Two players leave Miami program
Senior wide receiver DeMarco Paine and sophomore offensive lineman Justin Wiley have withdrawn from Miami University for personal reasons, according to a Miami news release.
Paine was a busy player for the RedHawks in 2010, finishing second in all-purpose yardage (1,036), third in receptions (32 for 270 yards), first in punt returns (15 with a 7.3-yard average) and first in kickoff returns (34 with a 19.8 average).
He came to Miami after one season each at Iowa and Iowa Community College.
Wiley was redshirted in 2009 and did not play last season.
The news release said that “due to student privacy restrictions, Miami will have no further comment on this matter.”
OXFORD — Fall camp is about to begin and Miami University’s football players are anxious to resume the process of getting to know the RedHawks’ new coaching staff.
“This will give us more of an indication of how the coaches are in a game-like environment,” sophomore defensive end Jason Semmes said. “I do know that Coach (Don) Treadwell brings a lot of energy.
“It’s a new experience for us,” he said. “We haven’t been with this staff very long, but we’re really, really excited because we’re building off what we did last year.”
The defending Mid-American Conference champions report to camp today and will hold their first official summer practice Friday at 3:50 p.m. at the Yager Stadium complex.
“We’ll just be getting a head count, getting everybody checked in and getting them into a dorm,” Treadwell said of today’s activities.
Semmes is one of many RedHawks who blossomed over the second half of the 2010 season as a first-year player. The 6-foot-3, 238-pound native of Clarkston, Mich., led Miami with six quarterback sacks as a redshirt freshman.
“I’ve gotten a year of playing with these guys under my belt and feel more comfortable,” said Semmes, who transferred to Miami from Iowa. “We trust each other a lot more. We were together a long time.”
The 2010 season lasted a little more than five months, starting with summer practice and ending Jan. 6 with their 35-21 victory over Middle Tennessee State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
“I started off slow,” Semmes noted. “It took me a while to learn the defense. By the end of the year, we were playing our best football and I was playing my best football of the year.”
Semmes missed all of spring practice in 2010 after undergoing shoulder surgery and sat out most of the 2011 spring practice as a precautionary measure.
Semmes lets his actions speak for him.
“I’m not the vocal guy,” he said. “I think that’s Austin Brown (junior defensive tackle) or Ryan Kennedy (senior linebacker). I just try to do my job, get a sack now and then.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
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