The Miami Hurricanes were without a cornerback that was vying for a starting spot for their big season opener Saturday night against the No. 8 Florida Gators in Orlando.
UM sophomore DJ Ivey was suspended and did not travel with the team due to violation of team rules, a team spokesperson said.
News that Ivey was out was first reported in a tweet by former Hurricanes punter Brian Monroe, who is now a radio analyst for 560-AM, UM’s flagship radio station.
“Unfortunate news that the canes defense will not be at full strength tonight,” Monroe tweeted. “Dj Ivey is out. Next man up.”
On Monday, Miami coach Manny Diaz was asked if he expected to have any players not traveling with the team due to rules violations.
“We expect to have everybody there on Saturday,” Diaz said.
Ivey, out of South Dade High in Homestead, was listed entering Saturday’s game as competing with fellow sophomore Al Blades Jr. for the starting cornerback spot opposite of Trajan Bandy. As a true freshman last season, Ivey saw action in 11 games, primarily on special teams, and made three tackles.
With Ivey out, sophomore Al Blades Jr. started at cornerback opposite of junior Trajan Bandy. The Ivey-Blades battle was the only starting spot still up for grabs for the Hurricanes, according to the team’s depth chart.
Eligibility issues
Slim at cornerback, Miami is just as shorthanded at safety. UM has five scholarship players listed at each position, although strikers Romeo Finley and Gilbert Frierson can double at defensive back.
Bubba Bolden, one of the team’s second-string safeties on the depth chart who transferred from Southern Cal this offseason, is still ineligible to play, the team said on Saturday.
“The University of Miami is working with the NCAA on Bubba Bolden’s behalf to clear his transfer requirements as soon as possible,” a UM spokesperson said in a statement. “Any change in his playing availability will be announced.”
Bolden was seen during pregame warmups without a helmet, in shorts and no pads. Bolden initially enrolled and joined the team in the middle of fall training camp.
Martell works out at receiver
Miami quarterback Tate Martell, who was said to still be competing for the backup quarterback job with N’Kosi Perry, warmed up at wide receiver during pregame warmups, and saw action there during the game.
On Wednesday, when Diaz was told reporters saw him wearing white — instead of the orange the quarterbacks wear — and was asked if Martell has been receptive to a move, Diaz said: “Yeah, just like anybody else we have. Anybody will help by doing anything that’s available.”
The Zion story
Retired Miami coach Mark Richt, who led the Hurricanes just last season, broke down the story of how UM discovered Zion Nelson on the new ACC Network on Friday night. Nelson, as a true freshman, started at left tackle on Saturday night.
Richt said his offensive line coach Stacy Searels “found him” in South Carolina. On Nelson’s official visit, he weighed 255 pounds, according to Richt, but the staff wasn’t deterred.
“We watched his tape. We saw him move. We saw his length,” Richt said. “We knew his hips were a little narrow — that’s kind of coach talk — but you looked at his growth potential. We were a little concerned about that, but he already weighs 285 pounds in just a few months. In a couple of years, who knows what that guy’s going to look like?”
Smith to Illinois
Ex-Hurricanes safety Derrick Smith has his transfer destination.
The junior, who more than a week ago as fall camp turned into game prep for Florida, announced he would be leaving Miami via Twitter on Friday night he would be going to Illinois.
Smith, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound Jacksonville Trinity Christian High product, played in 25 of the Hurricanes’ 26 games over the past two seasons, mostly on special teams, and totaled 24 tackles.
