Miami Hurricanes: What Ray-Ray Armstrong's Dismissal Means to the Hurricanes

There had been rumors of Ray Ray Armstrong being in trouble a few weeks back when the MiamiHerald.com reported (from insidetheu.com) that Armstrong broke team rules for contacting a booster on twitter.

Well, those rumors might have had some truth to them as Armstrong was released from the football team on Wednesday.  There was no official word on why he was released when this article was written.

Armstrong came into Miami as a five-star safety out of Sanford, FL.  The 6'4," 220-pound Armstrong was to be the next great safety to come out of Miami.  

Armstrong had a terrific freshman season and was becoming one of my favorite Hurricanes on the defensive side of the ball.  He played well his sophomore season, but struggled at times, missing far too many tackles.

Last season was a disaster, as Armstrong missed the first four games due to the Nevin Shapiro scandal and just a few weeks later received another suspension from coach Al Golden for breaking team rules, which led to another one game suspension.

He finished at Miami with 134 tackles, five tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, six pass deflections, and four interceptions in three years. 

Earlier this year he was put on the 2012 Bednarik Award Watch list—given to the best defensive player in the country.

That brings us to the present, and a farewell to an athlete that had the physical ability to be a force at the college level. 

That didn't quite pan out as many, including myself, believed Armstrong didn't live up to the expectations.

The worse part about Armstrong's dismissal is losing a starting safety this close to the start of the season.

As it stands on the official Miami Hurricanes website, A.J.Highsmith is No.1 on the depth chart.  The question is: Did the University just remove Armstrong and moved Highsmith up, or did coach Golden told them to?

I honestly believe it will be between Highsmith or Andrew Swasey—but Kacy Rogers has something to say about that after his great spring performance.

Let's also not forget about true freshman and four-star recruit Deon Bush, who will be practicing with the team this fall.

Whoever fills the spot better bring their 'A' game because there are a handful of good players on the depth chart that can take it at anytime.