HuskerfaninOkieland
Heisman Trophy Winner
Palm Beach Post
Monday, June 29, 2009
One of a series of stories looking back at South Florida sports figures.
Kenny Calhoun doesn't have the name recognition of his former University of Miami teammates such as Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde. But longtime Hurricanes fans know that he made the biggest play in the history of the football program.
"They don't know me, Kenny Calhoun, but they know me for that play," he said.
It was more than 25 years ago - near midnight on Jan. 2, 1984 - when the strong safety tipped away Nebraska's two-point conversion attempt to secure a 31-30 victory over the No. 1-ranked Cornhuskers. The win in the Orange Bowl Classic gave Miami its first national championship.
Calhoun's career highlight didn't translate into NFL success. After leaving UM he had an unsuccessful tryout with the Tampa Bay Bucs, and nothing more.
"It's crushing not being able to play football when that's all you've ever done," Calhoun recalled. "But I'm thankful to the Lord for the opportunity he gave me to play at the level I did."
He tried being a bank loan officer; that lasted only a year. Calhoun said he was unemployed when Jimmy Johnson, then the UM coach, "came to my rescue." Johnson put him on the coaching staff, which also gave Calhoun a chance to earn the six credits he needed to complete a degree in business management and organization.
Calhoun, who played high school football in Titusville, then left South Florida to join the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Bartow, where at age 46 he has risen to the rank of captain in 21 years of service. He also has started his own business, Miami Hero Team, which does everything from preparing loan documents to Internet marketing.
Recently, someone at the sheriff's office came to him with a jersey to sign, having heard that he was the Kenny Calhoun.
For the uninitiated, a recap: Nebraska came to the Orange Bowl undefeated, having finished the 1983 regular season 12-0. The Hurricanes, 10-1, were No. 5 in the country.
And then, the night Calhoun will never forget. The Hurricanes jumped out on top of Nebraska and took a 31-17 lead into the fourth quarter, when the Cornhuskers scored two touchdowns to close the deficit to 31-30.
There was no overtime then, so Nebraska coach Tom Osborne could have kicked the extra point for the tie, which would have been good enough to win the national title. That's because earlier in the day, No. 2 Texas lost the Cotton Bowl, No. 3 Auburn narrowly won the Sugar Bowl (and already had one loss) and No. 4 Illinois was blown out in the Rose Bowl.
But Osborne decided to go for two points and the victory. The Cornhuskers lined up to send two receivers and a tight end inside with a fullback going out into the flat at the edge of the goal line. UM defensive coordinator Tom Olivadotti anticipated the play and called a defense - 55 double-dog trio - to combat it.
Just as they had practiced, Calhoun saw his man, wide receiver Irving Fryar, break to the inside, so he picked up the back, Jeff Smith, who had scored the touchdown minutes earlier. Quarterback Turner Gill watched Smith the whole way. Calhoun watched Gill's eyes. As the ball neared Smith, Calhoun dived - parallel to the ground - and tipped away the pass with three fingers on his right hand.
"I got up off the ground looking for Smith, to see if he caught the ball, but I knew I got it pretty good," he said.
Although there were 48 seconds left, the Hurricanes swarmed the field, tackling Calhoun in celebration.
"Their minds shut off, their emotions took over and we got hit with a 15-yard penalty," recalled coach Howard Schnellenberger, whose team had to fall on an onside kick to preserve the win.
Miami moved all the way up to No. 1 in the final rankings, earning the first of its five national championships.
"No one thought we could do it except UM, its fans and the city," Calhoun said. "We showed the rest of the state how to win a national championship. We were the trend-setters."
Monday, June 29, 2009
One of a series of stories looking back at South Florida sports figures.
Kenny Calhoun doesn't have the name recognition of his former University of Miami teammates such as Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde. But longtime Hurricanes fans know that he made the biggest play in the history of the football program.
"They don't know me, Kenny Calhoun, but they know me for that play," he said.
It was more than 25 years ago - near midnight on Jan. 2, 1984 - when the strong safety tipped away Nebraska's two-point conversion attempt to secure a 31-30 victory over the No. 1-ranked Cornhuskers. The win in the Orange Bowl Classic gave Miami its first national championship.
Calhoun's career highlight didn't translate into NFL success. After leaving UM he had an unsuccessful tryout with the Tampa Bay Bucs, and nothing more.
"It's crushing not being able to play football when that's all you've ever done," Calhoun recalled. "But I'm thankful to the Lord for the opportunity he gave me to play at the level I did."
He tried being a bank loan officer; that lasted only a year. Calhoun said he was unemployed when Jimmy Johnson, then the UM coach, "came to my rescue." Johnson put him on the coaching staff, which also gave Calhoun a chance to earn the six credits he needed to complete a degree in business management and organization.
Calhoun, who played high school football in Titusville, then left South Florida to join the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Bartow, where at age 46 he has risen to the rank of captain in 21 years of service. He also has started his own business, Miami Hero Team, which does everything from preparing loan documents to Internet marketing.
Recently, someone at the sheriff's office came to him with a jersey to sign, having heard that he was the Kenny Calhoun.
For the uninitiated, a recap: Nebraska came to the Orange Bowl undefeated, having finished the 1983 regular season 12-0. The Hurricanes, 10-1, were No. 5 in the country.
And then, the night Calhoun will never forget. The Hurricanes jumped out on top of Nebraska and took a 31-17 lead into the fourth quarter, when the Cornhuskers scored two touchdowns to close the deficit to 31-30.
There was no overtime then, so Nebraska coach Tom Osborne could have kicked the extra point for the tie, which would have been good enough to win the national title. That's because earlier in the day, No. 2 Texas lost the Cotton Bowl, No. 3 Auburn narrowly won the Sugar Bowl (and already had one loss) and No. 4 Illinois was blown out in the Rose Bowl.
But Osborne decided to go for two points and the victory. The Cornhuskers lined up to send two receivers and a tight end inside with a fullback going out into the flat at the edge of the goal line. UM defensive coordinator Tom Olivadotti anticipated the play and called a defense - 55 double-dog trio - to combat it.
Just as they had practiced, Calhoun saw his man, wide receiver Irving Fryar, break to the inside, so he picked up the back, Jeff Smith, who had scored the touchdown minutes earlier. Quarterback Turner Gill watched Smith the whole way. Calhoun watched Gill's eyes. As the ball neared Smith, Calhoun dived - parallel to the ground - and tipped away the pass with three fingers on his right hand.
"I got up off the ground looking for Smith, to see if he caught the ball, but I knew I got it pretty good," he said.
Although there were 48 seconds left, the Hurricanes swarmed the field, tackling Calhoun in celebration.
"Their minds shut off, their emotions took over and we got hit with a 15-yard penalty," recalled coach Howard Schnellenberger, whose team had to fall on an onside kick to preserve the win.
Miami moved all the way up to No. 1 in the final rankings, earning the first of its five national championships.
"No one thought we could do it except UM, its fans and the city," Calhoun said. "We showed the rest of the state how to win a national championship. We were the trend-setters."