Canespace

Gloom, Despair And Agony On Me

Back in the good old days of television there was a country comedy show known as Hee Haw. There was always a skit that involved a song with the words in the title of this blog. It went something like this:

"Gloom, despair and agony me,

Deep dark depression excessive misery,

If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.

Gloom, despair and agony on me."

The University of Miami baseball team's #1 ranking all seemed so very promising. The season opening series sweep against Rutgers had the players, coaches and fans feeling good. Things were looking good, really good.

That was until the Florida Gators came into Coral Gables and ate the Miami Hurricanes alive like a cow that got too close to the swamp, dropped their head to take a cool drink of water and got taken away by a twelve footer.

In front of sold out home crowds all weekend at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field the Florida Gators chewed, mauled and ground up the top ranked Hurricanes like a Mark Light shake in a blender. It was that ugly.

The lack of offense (sound familiar?) was strikingly reminiscent of the UM football team playing and going three and out. The UM diamond dogs went three and out way too often during the series and rarely put together an strong inning of batting and running the bases. Can't score, can't win.

Oh well, we are getting kind of used to that anyway.

So now we sit here as fans with the baseball team dropping like a rock after being swept by their arch rival in our home stadium, the basketball team getting trounced by Notre Dame on the same day and the football team trying to recover from another dismal season with some new coaches and players who may have some sense of urgency to actually win more games than we lose.

To say the least these are trying times to be a Miami Hurricanes fan. We always will be fans, but winning something that matters would be nice too.

Feeling gloom, despair and agony every day are no way to go through life.

Canes Get Nipped By Gators In Game 1

It only seems fitting that it took extra innings to decide the winner of a game between the top two teams in the country.

No. 2 Florida outlasted top-ranked Miami before a sold-out crowd of 4,046 inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Gators (6-0) defeated the Hurricanes (4-1), 2-1, in 11 innings.

"At the end of the day it's one game. We have to turn the page and be ready to go," Miami head coach Gino DiMare said. "We still have a chance to win the series. Tomorrow is the most important game of the year."

Both sides turned in impressive pitching performances, but Florida caught a break in the top of the 11th inning against Miami closer Daniel Federman.

With the game tied at 1, Austin Langworthy and pinch hitter Jordan Butler connected on consecutive one-out singles to put runners at the corner for second baseman Cory Acton. Federman struck out the Gators' cleanup hitter, but right fielder Jacob Young doubled down the third base line to snap the tie and put Florida ahead, 2-1.

Anthony Vilar led off the bottom of the inning with a four-pitch walk, but reliever Nick Pogue took over for right-hander Ben Specht and retired the heart of Miami's lineup to save the game for Florida. 

Miami starter Brian Van Belle was brilliant to open the game, retiring the first seven batters of the game and allowing just one base runner while tallying seven strikeouts over the first four innings.

"My command was pretty on tonight. I felt good overall. We're all ready to get after it tomorrow," Van Belle said.

The Hurricanes face the Gators in game two tonight at 7 PM.

GO CANES!

'Canes Blank Kent State

A career day by Tony Jenkins and an outstanding showing by Miami's pitchers helped the Hurricanes defeat Kent State, 12-0, on Wednesday night.

Fresh off of a climb to the top of the D1 Baseball rankings, the Canes entered their first midweek contest of the 2020 season with a big rivalry series looming against the No. 2 Florida Gators. But Miami (4-0) kept its focus in the present and demolished the Golden Flashes (2-2) before 2,213 fans inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

"I just told the guys I thought that was about as complete game as I can recall," Miami head coach Gino DiMare said. "Last year, we were 9-3 in midweek games but we blew some leads. We got ahead early and we let teams get back in the game, and it was good to see us get up and kind of close it out and finish the game. I thought it was just a complete game. We pitched well. We played good defense, no errors again, which I think that's happened a few times so far in the four games, which is good. And we swung the bat well. So, all in all, very happy. Good to get that game behind us now and focus on this weekend."

Miami's bats got hot from the start, with reigning ACC Player of the Week Adrian Del Castillo sparking a rally with a two-out single in the first. Raymond Gil hit a hot shot to third that Mack Timbrook could not handle and the error brought defending ACC home run champ Alex Toral to the plate. The herculean first baseman destroyed an 0-2 pitch from Kent State starter Zach Schultz, and deposited it over the outfield wall for a three-run homer – his first of the season.

"That was great to finally get that one off my chest," said Toral, who blasted 24 home runs a year ago. "It's always good when you hit one out, but that first one us means a little more."

Alex McFarlane was electric in his first career start, allowing just one hit and striking out three batters over two scoreless innings. The freshman right-hander, who threw a pair of shutout innings in his UM debut over the weekend, threw 33 pitches on the night after entering the game on a pitch limit.

"Man, I like watching him pitch," DiMare said. "He is really talented. I'm sitting there just thinking, 'I can't wait to see this guy's second and third year—how good this guy can be—he really could be a top, top, top pick.' He's got an electric arm. He's just tapping into what he's doing. I mean he weighs 185 pounds, if I had to guess. He's going to get bigger. He's going to get stronger. … He's a freshman, but he's got a very, very good arm. He's 90 to 95 miles-per-hour. We were just going over the velocities and the slider was mid 80s. And he's got a great change-up, excellent change-up. So you're excited as a coach when you get guys like that, you're like, this could be really special for three years."

