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Miami Hurricanes WR Richards, LBs Quarterman & Pinckney named ESPN True Freshmen All-Americans

More honors for the young Canes studs

By Cameron J. Underwood
True Freshmen Ahmmon Richards, Mike Pinckney and Shaq Quarterman are All-Americans.
Miami Athletics

On Monday, ESPN continued award season with the release of their True Freshmen All-American team. 3 Canes, WR Ahmmon Richards, LB Mike Pinckney, and LB Shaq Quarterman were named to this All-American team.

Richards was previously named to the USA Today Freshman All-American Team. That team included both true and redshirt freshmen. This is the 2nd All-American team Richards has been named to. He led all freshmen — redshirt or true — in receiving in 2016.

A 4-star recruit from Orange Park (FL) Oakleaf HS, Quarterman came to Miami with a boatload of accolades. A U.S. Army All-American, Quarterman led that game with 6 tackles in 2016, just a week before enrolling at Miami. Quarterman had more than 400 tackles in his HS career, a testament to his elite level skills.

As a freshman at Miami, Quarterman started every game at Middle Linebacker. He was tied for the team lead in tackles (79) and added 9 TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 PBU, 8 QB hurries, and a fumble recovery, which he returned 17 yards for a touchdown. Quarterman is unquestionably one of the key cogs in Miami’s resurgent defense, a unit that had exponential improvement from previous years.

Michael Pinckney was a 3-star recruit from Jacksonville (FL) Raines HS. He came to Miami with less fanfare than Richards or Quarterman, but quickly made a name for himself with his athleticism, aggression, and skill. Pinckney had 160 tackles in his last 2 years of HS, with plenty more stats to his credit.

In his freshman year at Miami, Pinckney also started every game of the year. He is 5th on the team in tackles with 57, and added 6.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 2 PBUs, 2 QB Hurries, and 1 interception. I stated many times through the season that I thought the official statisticians were robbing Pinckney of stats, particularly TFLs. I stand by that statement, and even with that being the case (in my mind), he STILL had a strong season.

Richards, Quarterman, and Pinckney are among the best players in America at their respective positions, and will be the foundation for Miami for years to come.

For the entire list of ESPN True Freshmen All-Americans, you can click the link below:

Congrats Ahmmon, Shaq, and Mike! This is an honor you all deserve.

Go Canes