Part II: Kevin’s thoughts on the current state of the program, favorite things, word associations and more! Click here to read Part I

pC: Alright, let’s now talk about your playing days. At what age did you start playing football, and did you play any other sports?
KB: I started playing football when I was 7 yrs old and played every year throughout high school. I also wrestled.

pC: What was your favorite team growing up?
KB: I’ve always been more of a college than pro-football fan, even though, just like all kids my generation, I loved the Dallas Cowboys.

pC: Who was your favorite player growing up and why?
KB: My favorite player growing up was Danny White, of the Dallas Cowboys. He was the QB and the punter. He was the man! 

pC: What position did you play growing up?
KB: I always played linebacker and then moved to fullback in high school.

pC: Were you a Hurricane Fan growing up?
KB: Of course I was a Hurricane fan! Without a doubt, they were my favorite college football team, actually, my favorite team overall. I always liked Notre Dame until Miami beat the snot out of them Nov. 30, 1985 Miami 58 - Notre Dame 7. I went to the game with my father and do you wanna laugh?  I wore Notre Dame boxer shorts to the game with UM shorts over the top. Needless to say, I never took off my pants. 

I was always a huge fan of George Mira Jr. First off, because he was the toughest white undersized middle linebacker in college football at the time, and he created a legacy by following in his fathers footsteps and becoming an All-American at the University of Miami.

pC: Who recruited you out of High School?  KB: There were many – based upon my wrestling and football ability combined, I had my choice of school nationwide, mostly in the northeast. 

pC: What coach at Miami recruited you out of high school?
KB: Art Kehoe found me. He was really impressed with my wrestling skills. I won a few state titles, a national, and a world title before going to Miami. 

pC: A world title?
KB: Yeah, 16 an under world title. I beat a guy from Italy that looked about 22. He had a beard.

pC: So, you're a Cane but you almost went to....
KB: I’m a Cane, but I almost went to Iowa to win national titles in wrestling versus football.

pC: What was the toughest thing about playing at the U?
KB: The toughest thing about playing the University of Miami was adjusting to the speed of the game.  I played in the Northeast where strength was emphasized more than speed.

pC: What's your favorite memory of your time at Miami?
KB: My favorite memory at Miami is the camaraderie of being around all these great guys that were my friends and we were just all focused on the same goal. It was just like being in the ultimate fraternity. I miss the friendships, the trust. I miss always having someone at my side at all times

pC: What games stand out from your days at the U?
KB: FSU, 91’, wide right. I red-shirted that year but drove up to Tallahassee on Friday night and suited up for the game. I’ll never forget the Doak Campbell tomahawk chant and the utter silence at the end of the game. My first start against UCLA was right up there too, but it ended in injury, so that silenced my career.

pC: Which former teammate was the toughest to go up against in practice?
KB: Ray Lewis . He never took a play off.  He thrived on catching you “slippin” as we would say at the U.

pC: Who do you think was the best player at Miami while you were there?
KB: K.C. Jones (pictured to the right). He took football to a whole new level, whether it was his heated battles with Warren Sapp, or ripping Ray Lewis’ helmet off.  K.C. Jones was by far the toughest and most skilled football player I’ve ever met in life.

pC: Who was your best friend while playing?
KB: (laughs) K.C. Jones. I knew it was better to be his friend, than his enemy, but I really hung out with everyone.  I was one of the few players that didn’t see color.  I hung out with Warren Sapp one night, K.C. Jones another night, and Ray Lewis the next.  Everyone was my friend at UM. I even hung out with non-descript players and even walk-ons.  I’m still friends with guys like Jason Budroni and Larry Luttrell.  Geez, I couldn’t run my business without Larry Luttrell’s legal advice.

pC: What other former teammates do you keep in touch with?
KB: As I just said, I couldn’t run my business without Larry, KC Jones is my financial advisor.  I was just in Ryan Clement’s wedding, and yesterday I talked to Warren Sapp.  I went to Jamaica with Rohan Marley last year, and I haven’t missed a former player’s reunion since we started it back in 02’.  If you were to ask any of the former players who is a conduit to the former players database, I’d rank right up there in the top 3.  I love the U and I consider all of my former teammates my brothers and I always stay in contact with family. 

pC: Any coaches you still talk to?
KB: Of course.  I religiously stay in contact with Don Soldinger, Mario Cristobol, Art Kehoe, and Coach Shannon.  A lot of people don’t know, but my first year at UM was also Randy’s.  We’ve known each other for almost 20 years.

pC: You won a National Championships, talk about that experience.
KB: That was amazing.  It happened in my first year at UM – imagine going from an undefeated high school team to an undefeated college team and winning a national title.  I’m probably one of the luckiest college football players around.  And don’t forget, we went 11-0 and played for the National title in the Sugar Bowl in 92’ as well.  During that 3 year period of my life, I only experienced losing once!

pC: Talk about Dennis Erickson as a Coach. We have heard many stories about his lack of discipline, among other things.
KB: Coach Erikson was Coach Erikson. You’ve heard the stories, and some are just that, stories.  Coach Erikson prided himself on being a player’s coach. He let players play and be themselves.  You’re right, he wasn’t much of a disciplinarian, but you try keeping Warren Sapp, Rohan Marley, and James Stewart in 7 nights a week (chuckles). As far as I’m concerned, Dennis Erikson gave me my opportunity to play at the UM and I will forever be grateful for that.  At the end of the day, he couldn’t  be that bad, he did win 2 National Championships.

pC: Talk about the whole U is Family and the tight bonds players make and keep.
KB: As I said before, the U is a family, and we all stay in touch.  Just this past year, 250 players showed up at our player’s reunion.  Like I said, there isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t talk to one of our former players regarding business or life in general.

pC: Do you go back often? When was the last time you went back? You go to any games?  KB: Come on Dude, you know I’m at the U twice a week.  I’ve only been to one game at Dolphin Stadium, but that’s because I celebrated the birth of my son, Kevin Jr., in September of last year and we’re stationed back home in Buffalo, NY.  Prior to that, I didn’t miss a home game for the previous 3 seasons.  If you wanted to find me on any given college football Saturday, I was on the sidelines at the Orange Bowl with my video camera.

pC: What did your teammates call you? Did you have a nickname?
KB: My nickname was Brink, but somehow, that turned into Stink, so I guess in a way, I’ll always be known as Stinky.  Not because of my hygiene, though, but because of my prankster personality.

pC: In a road game, whose opposing fans rivaled the West End Zone?
KB: FSU was always loud and Penn State wasn’t quiet either. Nothing compared to the Carrier Dome (Syracuse University) on sold out road games.  

pC: You were part of that last second win at Syracuse where they driving down the field and your buddy Rohan stopped them just short. What do you remember from that game? 
KB: I remember it like yesterday. I had four tackles on kickoffs. I ran the “the missle” Rocket Ismail’s brother down from behind.

pC: What one person was the most influential in the development of your game?
KB: Don Soldinger, hands down.  He helped me realize my true potential by forcing me to discipline myself.  He taught me there are no short-cuts in life and the only way to be a true success is to do every little thing right.  That meant never missing work-outs, never missing class, putting in extra film time, and basically, holding yourself accountable to your teammates, your family.  That was paramount in Don Soldinger’s eyes.

pC: What do you think about the last couple of years and the current state of Hurricane football?
KB: It’s been a bummer, but people would have said the same thing about USC in the 80’s.  Don’t worry, we will be back on top before you know it.  And all of sudden everyone will love the Canes’ all across the country, all over again.   

pC: What do the 'Canes have to do to become an elite team again?
KB: Like I said before, the little things.  It’s the extra work-outs and literally holding yourself accountable to your teammates, your family, and the former players who have created what is the University of Miami’s legacy. 

pC: Why do you think the program fell off the way it did?
KB: It happens.  College football is cyclical.  One year all of the good players go to USC, the next year they go to Texas. As you have seen recently, all of the good players are coming back to the U.  It’s about recruiting and getting the right players, with the right mindset at the U.  I think Randy Shannon has the right mindset and the right mentality.

pC: What is a misconception people have about the University of Miami?
KB: That we’re a bunch of thugs.  As you can see, some of us produce films, some of us try cases, and some of us dance the Samba in front of 30 million viewers once a week on Dancing with the Stars. We’re a very unique group of individuals, all of us having our own talents, but in the end, we’re all family.  I can’t stress that enough.  Once the U brings this family atmosphere back, not only will we start winning again, the city of Miami as well as the whole country will want to be back in our home.

pC: What do you think about the move to Dolphins stadium?
KB: No comment.  Home will always be where your heart is. We will always live in the Orange Bowl.

pC: Tell us the craziest story from your UM football days that you can remember either with another player or coach on or off the field
KB: My attorney, and former UM player Lawrence Lutrell, has advised me to plead my 5th amendment right to silence on this question.  But I will tell you this, within those 5 years I created friendships that will last a lifetime. If someone told me that I could go back to 1991 and repeat those years I would walk through that time machine in a NY minute. I would give up all the winning we did just to go back and be a part of the team.  

pC: Come on, one story.
KB: Ok there was this one time that K.C. and I took out this top recruit from Texas in 94’. When we met him, he told us he was going to Texas, but he thought he’d come check out Miami to see what it was like down in the sunshine.  K.C. and I didn’t really appreciate that, so we really showed him a good time.  Long story short, after feeding him lobster tails and strip steaks at the Rusty Pelican, we took him to the Grove for a night at the Tavern.  Somewhere around closing time, 3 lobster tails and 2 strip steaks ended up on the floor along with 6 pitchers of warm beer.  The remaining 2 lobster tails, steak, and 2 pitchers of beer, ended up on the Greentree practice field because we made him run 100-yard sprints for embarrassing us in our local establishment.  We dropped him off at the pool at the University Holiday Inn.  He deposited one more lobster tail poolside and I think he regrets ever coming to Miami and wasting our time. We were the U and U don’t disrespect us.  
  pC: Word Associations, Give me the first thing that pops in your head when you read the following:    Randy Shannon: Head coach  Larry Coker: My man  Orange Bowl: Home  Dolphins Stadium: Where?  Sebastian the Ibis: Superman  Dennis Erickson: Wow  Coral Gables: 33146  The Fiesta Bowl: Ouch (’93)  Ohio State: Thieves    pC: Favorite NFL Team?
KB: UM 

pC: Favorite NBA Team?
KB: Who? 

pC: Favorite Baseball Team?
KB: UM 

pC: Favorite Food?
KB: Pizza 

pC: What Band/Group I would find most of on your iPod?
KB: Bob Marley. I have every album. 

pC: One movie you could watch over and over?
KB: Rebel Music – The Bob Marley Story 

pC: One TV show you cannot miss?
KB: Miami CSI 

pC: What do you do in your spare time?
KB: Work 

pC: Two websites you have to check daily?
KB: proCanes and Google 

We at proCanes.com would like to thank Kevin Brinkworth for being so gracious with his time to do this very insightful interview for our new feature "Tracking proCanes."Click here to check out our past interviews with Leon Searcy, Steve Walsh, Frank Costa and more!

proCanes.com is continuing our “Tracking proCanes” feature with former University of Miami linebacker, Kevin Brinkworth. Kevin was a member of the ’91 University of Miami National Championship Team and played at UM from 1991 to 1996. Brinkworth now calls himself a jack of all trades. Since graduating from the University of Miami Kevin has been involved in an array of mixed media ventures. Whether it’s producing exclusive content from the Official NASCAR Members Club, or creating infomercials for the “the slicer and dicer” he has done it all successfully. After a stretch of B movie appearances after graduating from UM with a degree in advertising and marketing, Kevin decided to use his degree behind the camera. In 2001 Kevin opened his own Direct Response studio and started producing print, radio and television advertisements for companies looking to brand their products in an unconventional method; direct to the consumer. Today, the Direct to Consumer Market accounts for over 4 Billion dollars in advertising sales. 

