Miami (Ohio) one of top turnaround stories

Being one of the nation’s most improved teams is gratifying for Miami (Ohio) coach Mike Haywood. Being bowl eligible is even better.

But the RedHawks know they have to keep winning to improve their chances of making it to the postseason for the first time since 2004.

Miami (6-4, 5-1) enters its game against Akron (0-10, 0-6) tonight hoping to pad its bowl r�sum� and keep its MAC East hopes alive. The RedHawks are tied atop the division with Ohio, but the Bobcats hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Miami has to win out and hope Ohio loses next week to Kent State to play in the MAC championship game.

If that does not happen, a bowl berth is in sight, but nothing is guaranteed. Non-AQ teams with winning records will no longer be given preference over .500 teams from the major conferences for an at-large berth. The MAC only has three guaranteed bowl slots, and those most likely will go to Northern Illinois, Ohio and Temple.

“We have a bowl banner that sits in the end zone, and I was looking out there and I realized we hadn’t been to a bowl game since 2004. So it’s really important for our program if we want to get back to the tradition of Miami football to get back to a bowl game,” Haywood said. “But we can’t take anything for granted. We have to go out there and get a win to solidify our bowl status.”

So Haywood knows what’s at stake. Unfortunately for the RedHawks, they are going to have to do it without starting quarterback Zac Dysert, who is out four to six weeks with a lacerated spleen.

Redshirt freshman Austin Boucher, who has thrown 14 career passes, will get the start. Dysert was hurt last week in a win over Bowling Green, but Haywood initially said it was a rib injury. Either way, losing Dysert is a big blow, considering he had a good chemistry going with Armand Robinson and freshman Nick Harwell.

Still, the fact that Miami made it to this point is impressive. The RedHawks went 1-11 last season, Haywood’s first, and are tied with Maryland for biggest turnaround in the win column at plus-five.

It has taken a lot of hard work to get to this point off the field. Haywood said the top priority was to change the culture around the program, putting down strict rules for his players to follow.

“After the second week we were here on the job, I sat in my office and I told Bill Elias, my assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator, I said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this place is as bad as it is,’” Haywood said. “We’re in the process of changing the culture of the daily lives in which these players live, the way they dress, the way they attend classes, the way they handle themselves as men, making sure they’re living a quality life and it’s starting to carry over in football. We still have a long ways to go.”

When asked to elaborate on just how bad the situation was, Haywood said, “The first day that students got back, we had our meeting to implement rules and regulations. We had nine violations on the first day. On the first weekend, several people had altercations uptown. This went on for two or three weeks. We had to lead with an iron fist.”

Haywood estimates he lost between 25 and 30 players from the team that first year. But now, he is trying to lead a little differently because his players know what to expect.

“We’re trying to loosen up the reigns a little bit to let them develop into men,” Haywood said. “I’m 46 years old, and sometimes my dad doesn’t allow me to grow up. If there was anything I could change about my father that would be it. We’re in the process of giving them more freedom.”

And getting them back to respectability.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/33062/miami-ohio-one-of-top-turnaround-stories

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