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UM coach Al Golden laments lapses in players' ‘football intelligence’
Coach Al Golden’s Miami Hurricanes had lost another heartbreaker to Florida State, and his players gathered two days later to begin working on upcoming opponent South Florida. “How much does football intelligence rank up there with 40 times, size and strength?’’ he was asked. “No question, we want to have a smart and disciplined team,’’ Golden replied, then paused for effect. “You put a dagger in my heart.’’
No wonder. The Hurricanes showed Saturday in Tallahassee just how unintelligent and undisciplined they can sometimes be. “We had three turnovers and nine penalties and really made some horrific plays in the kicking game that were a function of football intelligence,’’ Golden said. “... Not personal intelligence, not intellect, but just football intelligence.’’
By Tuesday, Golden shared the first couple of casualties of the Canes’ cerebral inadequacies against the Seminoles:
Senior punt returner Travis Benjamin likely will be replaced by freshman Phillip Dorsett on Saturday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. And Seantrel Henderson will start at right tackle in place of Jon Feliciano, who not only was flagged twice for false starts, but didn’t protect as well as he had earlier this season.
Near the end of the first quarter Saturday, FSU punted and the ball skipped past Benjamin. Instead of letting it go, he ran back and tried to scoop it up. But it bounced off his hands and FSU recovered, resulting in a field goal. “You can’t do that in the game and not have some kind of repercussion,’’ Golden said Tuesday. “Travis knows it. He has been communicated to. He’ll fight back. But he’s going to have to steal it now from Phillip because that gave Phillip an opportunity.’’
Golden also mentioned two players missing their assignments on FSU’s 83-yard punt return for a touchdown, as well as tailback Eduardo Clements running out of bounds after a 5-yard gain on second-and-17 with 15 seconds left in the first half — “I mean, that shouldn’t happen,’’ he said. Also, in the third quarter, receiver Allen Hurns, who has been surpassed in the depth chart by LaRon Byrd, positioned himself for a 5-yard catch on third-and-7.
Golden said his staff stresses intelligence “all the time’’ in their planning. “Obviously it’s easier to recruit to your core values than it is to change,’’ he said. “But that’s part of the culture and eventually that’s who we will become. We’ve all seen glimpses of it this year, but when you get in these situations, and it’s a high pressure game, sometimes [lack of intelligence] rears its ugly head, and it did Saturday.’’
Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch called football intelligence critical. “Every opportunity is a teaching opportunity,’’ he said. “A lot of times it’s muscle memory. If you’ve made the same mistake twice you haven’t confronted it.’’
UM quarterback Jacory Harris said it’s surprising how “most guys come from high school not knowing anything.’’
Harris said sometimes even veterans get “caught up in the pressure and tend to forget what they’ve learned. Sometimes you have to be like, ‘All we need is this amount of yards.’ But they’ve got to be accountable also.’’
Defensively, coordinator Mark D’Onofrio said the UM staff is diligent about educating players “over and over again’’ about endless elements of the game. He said on-field communication is crucial in ensuring success. “It’s signaling and it’s constant,’’ he said. “It’s one guy talking to another and the other guy tapping himself and saying, ‘I got the call. I got you. I hear what you’re saying.’ “No secrets on defense. Get the mute button off.’’
Defensive end Anthony Chickillo is a freshman but already has the football intelligence of a more experienced player. “Coaches have a feel for whether you’re smart or not, whether you know the game,’’ said Chickillo, who aspires to be a coach and had a 4.6 grade-point average at Tampa Alonso High — not that GPA can necessarily be equated to football intelligence. “When you get recruited they sit down with you and show their schemes and see if you understand or not.’’
D’Onofrio just wishes everyone understood. “I’m disappointed that when we have the correct call,’’ he said, “we don’t make them pay enough right now.’’
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