Back in January, former Georgia junior CB Tyrique Stevenson made the decision to move back to South Florida and transfer to his hometown school in the Miami Hurricanes. The move was big for both parties, as Stevenson was a highly-touted recruit that was considered a rising star in Athens, while the Canes desperately needed instant help at the cornerback position. At UGA, Stevenson was mainly used at nickel, but is getting the opportunity to play on the outside boundary for the first time at Miami, where he’ll be immediately eligible in 2021.
“Whatever I play, I always have something to prove,” Stevenson said. “As far as me getting this opportunity at corner, I feel I do have a lot to prove because I have not been at the cornerback position in two years. Me and coach (Kirby) Smart came up with a bunch of [reasons] why I couldn’t play corner there, things didn’t work out. I feel I do have a lot to prove here and I’m excited about the opportunity I have to play on the outside.”
A big part of his decision to transfer back to his native South Florida? Homesickness says Stevenson.
“My first few months there [at UGA], I had a problem sleeping,” said Stevenson. “We got that situated, but it was more like I missed my family — not more of the city of Miami. I miss Miami, but it was more like I missed my father, sisters and my mom, so I really did get homesick for a few months up there.”
With the desire to be closer to home the primary reason Stevenson entered his name into the transfer portal, it was ironic then to hear that wanting to leave home was actually a deciding factor in his original decision to choose Georgia over UM when he was coming out of Miami Southridge back in the class of 2019.
“The decision to go to Georgia over Miami was a family decision, me and my mom came to a mutual agreement,” Stevenson said. “She felt it would be better if I got out of the surrounding of Miami. I’m not from a real safe neighborhood, we came to an agreement that stepping out would be the best move for me.
“With me coming back, it was more I know what I have to do with my academics and as far as my football career. I know what I have to do. I explained to my mom not too many things distract me and I’m not going to let things distract me and I should have stayed at Miami and built that here instead of trying to build it somewhere else. I built it at Georgia and I came back and explained to my mom I know what I have to do and I know I’ll do it, so there’s nothing to worry about, like the worries you had (about Miami) when I first signed with Georgia.”
When it became known Stevenson was available, the 6’0” 202 pound corner says it was UM head coach Manny Diaz that pushed for him the hardest, a change-up from how their relationship was during his high school recruitment two years back when Diaz was Miami’s defensive coordinator.
“The first thing I mentioned to [Diaz] - ‘I’m going to have to be the first one to rock the chain this year, and I plan on rocking it a lot this year,’” Stevenson said. “He was like, ‘I won’t hold it from you, and if you want me to, I’ll hand it to you every time you get your interception.’”
“Me talking to coach Diaz in high school and now, it’s a different type of relationship… (In high school) he wasn’t really hands-on with recruiting. (But now) he was the first to call me when I had my name in the portal. We talked 20, 30 minutes, and he gave me this idea, this vibe, `I’m going to coach you hard, want you to do everything right to prepare yourself for the next level and I’ll give you all the tools to do it.’”
With spring ball expected to start sometime next week, Stevenson is looking to show he can make an early impact, nail down a starting job, and impress Miami’s new secondary coaches in DB coach Travaris Robinson and CB coach DeMarcus Van Dyke.
"They are eager, want to make sure things are done right - DVD and T-Rob are all about the details,” Stevenson said. “I go through the plays and they break it down to me. I’ve never had a coach really show me how he wants it broken down, and coach DVD and T-Rob show us how it’s done.”
Of the transition to Miami, Stevenson says he is slowly gaining his footing and getting comfortable in the day-to-day environment of Coral Gables.
“It has been tough keeping up with the academics and workouts, but I’m very excited to be part of this team,” Stevenson said. “We do (mat) drills Tuesdays and Thursdays and everyone comes out with great attitudes and works. I’m happy to be a part of it, add my fuel to the fire that these guys already had.”
Before he made the decision to transfer to Miami, Stevenson says he spoke with some of UM’s defensive upperclassmen leaders, including CB DJ Ivey, STRK Gilbert Frierson, and S Gurvan Hall.