Part I: Kevin’s project of documenting the history of the U and the Orange Bowl.  

pC: So what are you up to now Kevin?
Kevin Brinkworth:  The film [a film that Kevin has been heavily involved with being produced by Rakontur which chronicles the history of University of Miami football and will air on ESPN in the fall] takes up time, but it’s my business that runs my life. I am currently the President of KDAA, Inc. a Direct Response Agency and Big Brand Consulting firm who happily boasts a client list including NASCAR, Bob Marley Music, Inc., and The Thomas Kinkade Company. Recently I just celebrated the birth of my son Kevin Matthew Brinkworth Jr. so I’ve been spending a little more time at home. I’ve been focusing on our client’s online sales and membership acquisition strategies for the last 7 months because it allows me to stay close to home. In 2007 I think I traveled every week. One week I was in Talladega for a NASCAR event and the next week I was in NYC visiting Bob Marley Music. I think I even threw in a few trips to Jamaica. If your interested in reading a bit about our company visit www.kdaainc.com. 

pC: So you started working on a film about the last season in the Orange Bowl. Talk about how you came up with the idea and how you went about doing it.
KB: Ever since graduating in ‘96, I knew that someone needed to tell the story about the University of Miami family, and that’s exactly what it is, a family. You hear people talk about former players supporting each other and coming back for reunions and hanging out on the sidelines and it’s true. The camaraderie is like no other. It really is a family and someone needed to tell the story of how close we are.  So, in 2006 I came up with the idea of creating a series about the University of Miami’s football program.  At the time I had friends working at Pilgrim Films (American Choppers, American Casino) and it inspired me to pitch them my story, and that’s just what I did. 

I can remember the meeting vividly as it took place during the filming of American Casino at the Green Valley Ranch Resort (Kevin chuckles). KC Jones was with me and we can even be seen in an American Casino episode sitting around the pool as we discussed the UM series. After chasing licenses and approvals \ from Collegiate Images and the University of Miami, I wrote the first three episodes of what would have been “A Season at the U.” I scheduled meetings and booked conference calls to pitch to ESPN, Spike TV, and the History Channel. None of the networks thought I had the access to get this done so I grabbed my video camera and started taking footage of the University of Miami practices, meetings, games and the day to day life of Miami football players and coaches.  I would especially like to thank Mario Cristobal (now FIU head football coach) for allowing me to follow him around back in 2006 through his rigorous daily schedule as UM’s Offensive Line Coach. So, that’s how it began. 

So, while I’m out there trying to secure funding and a network “green light,” the final season at the Orange Bowl starts sneaking up on us. I figured with my blessings from Collegiate Images and the U, why wait for ESPN or SPIKE TV to give me the green light to create my show. I knew that someone needed to go out and capture a former player’s view of the final season in our home, the Orange Bowl.   So I contacted Tony Hernandez, UM’s Assistant Athletic Director, who in turn got approval from Randy Shannon and I started bringing my video camera to every home game of the final season in the Orange Bowl to capture at that time what I called, the friends, former players, and family footage. So, I grabbed my video camera, put on my Nikes, and attended every 2007 home football game, including tailgating, pregame, halftime and post game interviews. I captured over 100 hours of video including interviews with former players about their most memorable Orange Bowl moments, their favorite times at UM, and their disbelief that an era was coming to an end. 

pC: Talk about how you linked up with Rakontur.
KB: In the Spring of 2008 the University’s Alumni Association contacted me regarding my documentary and published a feature article in our Alumni Digest about the project. Somehow that Alumni Digest ended up in the hands of Rakontur’s Billy Corbin, another UM Graduate and director of Cocaine Cowboys, and he reached out to me regarding licensing my footage for an upcoming documentary they were producing for ESPN on the University of Miami and its championship seasons. You can imagine my surprise! Just one year earlier I’m sending emails to ESPN Original Entertainment about my dream quest to produce a series on the University of Miami and now ESPN’s contracted producers are calling me about my footage, very surreal.

pC: How did the project change with Rakontur’s involvement?
KB: The project hasn’t changed that much, but this is definitely their vision. If you have seen Cocaine Cowboys you may be familiar with the format. Basically, Rakontur and I entered into an agreement where they would have the opportunity to view and license my footage for the upcoming ESPN documentary as well as hired me as a project consultant to act as a liaison between the University of Miami administration and help introduce and coordinate further former player interviews. Considering I had already interviewed over 50 former players, it was a no-brainer for Rakontur to bring me on board.

pC: So did this cooperation change the idea of the film?
KB: It’s a Rakontur deal.  They have a format that works. They pitched it to ESPN and my footage and access to the University was just a bonus.  I came on board to help further their vision of “The U” in any way that I could. 

pC: What would you say is the focus of the film?
KB: The film will focus on the University of Miami’s Championship seasons, mainly between the championship years 1987-1991, but it’s not going to be a highlight reel. It’s going to be an account supported by former players and administration, recaps of how the University of Miami changed the sport in both positive and negative ways, and how a small virtually unknown southern school with an enrollment of 5000 grew to a national phenomenon in less than10 years. UM changed the face of college football on and off the field forever. 

pC: Talk about who you have interviewed? Players? Coaches?
KB: I interviewed over 50 former players including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who I caught off guard at the final game of 2007. He was a bit surprised to see me, especially with a video camera and asking questions about the Orange Bowl, but that quickly changed as he turned the tide on me and went into a story about how it was the first time he had ever been interviewed by a “gay former player and reporter.” It’s really funny and very impromptu.  

Michael Irvin and Steve Walsh gave me one of the most animated interviews to date when at the half-time of the NC State game they reenacted their most memorable Orange Bowl moment for me in front of 50,000 fans. “Walsh drops back, Michael Irvin runs a go off the right side line entering the visitors tunnel…touchdown…Michael Irvin jumps in the stands… UM beats FSU.”  Michael Irvin loves to talk about Michael (chuckles). Some of the most insightful interviews came from some of our former senior players like Ted “the mad stork” Hendricks and George Mira Sr. They really gave great accounts of the University prior to our championship years, which made me appreciate the foundation that they laid for players like me. Coach Howard Schnellenberg, Art Kehoe, Larry Coker, Jimmy Johnson, Mario Cristobol, Don Soldinger all gave wonderful interviews from a coaching perspective, but it really was the down and dirty interviews with guys like Lamar Thomas, Jonathan Harris, Rohan Marley, James Stewart, K.C. Jones, Rich Mercier, and Ryan Clement that take the cake! But don’t worry, we’ve also interviewed Warren Sapp, Russel Maryland, Cortez Kennedy, Greg Mark, Bill Hawkins, Gino Torreta, Alonzo Highsmith, Bernie Kosar, Cleveland Gary and many many more Hurricanes greats. 

pC: Talk about one player interview that really stood out.
KB: I would have to say our interview with Mario Cristobal just a few weeks ago was intense because Rakontur has a specific format which all of the interviews are filmed in. My video is all ‘live’ so it will be peppered throughout the documentary, but the Rakontur interviews are in the studio. Mario is now the Head Coach of the FIU Panthers so he was a bit worried about doing the interview. With all the NCAA rules and rgulations he has to adhere to, imagine he’s giving an interview to the guys who produced “Cocaine Cowboys” (laughs). Mario and I were roommates at UM for two years and have been very close friends ever since graduating so I promised him we would keep the interview on a very professional level. Well, he started off a little “stiff” and administrative but by the end of the 3 hour interview he was as animated as he was during his playing days at UM as an All Big-East Offensive Tackle. He talked about the City of Miami, his Cuban heritage and the pride he felt playing for the U. Don’t forget he had some big shoes to fill because his brother also played at UM. He also went to Columbus High School which I think is partially responsible for the birth of UM Championship seasons. It all started with Alonzo Highsmith and then guys like Matt Britton, Carlos Huerta, Lou [Cristobal] and Mario. The interview was intense and I’d like to thank Mario again because as Billy said, “Dude that was the most intense and insightful interview to date. I just couldn’t stop asking him questions.” Big up’s Mario! 

pC: How will UM be conveyed in the film?
KB: Rakontur will have the final cut, but I know were trying to portray the University in a positive light. ESPN commissioned the documentary and will air it part of a series called “30 for 30,” covering sports events of the past 30 years, which celebrates ESPN's 30th anniversary in 2009. We’re really trying to tell the story about the University of Miami family and how, as a team, a band of brothers, we came together to produce five national titles in a decade and one of the best college football sports programs in history

pC: What stage are you at now?
KB: We’ve just concluded our interviewing process, ending with an amazing interview I coordinated and booked with coach Jimmy Johnson at his home in Islamorada.  Again, I’d like to personally thank coach Johnson for inviting us into his home and giving us one of the best accounts of Miami football we’ve had to date. Hopefully we can put together our timeline within the next few months and get ready for a first cut before the season begins. 

pC: When will it be released?
KB: It will air this December on ESPN immediately following the 2009 Heisman Trophy presentation so don’t be upset if you miss the Heisman presentation, because the real award begins right after. We’re also planning to create a 2-hour feature documentary post ESPN’s airing to submit to film festivals. 

Come back tomorrow and read Part II of our interview with Kevin Brinkworth and see what he has to say about his playing days at the U, Coach Erickson, the current state of the Hurricanes, and more! 

Part II: Leon's thoughts on the current state of the program, favorite things, word associations and more! Click here to read Part I.

pC: Where’s Russell [Maryland] now?
LS: Russell is in Dallas. He works for a software company that sells video components to the NFL and college teams.

pC: You played under both Jimmy and Erickson. Did things change when Jimmy left? Erickson ran a loose operation from most people’s accounts.
LS: Well the years I was there, it was kind of like Erickson was given the keys to a Porsche and he was told not to wreck it. Everybody when I was there understood what Jimmy Johnson had done over the years and what he had built. We were a little skeptical with going outside of the family with the hire because initially Gary Stevens was a guy everybody wanted because he was the offensive coordinator. That had a lot to do with why Steve Walsh left because Steve Walsh basically gave Miami an ultimatum and said keep Gary Stevens on board and that’s why he entered the supplemental draft. So when Erickson was hired we were a little skeptical about his offense, though it was a pro-style offense in a way. A lot of long passes and decent running game. And the one thing he didn’t do is touch the defense. He let the defense stay where it was.

