2008 Miami Hurricanes football team - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Roster changes

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

safety Kenny Phillips

Kenny Phillips

-New York Giants:Phillips was expected to compete for the vacant free safety position left by Gibril Wilson, who left for free agency to the Oakland Raiders in the 2008 offseason...

and defensive end Calais Campbell

Calais Campbell

Calais Campbell is an American football defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Miami.-Early years:...

made the decision to forgo their senior years and declare for the NFL Draft. Phillips was drafted in the first round, No. 31 overall by the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Campbell was drafted in the second round, No. 50 overall to the Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Linebacker Tavaris Gooden was also drafted in the third round, No. 79 overall to the Baltimore Ravens. Senior quarterback Kirby Freeman

Kirby Freeman

Kirby Freeman is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2009...

, who split time with now undrafted free-agent Kyle Wright

Kyle Wright

Kyle Wright is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008...

in 2007, was informed by the University of Miami

University of Miami

coaching staff that he would begin the year third on the depth chart, behind redshirt freshman Robert Marve

Robert Marve

Robert Edward Marve is a quarterback for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was previously a member of the Miami Hurricanes football team from 2007 to 2008.-Early years:...

and true freshman Jacory Harris

Jacory Harris

Jacory Sherrod Harris is an American football quarterback, in very loose terms, who played for the University of Miami Hurricanes....

. Shocked at this news, Freeman decided to transfer, ending up back in his native Texas at Baylor University

Baylor University

Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

.
Freshman Doug Wiggins, rated the nations thirty-third best player coming out of high school by Rivals.com

Rivals.com

Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...

, transferred to Western Michigan. The reasons for the move were unclear but reports eventually surfaced that Wiggins had had trouble adjusting to his backup role.
Freshman Chris Perry transferred to Texas Tech University after redshirting his freshman year at UM.
Junior DajLeon Farr, previously a top tight end recruit out of high school, transferred to the University of Memphis

University of Memphis

The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....

. Daren Daly, a former walk-on kicker who previously attended Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

, also decided to transfer and faced his former Hurricanes team as a member of the UCF Golden Knights.
Other transfers included George Robinson, George Timmons, Jerrell Mabry, Charlie Jones, Demetri Stewart, and Luqman Abdallah. Junior defensive end Courtney Harris suffered an Achilles injury and is out for the season.

Recruiting Class of 2008

Name	Pos	Ht	Wt	Hometown	High School/Prep School/Junior College
Travis Benjamin	WR	5-11	160	Belle Glades, FL	Glades Central HS
Arthur Brown Arthur Brown (American football) Arthur Brown, Jr. is an American football player. He currently attends Kansas State University, where he transferred after playing for the University of Miami until the 2009 season.-High school career:...	LB	6-2	210	Wichita, KS	Wichita East HS
Ramon Buchanan	LB	6-1	195	Melbourne, FL	Palm Bay HS
Laron Byrd	WR	6-4	205	Boutte, LA	Hahnville HS
John Calhoun	FB	6-3	235	Micco, FL	Sebastian River HS
Thearon Collier	WR	5-9	163	Miami, FL	Booker T. Washington HS
Taylor Cook	QB	6-7	230	Eagle Lake, TX	Rice Consolidated HS
Marcus Forston Marcus Forston Marcus Forston is an American football defensive tackle. He currently attends the University of Miami in his junior year. Forston was considered one of the best defensive tackles coming out of high school in 2008, and has been compared to Warren Sapp...	DT	6-2	305	Miami, FL	Northwestern HS
Jordan Futch	LB	6-3	202	Hollywood, FL	Chaminade Madonna College Prep
Gavin Hardin	LB	6-5	240	Jackson, TN	Jackson Central-Merry High School Jackson Central-Merry High School Jackson Central-Merry High School is a public four-year high school located in Jackson, Tennessee, USA...
Antonio Harper	LB	6-4	220	Memphis, TN	Melrose HS
Brandon Harris	CB	5-11	185	Miami, FL	Booker T. Washington HS
Jacory Harris Jacory Harris Jacory Sherrod Harris is an American football quarterback, in very loose terms, who played for the University of Miami Hurricanes....	QB	6-4	172	Miami, FL	Northwestern HS
Patrick Hill	FB	5-11	248	Torrance, CA	El Camino Comm. College
C.J. Holton	S	6-2	195	Crawfordville, FL	Wakulla HS
Chris Jhon	S	6-0	200	Weston, FL	Cypress Bay HS
Aldarius Johnson	WR	6-2	200	Miami, FL	Northwestern HS
Davon Johnson	WR	5-11	170	Miami, FL	Booker T. Washington HS
Ben Jones	OT	6-6	280	Miami, FL	Northwestern HS
Zach Kane	FB/LB	6-3	220	Toms River, NJ	Toms River North HS
Jeremy Lewis	DT	6-3	295	West Palm Beach, FL	Palm Beach Lakes HS
Brandon Marti	LB	6-0	196	Miami, FL	Gulliver Prep
C.J. Odom	S	6-0	210	Ft. Myers, FL	Ft. Myers HS
Micanor Regis	DT	6-3	300	Pahokee, FL	Pahokee HS
Marcus Robinson	LB	6-2	210	Homestead, FL	Homestead HS
Andrew Smith	DE	6-3	240	Coconut Creek, FL	Monarch HS
Cannon Smith	QB	5-11	200	Chatham, VA	Hargrave Military Academy
Sean Spence Sean Spence Sean Spence is an American football linebacker at the University of Miami. He is in his senior year. Spence was named 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Rookie of the Year.-High school career:...	LB	6-1	200	Miami, FL	Northwestern HS
Tommy Streeter	WR	6-6	200	Miami, FL	Northwestern HS
Vaughn Telemaque	S	6-2	190	Long Beach, CA	Long Beach Poly HS
Kendall Thompkins	WR	5-10	165	Miami, FL	Northwestern HS
Brandon Washington	G	6-4	315	Miami, FL	Northwestern HS
Jake Wieclaw	PK	6-2	180	New Lenox, IL	Lincoln Way Central HS
Joe Wylie	S	6-2	172	Lauderdale Lakes, FL	Boyd Anderson

