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Fast 40 countdown: Miami

August 11, 2011  |  By Benjamin Miraski

Miami

Last season: 7-6, 39th in MRI

The good: If there is any team that you can easily pick out the reason for its failures, it has to be Miami. The Hurricanes were -8 in turnovers last season, including a -4 mark against Ohio State and a combined -11 in the final three games of the season -- all losses including an embarassment in the Sun Bowl against Notre Dame.

Plus 13 starters from last season are returning including quarterback Jacory Harris.

The bad: Jacory Harris is back. Yes, you read that right; the guy everyone wants to be a Heisman candidate returns and it is a bad thng.

Why? Because he is really inaccurate with the football.

In three seasons, he has thrown 39 interceptions and his completion percentage has declined each year. This is not what was expected out of a quarterback who was among the top 10 at his position coming out of high school.

You can blame changes in coaching and possibly a lack of focus on the offensive side of the ball, but that doesn't explain everything. Somewhere some blame has to be taken and Harris has a bullseye firmly on his back, with Stephen Morris waiting his turn to take over.

Maybe a change to former Temple coach Al Golden will help to change this, but even Golden's squads weren't exactly stellar when it came to keeping turnovers in check.

The Hurricanes have also lost Seantrel Henderson for an indeterminate amount of time. Henderson was supposed to switch to left tackle this season and provide more stability on the line, but back surgery sort of puts that plan on hold.

Best name: Harland Gunn

Trending: Down - On paper this team looks like the total opposite of Maryland. Everything went poorly for them and the only way they can go is up, right? Wrong. There is too much riding on Harris and he has proven to be almost totally unreliable. Add in the coaching change and this season doesn't seem to be going in the direction that most predictions show. Look for Miami to finish outside the top 40 in the MRI this season.

Posted August 11, 2011 11:45 AM

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