CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The University of Miami may not have the best team in the country, but the Hurricanes will undoubtedly have one of the youngest.
Of the 48 players listed on UM's depth chart (not counting special teams), 13 are freshmen, two are redshirt freshmen and one is a junior-college transfer.
That means that exactly one-third of the players expected to see the most playing time tonight never have appeared in a college football game.
Not that there isn't talent. The 13 incoming freshmen form part of a recruiting class ranked No. 1 in February by ESPN.
Two of those freshmen will start against Charleston Southern.
Jacory Harris, the first UM starting quarterback to begin a season without any experience since Bernie Kosar in 1983, will be joined in the opening lineup by defensive end Marcus Robinson.
Other freshmen, including receivers Aldarius Johnson and former Glades Central standout Travis Benjamin and defensive tackle Marcus Forston, will play as much as the starters.
That may bode well for the Hurricanes' future, but college football is not often kind to freshmen, who are rarely physically ready to compete with players four or five years older.
UM coach Randy Shannon said he has no choice, pointing out this week that "if we didn't have all these freshmen, we'd probably have a one-deep (depth chart)."
"You can say you feel uncomfortable, but what can you do about it?" Shannon said. "You have to coach them up (and) they go in and play the game."
In comparison to Miami, Florida has one freshman listed on its two-deep depth chart on offense and defense.
Warchant.com projects Florida State to play four freshmen, although that number will increase because several Seminoles will serve suspensions early in the season.
Don Bailey, a former UM player and the team's radio analyst, said this group of Hurricanes is the youngest he can recall since Howard Schnellenberger's first season as coach in 1979.
That team took its lumps, but formed the backbone of UM's 1983 national champions.
Bailey worries that fans may not be taking the long view on this season's team.
"Fans are so sucked up and caught up into this recruiting class that they think the project is finished when, in reality, it has just begun," he said.
UM will get back some experienced help against Florida on Sept. 6 when seven players return from one-game suspensions.
But the Hurricanes might also get younger.
Linebacker Arthur Brown, generally considered UM's top recruit, as well as three or four other freshmen not included on the current depth chart could work their way in quickly.
"There's going to be times when they make mistakes, but that's just natural," said cornerback Chavez Grant. "Next year, when they have experience, we'll be even better."
Jorge Milian writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: jmilian AT pbpost.com