Miami and West Virginia will play on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. ET in the Russell Athletic Bowl from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. These two teams haven’t played each other since a 22-20 Miami victory in 2003, but things have gotten heated in the days leading up to kickoff.
WVU got chippy with Miami at a charity event before the Russell Athletic Bowl
An old Big East rivalry somehow managed to flare back up in the last place you’d expect.
According to the Palm Beach Post, things got chippy between the two sides during a children’s charity event this week. It apparently all started with WVU wide receiver Shelton Gibson telling a group of Miami defensive backs, “You ain’t met me.”
It continued when Mountaineer defensive end Adam Shuler (a Florida native) called out a Miami safety, Rayshawn Jenkins, about his playing time.
Shuler, a wide-eyed Longwood native whose numerous tattoos include the “407” zip code and the “100” emoji, was among the loudest. He seemed to irritate Jenkins by asking him loudly and incredulously, “You play?”
The irony there: Jenkins, a senior from Tampa, has played in 48 games, has nine career interceptions and was an honorable mention All-ACC pick. Shuler, a redshirt freshman, is listed as a backup. He has one sack in 12 games this year.
Then, WVU players reportedly “mimicked the poses” of some Miami players as they took pictures with a family. After this, both sides had a stare-down for about five minutes.
There was also an exchange between Shuler and some Miami players as they were headed towards the team buses.
“Bye Felicia!” Shuler shouted as the Canes walked by a group of Mountaineers, toward the exit. “Hey, why you talking while you leaving?” a teammate called out. “Why you walking and talking?”
In case you forgot, Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya’s mother, Angela Means Kaaya, is the “Bye Felicia!” girl from the 1995 movie Friday. (Language warning.)
One of the Mountaineers, South Florida native Xavier Preston, then riled up Miami wide receiver Stacy Coley.
“Stacy!” Preston shouted to Stacy Coley. “You ain’t wanna tell me nothing.”
Miami staffers corralled Coley, and a few others who had stopped, and kept them moving. For several minutes after the Hurricanes departed, the Mountaineers were bubbling with bravado.
Lastly, a WVU player threatened to put Miami cornerback Corey Elder’s draft stock in jeopardy.
A Miami source who was at the event told SB Nation: “WVU just started running their mouths for no reason. Nobody on our side started anything.”
It wasn’t all hostility, though:
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