PLAYERS ON GOLDEN
Tight end Clive Walford and linebacker Denzel Perryman both defended Golden following Saturday’s loss.
Walford went as far as to tell his teammates “forget about [Senior Day]. Let’s [beat Pitt] for Coach Golden.”
“Clive pretty much just said it all,” Perryman said. “It’s time for us to take the blame and get the load off Coach Golden. Like Clive said, he always gets up here in front of you all and puts the losses on the coaches. But at the end of the day it’s on us. We’re out there making the plays.”
Perryman said he takes the criticism of Golden “real personal because a lot of people are looking at it from the outside in. They really don’t know what’s going on. Outsiders, they think they know football. That really gets to me.”
Read more here:
Al Golden insists Miami Hurricanes can finish on high note | Miami Herald
In a statement released by Miami early Friday afternoon, the first-team All-ACC selection said he felt the program was improving under Hurricanes coach Al Golden and he wanted to be a part of Miami's continued progress.
"I decided to stay because it is the best decision for me and my family. Ever since coach Golden got here, I feel like this program is moving forward and will continue to rise under his direction," Perryman's statement read. "This coaching staff is dedicated to player development and getting us better. I've grown as a player and person each year thanks to them."
Perryman, who received a third-round grade from the NFL Draft Advisory Board, started all 13 games at outside linebacker for Miami in 2013. He led the team with 108 tackles, including 69 solo stops.
He earned first-team All-ACC honors from the ACSMA and the league's coaches. He was also a SI.com All-America honorable mention.
Feliciano, an honorable mention All-ACC selection, started all 13 UM games this season.
“I am coming back (to Miami) because I believe in what Coach Golden, the staff and our team are doing here,” Feliciano said in a statement released by the school. “I think the program is rising at an all-time pace. With all the NCAA stuff behind us, we can come into a season without anything hanging over our heads.”
Perryman, like Johnson, dreamed of winning national championships at UM, his hometown school. But halfway through his senior season, the Hurricanes are in danger of dropping out of the race for the ACC Coastal.
“There’s still a lot out things we can accomplish whether we’ve lost three games or not,” he said. “Last year, in the regular season we lost three games. So, we can really like he said, there’s disappointment with the guys. But I’m going to talk the team today and tomorrow, see where their minds at and stuff like that so we can turn this thing around.”
Asked if he’s ever thought, “Maybe it’s the coaches,” Perryman said players believe their lack of execution, not the coaches’ game-planning, is the reason for UM’s struggles.
“Like I said before, the coaches do a great job game-planning and giving us calls, so that’s where we need to be,” he said.
So, none of these guys were team leaders last year?
The season tanked because of Duke Johnson being a "cancer" or "bad leader"??
That's the excuse for 6-7??
OK ...
Except this is what Golden said about Johnson to end the season:
On Duke Johnson, who became the program’s all-time leading rusher…
“I wish it was a better environment to celebrate what he has accomplished, because I think it’s extraordinary, I really do. For him to do it in the timeframe that he has done it makes it really unique for him. He’s a unique young man. [I am] grateful for the opportunity to coach him every day. The way he has responded and accepted coaching and changed a lot of little things in his game to be as productive as he has been this year, he deserves it.”
So, are the quotes from this season bogus, or is it the ones from last season?
Or maybe both season's quotes are bogus ...
But my larger point:
Who cares what the kids are saying to the media? They obviously have talking points that are given to them that promote positivity and unity. but it's all just talk until they play games.
And this season will either be much better, and they can claim it's because of the way players finally bought in ... Or, it will be more of the same from the previous 4 season, and we can see how the BOT and AD decide to handle the situation.
