During an appearance on the Raw Room podcast hosted by NFL vets Daren Bates and Jalen Collins, the star running back shared how he accidentally committed to UM in the most Miami way possible: during an outing to a strip club arranged by some of his future teammates.
"We are in the strip club, you know, the dancer's comin'. I got a dancer on me. Motherfucker look at me and say, 'Man you comin'?'" Portis says one of the upperclassmen inquired. "Shook my head," he adds after dissolving into gales of hysterical laughter. "'Hell yeah!' My head dropped back. My eyes rolled. That was the last thing I remember."
Unbeknownst to Portis at the time, his declaration was misinterpreted.Clinton Portis committed to Miami in the wildest way 😂 @TheRealC_Portis
— Raw Room (@Raw__Room) September 19, 2024
Full pod: https://t.co/9YYisBlGBW pic.twitter.com/cOIv4HGfN8
"The next day, I get up to go down to breakfast, get on the elevator. I'm hung-over. Bing. Door opens, one of the coaches walk on, 'Aw man, congratulations! We heard you committed last night! I say, 'Huh?' I'm looking. What?" Portis recounts. "The elevator goes down another floor. The next coach gets on, 'Aw man, congratulations! We're so excited to have you here!'"
Portis says he was perplexed, as was his mom, who'd accompanied him on the visit to the school (though not the strip club). He decided to go through with it because the coaches were so excited.
Then he remembered the conversation from the night before.
"They asked me if I was coming," he reasons in hindsight. "I told the truth, 'Yeah, I am.' It wasn't about coming to Miami. It was that lap dance that I was tellin' you I was comin' from. That's how I committed to the University of Miami."
It paid off for Portis. He finished his UM career as a member of a national championship squad and one of the best running backs in college football history, then went on to an All-Pro NFL career with the Denver Broncos and the Washington Commanders.
