STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES; MIAMI HURRICANES DUMP GRACE & MUHAMMAD

Sometimes it feels like the shit-storm surrounding the Miami Hurricanes this past decade is never going to end. In some way, shape or form—every preseason is marred with some type of garbage.

Five years back it was Shapirogate; with that awful stench and crap-cloud hovering over the program for over the next 26 months.

In the years that followed, some type of departure or injury accompanied the fact that the Canes’ stubborn, inept coaching staff was going to limp-dick their way through another season—losing five or six games, while coming up with five- or six-hundred different excuses as to why.

Miami seemed primed to reverse the curse this season, by way of a fortuitous bounce when Georgia fired long-time head coach Mark Richt last December. Within days, the Canes brought home an alum capable of righting the ship and everything seemed to be trending upwards since … until this bullshit about improper use of luxury rental cars became this summer’s distraction and headline in Coral Gables.

At first it looked like linebacker Juwon Young would be the lone casualty—the junior sent packing back in June. No harm, no foul in the sense that several incoming freshmen were ready to compete at the position.Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad, linebacker Jermaine Grace and wide receiver Stacy Coley were mentioned at the time—with insiders stating that the Canes were preparing for all three to sit the first three games of the season.

Again, no big deal when suiting up against Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic and Appalachian State.

Instead, word broke on Saturday that Muhammad and Grace were gone, while folks wait with baited breath, hoping Coley is in the clear. After launching an internal investigation, the University of Miami released the following statement:

“The University of Miami announced today that redshirt junior Al-Quadin Muhammad and senior Jermaine Grace have been permanently dismissed from the Hurricanes football program for violating NCAA rules. The University will, however, continue their financial aid through graduation. The decision was made in consultation with outside counsel and after discussions with the NCAA enforcement staff. As no staff members or boosters were involved in the violations, the program will not be subject to sanctions and, at this time, the University deems this matter closed.”

Welcome to Damage Control: 101 when you’re a program on probation—one that made matters even worse by cheapening out on back-to-back coaching hires, fueling a decade-long drought. Two years in the NCAA’s crosshairs results in slap-on-the-wrist offenses being treated like capital crimes, in order to remain sanction-free and rebuilding without extra roadblocks.

Harsh, but necessary as Miami needs to stay out of trouble, while rebuilding proper. Eliminate those who aren’t in line with the changes being made and recruit like-minded kids moving forward. While the word “process” was overused the past five years, it actually makes sense when used in this case.

SELFISHNESS COMES WITH A STEEP PRICE

Boys will be boys and college athletes will be college athletes. That goes without saying—and as far as the punishment fitting the crime here; it absolutely doesn’t. Still, any of these players lurking around a luxury dealership looking for a flashy whip to push around town—it’s simply not wise. You have absolutely zero chance staying off-the-grid or inconspicuous rolling around town in a bright, six-figure ride that looks straight off the set of HBO’s “Ballers”.

Honestly, what the hell did everything really think was going to happen? You’re moving targets when you do something out in the open like this—especially in the era of social media and on a small campus at a private school where it’s impossible to blend in.

South Beach Exotic Rentals is denying any improprieties took place; valid explanations in place as to family members of the players renting the cars and what not. Maybe so, but why did Young, Muhammad and Grace lie to UM’s compliance office if there was nothing to hide?

Furthermore, why was Muhammad posting the images to Instagram and raising red flags for short lived gains and meaningless “likes”? This is a flashback to former defense back Ray-Ray Armstrong flaunting shots of him dining at Prime 112 on South Beach a week before the annual showdown against Florida State.

Even with the most-logical explanation, these are still bad ideas for college athletes in a major market and at a program like Miami that oft gets pinched on reputation alone.

As much of a brain-fart as the borrowing of cars itself, it was the dishonesty that would up doing these players in. Fess up and it’s a three-game suspension. Keep the ruse going and the result was three careers ending prematurely at “The U”. Was it worth it, boys?

SHOULD’VE KNOWN BETTER

This rant may be coming off a bit harsh, but here’s a quick tip—life is harsh and present day college football is damn near the big boy league. You want to succeed at this level; you need to start thinking like a pro the minute you set foot on campus as all eyes are on you. Redshirting, flying under the radar and bursting onto the scene as an upperclassmen? No mas. A kid can become overnight sensations game one of his freshman year.

Muhammad, Grace and Coley all signed with Miami in February 2013. The NCAA’s investigation on the Canes ended the following October. “The U” was in hot water during their entire recruitment and all players heard the negative tactics other programs were saying about UM; “death penalty” chatter and what not. They saw this program at it’s most-recent worst, yet a few short years later these guys are pulling the same kind of crap as the kids in the Yahoo! Sports report? Not to mention doing it while they all have one foot out the door and are NFL-bound next year. So boneheaded.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it—and shockingly in this case, the “past” was literally a few years prior. This especially applies to Muhammad, who sat out the entire 2014 season after a physical altercation with his roommate. He then missed the 2015 season opener for a “violation of team rules”, which doesn’t bode well for a guy said to have learned his lesson. Now, this?

What ever happened to upperclassmen leading by example, leaving the program in better shape than they found it, staying focused and going out with a bang. One solid season from all these guys and they’d have had their own fleet of luxury cars in their driveways this time next year, by way of big-time NFL dollars.

Instead it’s full-blown damage control for Young, Muhammad and Grace, while Coley best hope he’s not the next causality.

WHERE DO “U” GO FROM HERE

Miami’s defensive struggles have been a sore spot for years and while things looked to improve year one under new coordinator Manny Diaz, this depth-related setback is going to hurt.

Sure, the first-year DC will attempt to make some tweaks and hope that a next-man-in mentality can minimize the damage—but for a Canes’ defense looking to take a big step forward this season, losing two of its best players is a huge blow however you slice and dice it.

Muhammad’s aggressiveness and experience will result in defense end Chad Thomas seeing more double teams, while Grace’s speed will sorely be missed in and the middle of the field. Younger players will look to pick up the slack, but truth be told, the onus is going to be on Miami’s new coordinator to out-scheme opposing offenses—something recent Canes’ defensive minds haven’t done in years.

Diaz is now in the spotlight while true freshman will be thrown into the fire immediately. Neither are the end of the world, but it certainly didn’t have to come to this—yet it did as Miami continues to feel the effects of a broken culture.

Former cornerback Ryan Hill called out the program after the 2010 season that cost Randy Shannon his job—citing insubordination and a full-blown lack of respect by players for their head coach. Instead of Miami bringing in a proven veteran leader to get things back on track, Miami rolled the dice on another supposed up-and-comer type in Al Golden, who proved to be an even bigger dumpster fire.

Nine years of having incompetent leadership, on the heels of six years with Larry Coker playing a substitute teacher-type role—it’s pretty easy to do the math on how UM wound up in this predicament.

Richt has the resume, process, track record and abilities to make Miami a contender again—but that will take a few years, a handful of recruiting classes and the purging of me-first players that have held this program down for way too long.

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