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Miami Student > Sports

Robinson showcases talent

By Matt Sohn, For The Miami Student

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Published: Monday, April 18, 2005

Updated: Monday, February 15, 2010

Wideout Ryne Robinson could hardly move he was so thoroughly surrounded. The junior to be from Toledo was indeed a marked man all night, but it wasn't until after the game that a hoard of autograph seekers did what no defensive back was able to do - blanket him. "Everything worked itself out today," Robinson said. "When I woke up this morning I was telling myself it was going to be a long day, but it turned out really well." Just hours after belting an RBI triple to catapult the baseball team to victory, Robinson strapped on his pads and torched his own RedHawk teammates to the tune of five catches for 173 yards and a touchdown, en route to a 31-7 victory for the White squad over the Red in the annual Spring Game. The Friday evening game, played under the newly installed lights at Yager Stadium, pitted the first-string offense and second-string defense, dressed in the visiting white uniforms, against the reciprocal in the home red. In an event that has become synonymous with the culmination of spring football in collegiate programs throughout the nation, it was the offense that clearly looked a step ahead of the defense under the Friday night lights. Quarterback Josh Betts, whose last game action was seen in the Independence Bowl loss, appeared calm and collected in the pocket, completing nine passes on 16 attempts for 198 yards and a pair of scores. "I think I made some good plays and there were a couple bad plays," Betts said. "But overall it was a good performance." His performance also drew rave reviews from the man calling the shots. "I thought Josh was really poised. He's been here awhile, in game situations, and each game he's going to get more and more confident," said first-year head coach Shane Montgomery. "Josh was just real comfortable tonight." The comfort in the position extended beyond Betts, as backups Mike Kokal and Jared Elliot both impressed in their auditions to enter the fall as number two on the depth chart. Kokal, who bounced between both the Red and White squads, misfired on just two of 14 attempts, while Elliot, a highly touted red shirt freshman, connected on 13 of 16 tosses. While the passing game flourished, the rushing attack remained largely stagnant against a veteran defensive front seven. With last year's backfield stalwarts Mike Smith and Luke Clemens gone, the young running backs proved to be overwhelmed going against their defensive counterparts. Austin Sykes, a bruising 240 pounder, did net 51 yards on 12 carries, but projected starter Brandon Murphy, a scatback who was named Ohio's Division I offensive player of the year a senior in high school, gained a mere eight yards on six carries. "We need to work on running the ball, but we only had one running back on each side with a lot of guys being injured," Betts said. "Murphy's a guy we need to use a lot because he's such an exciting player and can make some big plays." With the ground game grounded, a silver lining did appear as starting offensive linemen Marc Kracium and Todd Londot sat out nursing injuries. With those two expected to be at 100 percent come fall, the 'Hawks return five starters along the offensive front with starting experience. The fine defensive effort against the run, however, was trumped by the porous play of a secondary that has lost Miami's all-time leading tackler, Matt Pusateri, and cornerback Alphonso Hodge, who is expecting to be selected in the NFL draft this weekend. Cornerback Darrell Hunter, the fastest player in program history, put forth a solid effort, and Frank Wiwo corralled in a late interception, but the unit as whole was simply abused by the exploits of Robinson and company. "I didn't think (the entire defense) played with enough discipline, we didn't execute the little things," said linebacker Terna Nande. "We just came out here with mental lapses, and we were surprised by the offense." The Wiwo interception was the only turnover in the game, showing marked improvement for an offense that turned the ball over 30 times last fall. "On offense we need to take better care of the football, and we need to get more turnovers on defense," Montgomery said. "That was the glaring difference between the '03 season and '04 season." With spring practice now closing shop, the RedHawk focus turns to an intense summer workout regimen in preparation for the 2005 season. "It was a great spring... and we're really looking forward to getting back here in the fall," Montgomery said.

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