MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Michael Irvin is back at another Miami game, wearing the same long-sleeved shirt, cargo pants and black lace-up boots he has sported at each game since a come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech to end September.
Football players are superstitious, and Miami is undefeated, so Irvin says he has no choice but to keep wearing the outfit, and to keep coming to games. His shirt has gained so much visibility over the last month, as cameras have panned to his exuberant outbursts and raucous cheering, that Miami has fielded questions from fans about where they can buy one like it. The truth is, the white dri-fit shirt — complete with orange and green sleeves and an Ibis on the back — came from his closet and is not for sale in the team shop.
Thirty minutes before Miami kicks off against Duke this past Saturday, Irvin stands with fellow Canes greats Lamar Thomas and Andre Johnson, inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in August. Then Mike Rumph, who played on the 2001 national championship team and works on the Miami staff, comes over to say hello. Soon others follow: Frank Gore, Duane Starks, Daryl Jones, Rohan Marley.
Different game but same story: Miami alums showing up in full force as the undefeated Hurricanes make a run at a championship this season.
“When I was playing, that’s how it was, all the guys would come back,” says Johnson, who lives in Texas. “They set an example for me. So I knew when it was my time, I would want to come back and show support. I had a free weekend, so I was like, ‘I’m going to catch a game.'”
Ray Lewis, Clinton Portis, Reggie Wayne, Greg Olsen, Bernie Kosar and many others have been back, too, part of a concerted effort coach Mario Cristobal has made since his return in 2022 to reconnect Miami alums with the team. This past spring, nearly 300 returned for alumni weekend around the spring game.
“Look at the old games in the ’80s and ’90s, and look at the sidelines, at how littered it was with real-deal dudes,” said Cristobal, who played at Miami from 1989-92. ” As a player, I would kill to get over there and watch these guys go at it.”
The same thing is playing out in real time this season. Miami has not won a championship since 2001, but every win this season has brought a little more hope that maybe this will be the year. The alums who set the standard have been waiting decades to see a season like this one.
There has always been a suite reserved for alums for each Miami home game. But this year many former players have decided to come down to the sideline to watch.
“All the past coaches told us to come back but never showed us the love Mario has,” says Thomas, who played with Cristobal at Miami. “He has embraced us.”
And nobody wears the emotions that come with seeing your alma mater rise again quite like Irvin.
Already this season, cameras have panned to him celebrating with Miami defensive ends coach Jason Taylor after the last-second win over Virginia Tech, laying on the turf in the late stages of a comeback win over Cal, embracing players against Louisville and celebrating against Florida State.
“I’m high intensity and animated but it’s the emotions and the passion,” says Irvin, who starred as a receiver at Miami from 1985-87 before an NFL Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys. “You’re not going to accomplish anything without that passion. The passion is what pushes you past the pain no matter what the deal is. This team is learning that.”
That takes time, of course. So does building a championship program. Miami had another start like this one in 2017, opening 10-0 with huge home wins over Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, during which alums and fans also came out in full force. But that team lost its final three to close out the season, including a 38-3 defeat to Clemson in the ACC championship game.
That season proved to be an anomaly — it’s the the only 10-win season Miami has had since 2003. This year, though, feels different than 2017. Alums can sense that. It is why Irvin grows emotional when he recounts conversations he has had with players throughout the course of the season.
“One of the kids said to me, ‘We love coming out of the tunnel seeing you here,'” Irvin said, wiping away tears. “It means something. We talked for years about the importance of getting back to it on the football field and now that they’re doing it, it’s important for us to show up. I don’t care who it is. You’ve got to show up.”
As soon as the game starts, Irvin takes his customary spot along the sideline. Emotions firmly in check. But he soon gets antsy, and is on the move, walking to the opposite side of the field to follow the Miami offense. When Xavier Restrepo catches a 34-yard touchdown pass from Cam Ward to open the scoring, Irvin proceeds to run down the sideline, high-fiving players.
After going up 14-0, Irvin greets every player coming off the field with a, “Way to go, baby!”
Things start to get a little more tense as Duke jumps out to a 28-17 lead in the third quarter. Irvin watches intently from the sideline, alternating between biting his nails, taking his glasses off, crouching, taking a knee and putting his arms on his head.
He shouts more encouragement: “Let’s go eat!” and “We will get points!”
Finally, a shift: Restrepo scores on a 3-yard pass from Ward to cut the gap to three, then freshman O.J. Frederique Jr. gets a crucial interception to give Miami the ball back. Irvin runs over to Frederique, sitting on the bench, and shouts, “Way to make a play for us! Way to make a play for us!”
“I tell people you can only hope to contain Mike, you can’t stop him,” Thomas says with a laugh. “Mike is just like that. He loves the U. The passion that we have for that school is undeniable. We love it.”
As Miami drives down the field, Irvin grows more animated with every play — stomping, crouching, gesturing and yelling to no one in particular. When Elija Lofton scores to put Miami ahead, Irvin raises his arms in triumph.
But the game is not over yet. After Jacolby George scores off a 49-yard touchdown pass from Ward, Irvin gives him a hug on the sideline.
Restrepo scores again, this time on a 66-yard pass in the fourth quarter. Irvin jumps up and down on the sideline, and high-fives new school president Joe Echevarria. Next comes longtime Coral Gables chief of police Ed Hudak, a fixture on the Miami sideline for decades. As Restrepo comes off the field with running back Mark Fletcher Jr., Irvin hugs them both.
Miami now leads 46-31, and Restrepo has broken the all-time Miami record for career receiving yards. Irvin takes out his phone and poses with Restrepo for a selfie.
“He just said [I was the] best receiver ever in Canes history,” Restrepo said. “He put me on top of that list, he congratulated me. I have so much love for that guy. We see greatness right in front of our face, and they’re very interactive with us. That’s why you come to the U.”
Players like Restrepo also came to Miami to help get the program back to where it belongs. Growing up in South Florida, restoring the tradition and legacy has always been important to him. When last season ended, with his best friend, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, in the transfer portal, Restrepo could have decided to leave.
But he is big on loyalty, and he is big on staying until the job is finished. Miami has never won an ACC championship. But a win every week brings them one step closer to that goal. Restrepo did not work long hours as a child in his backyard, on his high school field, or at Miami to let that slip away. When he saw the Hurricanes had signed Ward and assembled its most talented team since his arrival in 2020, he envisioned the possibilities.
He and his teammates put in the work. The alums who were there in the spring, who watch practice, who have attended games, take great pride in what they are seeing: A team that is holding each other accountable, pushing themselves, with the leaders and depth to get the job done. Mostly, this team reminds them of themselves.
So they will keep coming back. Johnson, who had a front row seat to watch Ward in the spring, says, “Winning cures everything,” Johnson said. “I remember seeing Cam, and I knew we had a great player at quarterback. It’s like anything: When you have a guy that has that impact at that position, you can go a long way.”
“We’re a different brand,” Irvin says. “People wait on Miami. To see this, now? It’s everything.”