University of Miami flavor strong in Super Bowl XLIV

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. - Since 2002, and for the past 122 weeks in which an NFL game has been played, a player from the University of Miami has scored a touchdown.

For 14 consecutive years, at least one Hurricanes player has been a first-round NFL draft choice.

Sunday evening in Super Bowl XLIV, a handful of former Hurricanes, from Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne to Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma and tight end Jeremy Shockey will participate in the NFL championship game, a destination most who pass through the football program at the Coral Gables, Fla., school come to expect from the moment they arrive on the palm tree-lined campus through the time their name is called by the NFL commissioner on draft night.

"Those kids who go there expect to be at this level, " said Saints wide receiver coach Curtis Johnson, who held the same position on the Hurricanes' staff when Wayne played there. Johnson coached there from 1996 to 2005. "A lot of places I've seen, just going to different colleges, guys don't have that same expectation. At Miami that is the expectation. That is what Miami is.

"They say, 'We're supposed to go here and win a national championship' then they're supposed to go to the NFL and play for 10 years."

And along the way, pick up a Super Bowl ring or two to supplement the jewelry they won at "the U," to which the university is lovingly referred.
The list of alumni who've prospered in the NFL is long and glittering, from Michael Irvin to Ray Lewis, from Ed Reed to Russell Maryland, from Vinny Testaverde to Bernie Kosar, from Santana Moss to Andre Johnson, from Warren Sapp to the late Jerome Brown, from Ted Hendricks to Edgerrin James.

"There are a bunch of us, a lot of products of the University of Miami here, " said Shockey, who, as his college teammate Vilma, makes his Super Bowl debut Sunday, the next line of succession after the pair won a national championship in the Rose Bowl against Nebraska in 2001, one of five the school has claimed.

"And all I can say to those who do play for the University of Miami now is to enjoy your moment in college. It was the best time of my life. It was a great feeling to win the national championship and be a part of that college."

For Vilma, the return to the area as a member of the Saints' first Super Bowl team also is engendering fond memories.

"We talked about that a little bit at the beginning, " Vilma said of a conversation he shared with Shockey, "and we said, 'We're back at it again.' This is our first time, obviously his first Super Bowl (Shockey was injured as a member of the Giants for Super Bowl XLII), my first Super Bowl, and this is an exciting moment for us. But it only becomes a special moment if you win.

"We felt that way when we were playing in the Rose Bowl against a good Nebraska team. We felt like it was a special moment for us, but it's only special if you go out there and you take care of business."

That has been a mantra that has followed most Miami players into the NFL.

"Everybody who comes to that school works hard, " said Wayne, a native New Orleanian who played at Ehret and counts Johnson as his mentor. "Hard work pays off. This is an opportunity to show what (Miami alums) have been working toward, with hard work and dedication. I just want to go out there and represent the school on a good note and hopefully come out on top.

"My mentor at UM, my receiver coach in college was Curtis Johnson. He has taught me a lot. He's pretty much taught me everything I know. And I'll do my best to not let him down."

At the conclusion of last Sunday's Pro Bowl, Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson and most of the other former Hurricanes who'd been selected to play in the game, a total of 10, gathered near midfield for a group photo.

"It was like being with your brothers, " Johnson said that night. "A lot of those guys I have played with and went through a lot of blood, sweat and tears with and won a national championship with them, so it was just a lot of fun. We have something that I don't think any other school has. A camaraderie that I can't really explain. We're always together in the offseason, training together back at the school. So just to be out here with all these guys is just a lot of fun."

Andre Johnson said he believes the bond between former Miami players is stronger than at other schools.

"Sometimes you hear other guys talk about it that went to different colleges, " he said. "Evidently it's something that they see. Most of the time, when you see a guy from the U, he has another guy with him that he played with. That's just something that we do."

Curtis Johnson said he believes Miami's regimented program better prepares athletes for the challenges they'll face in the NFL.

"The coaches are no-nonsense, " Johnson said. "Guys get to the NFL and sometimes you've almost got to de-recruit them. Miami doesn't do that. I think you just continue to teach there. They have this progression that they do, starting them off as freshmen. They get them up early in the morning doing the things that's going to make them successful in life. Those guys do a great job.

"It's very much like a professional program. The demands are the same, similar to what we have (in the NFL). It's very much a structured program. In the NFL, you tell them what to do. You don't have options. Miami is the same way. They tell them how it's going to be done. And you've just got to do it."

Such uniformity, Vilma said, made his transition into pro football somewhat seamles, s and the competition he faced in college prepared him for the challenges of the NFL.

"I definitely noticed the similarities, " Vilma said. "And another thing was the talent level. You had guys where you couldn't afford to take a play off, not because you were tired or didn't feel like it. It was because if you stepped out, the next guy was coming in and he was going to probably take your job. It was just that way. It really created a good atmosphere, a very competitive atmosphere, when we played."
The pro-type offenses and defenses to which players at Miami are exposed, said Curtis Johnson and Shockey, also are advantageous.

"Ultimately, " Shockey said, "being a part of the University of Miami helps you once you get to the NFL. Unlike some kids who go to some schools, we had a complex offense and we were already polished when we got to the pros.

"That's why you see so many University of Miami guys in big games like this and the Pro Bowl. You see them drafted high because they're prepared. A lot of other college guys aren't. At Miami, you're there to take the next step."



(nola.com)