Two Miami Hurricanes Named Among Best Teens in College Football
Miami Hurricanes Sophomores, wide receiver Ahmmon Richards and Linebacker Shaq Quarterman were two of 13 players named among the best teens in college football by the Bleacher Report.
Quarterman was named as an honorable mention to the list and Richards the sixth best teen in the country. Both Miami Hurricanes were named as Freshmen All-Americans last season.
Quarterman is Miami’s leading returning tackler. He had 84 tackles last season which was second on the team. He also finished third on the team with 10 tackles for loss and third with three and a half sacks.
Richards broke Michael Irvin’s 31-year-old Miami Hurricanes Freshmen receiving yardage record. He finished with 934 yards on 49 receptions and three touchdowns.
Richards became the first Miami Hurricanes freshman to top 900 yards receiving. Both Richards and Quarterman were named first team preseason All-ACC along with three of their teammates.
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The Bleacher Report’s profile of Quarterman is below.
"Shaquille Quarterman, Miami LBAn All-ACC third-team linebacker in 2016, Quarterman recorded 84 tackles and 3.5 sacks as a freshman—this despite tearing the AC joint in his left shoulder in the fifth game of the season, per Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post. Now healthy and one of the many annual preseason “best shape of his life” stories, he should become the singular star of a defense expected to carry the Hurricanes."
Richards is going to be a part of a Miami trio on offense that is going to have to carry a lot of the heavy lifting. With the Hurricanes breaking in a new quarterback, Richards, running back Mark Walton and tight end Christopher Herndon IV are the only experienced skil; positions players that have performed consistently in college.
Bleacher Report’s take on Richards is below.
"6. Ahmmon Richards, Miami WRAge: 19 (5/20/98)2016 Stats: 49 receptions, 934 yards, 3 TDIt’s going to be another few weeks before we know whether Malik Rosier, Evan Shirreffs or N’Kosi Perry starts at QB for the Hurricanes, but there’s no question who that passer’s top target will be. Ahmmon Richards led the team in receiving yards—and ranked sixth in the ACC—as a true freshman.Richards was (and should remain) Miami’s top big-play threat. He made at least one 30-yard reception in eight games, three of which were good for at least 61 yards—two of those in the same Week 3 game against Appalachian State. In November, he had three consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards.With Stacy Coley (754 yards) and David Njoku (698 yards) out of the picture, Richards is only going to become more of a problem for opposing secondaries as a sophomore.In Miami’s unofficial spring game, he led all receivers with 112 yards on four receptions, including a 72-yard TD strike. And as far as Athlon Sports is concerned, he’s going to be a preseason first-team all-ACC selection."
Richards role is going to be vastly different this season. He is going to be the primary focus of opposing defenses in the passing game.
Herndon will take some of the pressure off of him. Braxton Berrios had the highest number of receptions among the other returning wide receivers with 12.
Next: Shaq Quarterman Named Nation's 48th Best Player
Herndon should see a huge increase in his production from 28 receptions with Njoku gone. Walton also added 27 receptions last season.