MIAMI -- He was a true freshman back then, a late-season replacement as Miami's starting fullback who became the MVP of the 1992 Orange Bowl game.
It seems so long ago.
Larry Jones is a senior now, soon to be gone and likely forgotten. There have been other highlights aside from his 144-yard, one-touchdown performance in a 22-0 victory over Nebraska. But not many.
"A lot of things have happened since then," Jones said yesterday. "We've had a lot of ups and downs as a team, and so have I."
Jones doesn't expect to play much in tomorrow night's Orange Bowl against the top-ranked Cornhuskers. He has been a backup for most of his career, playing behind Donnell Bennett and now James Stewart.
"I've had great guys ahead of me," said Jones. "Both those guys proved what they could do. It pretty much doesn't bother me."
Said Stewart: "He's the first person I've ever seen handle a situation like that so well. Me personally, I couldn't handle it. He understands his role, and he does it well."
But the 6-1, 240-pound fullback is ready to take over, just as he did when Stephen McGuire was injured in Miami's final game of the 1991 regular season. It left Jones as the Hurricanes' workhorse, with 30 carries against Nebraska.
"The way I'm looking at it, every time my number is called, I'm going to make something big happen. If I get the ball two times, I'm going to try to score two touchdowns."
Costa's decision
Miami quarterback Frank Costa grew up in Philadelphia as a Penn State fan and still finds himself rooting for the Nittany Lions. Should the third-ranked Hurricanes lose to top-ranked Nebraska tomorrow, Costa's allegiance won't waver.
But should Miami win, putting itself in position for a national championship, then Costa might need to find something green and gold to wear. "It's kind of strange," Costa said Thursday. "I have a lot of friends on the Penn State team, and I really like Joe Paterno. But I'll be rooting for Oregon."
Block that punt
One of the biggest problems this year for Miami has been its punting game. The Hurricanes are on their third punter and their third long snapper.
Seven punts have been mishandled because of wild snaps or blocks. "At one point, I had no idea where the snap was going to be," punter Mike Crissy said recently.
It could come into play in the Orange Bowl, because the Cornhuskers have perhaps the nation's best punt blocker. Despite being just 5-8 and 165 pounds, senior Barron Miles has blocked seven kicks during his career, five of them punts. He has four blocked kicks this year, including three punts.