“They were really just telling me `We all came back for a reason,’ were excited I came to help them out for a final season here, hopefully my final season (before declaring for the NFL Draft)… The guys have this sense of urgency, this sense of dedication to the program, the team. The leaders are being leaders. They’re doing a great job. I’m just trying to fall in line.”
“Whatever I play, I always have something to prove,” Stevenson said. “As far as me getting this opportunity at corner, I feel I do have a lot to prove because I have not been at the cornerback position in two years. Me and coach (Kirby) Smart came up with a bunch of [reasons] why I couldn’t play corner there, things didn’t work out. I feel I do have a lot to prove here and I’m excited about the opportunity I have to play on the outside.”
A big part of his decision to transfer back to his native South Florida? Homesickness says Stevenson.
“My first few months there [at UGA], I had a problem sleeping,” said Stevenson. “We got that situated, but it was more like I missed my family — not more of the city of Miami. I miss Miami, but it was more like I missed my father, sisters and my mom, so I really did get homesick for a few months up there.”
With the desire to be closer to home the primary reason Stevenson entered his name into the transfer portal, it was ironic then to hear that wanting to leave home was actually a deciding factor in his original decision to choose Georgia over UM when he was coming out of Miami Southridge back in the class of 2019.
“The decision to go to Georgia over Miami was a family decision, me and my mom came to a mutual agreement,” Stevenson said. “She felt it would be better if I got out of the surrounding of Miami. I’m not from a real safe neighborhood, we came to an agreement that stepping out would be the best move for me.
“With me coming back, it was more I know what I have to do with my academics and as far as my football career. I know what I have to do. I explained to my mom not too many things distract me and I’m not going to let things distract me and I should have stayed at Miami and built that here instead of trying to build it somewhere else. I built it at Georgia and I came back and explained to my mom I know what I have to do and I know I’ll do it, so there’s nothing to worry about, like the worries you had (about Miami) when I first signed with Georgia.”
When it became known Stevenson was available, the 6’0” 202 pound corner says it was UM head coach Manny Diaz that pushed for him the hardest, a change-up from how their relationship was during his high school recruitment two years back when Diaz was Miami’s defensive coordinator.
“The first thing I mentioned to [Diaz] - ‘I’m going to have to be the first one to rock the chain this year, and I plan on rocking it a lot this year,’” Stevenson said. “He was like, ‘I won’t hold it from you, and if you want me to, I’ll hand it to you every time you get your interception.’”
“Me talking to coach Diaz in high school and now, it’s a different type of relationship… (In high school) he wasn’t really hands-on with recruiting. (But now) he was the first to call me when I had my name in the portal. We talked 20, 30 minutes, and he gave me this idea, this vibe, `I’m going to coach you hard, want you to do everything right to prepare yourself for the next level and I’ll give you all the tools to do it.’”
With spring ball expected to start sometime next week, Stevenson is looking to show he can make an early impact, nail down a starting job, and impress Miami’s new secondary coaches in DB coach Travaris Robinson and CB coach DeMarcus Van Dyke.
"They are eager, want to make sure things are done right - DVD and T-Rob are all about the details,” Stevenson said. “I go through the plays and they break it down to me. I’ve never had a coach really show me how he wants it broken down, and coach DVD and T-Rob show us how it’s done.”
Of the transition to Miami, Stevenson says he is slowly gaining his footing and getting comfortable in the day-to-day environment of Coral Gables.
“It has been tough keeping up with the academics and workouts, but I’m very excited to be part of this team,” Stevenson said. “We do (mat) drills Tuesdays and Thursdays and everyone comes out with great attitudes and works. I’m happy to be a part of it, add my fuel to the fire that these guys already had.”
Before he made the decision to transfer to Miami, Stevenson says he spoke with some of UM’s defensive upperclassmen leaders, including CB DJ Ivey, STRK Gilbert Frierson, and S Gurvan Hall.
“They were really just telling me `We all came back for a reason,’ were excited I came to help them out for a final season here, hopefully my final season (before declaring for the NFL Draft)… The guys have this sense of urgency, this sense of dedication to the program, the team. The leaders are being leaders. They’re doing a great job. I’m just trying to fall in line.”
