OXFORD — Miami football coach Chuck Martin let out a chuckle when he was asked about how spring practice has played out so far.
“Holy cow,” Martin said with a smile on Tuesday. “We’ve got a lot of new faces. If you’ve got time, our spring practice is open. Come on out.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces,” he continued to emphasize.
Martin said the program is working through the loss of 11 starters on offense and over half the starting defense from last season. There are 14 transfers and 11 early enrollees on the RedHawks’ spring roster.
“So 25 of our 80 kids weren’t even out here at the bowl (Arizona) game,” Martin noted. “Which again, welcome to the portal era. It’s not good or bad — it is what it is.
“It’s fun. I told our guys if you like to coach, 2025 is a good time to be coaching because you’re going to have turnover every year, you’re going to have new faces, you’re going to have to start and teach them your new program, your system with how you do things.”
Miami’s spring game is at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 26.
“This group has been awesome since January,” Martin said. “There’s a lot of, lot of energy and a lot of work ethic. We don’t have a lot of know-how right now — which is not surprising. We’re going to push the envelope and try to get them to understand the sense of urgency. The quicker we have know-how, the quicker we’ll have a functioning team.”
Miami plays two Big Ten opponents right out of the gate to start the 2025 season — at Wisconsin on Thursday, Aug. 28, and at Rutgers on Saturday, Sept. 6.
“We can go in there not prepared and get our brains kicked in,” Martin said. “Or we can really work hard and try to get ready and compete.
“I like the group. There’s plenty of talent here. I don’t really know who can do exactly what yet. We’re kind of learning day by day, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
Staff changes
Martin announced seven additions to his coaching staff for the 2025 season.
Joining the RedHawks are Colt Arthur (Graduate Assistant), Johnny Aylward (Special Teams Coordinator), Lynn Davenport (Recruiting Assistant), Chris Hudson (Running Backs), Drew Martin (Director of Player Personnel), Zane Ries (Safeties) and Tyler Valentine (Director of Digital Video Operations).
Martin also announced that Pat Welsh will coach tight ends and Andy Cruse will move over to coach wide receivers.
“We lost some good coaches like we typically do every year,” Martin said. “That’s part of the business, too. I said the coach’s portal was around long before the player’s portal. Everybody’s all up in arms about the player’s portal, but I’ve got coaches that got in the portal and moved on to bigger and better things. I’m excited for them.
“To me it’s a natural progression. I don’t trust a lot of people, so I typically hire people I know. I’ve been doing that for a long time.”
UConn on the schedule
Miami agreed to play two future games against Connecticut during the 2026 and 2030 seasons.
The RedHawks begin the series by hosting UConn at Yager Stadium on Sept. 26, 2026, and then travel to Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field to face off with the Huskies on Sept. 21, 2030.
Miami and UConn will meet on the field for the first time ever in the 2026 season.
