Mark Richt took over the Miami Hurricanes program with some level of knowledge about what type of rebuilding effort would be needed to bring the once-great power back to full-scale prominence. Part of that is cleaning house when it comes to discipline problems and, on Friday, Richt was forced to dismiss another member of the team in the form of defensive lineman Courtel Jenkins.
This dismissal comes after Richt dismissed two of his best defensive players, junior defensive lineman Al-Quadin Muhammad and senior linebacker Jermaine Grace, prior to the start of the 2016 season.
Jenkins was suspended for the 2016 game against Virginia as a result of discipline issues and, prior to that, the talented defensive lineman was sent home from the 2015 Sun Bowl for what the staff termed as academic issues. In this three seasons in Coral Gables, Jenkins generated 54 tackles and 2.5 sacks while serving in a rotational role for Miami along the defensive front and, in advance of 2017, the would-be senior was thought to be in serious competition for a prominent place on the depth chart.
Richt is, of course, a veteran of dealing with assorted off-field issues, as his reign with the Georgia Bulldogs was often marred by problems outside of the white lines. During that run, he developed a reputation as a straight-shooter, though, and Richt is apparently bringing that 'tough but fair' mindset to his alma mater.