I can just remember the first time we saw Dennis Erickson, we were all running 15x110s and I remember him walking out on the field and seeing Lamar Thomas, Horace Copeland and he is seeing offensive lineman and defensive lineman blazing by him and he was in awe of all the speed we had as a team. We were just flying by and him thinking, man this new guy is coming in here, just don’t mess it up because we had just come within a yard of winning back –to-back [championships]. Everybody knows that wasn’t a fumble that was called against Notre Dame and we would have been back-to-back. We had a motto in Miami that was it was either title or bust. It was no going to a bowl. If we weren’t playing for a national title, our season was not a success. So we just wanted to make sure that whoever was brought in here, he understood what our purpose was and he was on board for it because we felt we had enough talent on that team to win a National Title that year and we actually did.

pC: So would you say the players had more of the role of running the ship than he did?
LS: Yes. We had enough leadership on that team, that he didn’t really have to do anything. Everybody knew their role, we knew who we looked up to and what kind of talent we had and he didn’t have to come in and discipline us. You know, we had guys that had little spats but not to the point that would jeopardize the team and what we set out to do.

pC: They call us the “U Family” and all the old players come back to practices, they still work out there. How did that start?
LS: Everybody cares so much for the program because we understand the amount of sacrifice that was put into it. That is what we always tell the young guys nowadays. You’re in the position you’re in now because of what guys have done that paved the way to this point. Jimmy Johnson did create a family sense and guys came back. I mean it’s hard to be a defensive tackle and not listen to Cortez Kennedy who is a future Hall of Famer. It’s hard if you’re a receiver to not listen to Michael Irvin who is also a Hall of Famer. It’s hard if you’re a running back, to not to listen to Edgerrin James tell you about cuts and read defenses. It’s hard to be an offensive lineman and not listen to Leon Searcy who was an all-pro. We had enough guys at so many different positions and guys were saying listen and they had no choice. They always welcome guys to come back and it rolled over. Guys always come back and help and we created that bond where we cared enough about the program to not see it falter.

pC: Do you go back often?
LS: Not as often as I like. Only because these last couple of years I was coaching, so I was recruiting and this and that. When I was in league I would go back and talk to guys and I used to train down there early in my career.

pC: Did you have a nickname or anything?
LS: Michael Barrow used to call me Godzilla because I used to always bark out calls. Some guys used to also call me “Big Pun” which is short for punisher when I was playing.

pC: What was the toughest place to play an away game in college?
LS: Oh easily, Florida State. Florid State during that time was like our little brother. It was like looking at a mirror of yourself, only smaller. I’m sure they’re not going to like that, but it’s true. They always gave us the toughest time. Most of athletes on the field at that time were similar. If we had a receiver that ran a 4.3 [second 40-yard dash] they had a DB that ran a 4.3. If we had offensive lineman that could bench 500 [lbs] they had a defensive lineman. They complemented us. They complemented us in every way. I know it had to be very frustrating for them because in my five years there they only beat us once and the one time they beat us we still won the title so I know it must have been very frustrating for them at that time. Florida State with that chomp and everything that goes on up there, it’s tough.

pC: Who was the one guy that was really influential in the development of your game?
LS: My high-school coach and my offensive line coach Art Kehoe. The one thing Art Kehoe did for me was that he kept me humble. I was having so much success so fast from when I came in as a freshman and then came in my sophomore year, things just started rolling for me. I’m starting, we’re winning titles but he always kept me humble. He always stayed on me about my technique. I could have an outstanding practice in my mind and then he would tell me that that was horrible. I understand what he was doing. He was feeding the fire. He didn’t want me to ever become comfortable with myself, with my technique, how I train, how I study. Ultimately he knew I was going to be an NFL player and if I became comfortable with myself I could never achieve what I wanted to achieve at the next level. He also worked on my techniques, fundamentals, hand placements, how to shoot my hands, how to train as an offensive lineman and all that stuff. Coach Kehoe definitely had a great deal to do with my success.

pC: Do you still talk to him?
LS: Yes I still do.

pC: You said going to the NFL wasn’t that bad of a transition. What would you say was then the toughest part about going to the NFL?
LS: One of the things was living up to the first round status. Going to the Pittsburgh Steelers and being the 11th pick overall, I was now the highest paid guy on the line as a rookie. So, having to live up to those expectations. Then, just the speed of the game. We had a lot of speed in Miami but there were so many different formations and variations in the league [NFL]. You would have to check out safeties, cornerbacks, twist and stunts at the next level. The speed and the expectations were probably the toughest.

pC; You went to the Steelers, the Jaguars, Ravens and Dolphins. What was your favorite stop?
LS: My favorite stop was Pittsburgh. I love being a Steeler. Everything about it. The hard-nosed, tough, hardhat, coming to work everyday lunch pail attitude, the Steelers exempted, I loved everything about it. Coach Cowher was an awesome coach, very player friendly. He loved winning, hated losing, tough, hard-nosed. I came in with Cowher, I was his first pick in 1992. Everything about being a Steeler, I enjoy.

pC: Going to the current state of the program, why did you think it became this way, how can it get back?
LS: I probably didn’t make a lot of UM fans happy when I made a comment on the radio about how Miami has become the Cal Berkley of California. In the sense that USC has become the staple now in California and there is USC and everybody else. Now in the state of Florida the tables have turned in the sense that now, the University of Florida is the toast of the town and Miami is in the back seat. It is true though, in Gainesville they have this machine running. They have two National Titles in three years, they are doing something right. We’re getting just as much as talent as they are, but somehow it’s not transforming onto the field. I don’t know who to blame. I don’t know if we should blame the coaches, or the recruiting. Everyone says the facilities or we don’t have the money. When I was at the University of Miami, our weight room was no bigger than this Applebee’s, but I can name a lot of talent that came out of that little weight room with one little window when anytime you need to get air you had to open the door to get air. You’re talking about guys like Russell, Tez, me, Warren Sapp a slew of NFL players that came out of the little facility. I don’t want to hear about we don’t have the money or facilities. Something is just not being done there. Now I hear that if we win seven or eight games, you can’t have those sort of low expectations and ever expect your program to be where it used to be. I really don’t converse with those guys as much as I used to, but I hope they care that they want to turn it back around. I know they are working their behinds off but something is not going right.

pC: Do you think Randy is the man for the job?
LS: I do think Randy is the man but does Randy have the people around him? He was there and I know Randy knows about the traditions and upholding them but he’s got to have everybody on the same page. If he has everybody on the same page with a clear objective of getting the program back to where it used to be then it will be back where it should be. Right now it doesn’t make any sense to me that over the last four or five years we have top 10 recruiting classes according to those publications and then not being able to transfer that over to the football field.

pC: So you think there was a problem at least in coaching or development.
LS: Look at this statistic. I was watching the NFL network and the last couple of years Miami has been squeaking out a first round pick. Now this year we might not even have a guy drafted. When Butch had that machine running and we were on probation, a Butch Davis recruiting class consisted of Ed Reed, Cliton Portis, Edgerrin James, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, Bryant Mckinne, DJ Williams, Phillip Buchanon and this is when we were on probation. When you’re on probation and they take 33 of your scholarships away you’ve got to recruit and you’ve got to develop these players if you want to compete. Look at Jimmy, look at Dennis, look at Butch and you look at Larry and you look at Randy. Somewhere there was a demise. If you look at a timeline, there was no demise with Jimmy, Erickson towards the end maybe, Butch built that thing back up. Someone is to blame after that. I won’t say the name but you do the math.

pC: Do you think the program can come back though?
LS: I believe they can. I believe they can. If they’re getting the top-notch players you have to put these guys in position so they can win football games. That’s what it boils down to.

pC: What do you think about the move to Dolphins Stadium?
LS: I didn’t like it. I know why it was done, money. A private school, not state funded and the Orange Bowl facilities were shammy at best. I understand why they made the move. The whole idea of the Orange Bowl was to have the student base there for the games. The atmosphere is not the same and the fans are spread out.

pC: Why the number 73 at UM?
LS: I was 77 in high school and they gave me 73 in college. In the pros I wanted the number 73 but it would have cost me $10,000.

pC: Who did you have to buy it from?
LS: Justin Strzelczyk, he was an offensive lineman of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was the first round pick making all this money and I just assumed I would get my number. I asked if I could have my number and they said well someone has it. I said I need my number and they said you need to go talk to him about it. So I went to him and said would you like to switch numbers, I have been 73 my whole career. He told me ‘it’s going to cost you’ and I said how is it going to cost me? He started it up at $25,000. I said you can keep that and he told me ‘alright you can have it for ten grand.’ I said I’m not going to give you ten grand for a number. I’ll just be 72 and I’ll make it famous.

pC:I say a word and you tell me the first thing that pops in your head:
Randy Shanon: Onion
pC: That was his nickname?
LS: That was his nickname
pC: Why?
LS: The rumor was that he would make the girls cry but I doubt that. That’s what they used to call him.

Larry Coker: Good guy
The Orange Bowl: Tradition
Dolphin Stadium: A waste
Sebastian the Ibis: Crazy as they come
Art Kehoe: Genius
Coral Gables: Too expensive
The Fiesta Bow: Robbed
Ohio State: Hate ‘em
Jimmy Johnson: Outstanding
Dennis Erickson: Aight

pC: Do you follow the NFL now? You follow a team?
LS: I follow the Steelers. I played for a couple of teams but the Steelers seem to be the only ones interested in me after football. They contacted me last year because it was the 75th anniversary of the Steelers franchise and they called me and said that I made the all 90s team and they wanted me to come. They send my son stuff and stay in contact with him. The Jaguars, I have yet to hear from them and they were my most recent team.

pC: Why did you end up going to the Jaguars?
LS: This is a funny story. I’m a free agent just out of the Super Bowl. My agent is Drew Rosenhaus, enough said there. I’m a little cocky and I’m in the Bahamas. I’m resting. Drew Rosenhaus calls me and says ‘Leon we have a deal on the table.’ I say from the Steelers? And he says ‘no from Jaguars.’ And I said the Jaguars? Come on now.