Coaching staff

Position	Name	Yrs. in Current Pos.
Head Coach	Randy Shannon Randy Shannon Randy Lennard Shannon is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010. Shannon played football at Miami and then with the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL....	2nd
Offensive Coordinator	Patrick Nix Patrick Nix Patrick Nix is a college football coach and former player in the United States.-Player:Patrick Nix began his career at Etowah High School in Attalla, Alabama. Nix was a standout quarterback at Auburn University, where he came in for an injured Stan White vs. Alabama to help lead the Tigers to a...	2nd
Defensive Coordinator	Bill Young	1st
Special Teams / TEs	Joe Pannunzio	3rd
Quarterbacks	Patrick Nix	2nd
Running Backs	Tommie Robinson	2nd
Wide Receivers	Aubrey Hill	1st
Offensive Line	Jeff Stoutland Jeff Stoutland Jeff Stoutland is the offensive line coach for the University of Alabama. He served as the interim head football coach for the University of Miami in 2010.-Playing career:...	2nd
Defensive Line	Clint Hurtt	3rd
Linebackers	Micheal Barrow Micheal Barrow Micheal Christian Barrow is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft...	2nd
Defensive Backs	Wesley McGriff	2nd
Strength & Conditioning	Andreu Swasey	7th

Schedule

Charleston Southern

The game was the first time the Hurricanes played Charleston Southern. It was also the first home game for Miami in Dolphin Stadium with an attendance of 48119.

Florida

Miami had not lost to the Gators since 1985, owning six consecutive victories in the series. Overall, Miami leads the series 28-26. The game became the third-most watched game in ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

history.

Texas A&M

This game was played on September 20, 2008 at College Station, Texas, before a Kyle Field crowd of 84,165. The two schools had met only twice before: the Aggies won 70-14 in 1944, with Miami winning 34-17 in 2007.

For the Hurricanes, Robert Marve completed 16 of his 22 passes, for a total of 212 yards; he threw two touchdown passes, and suffered one interception. Graig Cooper ran for a career-best 128 yards and scored two touchdowns as Miami compiled 398 yards of offense for the game. The 18-point margin was Texas A&M's worst in a non-conference home contest since losing 30-10 to Alabama in 1988.

North Carolina

The two schools played for the fifth straight year, and the Tar Heels owned a 6-5 lead in the series heading into the game. UNC now leads the series 7-5.

