 Sometimes a year can make a lot of difference – for individual players AND for whole teams.
Just over a year ago, then-freshman Matt Kennedy was a 245-pound right tackle getting his first collegiate start at Paul Brown Stadium – home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The opponent? Southeast Conference member Kentucky.
The result? Kentucky welcomed new RedHawks coach Mike Haywood and a very young MU team to the 2009 season with a decisive 42-0 UK win. One week later, Boise State pitched a 48-0 shutout at the Red and White.
The rest of the story? Miami garnered just one win in 2009 as Haywood and his new staff took their first steps in trying to re-establish a winning culture at a school that is historically the MAC’s most successful football program.
Moving forward? On a team level, Miami was very competitive in its 2010 opener against another SEC member (Florida) and already has one win (versus Eastern Michigan) after two games. On an individual level, Kennedy is now about 272 pounds and has moved over to left tackle.
Preparing this week for his 15th start as a RedHawk, the sophomore is, in some respects, a microcosm of Miami’s direction and progress.
Kennedy is a prime example of Haywood’s willingness to use young players. Like many other RedHawks, Kennedy took his lumps against the likes of Kentucky, Boise State, Cincinnati, Northern Illinois, Temple and Ohio – among others – in ’09.
Now he’s looking to dish out some lumps. He’s bigger, stronger and wiser. With Saturday’s (28-21) win over an improved Eastern Michigan squad, he and the RedHawks might be a little more confident, as well.
In addition to enjoying the win, Kennedy and his line mates can take some pride from last week’s rushing stats. Miami gained a total of 181 yards on the ground, including 105 yards and three touchdowns by senior running back Thomas Merriweather.
While Miami’s ground game struggled at Florida, and the 181 yards against EMU won’t break any school records, the latter is a step in the direction Haywood is trying to take the team. The former Notre Dame player and assistant coach has insisted that running the football will be a key component of the RedHawks offense. To date, a lack of experience and size along the front line has made realizing that goal very difficult.
“Game experience is so important, especially with the line,” Kennedy said. “Game experience is a lot different than any scrimmage or practice that you do. Having games under your belt really helps.”
A few more pounds – not necessarily under the belt – can also prove helpful.
“I was at 271 (pounds) the other day,” Kennedy said after a recent practice. “Having a little bit of extra weight to throw around helps, … especially in the run game.”
Still just a sophomore, he hopes to carry 290 pounds later in his career. However, Kennedy is also mindful of maintaining quickness – especially since moving to his new position at left tackle.
“Coach asked me if I could do it … and I was willing to give it a try,” Kennedy said. “I knew it was the blind side of the quarterback, (who is) one of my best friends … so I’ve actually got a lot more responsibility.”
Flexibility has been a necessity in Miami’s offensive line picture over the last few years as injuries sometimes played week-to-week havoc with the lineup. Senior Bob Gully (6-4, 297), for example, went down against Eastern Michigan. That brought junior Brandon Brooks, (6-5, 349), who has also battled injuries, back into the lineup.
Haywood and his staff have also tried various combinations in an effort to ignite the running game.
“We’re still shuffling people around, but everybody kind of has cohesion on the line. We’re starting to put it all together,” Kennedy said, adding that learning different spots along the line has its benefits.
Regardless of position, Haywood expects each player to embrace a physical brand of football that is part of winning. Kennedy feels the line stepping up.
“We were just excited that we were able to run the ball a lot last game,” Kennedy said. “We really came out and showed that we were more physical than we were last year. It was great to see that we had made progress.”
Kennedy noted establishing a running game last week also contributed to success in the red zone – another problem area for Miami in 2009 (70.5 percent, 9th MAC). Through two games this season, the RedHawks have scored on all six trips into the red zone – two touchdowns and four field goals. Turning some of those field goals into TDs is the next challenge.
Yet another benefit of a better running game will be a better passing game. Better, that is, as in more efficient.
“We passed the ball about 85 percent of the time last year, or some crazy percentage like that,” Kennedy said. “If you run the ball, you open up everything for Zac (Dysert), and Zac is an amazing throwing quarterback. (He can) get the ball down the field.”
Miami did an excellent job of moving the football the last time it met Colorado State – this week’s opponent. MU, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the helm, rolled to a 41-21 win in Fort Collins during the 2003 season.
The Rams (0-2) have struggled on offense, failing to score a touchdown thus far and were also scorched on defense last week in a 51-6 loss to Nevada.
“They have some good players,” said Kennedy, who believes the key to winning remains with the RedHawks themselves. “We’re looking to be able to continue what we’ve done – keep on growing and continue to get better.”
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