This is why I left Pittsburgh. Drew Rosenhaus got the Steelers on the phone. Drew told me at the time that the money we were asking from Pittsburgh didn’t think I deserved it. You’ve got to remember at the time, I am 24, 25, a pro bowler and teams are telling me that I don’t deserve [the money]. He said ‘Pittsburgh doesn’t think you deserve the kind money you are asking for.’ They said you’re too young. I said I don’t believe you, you’re lying. So Drew got them on the phone, and I am on the phone listening. Drew is ranting and raving and saying Leon is going to leave and they’re saying we don’t care we have someone to replace him. So that was probably the worst thing that could have happened to me.

pC: They didn’t know you were on the phone?
LS: No. They didn’t. They didn’t know I was on the phone and Drew negotiated with them. You don’t want to hear negotiations. For one, I’m 25 years old, you don’t understand the business. His job is to get as much money as he can and their job is to keep as much and we’re supposed to meet somewhere in the middle. But Drew did not explain that to me. He just explained that they don’t want you for the money you’re asking for. So, I’m on the phone and I’m hearing them say Leon is only a starter for us for 3 years and we can’t give him that kind of money because Dermontti Dawson is this and he will be a future Hall of Famer. We love the kid but we can’t pay him to be the highest offensive lineman. So I am listening to this. I am fuming mad. I said the hell with Pittsburgh. I’ll go somewhere else and prove myself. As soon as we hung up the phone, Drew had the Jaguars right there. He had already staged the whole thing because the Jaguars wanted to make me the highest paid offensive linemen in the NFL at that time. So, Drew said don’t worry about them, I’ve got a team that wants to make you the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL and I said who’s that? He said the Jacksonville Jaguars. I said, let’s go. I was fuming mad from that point on but I didn’t understand the nature of the business. That’s how the business is. I would advise any guy who is a free agent, that is young to not listen to the negotiations between your agent and the team. They want to strip you down and he’s going to build you up and they’ve got to meet somewhere in the middle. You couldn’t tell me that, not at the time. The way they were stripping me down. He can’t do this, he can’t do that, he’s got limitations. It was so tempting to just say something on the phone. I was holding it in.

pC: Favorite Food?
LS: Seafood

pC: Top tunes on your iPod?
LS: R&B, old school, Prince, light rap

pC: TV show you can’t miss?
LS: Law & Order and Cold Case

pC: What you do in your spare time?
LS: I try and spend as much time as I can with my kids. I have two daughters and my son. When I’m not doing something, I want to be with them. It was tough when I was playing ball because I was so busy. I saw my kids get raised without me. I was traveling and doing this and that. I was still wild and out there. So, now that they’re growing up, I want to spend as much time as I can with them. My daughters live in Atlanta, my son lives in Orlando.

Click here to read Part I of our interview with Leon Searcy.

We at proCanes.com would like to thank Leon Searcy for being so gracious with his time to do this very insightful interview for our new feature "Tracking proCanes." We would also like to thank his son Leon for his patience and input during the interview.

proCanes.com is continuing our “Tracking proCanes” feature with former All-American, 3-time national champion and NFL Pro Bowl offensive tackle Leon Searcy. Searcy played primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars in an 11-year career spanning between 1992 and 2002. He was drafted in the first-round, 11th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the University of Miami in the 1992 NFL Draft. Searcy also spent one season with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 before signing with the Miami Dolphins in 2002. In 2002 he was ultimately placed on the injured reserved and he subsequently retired after the 2002 season. From 2004 to 2006, Searcy was the offensive line coach at Florida International University. Searcy was a member of the 1987, 1989 and 1991 University of Miami National Championship teams and was a first-team All-American in 1991. He also played in Super Bowl XXX for the Pittsburgh Steelers and in 2003 was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.

Part I: Where is Leon now? His days as a Hurricane and more!

proCanes.com: So, what are you up to these days Leon?
Leon Searcy: I’ve got a couple of foundations that I run, actually two foundations, one is called ProsToo . It’s a foundation where we raise money for formers professional athletes that may be struggling with life after football and we point them in the right direction as far as getting their disabilities. We look to find them opportunities for worker’s compensation and raise money to get them help. Each state varies and you know, when you play in the NFL, you play in so many different states but the main state right now is California because there is no statute of limitations in California. If you played out in California they take a portion of your salary as a workman’s fee and so the guys who played out there are eligible for worker’s compensation. We’ve helped about 200 guys. I have an attorney out there that I work with and we fly them out there and we set them up at the hotel and set them up with doctors out there and they get a full body examination. Each part of their body is evaluated and graded. The process takes about two years before anything is finalized. My main purpose for doing this, is for guys to get medical help that they otherwise couldn’t afford for the injuries they suffered while playing because people don’t know that once you finish playing ball in the NFL they only cover you for three years. A lot of these guys have bad knees, shoulders, back or hip problems. I try to get these guys help for their medical and get them compensated for their injuries.

My mom is the executive director of my other foundation Stand Up For Kids. It is a nationwide program that helps homeless kids. My mom runs it in Orlando. There is a statistic out there that says that one out of every 50 kids is homeless in America and that is a lot of kids that don’t have food, shelter, clothes or water to drink. So, my mom just got involved with that right now, and I’m a part of that. My dad has my foundation in Jacksonville also, the Leon Searcy Jr. Foundation. What we do is we feed people. We prepare baskets and give food out to the homeless throughout the whole year. What we’re trying to do now is build a kitchen so we can feed people every day.

pC: Did you start the Leon Searcy Jr. Foundation when you played in Jacksonville?
LS: Actually no, I started it when I got drafted. I had told my parents when I got drafted that I wanted to give back so I started that foundation.

pC: So you coached at FIU for three years right?
LS: Yea I coached for three years at FIU from 2004 to 2007, you know Don Strock was our head coach. I actually got fired by a Hurricane.

pC: By Mario [Cristobal]?
LS: By Mario, but you know I understand it’s a business. You know one thing I learned about college football is that you want your guy. I played with Mario for three years at Miami, but I wasn’t his guy. He wanted to bring in his guy and he explained that to me and I understood the nature of it and there are no hard feelings, though I wish he hadn’t cut my interview in half. I mean I had a five hour interview with him and Mario was asking me questions he knew I taught him. But it was all cool and it all worked out for the better.

pC: Are you looking to get back into coaching?
LS: I don’t know right now. Someone has given me the opportunity in a Minor League Football league called the United National Gridiron League. It’s supposed to be Minor League Football and they’re going to actually play their games at FIU. I think the head coach’s name is John Fox. They actually hired me but they just haven’t gotten the league kicked off yet.

pC: You’re from the DC area, when did you start playing football? How did it all start?
LS: I started playing football really young. I never played organized football. I just played on street corners, sandlots, in the street. I just loved to play football and I was really active. These were the days before video games and all this other stuff. Kids played outside. Your parents would punish you by saying you couldn’t go outside. Those were the days. I would play basketball, football anything outside. I could never make the grade to play organized football because I was too big for my age. Like this one time, me and my friends are walking to the field for football and as soon as I walked onto the field the coach sent me home because they didn’t believe I was nine years old. I was too tall and too big. I cried all the way home. You know, you walk in there with your friends and everybody else is playing but they send you home. So, I remember my mom putting me in the car and driving back to the football field and she storms in front of the coach and asks him: ‘are you the one that sent my son home?’ and he said ‘yes.’ And my mom says: ‘I want you to remember this name: Leon Searcy. I want you to remember it.’ I know why she did that. I know why she did it that day.

pC: Have you ever spoken to the coach since?
LS: I have never spoken to him since that day.

pC: When did you start playing organized football then?
LS: I didn’t play organized football till my senior year in high school. A lot of it had to with the fact that my mom is a schoolteacher and has been in education for over 45 years. She set my academic standards real high. I couldn’t play ball until I had a 3.5 [GPA]. That was a little high, but I understand what she was doing. Although she wanted me to play football she knew that if I wanted to take it to the next level that she had to set the standards high. So I didn’t play sports until my senior year. So just imagine now, I am 6’4” 305lbs, the biggest kid in school, and I’m not playing ball. First of all, forget the ladies, the ladies are out, you’re not going to be very popular because you aren’t playing ball and they’re going to wonder what’s wrong with you. So I had to endure that my sophomore and junior year. I went out to the Jamboree going into my senior year and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the contact of hitting other people. I gravitated right to it. My high school football coach sees me dunking the basketball one day and he comes up to me and asks me if I was new at the school. I told him I was going to be a senior next year. And he said: ‘You are going to be a senior and you have never played football before?’ And I said no I have never played before. He said: ‘why don’t you come out and let me train you in the summer and we’ll get you ready for the season.’ Most kids in the summer wanted to party and hang out with their friends. I had a 3.75 GPA and I was in summer school training with my head coach. We’re doing drills, weight training, suicides, lifting weights everything. Going into my senior season I had some good games. My first two letters that I got were from Florida A&M and South Carolina State. By the end of the season I had Michigan, Notre, Dame, LSU, Florida, Florida State, and Miami.

pC: Who you recruited you out of Miami?
LS: Don Soldinger. The funny thing about it is, is that he came to my school to look at another player. He came to look at a defensive tackle and a linebacker. He wasn’t even considering me. The funny thing that happened was he was sitting at the stadium watching us do drills, and the guy he was looking at was guy I ran over in the drills, the linebacker and I didn’t do it just one time, I did it like three times in the drill. So Don Soldinger asked ‘Who is that?’ My coach said, ‘oh that’s Leon Searcy he has never played football before’ and Soldinger said, ‘that kid could play at Miami, let me talk to him.’ That’s how it all started.

pC: Why Miami, were you a fan of them growing up?
LS: Absolutely. You know I didn’t watch much college football growing up but I remember Don Soldinger playing a tape of the 1986 team. The whole pageantry of how they played football just excited me. Michael Irvin, Jerome Brown, Stubbs, I mean just every aspect. I said that’s where’s I want to be. I just felt that the pageantry and the way they played football was exciting. I knew that’s where I wanted to be.

pC: On your recruiting visit to Miami, what do you remember? Who toured you around?
LS: I believe it was Melvin Bratton. You know, I wasn’t a little young, I was a lot young. You know, I didn’t go out much, but Melvin Bratton is taking me out to Inferno all these other clubs. You know, I’m a green kid, I had never seen that. I knew I could never tell my mom about where we went. She would have never let me come here if I did but I loved every bit of it. He took me to the Beach to all the hot spots.

The one thing that stood out that he said, was ‘if you come to the University of Miami, if you’re not coming here to be the best, don’t come.’ That’s what he said. He said ‘if you’re not coming here to be the best, don’t come because you’ll be back home in six months because they will run you out of here.’ He said ‘there is so much talent on that field that if you don’t compete it will show and you will not play.’ You know Coach Soldinger told me that too. I am sitting there on signing day, and signing day was a lot different than it is now with all the show. My signing day was in a closet-like room with three chairs and table my dad to my left and Don Soldinger to my right. I am sitting there with the papers and Don Soldinger and before I signed the pieces of paper he said: ‘when you come to the University of Miami, if you don’t come here to be the best, you won’t play and you’ll just be a five-year backup. Before you sign that piece of paper know what you’re committing to.’ I wasn’t worried about that though because I knew I was going to compete, so I signed and was off and running.

pC: Was there another school that was close in the running?
LS: Yea there was one school. Florida State, but Florida State kind of did themselves in. It was between Miami and Florida State, but Florida State was actually the reason why I went to Miami. I went [on a recruiting visit] to Miami first and then Florida State second. I talked to Bobby Bowden and then that evening when the hostess was taking me out I see Deion Sanders, I see Sammy Smith. I see all these guys. They were in the room having a good time and we sit down and we start talking. We start talking football and they start talking about Miami and how they can’t beat Miami and this and that. I said, wait a minute, all these guys are talking about is how great Miami is and how they can’t beat Miami. I said to myself I am in the wrong place. I’m going to spend five years of my life, just like these guys right here, talking about how I can’t beat Miami? When I left and I went back home and my parents asked me what I was going to do, I told them I’m going to Miami. It was like they were already defeated before they even stepped onto the field. In the off-season! I said no, I’m not going to a place like that. I’m not going to a place where they don’t have a tradition of winning and they don’t want to win and they feel like Miami is their obstacle and they can’t overcome it. They answered it for me. I’m going to Miami.

pC: What was the toughest thing playing at Miami? Was it the competition?
LS: Absolutely. Absolutely. The best thing Jimmy Johnson ever did at the University of Miami when he was there, was you never felt comfortable with your position. He kept the grind on you so hard. My first year at the University of Miami he [Jimmy Johnson] got all the freshman together and he said: ‘look, I want you to look to your left and I want you to look to your right because one of you all is not going to be here because when we counted those scholarships someone will have to go.’ He kept the ax on us. I did not feel comfortable with my starting spot until my senior year and I was an All-American by then. He never let up. He constantly kept the ax grinding on you. I remember when we played Arkansas. He is from there and we were beating Arkansas 31 to nothing going into the fourth quarter and he told us on the sideline: ‘if they score a touchdown I am going to run the hell out of you all.’ He meant it, I guess they didn’t offer him a job or something like that and he meant it.

