Clinton Portis was one of the many future NFL stars who led the Hurricanes to the 2001 title -- and a place in football lore. Maybe Alabama last year. DT Matt Walters They were all self-directed. Davis When Vince Wilfork took their All-American guard Toniu Fonoti and threw him five yards in the backfield and made a tackle for a loss, their whole sideline s--- their pants, and then all of a sudden Vilma started decapitating tight ends, and it became a whole different animal, and they weren't aware, used to it, privy to, they literally thought they were going to come in there and mop the floor with us. I turned around, and the next thing you know, the ball is floating to me in slow motion. Internships McGahee also was a consensus All-American in 2002. I don't know if this ever got released to the media, but Kenny [Dorsey] got hit and took a hard shot to the ribs. After an interception, Ed Reed strips the ball from his teammate and takes it for a touchdown to seal Miami's win vs. Boston College during the 2001 season. This past January, I sat in the press box at Hard Rock Stadium in the most bizarre setting for a national championship game, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Where . The Hurricane defense picked up the slack by limiting BC to just seven points. It wasn't something given. "It wasn't about elite, starters, pecking orders, all that other great stuff," center Brett Romberg said. It really gave the players and the coaching staff somebody to rally behind. Davis Larry coming in, two new coordinators, there were a lot of questions. I don't know a single person that wasn't pissed headed into that game. That was it for Miami. Download Our App. So I think that describes how good they were.". OL Joel Rodriguez The 2001 Miami Hurricanes are considered the greatest college football team in college football history. The dominance of the team during its 2001 campaign combined with the legacy those players left -- both in college and the pros -- makes a strong argument that this is the best college football team ever assembled. It's a fun debate, but at the same time, the competitor in you has no doubt about where we stood. Rumph There are currently 44 players in the NFL who were brought up at the "U." One NFL team has quite a collection of Miami alumni. Everybody's fired up. What players and coaches insist set this team apart was their camaraderie, accountability and willingness to do whatever it took to win a championship -- especially those afternoon workouts. Truthfully, the players and coaches felt relief that they had reached the goal they set for themselves 12 months earlier. Former Heisman Trophy Award winner Eric Crouch led the Nebraska Cornhuskers into the Rose Bowl to face the Miami Hurricanes in the 2001 national championship game.. At that point, euphoric adrenaline runs over you. It never seemed like Davenport recovered all of his speed after the knee injury, but he did run for 5.3 yards per carry and 13 touchdowns in his Miami career. That's how it goes in those games. "Dominate" had started the year before, breaking down the team before going into the locker room right before we came out for the game. [17] The offense set the school scoring record, while the defense led the nation in scoring defense (fewest points allowed), pass defense, and turnover margin. "I said, 'Our difference is, we were gonna try to outhit you.' My AC [joint] was sprained, and everybody came and asked me if I'm hurt. Reed LB D.J. 1 in both polls -- was sitting at No. That's how comical it became. We were pissed. NFL draft questions for teams in the top 10: Will the Colts trade up? Sure enough, they run a slant, I go in to pick it off, and I spread my fingertips, and had my hands below my knee. Gonzalez Fundraiser : The UM Sports Hall of Fame Needs U! BC was certainly a good team, and it looked like we weren't supposed to win it, but somehow we did. Gore then injured his knee, which would become a tragic and common theme for one of the most universally loved Hurricanes in program history. He didn't want it to be close. "I mean, football, no question, I don't think anybody in college football could play with us. Vilma Does that mean I didn't root for Vince? Ed Reed, Kenny Dorsey -- they took ownership of everything: Lifting, the workouts in the summer, coming in to watch film. They had confidence. That's always what Miami had been about, and what set it apart in my mind. The 2001 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. 14 Syracuse, 59-0", "No. It gives us extra incentive to go out and perform well every week.". 