The Miami Hurricanes 100 Plus greatest sports icons

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Sep 29, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski reacts after a call during the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium. Browns beat the Bengals 17-6. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

It was tough to leave these athletes and coaches off of the top 25. Rob Chudzinski won national championships with the Miami Hurricanes as a player and a coach. He has been a Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator for many years in the NFL.

Other names on the list have contributed to greatness at Miami and have gone on to great careers in their chosen professional sports. The list includes Hall of Famers, Medal-winning Olympians, a dedicated Miami Sports broadcaster, and others that have contributed to National Championships.

The list also includes multiple award winners. Bennie Blades shared the second Thorpe Award honoring the nation’s best defensive back in 1987.

Russell Maryland won the Outland Trophy honoring the Nation’s Best Lineman in 1990, was on two Miami Hurricanes National Championship teams and anchored the Defensive Line for three Dallas Cowboy Super Bowl winning teams

Gino Torretta led Miami to a National Championship in 1991 and won the Heisman Trophy a year later.

50. Jim Dooley

49. George Mira Sr

48. J.D. Arteaga

47. Mike Fiore

46. Woody Austin

45. Ferne Labati

44. Alex Cora

44. Woody Austin

43. Tom Gompf

42. Alex Rodriguez

41. Don Curnutt

Mar 20, 2015; Iowa City, IA, USA; Miami (FL) Hurricanes head coach Katie Meier (L), guard Michelle Woods (10), and forward Keyanna Harris (0) celebrate after defeating the Washington Huskies in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament at Carver-City Hawkeye Arena. The Hurricanes won 86-80. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

39. Katie Maier

38. Otis Anderson

37. Eric Brown

36. Tim James

35. Lauryn Williams

34. Pancho Segura

33. Russell Maryland

32. Cortez Kennedy

31. Jim Otto

30. Sean Taylor

29. DJ Williams

28. Bennie Blades

Oct 13, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski yells after the Browns received a roughing the passer penalty against the Detroit Lions during the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Lions won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports /

27 Rob Chudzinski

Chudzinski was a tight end on the Miami’ Hurricanes 1987 and 1989 National Championship teams and the offensive coordinator of the 2001 National Champions and 2002 Runners-ups. Miami was 35-3 in three years as offensive coordinator.

26 Gino Torretta

Torretta is arguably the most accomplished college Quarterback in Miami history. He is the only Miami Hurricanes Quarterback to lead the school to a National Championship and win a Heisman Trophy. He was the QB on the 1991 National Champions and followed that up with the Heisman a year later.

The Hurricanes fell one game short of back to back National Championships after a blow out loss in the Sugar Bowl.

Torretta left as the Miami Hurricanes all-time leading passer. He shattered Vinnie Testaverde’s previous record by over 1,600 yards, finishing his career with 7,690 yards passing.

Torretta was the starter for three seasons and still has the second and third highest passing performances for a game in school history. Those marks stood until Stephen Morris threw for 566 yards in a game in 2012.

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The Miami Hurricanes Top 100 Plus Sports Icons

By Alan Rubenstein | Feb 14, 2017