We played Florida State and they had that rap tape and they were preseason number one and we had just won the National Title the year before and that rap tape just pissed him off. He kicked every coach out and you know he was a psychology major so he knew how to get in your head because he scared the hell out of me but now I understand what he was doing. He kicked all the coaches out, all the administrators out of the room and locked the door and dimmed the lights. He sat in the front and took that VCR tape and popped it in and when we saw that tape, we were fuming. Jimmy Johnson after the tape said ‘hey guys, that’s what they think about you. They’re the number one team in the country. They are coming into our house.’ I mean I felt sorry for them [Florida State], I mean I always felt sorry for them but we beat them 31-0. But that’s what he did. I’m not going to say he was a hell of coach but he was great at taking people and putting them in the right positions of power to get things done. We’re talking about Soldinger, Art Kehoe, Gary Stevens, Butch Davis. Tubberville and Orgeron were GAs [Graduate Assistants] when I was there, I mean he put a hell of a staff together and we worked. This was before the NCAA had all those rules and I mean we worked. There were times when if he didn’t like a drill he would start the whole practice over, I mean it was crazy, it was totally crazy. Our conditioning test would be 15 x 110s and these could make or break your career. The only reason Cortez Kennedy started his last year at the University of Miami was because Jimmie Jones failed the 15 x110 test. He always had the test on the hottest day. If it was cool or breezy he wouldn’t do it.

pC: You won two titles when at Miami, what was one of your favorite memories?
LS: Actually I won three titles because I won one my freshman year. Just winning, I mean my favorite memory was probably how we prepared for games on Saturday. At the University of Miami we said we outworked everybody else. You know when I got to the pros I was already taught on how practice would work and how to study film. You know, at the next level, I was ready. Just the winning and the camaraderie was probably the best memory.

pC: Does one win or one game stand out?
LS: The one game that really stands out that we won in 1989 when Notre Dame came in the number one team in the country and we were like number seven. Just the whole thought of how they stole the title away from us the year before with the fumble. I remember how it was that evening. We don’t like Florida State but we really don’t like Notre Dame. I don’t know what it is. I mean there was the whole “Catholic versus Convicts,” the whole “Good versus Evil” that was created. We really didn’t like them because they were the total opposite of what was presumed. We always presumed Notre Dame to be a bunch of choir boys, stuffed collars with ties walking to class with a halo over their heads. We were depicted as the guys with gold chains on and our guys weren’t’ really like that. So, we just despised them so much we wanted to stick it to them. This was the last game of the rivalry, and I just remember walking into the stadium and the electric feeling. I was just amazed of how much energy we would exert on the bus, in the locker room, in warm-ups before the game. I mean I couldn’t believe how we could then just go out and play.

pC: You went up some big-time defensive tackles in your day, who would you say was the toughest to up against in practice?
LS: Easily Cortez [Kennedy] and Russell [Maryland]. Absolutely those two. They were immovable objects in practice. You know, I did an interview on the radio about two weeks ago and Russell was on the show. I told him that a lot of our offensive success had to do with our demise in practice. I told Russell that the offense might have won 18 practices in five years against the defense because our defense was that good. I mean, they were so good that when we played other teams come Saturday it was easy for us. We would go up against Russell, Cortez, Michael Barrow, Darrin Smith, Jesse all of these guys and we had a good secondary. You’re not going to see that kind of talent on one team back then. Russell and Cortez were easily the toughest guys to go up against.

pC: Who was one leader during your years that really stood out? An emotional leader?
LS: We had so many. Everybody on the team was vocal. I mean we took classes in trash talking. Everybody in there was vocal. Who was the emotional leader? I don’t know. It’s difficult to say. We turned to each other. Everybody cared enough about the program that they spoke up when they thought things weren’t going right or we weren’t practicing right or getting it done in the weight room or in class. Everybody spoke up. Russell was the type of guy that when he said something, because he was so quiet, everybody took notice.

pC: Who was your best friend during your years?
LS: Because I was an offensive lineman, usually guys I hung out with were offensive lineman. There was no one in particular. We usually hung in groups like that.

pC: Do you keep in contact with a lot former guys?
LS: Not as many as I would like to but I talk to Hurley Brown a lot, Horace Copeland, Russell two weeks ago, Calvin Harris actually called me yesterday. It would be nice to catch up with some of the old guys.

Come back tomorrow and read Part II of our interview with Leon Searcy and see what he has to say about the differences between Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson, the current state of the Hurricanes, Drew Rosenhaus and more!

proCanes.com is continuing our “Tracking proCanes” feature with former starting quarterback and National Champion Steve Walsh. After graduating from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Steve Walsh attended the University of Miami. He posted a record of 23-1 in his two seasons as the team's starting quarterback and led the Hurricanes to the 1987 national championship. Walsh held the school record for career touchdown passes from 1988-2002 before being surpassed by Ken Dorsey. Walsh was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the first pick in the 1989 NFL Supplemental Draft where he was reunited with his former UM head coach Jimmy Johnson. Walsh went on to have an 11-year NFL career, playing for the Cowboys, Saints, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Indianapolis Colts. Please read Read below as Steve talks to proCanes.com about how he was recruited out of high school, his days as a Hurricane, pro and more!

proCanes: So you're head coach at Cardinal Newman High School in Palm Beach, can you talk a little bit about how you became the head coach?  Were you always interested in coaching? 
Steve Walsh: I’ve always had a kind of secret passion to coach because it’s something I stayed involved in with the University of Miami and the various quarterbacks , mainly Kenny Dorsey. As I got out of the league and I knew enough of the coaches on the staff like Rob Chudzinski and Butch Davis and all those guys, I spent some time around Kenny as I explored coaching back in 2000.  I decided to enter the business world through a mortgage company called  Home Bank and decided to not pursue the coaching industry but it was something I always had a passion for and love and I continued to stay around some of the Miami qbs.  I then started to do radio broadcasting for FAU and over the last three years got involved in some sports through a weekly college football show called Tailgate Overtime as well as University of Miami football specials called Grilled Iron Gate. Over the last year the mortgage industry has gone through major transitions and the company shut down so I joined Country Wide and over the last year the coaching opportunity evolved. I went down to talk to Randy Shannon about coaching and possibly coming to the University of Miami and coaching.  In the end though, I just felt like it was easier for me to stay in West Palm Beach for my family and explore coaching at the high school level and see how much I do love it and then make a decision over the next five years and then decide if this is something I want to do for the rest of my life and at what level.  If this is something I do love, then I’ll explore coaching at the collegial level. 

pC: Did you have an opportunity at UM? 
SW: After I talked to Randy I think there would have been an opportunity in a graduate assistant position.  With some of his changes, would there have been another opportunity?  Maybe, maybe not.  I was exploring a graduate position with him. 

pC: You said you had a great relationship with Dorsey, do you have a relationship at all with Jacory Harris? 
SW: Not so much.  I saw [Harris and Robert Marve] before the season and talked to them on the sidelines a little bit but I wouldn’t say there is a strong relationship.  Nothing like what I had with Ken Dorsey. 

pC: Are you going to continue your stint with QAM for next season?
SW: No. That’s not going to be able to happen. 

pC: Going back to your Hurricane and NFL days what would you say was the hardest for your transition from UM to the NFL?
SW: Well I think when you go into a different system and different personnel there were a lot of challenges with the level of play.  It becomes that much better and more intense and when I didn’t feel comfortable in some of the offensive systems that we ran, that really didn’t take advantage of my skills, that was probably my challenge. You know the one system that I really felt comfortable in was in Chicago and that’s where my greatest success was. 

pC:What was the most uncomfortable system?
SW: St. Louis or New Orleans.

pC: So would you say that the Bears was your favorite stop?
SW: Yeah. My last year in the league in Indianapolis working with Peyton [Manning] and Tom Moore the Colts was really an unbelievable experience because they had a really unbelievable offensive system and Peyton and I had a relationship from my days with the New Orleans Saints so that was a real good relationship and him and I worked well together. That was a lot of fun and we were successful but certainly for me as a player personally, it was Chicago. 

pC: What was your favorite memories from the UM days?
SW: The comeback victory against Florida State, the comeback victory against Michigan.  Everybody remembers the Norte Dame loss. That’s something I‘d like to forget and then the National Championship against Oklahoma was a great memory of course. Those were just memories that every once in a while you think about a certain play or part of the game. The thing that people most talk to me about was the Michigan comeback. 

pC:How was it having Jimmy Johnson as your head coach?
SW: Jimmy was extremely passionate about being  a champion and being the best.  He would always say be the best and at the end of the day can you say you were the best? That doesn’t happen often in life.  That was what his passion and what he was about and that transcended to the players and we had that thought process and he was able to further it along with his passion. Jimmy was an incredible motivator and gifted speaker and really knew how to push the buttons of his players and that’s what I’ll take from Jimmy.   

pC: What do you think UM needs to do to become the best again?
SW: The playing field is so much more leveled than it was in my day.  You’re going into situations where if you don’t play really good you’re going to get beat and that’s the biggest thing they see about the ACC.  I think they thought they were just going to walk over the ACC and that’s really tough.  They just need to get the confidence back that they can be champions because everyone has talent on both sides of the ball and everyone has scholarships on both sides of the ball.  The difference maker is having the confidence and that confidence comes with success. It’s a fine line having that confidence and that creates success and having success creates confidence.  But when you get both of those things and you obviously mix in the talent there, that’s when you get the national championships.  There was a need for them to upgrade their talent and there is still a need for that but now they have to play with confidence, they have to have the coaches that are going to help instill and coach them on how to make the plays and then you have to go out there and do it. 

pC: So what was then the downfall the program? Do you think it was a lack of talent? Coaching?
SW: I think it’s a combination. When you bring in talent  it doesn’t matter how good they were in their highschool careers, they have to get better.   If they come in saying okay I’m at the University of Miami I’ve made it now, let’s walk over some teams, they’re going to lose.  They have to come in there with the hunger and passion to be the best like Jimmy preached and it doesn’t come easy.  You have to work hard at it and it’s not to say that they don’t work hard but when teams become champions it’s a combination of talent and hard work. 

