'Canes Eyeing Return to Glory

No. 9 Miami Regaining Lost Swagger Following Lean Period of Mediocrity

MIAMI -- The old University of Miami Hurricanes went down in college football lore by wearing combat fatigues on a flight to a bowl game. This year's squad features a sophomore quarterback who arrived at the season opener decked out in a fedora, puffy scarf, blazer and Gucci sunglasses.

Ten days later against Georgia Tech, the quarterback, Jacory Harris, topped a color-coordinated ensemble with a red and blue hat, and he finished it with one red shoe and one blue shoe.

"The first thing I'm thinking about is, 'Tim Tebow doesn't dress like this,' " defensive back Randy Phillips said. "In the beginning, as a senior leader, I'm thinking, 'This kid better go out and impress me or I'm going to be really mad at him.' "

There has been no cause for anger so far. Harris said during a radio show in July that he might wear a pink suit to the Heisman ceremony if he gets an invitation. And in what might be the strangest part of the whole story, Harris is, in fact, in the Heisman conversation.

Perhaps stranger still? The all-but-forgotten Hurricanes, who hadn't made an appearance in the top 10 in four years, landed at No. 9 this week after season-opening victories over No. 18 Florida State and No. 14 Georgia Tech. This Saturday, the Hurricanes travel to Blacksburg, Va., to face No. 11 Virginia Tech, the third of four straight ranked opponents on Miami's schedule (the Hurricanes host No. 10 Oklahoma on Oct. 3).

"A lot of people, four weeks ago, said we were going to go 0-4," offensive lineman Orlando Franklin said. "Everything is coming together. We know what we're capable of doing. Coming into the season, we came in here to shock the world."

They've certainly provided a jolt to the college football community. Miami finished 7-6 and lost to California in the Emerald Bowl last season. The year before, the Hurricanes lost six of their last seven games, including a 48-0 drubbing by Virginia in their final game at the famed Orange Bowl. Coach Randy Shannon attempted to make a statement by removing players' surnames from their uniform jerseys at the start of his tenure in 2007; by the end of the season, they surely preferred to be anonymous.

"It's really hard when you see guys like [former Miami stars] Warren Sapp around, [Jonathan] Vilma, all of them working out, they're all like, 'Y'all got to get it back,' " Franklin said. We "know what it was like here back in the day. They were just dominant, running through teams. We want to live up to that."

This year's team features a combination of mature seniors and maturing underclassmen (the squad includes 53 freshmen and sophomores), many lured from Miami's top inner-city programs by Shannon, who played high school football in Miami and won a national title as a Hurricanes linebacker in 1987.

Despite the program's struggles, Shannon has claimed some of the region's top recruits by telling them they would get a chance to play immediately -- 21 true freshmen saw time in the 2008 opener -- while painting the new Hurricanes as a big family.

In January, Shannon also persuaded veteran NFL assistant Mark Whipple, Ben Roethlisberger's quarterbacks coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2004 to 2006, to leave the Philadelphia Eagles to become Miami's offensive coordinator. Players describe Whipple's approach as professional and businesslike. During meetings, he will show video of errors made during games and practices, not to embarrass players, but to explain how to correct problems.

Embarrassment, whether intended or not, is a huge motivating factor. Players say the offense's play has gotten cleaner as members of the starting unit attempt to avoid being highlighted negatively. The unit's success -- Harris ranks third in the nation in passing efficiency (184.07); running back Graig Cooper is third in all-purpose yards per game (209) -- has bred confidence in Whipple's methods.