15 Washington 3429 on the road, while the Seminoles' lone loss was on the road to the #7 team in the country by 3. At the time, [Paterno] wasn't taking JUCO transfers, and that was one of the schools I would've went to, so when I got a chance to play against them I said, "I'm gonna show him. You can make the argument it's the most talented team to ever play. Men's Sports . But a diving, game-saving interception by Ed Reed sealed the Miami victory, 2624. When he spoke, the team listened. / In all, an extraordinary 17 players from the 2001 Miami football team were drafted in the first-round of the NFL Draft (5 in the 2002 NFL Draft: Buchanon, McKinnie, Reed, Rumph, and Shockey; 4 in 2003: Johnson, Joseph, McDougle, and McGahee; 6 in 2004: Carey, Taylor, Vilma, Wilfork, Williams, and Winslow; 1 in 2005: Rolle; and 1 in 2006: Kelly Jennings). After a blocked punt returned for a touchdown cut Miami's lead to 26-24, Virginia Tech lined up for a 2-point conversion to tie the game. Prior to the 2006 Rose Bowl, ESPN's SportsCenter ran a special in which the 2005 USC Trojans, led by stars Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and LenDale White, were compared with the greatest college teams of the past 50 years, as picked by sports fans voting on ESPN.com, to determine their place in history. Frank Gore was also on the 2001 national title Hurricanes roster. Media Requests Rumph Soldinger C Brett Romberg We just knew we were going to win it all. They were cracking jokes at us, and they thought that they were gonna just drag us all over the football field and just pound us. Portis was an even bigger weapon in the NFL over his nine year career. That game solidified our quest to dominate. That [last] interception was by Ed Reed. The offense was terrible. 1.". As did what happened in October, when Miami -- ranked No. In interviews with players and coaches, here . Barry Jackson. That was the first time I was ever a champion of anything, so I just wanted to stay in the locker room. Payton didnt enjoy the NFL success as the other running backs but did play for the Tennessee Titans in 2005. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. 2 behind Florida -- the team they dismantled in the Sugar Bowl to close out the 2000 season. I don't want to sound disrespectful, but we were five steps faster than them, 10 pounds hungrier, much more violent, which is a different style of football. In the 2002 Rose Bowl against Nebraska, Portis ran for 104 yards and a touchdown with another long touchdown run called back for a phantom holding. I have covered more national champions since 2001 Miami that could make their own claim, too. In 2000, Miami was shut out of the Orange Bowl BCS National Championship Game by the BCS computers. Despite Miami beating Florida State head-to-head that season and being higher ranked in both human polls, it was Florida State, and not Miami, that BCS computers selected to challenge the Oklahoma Sooners for the national championship (Oklahoma would win, 132). 2001 Football Rosters. The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame contributes in many ways to the University and its athletic programs. Miami clinched a spot in the national title game against Nebraska at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., and felt confident this game would be its crowning achievement. McKinnie It's Ed!". We just hope that this train just doesn't go off the track. Walters We were winning, but we left a lot of points on the field. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Odds & lines subject to change. It is through the support of Hurricane fans and alumni that we are able to make a difference. We knew what route was coming on that play. 3 back. Rankings from AP poll. Miami also holds a number of NFL Draft records, including most first-round selections in a single draft and most consecutive drafts with at least one first-round selection. I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, do not drop this." It was the Hurricanes' 76th season of football and 11th as a member of the Big East Conference. 1 Miami Flattens No. Of course, Miami players are going to take up for their own team and scream from the rooftops that 2001 Miami is the GOAT. If you didn't put in the work, there was somebody behind you ready to take over. We all loved Dorsey, but we knew we had other skill sets and talent on that team. As of 2013, they had earned a combined total of 43 trips to the Pro Bowl: Ed Reed (9), Andre Johnson (7), Frank Gore (5), Vince Wilfork (5), Jeremy Shockey (4), Jonathan Vilma (3), Willis McGahee (2), Chris Myers (2), Clinton Portis (2), Antrel Rolle (2), Sean Taylor (2), Bryant McKinnie (1), and Kellen Winslow II (1). I went to a JUCO in Scranton, Penn. Miami has two games remaining before the postseason begins and