In his college debut Aug. 31 against Florida Atlantic, Stacy Coley was flat-out nervous. He admitted it afterward, but it was clear as day — he dropped two of the first three balls thrown to him, both of which would have gone for touchdowns.
That feels like a long time ago.
Coley was completely in sync with his quarterbacks Saturday, hauling in four passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns in Miami’s 49-21 win over USF. Coley, a highly touted freshman from Oakland Park-Northeast High, also broke a 25-yard punt return.
On Coley’s first touchdown, Hurricanes quarterback Stephen Morris lofted a pretty 34-yard pass to the back of the end zone. Coley beat his defender and kept his feet inbounds. On Coley’s second TD, he changed his route and leaped to grab an 11-yard pass from a scrambling Ryan Williams. While airborne and being pushed out of bounds by a defender, he made sure to touch down.
“He’s more confident and more comfortable,” coach Al Golden said. “He’s relaxing.”
Crawford surging: Sophomore Dallas Crawford entered Saturday locked in a three-way tie for backup running back. He shared space on Miami's depth chart with senior Eduardo Clements and freshman Gus Edwards.
Crawford may have separated himself. He carried 13 times for 34 yards and two touchdowns. The Fort Myers product now has a team-high five TDs on the ground.
“It’s great, great,” he said. “I mean, I’m blessed to be in this position right now. … I’m just executing my role in the offense.”
Crawford subbed for Duke Johnson early and often, picking up tough yards. He had Miami’s first and last touchdowns of the day, from 7 and 1 yards out. As for the other backups, Edwards picked up 53 yards on 10 carries in the fourth quarter, including a 29-yarder. Clements did not touch the ball and left with what WQAM 560-AM reported to be a strained hamstring.
Mistakes pile up: Miami's perfect start hasn't come as a result of perfect play.
Not only did the Hurricanes fumble four times — their first time doing that since 2005 — and throw a pair of interceptions, they committed penalties that resulted in 161 yards in special teams returns — a 100-yard Johnson kickoff return and a 61-yard Phillip Dorsett punt return — being called back due to penalties. Golden called that “horrific.”
“Too many penalties right now, overall,” he said. “Those two penalties kept the game closer than it needed to be.”
Noteworthy: Senior center Jared Wheeler made his second career start in the place of Shane McDermott (foot). … Morris passed Steve Walsh for No. 9 on the Hurricanes' all-time passing yards list. Morris now has 5,272 yards.
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