Coming off a 7-5 season in which they tied for the ACC Coastal Division lead, the Miami Hurricanes football team got some good news this week, announcing that three juniors would be returning for their senior seasons.
Offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson and Brandon Linder, and defensive lineman Curtis Porter will be back with the Hurricanes for the 2013 season, the trio announced at a Monday morning press conference. Their returns give Miami 20 returning starters from 2012.
Henderson was a mainstay on the Miami offensive line, starting the final seven games of last season at right tackle.
"I'm really proud of Seantrel. He exhibited patience and self-restrain and approached this business decision with transparency and maturity," Miami head coach Al Golden said in a release. "Instant gratification and leaving would have been easy for Seantrel; instead, he's accepted the challenge to become the best person and player he can be."
Linder, who was named to the All-ACC third team by Phil Steele, started all 12 games at right guard in 2012 and has started every game for the past two seasons.
"We're blessed to have Brandon returning to our football team," Golden said in the release. "He has clearly grown over the last year and has been a beacon of consistency for our student-athletes during an extraordinarily turbulent time. He's not only the most experienced Miami Hurricane having started 29 games in his career, possessing a 24 consecutive games started streak, but he is a tremendous student and one of our finest leaders."
Porter, a redshirt junior from Charlotte, N.C., returned from injuries to play in Miami's final four games of the season, making two starts. The defensive tackle, who graduated from Miami in December, racked up nine total tackles in those four games, as well as 2.5 tackles for loss.
"We're excited to have the opportunity to work with Curtis for an entire year," Golden said in the release. "He's had some unfortunate injuries which have encumbered his development over the last couple of years; however, he really came on strong during the last half of the year for us.
"He exhibited to everyone associated with our program a glimpse of what he can become. Curtis is talented - he's smart, strong, powerful and explosive yet has room for development on and off the field."