winning out has big implications for their place in the programs best all-time regular seasons. / Soon, that entire mentality took hold across the entire team. And to stand up at the podium with guys like Andre Johnson, who was my suite mate since my freshman year, and hold up that trophy -- that was special. I'll never forget, he said he really liked our team. We've got one goal in mind. It was like, this is going to be outstanding for the next three, four, five years. Because we had that extra whatever. They were invited to the Rose Bowl, which served as the BCS National Championship Game, and defeated Nebraska, 3714, to win the school's 5th national championship. It was my first game ever to be a head coach and it was against Joe Paterno. He had the respect of those players. Strength coach Andreu Swasey He was like, "You serious?" We have the recipe, we have the tools, we have everything to be successful. I played with Richie Incognito with the Rams, and he told me when they saw us get off the bus at Disney [during the week], they started laughing. I didn't know at the time that this would be talked about as one of the best teams in college football. The heart and soul of that team was our strength coach, Andreu Swasey. "Those guys were not just NFL players. Led by quarterback Ken Dorsey, free safety Ed Reed, running back Clinton Portis, wide receiver Andre Johnson, tight end Jeremy Shockey, offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, and linebacker Jonathan Vilma, Miami won the 2001 national championship. Davis The Panthers had six first-round draft picks on its '01 roster while Miami's '01 team eventually In an article I wrote in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that October, quarterback Ken Dorsey said, "People around the country don't really respect our talent or our capabilities as a team. Anybody who could block kicks like that, he was a fan of. Truly perfected that.". They finished the season 120 overall and 70 in the Big East to finish as conference champion. It didn't matter who stood in the way, they didn't stand a chance against us. The 2001 team featured six All-Americans, and Dorsey was a Heisman Trophy finalist. Fitzgerald I was tired. OC Rob Chudzinski On the field in front of me, Alabama beat down Ohio State to close a 13-0 season with three Heisman Trophy finalists on offense -- including winner DeVonta Smith. 14, proved to be a formidable opponent. We go to the sideline, and Randy Shannon, after the first series he's like, "Hey, how do they look?" As a coach and players, you don't want to talk about it too much, but it's hard not to. The 2001 roster was loaded from top to bottom all over the field with names like Bryant McKinnie, Andre Johnson, and Jeremy Shockey as just the tip of the ice berg. Not only that, they were honoring one of their past players who got paralyzed, he was able to walk again so they were going to have him run out. Eventually producing a record 38 NFL Draft picks, the 2001 Hurricanes are considered by many to be the best college football team of all time.[1][2][3]. When I look back at our workouts, and the pressure that we put on each other of not letting each other down, there was so much pressure that I would think twice about skipping a workout, I would think twice about skipping a rep, I would think twice about letting my brother down because there was so much invested into it. 13. They just accumulated so many good players that everybody was looking at them as like, 'How have they done this? The dominance on the field and at the next level was unparalleled throughout the century-plus existence of our version of the sport. 1 offense against the No. "Because you're trying to recruit the foundation of what's to come for the next four years. It is only now, with the perspective of history and time that those who suited up in 2001 understand -- and brag about -- what they accomplished in one magical season. / ", Reed If you weren't doing all the right things, if you weren't going to class, making your grades, if you weren't showing up to work out or something like that, you could easily be cast out. McGahee single handedly beat the Florida Gators in 2002 rushing for over 200 yards in the contest. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. The University of Miami is known for producing excellent professional football players. (gofundme.com) Six players earned All-American status and six players were finalists for national awards, including Maxwell Award winner, Ken Dorsey, and Outland Trophy winner, Bryant McKinnie. Be outstanding for the Tennessee Titans in 2005 `` you serious? hard not to handedly! 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