Miami’s Richt Discusses Dismissal of Grace and Muhammad
Miami Head Coach Mark Richt was on the Joe Rose show on WQAM 560 to discuss the dismissals of Senior Linebacker Jermaine Grace and Junior Redshirt Defensive lineman Quan Muhammad. Grace and Muhammad were let go from the football team over the weekend for their involvement with South Beach Exotic Rentals.
Grace and Muhammad were allegedly involved with SoBe Exotic Rentals in exchange for memorabilia. Richt had a lot to say on the Joe Rose Show on Monday. He said that the situation is sad but was out of his control. Asked about how long it had been going on and who made the decision, Richt said:
Asked about how long it had been going on and who made the decision, Richt said:
“There was something being investigated for a while. You got to the end of the line and the decision had to be made. Through some consultation from an outside source who is very tied into the NCAA and universities across America, this is kind of what he does for a living, that was the decision that was made.”
They continued and asked Richt who made the eventual decision to dismiss Grace and Muhammad, he said:
"“Somebody had to make the decision. It was made, yeah, by our administration. There were lawyers from our university and legal counsel, we had the advisor and the athletic association basically, made the final call.’’"
Richt was asked how much he was informed on a daily basis about the investigation going on, he said:
“Yeah, well, I was getting a rough idea of what was happening but I wasn’t totally in the loop. I wasn’t hearing every story of what was going on. I wasn’t in the middle of any of that. It was something that had started prior to me getting here actually and it was handled by them. “I was not part of the final decision-making process.”
Miami released the first official depth chart of the Richt era on Monday. Replacing Muhammad at End will be Junior Chad Thomas. Thomas had 18 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Replacing Grace at the Sam or Strong side linebacker will be freshman Zach McCloud. He will start alongside his classmate Shaq Quarterman who is the mike or middle linebacker.
Manny Navarro of the Herald was able to get ahold of Grace’s lawyer Steven L. Washington. Washington told Navarro Grace will not be appealing the decision, but that his client did nothing wrong. He is currently deciding what he is going to do next.
"Washington said: ““I have a release for Jermaine and he can transfer to any other [Football Championship Subdivision] school and play immediately if he wanted to.”"
Grace also has the option of picking a new school or staying at Miami and finishing college there.
Muhammad has not indicated what his decision will be about what he is going to do next. Muhammad runs a 4.74 40 yard dash and is listed as the ninth-best defensive end by NFL Draft Scout.
Live Feed
Saturday Blitz
The key to the investigation (and it’s not currently known) is likely to be whether or not Grace and Muhammad received the cars for free or at a discount in exchange for some kind of return on their careers.
Navarro said The owner of South Beach Exotic Car Rentals, Juan Caballero, “told the Miami Herald on Saturday he provided UM’s compliance office the documentation “to exonerate”
Washington concluded by saying:
"“The University wanted those kids to admit to something they had absolutely no proof of or things that didn’t occur,…I can say from my own experience in representing Jermaine [since June] we provided phone records, documentation, and we were always available and always cooperative. There has not been to date any physical proof of them receiving any type of improper benefit — just hearsay.”"
In the official statement released Saturday, the U Administration said: ” As no staff members or boosters were involved in the violations, the program will not be subject to sanctions and, at this time, the University deems this matter closed.”
Next: Miami Dismisses Two Best Defensive Players
There has been no indication if the NCAA intends to conduct their own investigation into what happened and if and/or when Miami might receive any punishment. The U’s three-year probation from the Nevin Shapiro scandal ends October 21.