Pete Conrad's Wrap-Up Commentary About the 2010 RedHawks
1/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 8, 2011
The following article by veteran Miami beat writer Pete Conrad is courtesy of Cox Media Group, featuring the Dayton Daily News, the Hamilton Journal News, the Middletown Journal and the Springfield News Sun.
MOBILE, Ala. -- All right, Don Treadwell, who is going to be your starting quarterback next season? Have fun with that.
Well, there is plenty for Miami University's new football coach to sort out his quarterback issues. Not so much time for the more immediate concerns, such as dealing with recruits who might be a little on edge, and with some assistant coaches who are more than a little on edge.
And then there's the challenge of trying to coax at least several thousand more football fans to jump onto the Miami bandwagon. But first things first. The 2010 season was unbelievable in so many ways:
- The shocking way the RedHawks made Florida look so inept in the opener (and now it has become clear that it wasn't just the Gators doing it unto themselves).
- The way players blossomed down the stretch, like senior Thomas Merriweather and freshmen Nick Harwell and Austin Boucher.
- The ability of a team to overcome the adversity not just of the 3-21 record of the previous two seasons, but also the substantial injuries to key players like Zac Dysert, Jamal Rogers, Luke Kelly, Ryan Kennedy, Jordan Gafford and Brandon Brooks. Then there was the entire Michael Haywood situation.
- The RedHawks, going 10-4 while winning the GoDaddy.com Bowl, the Mid-American Conference championship game, ending the season with a six-game winning streak. Are you kidding me?
Haywood, by the way, has taken a lot of grief from a lot of different directions, and not just for his recent arrest. People in Pittsburgh who were grumbling before Haywood was hired are now saying, "See, I told you so, he was a nobody from nowhere." Since when is the Cradle of Coaches "nowhere" when it comes to hiring coaches? Too bad Pitt was so quick to cave.
Now let's take a deep breath, let the legal process run its course and see what comes out in court. Maybe Haywood deserved to be arrested, though the Haywood I've seen is a gentle man, especially with children. But regardless of what happens, I hope nobody decides to forget that this brilliant season was a Haywood production. Let's not forget that.
Same thing with Lance Guidry. Miami's victory in the GoDaddy.com Bowl was his baby, though he certainly had lots of help from a coaching staff that, understandably, was more than a little distracted. Still, the coaches did their job remarkably well and brought home Miami's second bowl victory in the last 35 years.
Guidry gave a fiery pre-game speech, but DeMarco Paine said he thought the team's best motivation in Thursday's game came from Guidry's halftime speech. "He told us how we could win if we came out and played our hearts out and give it all we had," Paine said.
The RedHawks outscored Middle Tennessee State 21-7 over the final two quarters and came up with four interceptions. And remember, Guidry, in addition to being interim head coach, also continued to coach the defensive backs. Did a pretty fair job, apparently.
"He brings us life, he's fun, and he's energetic," Boucher said after the game.
Also, it was a nice touch for Guidry to have Dysert, who had missed the previous three games with a lacerated spleen which almost had to be removed, and senior quarterback Mike Scherpenberg, who never had attempted a pass in a real game as a RedHawk, on the field when it mattered. Dysert was the holder for Trevor Cook's place kicks and Scherpenberg, spelling Boucher a couple times, completed his first Miami pass, a 9-yard toss to Armand Robinson to the MTSU 31-yard line late in the second quarter with the score tied 14-14. It's the kind of thing Scherpenberg will remember for the rest of his life.
Which is only fitting, because it took place in a game, and during a season, which all Miami fans should remember, and cherish, for the rest of their lives.
--www.MURedHawks.com--
Miami football fans are invited to attend the introductory press conference of new Head Coach Don Treadwell this Monday afternoon (Jan. 10) at 5:45 p.m. at the Unversity's Voice of America Learning Center in West Chester.
7847 VOA Park Drive
Corner of Cox Road and VOA Park Drive
West Chester, Ohio 45069
If using an online mapping service such as Mapquest enter the intersection information (Cox Road and VOA Park Drive). The street address is too new to show up on most of the online mapping services at this time.
Southbound on I-75 (from Middletown or Dayton area)
Liberty Way Exit - then left on Liberty Way, cross I-75
Right on Cox Road, Left on VOA Park Drive
Tylersville Road Exit - then left on Tylersville Road, cross I-75
Left on Cox Road, Right on VOA Park Drive
Northbound on I-75 (from Cincinnati area)
Tylersville Road Exit - then right on Tylersville Road
Left on Cox Road, Right on VOA Park Drive
Liberty Way Exit - then right on Liberty Way
Right on Cox Road, Left on VOA Park Drive
From Hamilton Area
Route 129 (Butler Regional Highway) east toward I-75
Liberty Way exit - just before I-75
Left on Liberty Way, cross I-75
Right on Cox Road, Left on VOA Park Drive
From Mason/Deerfield Area
Follow Tylersville Road west toward I-75
Cross Butler-Warren Road
Right on Cox Road
Right on VOA Park Drive