Florida State

The Hurricanes and Seminoles will meet for the 53rd time, last season, Miami defeated FSU 37-29 in Tallahassee and now holds a 30-22 lead in the series. The only time the two schools have met at Dolphin Stadium, UM won 16-14 in the 2004 Orange Bowl Classic.

UCF

This game, played on October 11, 2008 in Miami, was the first meeting between the two schools, with Central Florida having joined Division I-A in 1996. For Miami, Graig Cooper ran for 90 yards and the game-winning touchdown on a career-high 23 attempts. The Hurricanes forced the Knights into punting 12 times, and limited their offense to a total of 78 yards (74 yards gained via the pass, and 4 yards on the ground). Despite UM's defensive effort, the game remained close as UCF scored on an interception return of 62 yards, and on a 91-yard kickoff return.

Duke

Miami has a 4-1 lead in the series and has won three straight games since joining the ACC and four in a row altogether.

Wake Forest

The only times the two teams have played in ACC action, Miami won both games by a combined score of 99-24, and UM holds a 5-3 lead in the series.

Virginia

This was only be the sixth game between the two schools, and the fifth straight year the two schools have met.

Virginia Tech

Despite losing the last two games to VT, Miami still holds a commanding 16-9 lead in the series. Frank Beamer's Hokies were 11-3 last year and were the ACC champions. They lost the Orange Bowl to Kansas, where new Miami defensive coordinator Bill Young held that position for the Jayhawks.

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech's triple option offense ran for 472 yards against Miami. The Jackets scored three second quarter touchdowns and raced to a 24-3 halftime lead. After that, Miami got no closer than 27-10 as Georgia Tech cruised to the win. Late in the game, Georgia Tech ran the ball half-heartedly on 4th down to avoid scoring and avoid insulting Miami by either kneeling, kicking a field goal, or scoring a touchdown. The score was 41-10 at one point.

North Carolina State

North Carolina State won 38-28.

Emerald Bowl

Miami accepted an invitation to the 2008 Emerald Bowl in San Francisco to face California in what was essentially a home game for the Bears. Freshman quarterback Jacory Harris started at quarterback after Marve was suspended for academic reasons. Four other players were suspended for violating team rules and did not make the trip.

The Bears jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, but Harris was able to lead the Hurricanes back with touchdown passes in the second and third quarter while the Miami defense was able to shut out the Cal offense in the second quarter and limited them to a field goal in the third. The go ahead score came late in the fourth quarter when Bears linebacker Zack Follett forced a fumble in the backfield by Harris that the Bears recovered and were able to convert into a touchdown. The game marked the third straight loss for the Hurricanes, while the bowl win finished Cal's season with three wins in a row.

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
AP	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	23	UR	UR	UR
Coaches	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	26	UR	UR	UR
Harris	Not released					UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	26	UR	UR	UR
BCS	Not released							UR	UR	UR	UR	UR	23	UR	UR	UR

Team

class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;">		Team	Opp
Scoring	352	314
Points per Game	27.1	24.2
First Downs	220	214
Rushing	89	109
Passing	119	82
Penalty	12	23
Total Offense	4238	4127
Avg per Play	5.1	5.0
Avg per Game	326.0	317.5
Fumbles-Lost	11-5	30-11
Penalties-Yards	74-605	63-537
Avg per Game	46.5	41.3

class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;"> Team Opp Punts-Yards 69-2714 72-2736 Avg per Punt 39.3 38.0 Time of Possession/Game 29:28 30:32 3rd Down Conversions 64-189 66-182 4th Down Conversions 13-19 8-217 Touchdowns Scored 42 39 Field Goals-Attempts-Long 18-20-52 13-20-51 PAT-Attempts 40-40 37-37 Attendance 277792 365981 Games/Avg per Game 6/46299 6/60997 1/42268

