While no one forced a turnover in the season opener of the Miami Hurricanes game, Turnover Chain 4.0 made its big debut on Saturday during the match up against the Louisville Cardinals.
Al Blades Jr., the cornerback from Fort Lauderdale, didn’t let the chance slip by in the second game of the season. With an interception late in the second quarter, Blades became the first player of 2020 to proudly display the fourth edition of the glitzy incentive.
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As always, Turnover Chain 4.0 is some serious bling. Usually with a purely Miami theme, this year’s chain tributes the entire state of Florida.
Thank you so much, @AlBlades_Jr.
— Canes F😷😷tball (@CanesFootball) September 20, 2020
Welcome the new TURNOVER CHAIN. pic.twitter.com/qUWuM5Aye1
The state of Florida “U” charm weighs 300 grams, while the chain itself weighs two kilograms and is about 30- inches long.
There are 1,400 sapphire stones in the “U” – half green and half orange. The state of Florida portion of the charm has 1,900 white sapphires.
AJ Machado, the owner of AJ’s Jewelry in Miami, once again created the customized turnover chain. Turnover Chain 4.0 took roughly three months to complete.
Head Coach Manny Diaz, who came up with the idea in 2017 when he was the team’s defensive coordinator, fielded questions from reporters before the Sept. 10 first game and talked about the turnover chain. He said COVID-19 would not stymie the tradition.
“It’s not a turnover mask, which would’ve made some sense this year. We weren’t thinking ahead in time.”
Diaz said the 4.0 will be wiped down after every use.