PASADENA, Calif. -- Forget Bernie. And Vinny. And Gino (please, please forget Gino). The real secret to Miami's dynasty was a host of sloppy, cat-quick pocket-crushing defensive tackles that made the 'Canes the nastiest opponent in college football. Although not since the time when Warren Sapp strutted off the Miami campus have the Hurricanes had a dominator to anchor their defense and set the tone. Not so coincidentally, without its masher in the middle, Miami couldn't be much more than just a very good team.

However, the 'Canes are finally back. All the way back. And if you have any doubts, just look in the trenches where Miami has unleashed another beast right out of the mold of Jerome Brown-Russell Maryland-Cortez Kennedy and Sapp. His name is Vince Wilfork, and he is Next. He stands 6-foot-2 and goes about 346, and he has the talent the Miami coaches used to whisper about.

"He could be as good as any we've ever had here," says UM defensive coordinator Randy Shannon, a former Miami LB who played with Brown and Maryland.

"Vince is a monster out there," says MLB Jon Vilma. "You can't block that guy one-on-one. Teams have to double team him."

	“	We've been hearing people talk about how they're gonna run it down our throats all season.But no one's done it. They end up using misdirection and draw plays. That's not running it down our throats. That's not power football. Nebraska says they're gonna come right at us. OK, then bring it on. We're ready ”
		— Miami DL Matt Walters

After being depleted by scholarship sanctions that zapped Miami of any depth up front (last season Matt Walters actually started for UM as a 245-pound DT), the 'Canes now are loaded on the D-line, using a free-flowing eight-man rotation. And that depth may be the key to Miami winning the Rose Bowl presented by AT&T.

Nebraska comes into the game averaging a nation-leading 315 rushing yards per, much of it right up the gut. They won 15 NCAA rushing titles and say they're coming right after Miami.

"We've been hearing people talk about how they're gonna run it down our throats all season," says Walters. "But no one's done it. They end up using misdirection and draw plays. That's not running it down our throats. That's not power football. Nebraska says they're gonna come right at us. OK, then bring it on. We're ready."

They are. Shannon is able to constantly keep bringing fresh linemen in to attack offenses.

"I think mentally you can see how it wears on the other team," says Walters. "They're battling and battling and then, the whistle blows and here comes a new fresh guy whose gonna come after him. It really is demoralizing for them, and now we finally have the depth and the talent to do that."

Juniors William Joseph and Walters are the leaders of the unit, but the emerging star, an even bigger impact guy than Joseph, the team sack leader, is Wilfork. His presence especially against the power running game of Nebraska is pivotal to this defense. "He's just a freak of nature," says Miami defensive line coach Greg Mark.

After bum-rushing his way into the rotation, the massive freshman from Lantana, Florida has piled up 41 tackles (11 for losses) and also forced three fumbles.

Hurricane Vince actually was expected to hit UM last season, but he didn't become eligible until last December. While struggling to get his test scores, Wilfork ballooned. His weight swelled from 315 to nearly 380 and his self-esteem shriveled up.

"We couldn't talk to him at all," says his father David Wilfork. "He just wanted to be alone, but we pressured him more than ever. People around here kept telling him he'd never do anything more than high school, so me and my wife kept saying 'Prove them wrong. Make 'em liars.' But he was so humiliated. He just didn't want to be seen. He wouldn't even walk to the mailbox."

Fortunately, Wilfork did meet with a tutor twice a week and was able to enroll at UM in time for last season's Sugar Bowl practices. As a joke, one of the coaches had the then-355-pounder line up at cornerback to cover D.J. Williams, then Miami's fullback who was running a deep out. Teammates were laughing their heads off watching Wilfork backpedal and wheel out to keep up. But all the laughter stopped and they began to shake their heads when they witnessed Wilfork spin around and bat Ken Dorsey's pass away from Williams 25 yards downfield.

Wilfork just smiles at the story. "Sometimes I just amaze myself," he says.

Mark says Wilfork's got "rhino speed. You get him charging and he'll catch anybody in 15 to 20 yards." The craziest part of Wilfork's Prime-time imitation was that he showed off more than just flat-out speed, he showed mind-blowing quickness too.

Wilfork knows about the legacy at Miami of DTs, about Jerome and 'Tez and Sapp, but he has a bigger force driving him. His parents have made the hour-and-a half drive to every UM home game this fall, but they won't be in Pasadena Thursday. David Wilfork can't travel. He just had hip replacement surgery and he can't get around. It is just the latest in a harrowing series of ailments and illnesses that have befallen the 47-year-old former Bethune-Cookman defensive tackle in the last 10 years.

Vince was just 10 when he watched kidney failure nearly gut his old man. In just two months back in 1992, David Wilfork says he lost 140 pounds, going from 285 to 145. But he kept battling. Then, he lost an eye, and had to have a toe amputated, and as his body kept betraying him, he vowed he wouldn't let diabetes or anything else get the best of him. Just like he made sure his kid wouldn't let the embarrassment of not getting a high enough test score rob him of his future.

"He keeps me going," says David. "I know if I worry about any of the (ailments) I wouldn't have a life to lead."

Vince tries to talk to his parents every other day while he is prepping for the biggest game of his life. After all, his dad is his inspiration and he has a lot he wants to show him. Even if he only gets to see it from 2,500 miles away on the TV this time.

"He is my hero, and his spirit is relentless," says Vince.

Coaches say that is the best quality a defensive lineman can have is a motor that doesn't quit. This is the one thing coaches still wonder about their young stud DT, 'Does he have the grit to want it bad enough?' Does he have the heart and the determination that his old man has?

Bruce Feldman covers college football for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.