Scores by quarter

Rushing

Name	GP-GS	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Graig Cooper	13-11	171	888	47	841	4.9	4	51	64.7
Javarris James	9-1	68	299	13	286	4.2	4	13	31.8
Robert Marve	11-11	59	236	117	119	2.0	2	43	10.8
Lee Chambers	5-0	18	119	3	116	6.4	0	25	23.2
Derron Thomas	10-0	31	130	19	111	3.6	1	34	11.1
Jacory Harris	13-2	45	218	117	101	2.2	2	30	7.8
Shawnbrey McNeal	7-0	13	62	0	62	4.8	2	31	8.9
Travis Benjamin	12-5	5	42	0	42	8.4	1	18	3.5
Matt Bosher	13-13	1	9	0	9	9.0	0	9	0.7
Jason Fox	12-12	1	5	0	5	5.0	1	5	0.4
Davon Johnson	11-1	1	3	0	3	3.0	0	3	0.3
Cannon Smith	1-0	1	2	0	2	2.0	0	2	2.0
Thearon Collier	12-3	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0
Total	13	426	2013	333	1680	3.9	17	51	129.2
Opponents	13	493	2444	470	1974	4.0	21	58	151.8

Passing

Name	GP-GS	Effic	Att-Cmp-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg/G
Robert Marve	11-11	107.19	213-116-13	54.5	1293	9	69	117.5
Jacory Harris	13-2	125.76	194-118-7	60.8	1195	12	41	91.9
Graig Cooper	13-0	858.40	1-1-0	100.0	51	1	51	3.9
Travis Benjamin	12-0	242.80	1-1-0	100.0	17	0	17	1.4
Cannon Smith	1-0	116.80	1-1-0	100.0	2	0	2	2.0
TEAM	10-0	0.0	1-0-0	0.0	0	0	0	0.0
Total	13	117.88	411-237-20	57.7	2558	22	69	196.8
Opponents	13	117.37	336-172-4	51.2	2153	15	74	165.6

Receiving

Name	GP	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Aldarius Johnson	12	31	332	10.7	3	29	27.7
Graig Cooper	13	29	113	3.9	1	11	8.7
Thearon Collier	12	26	324	12.5	2	43	27.0
Dedrick Epps	12	22	304	13.8	2	69	25.3
Laron Byrd	13	21	228	10.9	4	26	17.5
Travis Benjamin	12	18	293	16.3	3	51	24.4
Kayne Farquharson	12	18	280	15.6	3	37	23.3
Chris Zellner	13	14	91	6.5	1	12	7.0
Leonard Hankerson	8	11	140	12.7	2	41	17.5
Sam Shields	13	11	124	11.3	0	23	9.5
Javarris James	9	11	118	10.7	0	20	13.1
Davon Johnson	11	5	71	14.2	1	18	6.5
Khalil Jones	8	5	39	7.8	0	11	4.9
Derron Thomas	10	4	35	8.8	0	19	3.5
Patrick Hill	13	4	17	4.2	0	10	1.3
Richard Gordon	12	3	24	8.0	0	15	2.0
Kendal Thompkins	2	2	4	2.0	0	6	2.0
Jacory Harris	13	1	17	17.0	0	17	1.3
Lee Chambers	5	1	4	4.0	0	4	0.8
Total	13	237	2558	10.8	22	69	196.8
Opponents	13	172	2153	12.5	15	74	165.6

Defense

Name	GP	Tackles				Sacks	Pass Defense		Interceptions				Fumbles		Blkd Kick
Name	GP	Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds	No-Yds	BrUp	QBH	No.-Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Rcv-Yds	FF	Blkd Kick
Total

Special teams

Name	Punting								Kickoffs
Name	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	Blkd	No.	Yds	Avg	TB	OB
Matt Bosher	66	2659	40.3	76	3	24	19	2	69	3956	57.3	6	2
TEAM	3	55	18.3	31	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Total	69	2714	39.3	76	3	24	19	3	69	3956	57.3	6	2

Name	Punt Returns					Kick Returns
Name	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Travis Benjamin	16	181	11.3	0	44	22	496	22.5	0	57
Thearon Collier	8	35	4.4	0	10	0	0	0.0	0	0
Graig Cooper	3	90	30.0	1	66	4	89	22.2	0	26
Richard Gordon	1	13	13.0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
Brandon Harris	0	0	0.0	0	0	13	274	21.1	0	41
Ryan Hill	0	0	0.0	0	0	8	91	11.4	0	29
Darryl Sharpton	0	0	0.0	0	0	3	18	6.0	0	9
Patrick Hill	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	9	9.0	0	9
Kylan Robinson	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	8	8.0	0	8
TEAM	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	0	0.0	0	0
Sam Shields	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	35	0.0	0	35
Total	28	319	11.4	1	66	53	1020	19.2	0	57

External links

The Official Site of the Hurricanes

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