pC: How did you come from Minnesota all the way down to Miami?
SW: Mark Trestman was the initial guy that was on me. Mark played college football with one of my highschool coaches. I was not getting recruited very heavily and he called Mark and said you want to take a look at this kid, he’s pretty talented and Mark came to take a look at me and immediately Miami started recruiting me. He mentioned me to Howard Schnellenberger at Louisville and Howard started recruiting me but I really didn’t have a lot of options.  Iowa State was always recruiting me but none of the Big Ten schools were really on me. Miami, Louisville, Iowa State, Northwestern were my choices, but it was pretty easy choice at that point. 

pC: Were you a Hurricane fan beforehand? 
SW: Oh no, I had no clue. The only Miami Hurricane game I remember watching was the Boston College game and I just thought that was an unbelievable game on both sides. I was a Kosar fan but it was an unbelievable game Boston College pulled out. I just left the game thinking I’d love to be part of a college that treated the ball like that. 

pC:I say a word and you tell me the first thing that pops in your head:
Randy Shannon: Intelligent
Larry Coker:  [Pause] Solid guy.
Orange Bowl:  A great place to play.
Dolphin Stadium:  Unbelievable facility.
Jimmy Johnson:  Motivational
The Fiesta Bowl:  Forgettable
Nortre Dame:  Intense Rivalry
 
pC: Do you wish that rivalry came back?
SW: I do.  I think both schools need it actually. 

pC:Which school do you think is in better shape?
SW: They [Notre Dame] are just financially. They’ve always been in a better position than Miami.   But as far as quality of the team I would say Miami. 

pC: What do you think of the move to Dolphin Stadium?
SW: I think it needed to happen.  You know Miami could not support what the facility needed done from a long term revenue standpoint for the University.  So I think it’s fine.  As a player, you had that commonality of that field that drew everybody back full circle but bottom line is the facilities are a weak link on campus and from a game day standpoint you’re not going to play in a better stadium than Dolphin Stadium so I think they solved that with one move.  Financially it was a smart move. Though financially it’s been very successful it’s just the field isn’t the same but I guess what are you going to do. 

We at proCanes.com would like to thank Steve Walsh for giving us his time to be our second interviewee for our new feature: "Tracking proCanes."

proCanes.com went down to the "Triple A" on Monday afternoon to have a quick chat with proCane and Chicago Bull John Salmons. John was gracious enough to chat with us briefly after his shoot around. Here is what John had to say:

proCanes: What’s your feeling on coming back to Miami? You’re with the Bulls now, so you’ll be coming back a little more often now.
John Salmons: It’s always good to come back. Every time we come here to play the Heat I see a lot of friends I haven’t seen in a while and we’ll go out to dinner and catch up. It’s always a good time. 

pC: Do you go to campus at all?
JS: No not too much.  

pC: How is it going up against James Jones tonight? Though he has been battling his injury, do you guys keep in touch and talk a little trash?
JS: He is happy to be home. So it’s definitely a blessing for him. He’s hanging in there trying to get his minutes and do what he can do when he is out there.  

pC: Are you following the current Canes?
JS: Yea I have been following them a little bit. It’s going to be hard for them to make the tournament this year. I’m hoping they do well in the ACC tournament.  

pC: What other former teammates do you stay in contact with?
JS: Vernon Jennings, he’s living in Atlanta and doing real well. Paolo, remember Paolo? 

pC: Paolo Coehlo
JS: Yea we stay in touch through one of our managers so I know what’s going on with him. Alex Fraser. 

pC: How about Leonard Hamilton?
JS: Last time I saw him he was actually at Alex Fraser’s wedding. I saw him there and I keep in touch with Stan Jones also. 

pC: How was the transition from the Kings to the Bulls?
JS: It is tough being traded in the middle of the season. You have to pick up all your stuff and move. It’s a totally new situation in the middle of the season. It’s tough but my teammates have been great, the coaches have been great everybody is trying to help me. I have started the last three or four games and I’ll be tsarting tonight so we’ll see.  

pC: Thanks a lot John for your time and good luck tonight.
JS: Thank you 

Part II: Frank’s thoughts on the current state of the program, favorite things, word associations and more! Click here to read Part I.

proCanes: What do you think about the current state of the hurricane football program, and why do you think it went down the way did, and how can it get back up to where it was when you were there?
Frank Costa: If you talk to any of the ex-canes that were there when we were there winning National Championships obviously we are not happy with where we are. Looking at a team like Florida winning two titles in the last three years, that used to be us and now it’s Florida. That’s not a warm and fuzzy feeling that I have in my stomach. You don’t like to see our team play in a bowl game that in my opinion is a very minor bowl. When I was there we played on New Year’s Day every year and that was just a given. We were going to play in one of the four or five major bowls and that was it. I’m not happy with where we are and if you ask Randy he will say the same thing. There is too much talent at their disposal to not win at least 10 games every year in my opinion.

Now, the reason it got that way? From everyone I talked to, after Butch left Coker took over because the core group of guys that were returning and real successful the year before wanted Coker as a head coach. So they kind of forced the hand a little bit and got him to be the head coach. Larry, as much as I know him, love him to death, what a nice guy he was, he really was a nice guy, I am not so sure that he was in the long-term the best guy to take over after Butch was the coach. He did a good job running the offense and had great years with Kenny Dorsey and those guys and they were very dominant at that time but I think recruiting slacked off a little bit and just replenishing the talent was lagging behind and the team started to lose their luster. Right after the Ohio State game I think that is where the program started to turn. You now have to dig yourself out of that hole. You have to get the talent back in. Randy did a great job last year in recruiting. A lot of those guys played and he obviously did a good job. If he keeps recruiting and getting the players in there he can get them back up. It doesn’t take 4 5 years to get back on top. Butch took us back up after Erickson left and we were on probation. We had some down years there because of the probation but Butch got the program right where it was a few years prior. It can be done, and I think it will be done. You just have to get the players there and coach them up.

pC: What's a crazy Story from your days back then?
FC: There were some crazy guys down there that I played with. Some crazy dudes man. I don’t know. Everyday was crazy. Something different would happen. Unbelievable. I can’t think of anything off the top of my head that you could actually put on your website.

pC: Donnell Bennett is now a head coach of a HS team down here. Would you ever think about going into coaching yourself?
FC: Not at this point. I don’t have the time to make a living coaching. If I were to get into coaching, I would have to start at a lower level and my income would not be there. My wife is a stay-at-home mom and for me to support three other people and probably have to pick up and move, I just couldn’t do it. If I was a single guy, maybe, but at this stage of the game, I am 36-years old and been at my company for nine years and I manage a lot of people’s money and thankfully my business has done very well. I couldn’t just toss it out the window. With my competitive nature I would love to do it. I don’t have the time to do that and it wouldn’t be fair to my family to just take my income and get rid of it and take a severe pay cut and be a GA somewhere. As much as I think I would enjoy doing it and this point there is no way.

pC:I say a word and you tell me the first thing that pops in your head:
Randy Shannon: Dedicated
Coker: Good guy
The Orange Bowl: Crazy
Dolphins Stadium: It’s the Dolphins’ stadium
The Ibis: John Routh
Art Kehoe: That’s my man
Erickson: No comment
Coral Gables: Beautiful
Fiesta Bowl: Nightmare

pC: Do you pull for the Eagles as your NFL Team?
FC: I had a personally dealing with them that didn’t go so well. Long story short, one thing was said and another thing was done which kind of gave me a sour taste. I don’t really have an NFL team. I watch the NFL very closely, actually more closely than the college game, believe it or not. I am very much in tune to what is going on in the NFL. I don’t have a particular team I watch, but there are particular players that I love watching play, obviously quarterbacks.

pC: Who’s your favorite QB playing now?
FC: My favorite QB that I like watching play is Peyton. The way he prepares for a game. The mental part that he has going into games and the way he is so in tune to with what is going on, mentally. He is not the most physically gifted quarterback. He is real good at just going to the right place with the ball, making good decisions, getting his team into the right play, making adjustments. I do love watching him. Obviously Brady, hopefully he comes back healthy, because he is such a great competitor. He is so accurate and tough as nails. Kurt Warner, say what you want, if you keep that guy upright he can throw the football as good as anyone who has played the game. Warner throws a beautiful ball. He has a quick release. He doesn’t have a canon for an arm but man can he throw it. I like watching Ben and a lot of these guys but I can watch Brady and Peyton play all day long. They are just so damn good. My favorite of all-time though is Montana. As much as I love Danny [Marino]. Marino is my boy. When I was down there I got a chance to play some golf with him and meet with him. I like Dan personally and no offense to Dan because he could deliver the rock, but Montana in my opinion is a little bit above everyone else.

pC: Do you follow the NBA or Major League Baseball?
FC: I follow baseball more closely than the NBA. I used to be a huge NBA fan but to be honest with you, the way the game gets played now. I don’t love watching the NBA until the playoffs come. I used to watch it religiously but not anymore. I’m a Phillies fan. We finally had a very nice year winning the title and that was great. We had a great ride here with that.

pC: I was pulling for the Phillies because of Pat Burrell.
FC: Pat! He’s not there anymore and down in Tampa now. I pulled for him though. He had ups and downs when he was here. He took a lot of heat. Some of it was warranted. He was very streaky. When he was good, he was real good and when he was bad, he was embarrassingly bad. He would have plate appearances where you would cringe. Trust me, you are talking to probably his number one fan. I would literally almost get into fistfights when people would come down on him. I would back him to the hills. He was here for about 9 years. He had a nice run and his last at-bat was a monster at-bat in World Series. He almost hit it out of there and it ended up being the winning run of the World Series. They really took care of him when they did the parade. He was at the very front of the parade. The fans gave him standing ovation after standing ovation. They kind of knew he was on his way out and they really showed him a lot of appreciation. To be honest with you, as tough as the Philadelphia fans are, they really gave him a free pass for most of the time he was here. They didn’t kill him. I have seen them kill Mike Schmidt and he is arguably the best 3rd baseman to play the game and they would just kill him. They killed everybody. They hate everybody. They took it easy on Burrell. I don’t know why? You always have people with their opinions, but they weren’t tough on him. They didn’t sit and boo him. Here and again they would. For the most part they gave him a free pass. Even people in the media were like why is he getting a free pass? Why aren’t the fans murdering this guy. They really didn’t. Whenever he did something right they always jumped on his back and got behind him. Kind of funny. You don’t hear that about Philadelphia fans. They are brutal. They want Andy Reid and McNabb out of town.

pC: Favorite Food?
FC: Crabs with spaghetti. My wife is an excellent cook. She is Italian as well and she can cook her butt off. She makes a crab sauce with spaghetti that is out of this world. That’s my favorite dish.

pC: Favorite Band or Group?
FC: It’s funny. Being the old man I am at 36, I listen to the financial channel when I am in my car because it is what I do. I try to keep up on things. I listen to a lot of sports radio because I am obviously a sports fan. That consumes most of my radio time. When I am listening to music, I am usually listening to the old bands. Led Zepplin is probably a band I will sit and enjoy the most.

