Mike Rumph still remembers the solo workouts, the way he and his teammates would often go into the weight room or onto the practice field on their own, without guidance from coaches.
During that stretch when the former Hurricanes corner Rumph lined up with some of the greatest players to ever don Miami’s orange and green, there was a sense of ownership, of pride several of those Hurricanes greats have said they want see this new generation of players in Coral Gables replicate.
And Rumph, now a cornerbacks coach at his alma mater, is trying to do his part to make that happen.
He regales his players with stories from his championship playing days, detailing the commitment Miami’s players had to the program, the kind of work they put in to make the Hurricanes a force.
It’s nothing his players can’t do themselves, Rumph says. And if they do, it’s only a matter of time, he believes, before Miami can again become the program everyone here wants to see it be.
“I think we did a good job when I was playing just kind of starting that intensity from within,” Rumph said. “Now the fire is starting from the coaches, but the kids are starting to pick up what we mean by being intense. You see guys like Chad Thomas getting on the team. You see Jermaine Grace really firing the team up and understanding each situation we want to win. I’ve seen that. … I’m waiting for them to go ahead and say, ‘This is our team. You guys coach us, but this is our team.’… That’s when we’re going to transition to, I want to say, a national type of team.”
A change in attitude isn’t the only progress Rumph says he’s seeing from the Hurricanes, who will host an open scrimmage at West Palm Beach’s Oxbridge Academy on Saturday afternoon before wrapping up the spring with two more workouts and their annual spring game on April 16 at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
In terms of the group he’s working with specifically, Rumph has seen a young group gain invaluable experience. And rising senior Corn Elder, who endeared himself to Hurricanes fans with his dazzling game-winning kickoff return against Duke last October, has taken on the kind of leadership role the Hurricanes need from their veteran players.
Those are the kind of things Miami’s cornerbacks need, considering the team is losing veterans Artie Burns, who declared for the NFL Draft, and Tracy Howard, who is graduating. So far, Elder has performed well in camp, Rumph said, as has rising sophomore Sheldrick Redwine.
But as several Hurricanes coaches have said throughout the spring, there is still work to be done.
“I see guys competing. I see guys trying to beat each other out at different positions. It’s all you’d want to see in five sophomores and a senior,” said Rumph. “They’re open to what’s being taught. They’re up for the challenge every day. Are they where they need to be at? No, but they understand that. The ceiling is high for them. We’re not setting a low standard. The standard is off the charts, and that’s what they have to adjust to.”
It’s just not his players that have had to adapt. This spring has been a new experience for Rumph too.
A year ago, he was heading a state-championship caliber high school program at American Heritage in Plantation. In January, new coach Mark Richt gave him the opportunity to join the college coaching ranks. And for Rumph, the chance to return to Miami and help the Hurricanes get better was a no-brainer.
And now, as a coach, Rumph says he’s driven by the same desire he felt here as a player.
“My main fear was letting Michael Irvin or Ray Lewis or any cornerback down that played at the University of Miami. I could not let them down any time on this field,” Rumph said. “It was instilled from the ’80s through what we were bringing up in the late ’90s as players in South Florida. … When the alumni come and meet coach Richt and our staff and watches these practices, I haven’t had one alumni say it was mediocre. They say it was intense, it was what they thought it would be. We’re making strides. Don’t want to let them down. It’s me, it’s my name on it. There’s a sense of pride in that and I take it home every night and come here, ready with my hard hat every day to get these guys better.”
; On Twitter @ChristyChirinos
