About two hours before kickoff Saturday, four Miami receivers sat together in silence.

They slid on their uniforms without talking. No words. No jokes. No smiles.

‘It was more tense than usual,’ Miami wideout Andre Johnson said. ‘Usually, we have more fun before games. It was like we lost our voice.’

Their voice, former starting wide receiver Kevin Beard, was more than 1,000 miles away in Miami, nursing a torn anterior crucial ligament suffered 10 days earlier against Pittsburgh. Before Saturday’s game at SU, Miami’s receivers missed his usual boisterousness.

During the game, they hardly seemed to miss him.

Even without Beard — who has 23 catches for 262 yards this season — Miami casually picked apart a Syracuse secondary ranked last in the Big East in pass defense in a 49-7 Hurricanes win at the Carrier Dome. Johnson, Miami’s leading receiver, caught six balls for 181 yards and a touchdown. Roscoe Parrish, who started for Beard, grabbed three passes for 39 yards.

‘Even when we lose somebody, we’ve got enough talent to fill the spot,’ Parrish said. ‘As a group, we dominate no matter who’s in there. Our playmakers step up to the challenge.”

On Saturday, Johnson proved that best, catching a 19-yard pass from quarterback Ken Dorsey on the Hurricanes’ first offensive play. Later in the quarter, Johnson ran a 10-yard slant, dodged two Syracuse defenders and sprinted for a 34-yard gain.

Perhaps Johnson’s biggest play came early in the second half with Miami up, 21-7. The junior outran Syracuse cornerback Steve Gregory and hauled in a Dorsey pass for 68 yards to the Syracuse 2-yard line. Miami scored on the next play.

‘We knew they were playing a lot of man-to-man coverage,’ Johnson said. ‘Whenever a receiver sees that, you got to love it. We knew we could burn them there.’

Said Parrish: ‘There’s really nothing good to say about Syracuse’s pass defense. They just couldn’t stay with us. I came in here nervous about starting. Against them, I wasn’t nervous for long.’

Parrish, a redshirt freshman making his first start, shook his nerves five minutes into the game when he caught a short swing pass. With Syracuse cornerback Will Hunter waiting to make the tackle, Parrish danced right and Hunter fell over with his arms grasping at the air. Parrish pranced for 18 yards.

‘Roscoe Parrish is the best player on this team,’ said tight end Kellen Winslow, who caught three passes for 64 yards. ‘He’s the most exciting player, the most talented player I’ve ever seen. He’ll be fine replacing (Kevin Beard). He’ll prove that.’

If Parrish falters, Ethenic Sands will help carry the receiving load. On Saturday, Sands caught two balls for 35 yards — including a 23-yard snag for Miami’s second touchdown.

And Miami’s slew of talented receivers continues. Jason Geathers lined up at wideout often Saturday, and he’ll continue to see more time. Geathers — who this season has gone from receiver to running back to receiver again — caught one pass Saturday for 19 yards.

“Their speed was just something we weren’t used to,” Syracuse safety Keeon Walker said, “and they took advantage of it. No matter who’s in there, they’ll burn you one-on-one.”

‘We’re stacked,’ Sands said. ‘We miss Kevin, but the thing we’re going to miss most is his presence. When you’ve got the talent we have, you can replace even your best players on the field.’

Published on December 2, 2002 at 12:00 pm