pC: Movie you could watch over and over?
FC: The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

pC: TV Show other than Dancing with the Stars?
FC: [Laughter] The Office

pC: What do you do in your spare time?
FC: My spare time, when I have it, I love being with boys and my wife. I am very fortunate to have a healthy and happy family. We’re close, so if I’m not at work or with my clients I am with the kids and my wife just watching the kids grow. I can have the worst day in the world and when I walk in that front door and see my kids’ face, I forget about it.

pC: Websites you check daily?
FC: Obviously I go on my company’s website and the financial websites and check that boring stuff out, nothing that would be too interesting. I always check out ESPN.com and your news channels and things like that. YouTube is a great site! They’ve got some funny stuff on there.

pC: Back to your college days for one more question.Is there one play that sticks out? One you reminisce about or one you remember as one of your best plays?
FC: One of my best plays? Oh, I don’t know. To be honest with you, it’s funny. This conversation we are having right now is probably the most football I’ve talked about myself in ten years. I really don’t talk football a lot about myself. I don’t talk about my own career hardly at all. Not with my wife, not with my friends. Because, although there are good memories and it was a great experience and I had the opportunity to play with guys that are future Hall of Famers and got a chance to be on national TV and the front cover of magazines, there was also some unfulfilled dreams of playing in the NFL and my experience in Miami wasn’t all good. I never watch any of my old games. They’re on tape, my parents taped them. It’s hard, it’s not easy for me to go and watch my old games. I would rather just live in the now. Not the past. To be honest with you, I don’t think about my own career or talk about it at all. Sometimes it can be a little bit depressing. I had expectations of going on and playing in the NFL, having success and I felt like a lot of those things were taken from me for whatever reason. The opportunities to pursue I felt were taken away from me and it was a hard pill for me to swallow. It was a very tough transition for me after I had decided that football was over, to move on. I know it is for a lot of athletes. I know I am not the only one in that boat but it was tough to pick myself up and figure out what to do with the rest of my life. I have gotten past it and thankfully I have a great job and have been successful and moved but it’s something I don’t think about it anymore.

Click here to read Part I

We at proCanes.com would like to thank Frank Costa for giving us his time to do be the first interviewee for our new feature "Tracking proCanes." Stay tuned to next week when we will have an interview with another former QB from the U who not only won a national championship but had a long career in the NFL.

proCanes.com is kicking off a new “Tracking proCanes” feature where we will talk to stars from the past about their days at the “U,” the pro’s and what they are doing now. To kickoff the new feature proCanes.com spoke with former starting quarterback Frank Costa. Costa started the ’93 and ’94 seasons for the ‘Canes finishing with a 19-3 record as a starter. His career included a quarterback controversy in ’93 but was also highlighted with wins over Colorado and a memorable win over top-ranked Florida State in ’94 in front of a raucous crowd at night in the Orange Bowl. Read below as Frank talks about his high-school days, days as a Hurricane, pro and more!.

Part I: Where is Frank now? His days as a Hurricane and more!.

proCanes: Could you first let the fans know what you have been up to since you left UM?
Frank Costa: Well I’m originally from Philly, and after Miami, I just kind of bounced around while still calling Miami home-base. I graduated in ‘94 and after that, I came back home to Philly and got ready for the draft and everything else. For whatever reason it didn’t go as well as we wanted it to and I ended up going to Cleveland briefly. Things weren’t working out there, so I went to the Miami Dolphins briefly and then to Philly to the Eagles. I just kind of kicked around but never really got anything going with any of those situations. None of those situations were actually very good for me in regards to having a legitimate chance to compete for even a 3rd string position.

I then went over to Europe, played in London for a couple of years. Then I came back here and played for the Regional Football League, which was around just for one year. I played for the Mobile Admirals. It had a regional concept. There were 6 teams to start off in the first year and they had a regionalized draft so if you went to school in Florida, or Georgia, or Alabama, you would play for that team. It was actually a really fun league, the competition was good. I mean half of our roster had ex-NFL players on it. We had some decent players on our team and we ended up winning a championship and that was really fun. I totally would have gone back for a second year. At that point I had some endorsement deals and everything lined up but the league folded because we couldn’t secure some TV deal, so that kind of hurt.

After that I was just traveling so much, I was getting ready to get married, I really needed something more stable and trust me if football was working out for me I would’ve pursued it, but I was spinning my wheels. I needed something more stable so I moved back to the Philadelphia area for good and I got into financial planning back in October of 2000. I’ve been a financial advisor since then. I’m in my ninth year now. I’m with AXA and I got married in December of 2000. I’ve been living in Jersey for a while. So that’s kind of where I am now.

pC: Have any kids?
FC: I’ve got a couple of boys. A four-year old boy and a one year old.

pC: Is the four year old throwing a football yet?
FC: He played flag football this year. It was his first year playing and he’ll play tee-ball in the Spring. He enjoys it. He likes to run around. Typical boy. I mean they’re both big kids. My one year old, he’s huge. He’s like in the 99th percentile. He’s a big bruiser. It will be interesting to see.

pC: Do you come down at all to any games?
FC: You know I haven’t been down for a couple of years. The last time I was there was for the home opener when they played Colorado. I was at that game and I haven’t been down since. It’s kind of hard with the kids. Just taking them on the plane. I do follow from afar. I watch them on TV. But I don’t travel to games.

pC: Do you keep in touch with any former team-mates or coaches?
FC: Well, to be honest, I used to keep in touch with Art Kehoe, who was the offensive line coach down there forever. He’s from the Pennsylvania area and he recruited me. I had a good relationship with Art and through a couple of the coaching changes he stuck around. Erickson left and he was there with Butch, and then when Butch left he was there with Coker, and I would always give him a call and see what’s going on. He ended up getting fired, and going to Ole Miss and I haven’t spoken to him in about a year or so.

pC: So Art Kehoe recruited you, were you a Miami fan growing up? Were they always on your list?
FC: I was always a Penn State fan. I grew up in Philly and I always rooted for Penn State growing up since it was our local team, but I always did admire Miami as much as anybody. They were really, at the time in the 80’s, revolutionizing the quarterback position at the college level. They were doing things that just weren’t being done. Coming out of the 70’s most teams were pounding the ball and running the power sweep and pro-passing style offense wasn’t really happening in most colleges. When Bernie Kosar was there and they won the first national title that’s when they really started implementing that and when you’re a quarterback you really admire those things; throwing the ball, spreading the field, they had their quarter back making a lot of decisions. So I was a Miami fan and because my appearance, physically, a lot of people compared me to Vinny Testaverde. My high school friends would tease me and call me CostaVerde and all that stuff. The Miami thing was always there. When I was getting recruited my senior year of high school there were a lot schools recruiting me but it really came down to Miami and Penn State at the finish line. Those were the two schools for me.

pC: When you got down there, you were behind Gino, who won the Heisman. He was a tough act to follow. What would you say was the toughest thing about playing here at UM?
FC: I was kind of young, I was still 17 years old, turning 18 in that September. So it was great to get a chance to red-shirt and sit and see Craig Erickson play his senior year and then get a chance to back up Gino for two years. I never really played any meaningful games during that time but got the chance to be around someone who won the Heisman Trophy and just got to pick his brain. He had a ton of success doing it the right way and I learned a lot from him. And then, when it came time for me to start playing in ‘93, really the toughest thing was the expectations b/c we were so competitive every single year being top 1,2, or 3 team in the country.

We had a tremendous turnover in our roster that year. We only had one offensive lineman returning, the other four guys graduated. We had no receivers coming back; we had no tightends coming back so they were all new. Our running back, Donnell Bennett, had played the year before so we essentially had one or two starters coming back on offense and I was obviously new as well. Our defense had a lot of turnover as well. We went from having an extremely talented group of wide-outs with Lamar Thomas, Horace Copeland, Kevin Williams, Darryl Spencer, and Coleman Bell to all new guys stepping in. We didn’t have any playing experience, so the expectation level was very high for us to continue the success that was there for so long, but we were all getting in and getting our ears wet at the same time, so it was hard. We weren’t an experienced group, and we all made mistakes kind of becoming acclimated to the college game. So that was probably the toughest part and the expectations were extremely high. When they weren’t seeing it on the field the fans weren’t real happy with us and neither were we. We didn’t go to Miami to not play well and not compete for a National Championship.

pC: Talk about the '93 season.
FC: We were a very inexperienced group in ‘93 and we actually started off pretty well that season. We won our first game in Boston College. BC was top 20 that year. We went up there opening game and beat them pretty handily and then we came back and played Virginia Tech at home and we beat them like 21 to nothing [21-2] and at the time the game was ugly, we didn’t play well but we did beat them 21 to nothing. That was really the first year Frank Beamer had that team going. They ended up finishing in the top 20 as well so at the time it looked like we only beat VT who had been a doormat for so long 21-0. But looking back, in hindsight, that was when they really started becoming a program.

Then we played the big game up in Colorada, they were like #5 in the country at the time with the big fight, Kordell Stewart, Johnson the wideout, Westbrook and Rashan Salaam. They had a really good team and we ended up beating those guys up there. It was a huge win for us. As inexperienced as we were and as ugly as it looked at times we were playing pretty well. We were 3-0 and we beat three pretty good teams, 2 were on the road. We came home against Georgia Southern. I played very poorly in that game and still don’t have an explanation why. Probably took them a little too lightly since they were a 1-AA team and we had Florida State coming up the next week, kind of a sandwich game between Colorado and Florida State, typical look-over game. Obviously it is stupid to do that but that’s what happened and I didn’t play real well in that game and ended up getting benched for the second half. Then we went to Tallahassee and played Florida State who ended up winning a national title that year. We hung in there for the first 3 quarters. We had more first downs, more total yards and time of possession. We just didn’t execute real well in the red zone and they ended up scoring a touchdown on us to make the lead 11, I believe. Then it came down to the 4th quarter. I started pressing and trying to comeback and threw an interception returned for a touchdown and then I got benched and that was it for my junior year. They started Ryan Collins for the rest of the way.

pC: What would you say was your toughest memory of your entire career, would it be that FSU game or the Washington game?
FC: The Florida State game was a tough pill to swallow, but in all honesty they were just a better team than us and they had us at home. You have to remember going into that game they were a 14-point favorite. They just had a better team than us that year. They had more experience. We had beaten them something like 4 years in a row. You know eventually a team like Florida State, they are going to get you once and again. They caught us at a real good spot; the game was closer than the score indicated. So, I wouldn’t say the Florida State game was such a bad memory. We got beat, and that sucks but the subsequent benching was the most difficult time I had at Miami and mainly because I felt like the finger was getting pointed at me. It was all my fault, it was no one else’s fault. I was very clear with Coach Erickson at that time, that I was unhappy with the decision he made because I felt I was being made the scapegoat. We led the nation in dropped passes at that point. We were averaging 5 drops a game but none of the receivers got benched. The schedule got real soft after that. Four out of our first 5 games were against top teams and then after that we played some really weak teams. He benches me, Ryan comes in and he played well. In my opinion I felt it was against some weaker competition, so Coach Erickson looks like a genius because he now makes the QB change, we’re winning games, except for the West Virginia game which we ended up losing up there, which I didn’t even play in. We then went to the bowl game and we got whipped against Arizona and then I had a long talk with Coach Erickson after that game basically saying you have to let me compete for this job, or I have to go somewhere else.

