Miami football team will be one of most exciting nationally in 2019

Manny Diaz has created a buzz that has not been seen in an offseason for the Miami football program in nearly two decades. The excitement that Diaz has created can translate nationally.

Manny Diaz worked as a production assistant at ESPN before becoming a football coach. Diaz understands the nuances of being the CEO of a college football program. No one had a more exciting 2019 offseason than the Miami football program did.

Getting the turnover chain commissioned during the 2017 offseason, coining the #TNM, The New Miami hashtag after getting hired and his foray into social media with the transfer portal have excited Miami football fans.

One of the biggest questions throughout the offseason was would Diaz add a turnover chain equivalent on offense. That was answered in the season opener against Florida. After scoring Miami’s first touchdown of 2019, tight end Brevin Jordan went to the sideline and adorned a pair of rings that spelled out Hurricanes.

Asked what would happen with a touchdown on defense Diaz said:

"“I will give them chains, rings, whatever they want as long as they get that ball into the end-zone. Let’s ice them up.”"

No one does bling or can pull off bling like the Miami Hurricanes. The originators of swag know how to provide fun and entertainment for college football. Diaz realizes that, embraces it and keeps the fanbase and media interested.

ESPN recently developed what they termed the watchability rankings. Miami is ranked sixth nationally.

"“6. Miami (26 points)A new and improved Turnover Chain. Touchdown rings. And hometown hero Manny Diaz in his first season as head coach.There are a lot of reasons to be excited about what’s going on in the 305 — except for, of course, the Hurricanes’ offensive line, which surrendered 10 sacks in a 24-20 loss to Florida in last week’s opener. Honk if you sacked Jarren Williams.The good news for Miami: It’s probably not going to face a defensive front as formidable as Florida’s unless it reaches the ACC championship game, when it might face Clemson or Syracuse.”"

ESPN’s rankings were developed based on college football icons Paul Finebaum, Lee Corso and Steve Spurrier and actor Nicholas Cage. The four factors were ranked on a scale of one to ten and then combined to get the final rankings. The explanations are below.

1. “Finebaum factor: A rough estimate of where a team fits in the national discussion.
2. Cage factor: Whether it’s on the sideline or in the huddle, a team has to have a recognizable, exciting and capable leading man…Teams with All-Americans, likely first-round draft choices and colorful coaches get extra points here.
3. Spurrier factor: Wide-open, fast-paced, no-huddle offenses are a lot more fun to watch…But it has to be within reason; no one wants to watch a four-hour…game in which no defense is being played.
4. Corso factor: This category encompasses everything that has to do with college football’s pageantry, from the marching bands to the traditions to whether your favorite team has a cool mascot head for Lee Corso to wear on Saturday mornings. Tradition is what makes college football so special. Without it, we’re watching the NFL.”

The Hurricanes have a lot more to be excited about than what ESPN wrote about, but they had to fit 10 teams into their article. They highlighted ten teams plus another four in each of the four categories.

Jarren Williams growth, Jeff Thomas’ explosiveness, DeeJay Dallas‘ shiftiness and big-play potential are reasons to watch the Miami football team in 2019. Miami started some of the biggest traditions in college football. The turnover chain more recently and running through the smoke began at the U.

The U hand gesture was one of the first in collegiate sports. Hook ’em Horns at Texas, Gig ’em at Texas A&M and guns up at Texas Tech are among the other schools that preceded the U being shone at games. When it comes to being one of the most intriguing programs in college football, Miami will always score high in Corso factor.