In the trenches of every great Hurricanes’ defense is an elite defensive tackle unleashing chaos in the opposition’s backfield. And if ACC titles and playoff appearances are to become anything more than a pipe dream for “The New Miami,” then it must look to the old Miami, who built its championship defenses around disruptive interior linemen with a mean streak and a win-at-all-costs mentality.
It began during the 1980s when guys like Jerome Brown and Cortez Kennedy were breaking and reshaping the mold of your prototypical defensive tackle in Jimmy Johnson’s 4-3 attack. During the 90s, Russell Maryland and Warren Sapp made history when the former claimed Miami’s first Outland Trophy in 1990, and the latter was awarded the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, the program’s first Lombardi Award and finished sixth in the Heisman voting.