Let’s do a Miami Hurricanes end-of-season review. It was EMBARRASSING. They ended their season yesterday with a 41-16 loss to Pittsburgh. Coach Mario Cristobal gritted his teeth in the post-game press conference but gave his mantra “we’ve got work to do.” Behind closed doors, things are really bad. It is expected that as many as 30 players will enter the transfer portal for the Hurricanes.
Cristobal is fighting an internal culture war against players and parents that have developed a “sense of entitlement.” They have become complacent, expecting their time in the program to be a networking springboard to bring them NFL riches. The game against Pittsburgh showed how many players felt about the culture change with poor tackling and deliberate lack of effort.
Miami vs. Pittsburgh aftermath
There were several plays where Hurricane players appeared to deliberately quit on the game. The first was the touchdown by Jared Wayne where defensive players lunged and swayed on trying to tackle Wayne as he ran down the field for a touchdown. Wayne finished the night with 199 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns. Most notably, #0 James Williams and #40 Caleb Johnson were culprits. Caleb Johnson had Wayne in his grasp at around the 20-yard line but looked to do a spin move around Wayne and propel him toward the goal line.
Williams showed how committed he was in the game as he took the run fake on Israel Abanikanda’s second touchdown but then held up on tackling Abanikanda and watched him run into the end zone. The cherry on the cake was the embarrassing kickoff where Brashard Smith and Xavier Restrepo let the ball bounce on the ground into the air. They both stood there looking at one another before Smith caught the ball and began running. Then the Hurricane players embarrassed the program even more by pushing and shoving the Pittsburgh players because they were upset at losing.
Off-season of change
Miami finished the season 5-7 and 3-5 in the Coastal division. The defense gave up over 40 points, four times this season. Opposing teams have come into Hard Rock Stadium and made themselves comfortable. Wayne threw up “the anti-U” sign to the fans as he scored. The “Anti-U” sign is when a player puts his thumbs together with his hands up, making “the U” sign but then inverting it downward and exploding it on his knee.
Coach Cristobal in his post-game press conference stated, “not all players will be asked to return.” Earlier in the week, parents of griping players went on Twitter and spoke disparagingly of assistant coaches. Coach Cristobal responded by saying that “a parent is free to come and pick up their son if they’re not happy about playing time.” Read the article here.
Cristobal will build the program
On the flip side, the future looks bright for the Hurricanes. Coach Cristobal has the 9th-ranked recruiting class nationally as per rivals.com. Most likely, as many players that will leave Miami via the transfer portal, will come in from the portal to play for Cristobal. Jayden Wayne committed to Miami and is teachable. Read Julius Luchs article on our site here. Unfortunately for the complacent parents and players, Cristobal has the backing of the athletic department and a body of work that will trump their claims.
Obviously, players will come to Miami knowing that they will be able to start and get playing time. They know that they will have a solid road to the NFL if they buy in to Coach Cristobal’s game plan. Miami will grow next season by leaps and bounds. The other players will follow the well-documented road of UM players over the last 20 years. If they get drafted, they will be drafted in the 4th round or later and will not make any impact in the NFL. If they get drafted.