed by Busing with two. Hunter made two of the biggest plays of the game on Iowa running back Fred Russell's two long runs, tracking down one of the Big Ten's fastest players from behind twice. Hunter also added six tackles of his own.
CAN'T DODGE HODGE: When Miami broke camp in the spring, head coach Terry Hoeppner said he felt good knowing that possibly the team's most improved player was senior corner Alphonso Hodge, who shaved 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 are junior Larry Burt and sophomore John Glavin. Glavin is the typical Miami success story going from walk-on status two years ago to starting this season as a redshirt sophomore. Glavin has made significant improvements during the spring, improving most in his quickness to the ball. Burt, who is physically intimidating at 6-foot-4 and 299 pounds, is athletic and is just one of two RedHawks to squat over 600 pounds. To show off his athleticism, Burt is capable of doing a standing back-flip flat-footed. In the season opener, the pair combined for eight tackles.
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. In the season opener at Iowa, Pusateri racked up another eight takedowns, including six solo tackles.
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 29 games in three seasons. For a complete listing of the starts for each returning player see Page 7
TEXAN LASSOS MIAMI OPPONENTS: Sophomore Steve Burke from Spring, Texas, made some noise in his debut as a starting safety against Iowa, making a team-high 12 tackles, including eight solo takedowns. Burke, another Miami walk-on with a strong work ethic, has taken advantage of a Miami defense that relies on its safeties to support the run.
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.
SHARP OUT OF THE BOX: Senior Will Stanley, started his career as a defensive end off with a bang last week at Iowa. On the first play from scrimmage, the Cleveland, Ohio, native sprung from his end position and sacked Iowa quarterback Nate Chandler. He went on to record five tackles in the game. Stanley, a former fullback and special teams player, made the transition to defensive end this past spring and quickly moved up the depth chart into a starting position.
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.
NO RUNNING "WILD" FOR WILDCATS: The Miami defense has its job cut out for it heading into its match-up at Northwestern. The RedHawks have not allowed a Northwestern offensive touchdown in the last six quarters, dating back to a 30-28 come-from-behind win in 1995, and no rushing TDs to the Wildcats since its game in 1964, the start of Miami's four-game winning streak vs. NU.
THE SPECIAL TEAMS
SCOUTING REPORT: This week will mark the debut of sophomore place kicker Todd Soderquist as Miami's regular place kicker after junior Jared Parseghian was suspended from the team last week. Despite being the RedHawks' long distance field-goal specialist last year behind Parseghian, Soderquist has not attempted a kick in his career. The RedHawks also return junior punter Mike Wafzig and senior long snapper Scott Sagehorn.
PREMIERING IN CHICAGO ... AND NOT THE MUSICAL: True sophomore place kicker Todd Soderquist, who has handled Miami's kick-off duties since coming to campus last year, will make this debut this week as the RedHawks' place kicker. Soderquist was brought to Miami as its first scholarship kicker since Kent McCullough who played at Miami from 1997-00. In high school, Soderquist connected on 10-of-11 field goal attempts, including a career long 52-yarder. His kickoffs were just as impressive as 94 percent went for touchbacks.
STEADY SNAPPER: After missing the 2002 campaign with an injury, Miami long snapper Scott Sagehorn returns for his fourth season as the program's primary special teams snapper. A high school quarterback, Sagehorn showed a remarkable talent for the position as a walk-on freshman and made his collegiate debut in the 2000 season opener at Northwestern. Named Miami's Freshman of the Year in 2000, Sagehorn has been virtually flawless through three seasons as Miami's snapper for punts, field goals and extra points. He is backed up by senior Alan Eyink who saw action last season in Sagehorn's absence.
A VETERAN LEG: Miami's primary punter, junior Mike Wafzig, enters his third season as the RedHawks' leg of choice. A former all-state wide receiver, Wafzig walked on at Miami and was named the 'Hawks first-string punter as a redshirt freshman. Wafzig, who's first punt of the 2003 season will be the 100th of his career, has been steady, averaging 39.8 yards a punt, launching 12 punts of 50 yards or greater and pinning the opposition inside their 20-yard line 20 times. The junior got off to a good start when his first punt of the 2003 season traveled a career-long 62 yards versus Iowa.
BEN'S BIG TOE: While his arm gets most of the attention, opponents can't afford to ignore the big toe of RedHawk quarterback Ben Roethlisberger either. The double-threat junior, who remains on the field and often drops back to punt on fourth down plays near midfield, has shown a remarkable knack for pinning the opposition deep in its own territory. Over the past two seasons, Roethlisberger has placed 10-of-12 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line and was even named MAC Special Teams Player of the Week last seasonafter pinning Toledo inside its own 20-yard line three times. Roethlisberger has three career punts of more than 50 yards to his credit, including a career-long 59-yard effort last season at North Carolina.
NO RETURNING RETURNERS: With the departure of Milt Bowen, Miami's all-time leader in kick return yardage, and Eddie Tillitz, the RedHawks' all-time leader in punt return yardage, Miami has some obvious holes to fill in their return games. Slated to handle Miami's kickoff return responsibilities are senior wide receiver Korey Kirkpatrick, who averaged 21.7 yards a return last season, and sophomore defensive back Darrell Hunter, a former Ohio State champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes who's 4.29 time in the 40 meters is a RedHawk record. Slated to return punts for the Red and White is exciting true freshman Ryne Robinson.
