Miami Starting QB Marve Out Of Emerald Bowl

By WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

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Rumors have been swirling around University of Miami redshirt freshman quarterback Robert Marve for weeks, rumors that he might transfer, rumors that his grades are not too hot.

It appears one of those rumors is true.

Marve, the team’s starting QB, has been suspended for next week’s Emerald Bowl game against Cal. Apparently Marve missed at least four classes, triggering an automatic suspension via team rules.

The current Emerald Bowl line on WagerWeb.com lists Cal as a 7.5-point favorite, and it’s doubtful this news changes that line much.

It’s Marve’s second suspension of the season – he was benched for the first game for an off-field incident last spring. He was excused from practice Thursday and went home to Tampa, Fla., to be with his family.



Former NFL player Eugene Marve, Robert’s father, said his son has not left the school for good, dousing the other rumor: “He’s coming back to Miami,” he told the Miami Herald.

Robert Marve told The Associated Press that the suspension stems from “a miscommunication about absentees for a class.” His father said much of the same to the Herald.

”What happened was he was given a warning not to miss another class,” Eugene Marve said. “He was 15 minutes late to the class because he was talking to another teacher — and that was verified. The academic person from the athletic department comes in and checks to see if the players are in class. After five minutes he leaves, and then he marks them absent if they’re not there.

“Robert appealed it and he was turned down, based on the circumstances. He had an e-mail and a letter verification through the teacher he was talking to that they did meet. He presented it to the people he was talking to during the appeal. They denied him.”

Marve completed 116 of 213 passes for 1,293 yards this season for Miami, with nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

In essence, Marve was a starter in name only, as he and Jacory Harris split time during games. Harris started the opener and came off the bench in every other game. The true freshman injured his right shoulder in the regular-season finale Nov. 29 at North Carolina State but will be fine for the bowl game. UM has no depth behind Harris, so if he were to get hurt in the bowl game, that would shift the advantage to Cal in a big way.

Harris completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 1,001 yards with 10 TDs and six interceptions. He has a bigger arm and is more mobile than Marve, so a strong bowl game, especially with Marve’s off-field issues, could lead to Harris taking the starting job into spring camp.

The Hurricanes (7-5) are back in the postseason after missing it last year for the first time in 10 seasons. Cal (8-4) finished fourth in the Pac-10 and will play in its sixth consecutive bowl. It will essentially be a home game for the Golden Bears, with the school’s campus 13 miles from San Francisco in Berkeley, Calif.

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