pC: So, you did think of transferring at some point?
FC: Absolutely. At that point I was very much frustrated with my situation. I waited a really long time, very patiently, for three years to get an opportunity to play and I felt like the way it shook out I wasn’t given the opportunity that I thought I deserved, so I just flat out told him: I do have a decision to make, but if you give me the opportunity in the spring to compete for the job and if at the end of spring you can tell me I don’t deserve the start then that’s fine. I don’t think that will be the case but I need it to be fair. And he promised me that, that would be the case. We went into the spring and I ended up winning the job and got a chance to play my senior year.

pC: What about the Washington game?
FC: The Washington game, that was tough. It was more fluky than anything else. I think if we played Washington ten times that year we beat them 9 times, they weren’t better than us, if you look at that game a five-minute span is what changed it. We were up 14-3 at halftime and we had all the momentum in the world on our side and then some strange things happened in a 5-minute period.

pC: Including the coin toss…
FC: We kicked off both halves. You know Warren Sapp made a real nice decision before the game to elect to kickoff and not defer when we won the toss so we ended up kicking off both halves. They get the ball and they run a screen pass to their fullback of all players and he goes for like 80 yards. They kickoff to us, we get the ball back, I throw an out-route to Jammi German and he falls, so the corner sitting there he takes it for six. We fumbled the next kickoff, I think, and they got the ball at the 5 yard-line and scored again. They scored like 20 unanswered points in like 4 or 5 minutes span. It changed the game. They ended up beating us and that was hard. We had the streak going and that is obviously one that lasts forever and you didn’t want to be the guys to lose that streak but that didn’t hurt as much to me, personally, as the Nebraska Game. The Nebraska game was the toughest loss to deal with, because there was so much on the line at that time.

pC: How Was Erickson as a coach? Many say he ran a loose operation? How was your relationship with him since he was an offensive guru at the time?
FC: The program was run loosely by him. He was by no means the strict disciplinarian. He wasn’t your Tom Coughlin-like coach. Coming on the heels of Jimmy, I don’t think Jimmy was either. Miami had that rebel kind of aura about them and I don’t think that changed a whole lot. I think it changed when Butch got there, but I didn’t play for Butch but I just know from talking to some of the guys. Dennis let a lot of things go. Say what you want about Dennis and he has flaws just like we all do, but he was good at game planning. Attacking weaknesses in the defense and creating mismatches. That was one thing that he was good at. I think his people skills and dealing with college kids is probably where he wasn’t as strong. And particularly in my situation, we would go at it. We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, obviously the benching we didn’t see eye-to-eye on. And that kind of hit me square between the eyes. My senior year we got along well enough to compete for the National Championship on New Years Day but my relationship with Dennis when it’s all said and done; we haven’t talked to each other since New Year’s Day in 1995. Let’s put it that way.

pC: Who is the toughest guy to go up against in practice that you had to face on a daily basis and who was the best player on your team at the time?
FC: Ray Lewis was still younger. Ray was a freshman in ‘93 and sophomore in ‘94. Not that he wasn’t a good player because he was, but he wasn’t quite the man that he became. Let’s put it that way. But you could see he was going to be that type of guy. But Warren was closer to my year. Sapp could be real dominant when he felt like it in practice and most of the time he did feel like it and he was real hard to go up against. There were times at practice where they had to take him off the field just so we could get some stuff done on the offense because we couldn’t block him. He was the best player that in practice I would go up against but I’m not really going up against him and I don’t block him but I just have to go up against the defense. He was the best player on our team by far. He really was probably the best defensive player in the country that year. I know he didn’t get the Outland trophy, which that was really a robbery, but he was dominant. He was dominant that whole year and if it wasn’t for the incident at [NFL] Combine then he would have been a top five pick. He was just so quick and so strong and just a great athlete and that’s why he was so successful at the NFL level. The guy has some great athletic ability and for him to be that big and move that well. He could even dance. I didn’t watch the show [Dancing with the Stars] but I heard he did a pretty good job on the show too.

pC: So who would you say you were closest to on the team in terms of teammates? Who was your best friend or guys that you really hung out with a lot?
FC: I was close with Gino when he was there. Obviously after he graduated he moved on with his life so that was it, but he was one of my closer friends my first couple of years. A couple of offensive lineman, some nondescript guys who I still stay in touch with were my friends. One guy wasn’t even on scholarship the other guy didn’t play a whole lot. But of the guys that were on the field and playing, to be honest with you, I didn’t have a real tight relationship off the field, for a number of reasons. For me personally once football was over, because it was such a huge part of my life, I would remove myself from it on a personal basis and kind of hang out with the people that weren’t on the team just to get an outlet and get away. The other thing is in ‘93, I felt like most of the team sided with Ryan. When Ryan took over he was the player of choice on the team. And that kind of hurt too, so I didn’t have a super close relationship with most guys on the team. It was more of a working relationship. I respected them, they respected me. I got along with the guys, it’s not that I didn’t get along with them, but as far as personal relationship, there was nothing real super close with those guys.

pC: You went through a lot in terms of the time with Ryan. What did you think about the quarterback situation this past year with playing both Robert Marve and Jacory Harris?
FC: Well that’s a hard thing. I think if you talk to any quarterback they are not in favor of that. Just from being competitive, for one. But two, it’s tough to get in a rhythm. Quarterback is very much a rhythm position and you need to get a feel for the game and it’s real hard to do that if you’re coming in and out of the game. Very seldom will you see an offense be consistent when they have more than one quarterback playing the position. It’s very, very seldom. I don’t agree with it. I never have and to say at the beginning of the game we’re going to put a guy in these situations. I would never like that as a starter. And it’s hard for the back up too. The guy has to come in cold off the bench to try in and get into the flow of the game in a couple of plays of the game or a couple of series of the game. It’s not easy to do. Listen, Randy has a reason why he’s doing it and obviously he is the Head Coach and knows a hell of a lot more than I do, but I don’t know of any quarterback that would be okay with that. Then you’re looking over your shoulder you never feel real comfortable with your situation that if you make a bad throw and you’re going to get yanked and maybe yanked for good in the games. I wouldn’t like it. That’s not something I could see how you could be 100% comfortable as a quarterback if you have that lingering on your shoulder.

pC: Who was the most influential person in developing your game and becoming a very good college quarterback to say the least?
FC: I had influences from a couple of people along the way. My dad always helped me in any way he could. In athletics period. Not that my dad was a quarterback because he was not, he was an athlete. He was not a quarterback so he would find out who was the best or smartest guy around in the Philadelphia area as far as quarterbacks were concerned or quarterback knowledge and go pick that guy’s brain and have me work with that person. If he didn’t know the answer, he would figure it out and he always instilled a lot of good things as far as qualities are concerned: hardwork, outwork the other guy, if your team goes out and practice that great go practice with them but when they’re not practicing you can go out there and get better them. So, he instilled a lot of qualities that not only translate to athletics but also in the world. I was gifted by being 6’4” and having a good arm but the other stuff all came from just busting my rear end. He was a huge influence.

I worked with Rich Ganonn. Rich and I went to the same high school. So Rich and my head coach in high-school were classmates. In the summertime before my junior year and also before my senior year I did work with Rich throwing the ball and he taught me a lot. He was influential.

When I got to college, Gino was very instrumental in helping me learn about the college game and Bernie Kosar would call. I did speak with him [Bernie] a lot and he was a good guy. When I was going through my tough times I spoke to him quite a few times. He was actually going through a similar situation in Cleveland at the time with Vinny and Belicheck. He didn’t have to do that but as I’m sure you’ve heard in the past Bernie is just that kind of guy. He was a guy that I had looked up to prior to getting to Miami. He was just a great guy to talk to. He gave me a lot of good solid advice through some tough times in my life. I will always be grateful to Bernie and what he did for me.

pC: Why the #11?
FC: I was 14 in high school not because of the CostaVerde thing. The whole CostaVerde thing stemmed from me wearing #14, being the Italian guy, being dark hair, 6’4, kind of looked like him a little bit, our playing styles were similar so that was always my number. When I got to Miami it was retired because Vinny had won the Heisman, so I wasn’t able to get that and my two choices were #11 because Dale Dawkins had just graduated or #15. I didn’t really like #15, so I took #11 because basically it was available.

pC: When you were at UM, how was it in terms of film study as the QB. I hear Kyle Wright wasn’t big on studying film. How much time did you spend in the film room? How important is that?
FC: My studying of film began at a young age. Even when Gino was playing, I did a lot of film study. You always had to be prepared as a backup but also it’s a good habit to get in to. Personally, I watched a lot of film, just to get an idea of what the other team is trying to do.

pC: Were you ever able to call your own plays?
FC: As far as calling my own plays. I always had the liberty to check at the line. Dennis would send in the plays unless it was the 2-minute drill. When you come to the line of scrimmage and see something he would have no problem with me calling my own play. If he calls a play and you were going to run directly into the blitz he would prefer you to check out of it into a better play. There was always the liberty to do that.

pC: Who was your favorite target?
FC: Chris T. Jones. He played for a couple of years for the Eagles but then got hurt and bounced out of the league. Chris was my best receiver at the time, and probably my favorite target.

pC: Where was the toughest place to play?
FC: The toughest places I went to, other than playing Temple at the Vet and playing on that field. That field was like playing on concrete. Thank god that place has been imploded and mind you I grew up about 2 blocks from that stadium. What a *hit-hole it was. In Tallahassee is not an easy place to play. It is loud there, a lot of fans, they play that damn song the whole game. Syracuse is just a really loud place because of the dome [Carrier Dome]. We went up there in 1992 and that was actually the year before I started playing and we almost got beat up there. Then we played up there in 1994, in fact they broke a record for attendance that game. You couldn’t hear yourself think. That’s probably the loudest place. That was really a loud stadium. To be honest some of the games we had at the Orange Bowl, when we had Florida State my senior year at night that place was rocking. That place was crazy that night. I don’t know if I have been in a stadium that crazy. We played at Penn State with 100,000 people but they weren’t as loud as the 80,000 in the Orange Bowl. No way.

pC: What do you think about the move to DS?
FC: I know why they did it. You talk to any of the old ‘Canes and the Orange Bowl is our home. The stadium isn’t even in Miami. It’s hard and I know why they did it and they had to do it. I completely get it, but to me it’s not home. When they started playing the Orange Bowl game there, to me it wasn’t the Orange Bowl anymore. It is what it is and until they build something else, that’s where we’ll be playing. I don’t particularly like it. The Orange Bowl wasn’t a nice place, it was old, outdated but it had a lot of charm to it and the people in the city liked the place. I know why they did it, but I just don’t like it.

Click here to read Part II.