McFarlane's battery mate, fellow rookie Jared Thomas' first career hit was a big one. The bases-loaded, two-run double off the top of the wall in right-center got the offense going with one out in the bottom of the third. Jenkins followed with a three-run blast that hit off the scoreboard in left field and gave the Hurricanes an 8-0 advantage. His homer was the outfielders' first since a two-homer game at Virginia Tech on May 12, 2018.

"It's definitely a great feeling to hit a home run," Jenkins said. "We've been working really hard and in practice and in the offseason, so it's finally good to see everything starting to pay off."

Get Out Your Brooms!

On a very pleasant but slight damp weekend in Coral Gables your highly ranked (#3/#5) University of Miami hardballers easily and efficiently swept their season opening series with Rutgers by a collective score of 23-9.

The Hurricanes saw significant improvement in the play of the offensive line under new OL Coach Garin Justice and new starting QB D'Eriq King was consistent and solid if not spectacular in his debut. Newly minted UM kicker Jose Borregales knocked in three field goals, the longest from 48 yards, in an encouraging performance in his first time wearing Orange and Green. 

Oops, wrong sport, sorry about that little slip up. Now back to baseball...

Miami won 2020 home opener at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field on Friday night by a close score of 2-1 thanks to solid pitching.

The second game Saturday night was rain delayed until Sunday morning at 11 AM with the Hurricanes leading 8-2. The game ended the same way on Sunday. 

The final game of the series saw UM break out the big bats and power their way to an easy 13-6 win over the Scarlet Knights.

Miami has a mid-week game against Kent State before hosting the Florida Gators next weekend in what should be a raucously good time.

We are very confident in this 2020 UM baseball team that appears to have great potential and a very good chance to reach the CWS this season.

In Honor Of Coach Darrell Roach

You know RoachCane as a member of Canespace.

But his community knows him as something much more than that.

The Lemon Bay High School tennis program grew to new heights and great acclaim under the tutelage of coaches Darrell Roach and Mike Maier.

The school repaid their commitment by dedicating Tuesday its eight new tennis courts as the Darrell Roach and Mike Maier Tennis Complex. One hundred or more former and present high school tennis players, their parents and fellow teachers turned out to honor them.

“Any time you get the chance to recognize two individuals who have been instrumental in not only a tennis program, but a school and a program we have at Lemon Bay, it’s an awesome day,” Principal Bob Bedford said. He highlighted the careers of both coaches.

Roach, who retired after 39 years teaching, started at Lemon Bay in 1988. Among his accomplishments at the school, Roach grew the school’s audio-visual program. Bedford described Roach as “instrumental in everything we did.”

As a tennis coach, Roach’s 30-year coaching career included 305 wins, 114 loses and one tie, 13 district championships, eight straight district and regional championships, and his teams qualified for eight state tournaments. His teams finished in the top four in state competitions in 2015 and 2016. Over the years his teams were ranked fifth, sixth and seventh in the state.

“To finish in the top 10 any year is phenomenal,” Bedford said, adding the school board agreed the two coaches deserved the permanent recognition of their dedication to the students and tennis players.

Both Maier and Roach recognized the support they’ve had over the years from the parents and the community at large.

Coach Roach is an amazing guy and is highly respected among his peers. Simply put he is a great person and a hard core Miami Hurricanes fan.

We are very privileged to have him among our family of friends here on Canespace. He adds to the mix of our rich culture.

Canespace is better and stronger because of people like Darrell Roach.

I am honored to have met him and to call him my friend.

Coach Roach we salute U!

There Is A Lot To Like About Likens

The University of Miami football program has hired Rob Likens as wide receivers coach, head coach Manny Diaz announced Friday.

"We are excited to welcome Rob and his family to Coral Gables," Diaz said. "Rob has extensive experience with fast-paced, high-octane offenses and he can serve as a great teacher and motivator to the young men in our receivers room."   

Over his 28-year coaching career Likens has been an offensive coordinator at four schools, including the past two seasons at Arizona State, where he was also the quarterbacks coach.

In 2019, the Sun Devils started a true freshman quarterback, Jayden Daniels, for the first time in school history. Daniels threw for 2,943 yards with 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions, eclipsing the 300-yard passing mark on five occasions. He threw for a season-high 408 yards in ASU's 31-28 upset over sixth-ranked Oregon. Running back Eno Benjamin rushed for 1,083 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior, finishing his career with 15 100-yard rushing games. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk caught 65 passes for 1,192 yards and eight touchdowns, ranking second nationally in yards after catch (10.9). Aiyuk also ranked sixth nationally in all-purpose yards (155.8 per game). Benjamin and Aiyuk both earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors. The Sun Devils also turned the ball over just 14 times, ranking sixth in the country in turnover margin.

In 2018, ASU was the only Power 5 program to boast a 3,000-yard passer (Manny Wilkins), 1,500-yard rusher (Benjamin) and 1,000-yard receiver (N'Keal Harry). Wilkins accounted for 28 total touchdowns, while Benjamin set a school single-season record with 1,642 rushing yards. He broke ASU's single-game rushing mark with 312 yards in a win over Oregon State. Harry caught 73 passes for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns and was later selected by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Both Benjamin and Harry earned first-team all-conference honors.

Likens spent the 2017 season as the Sun Devils' wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. ASU had the 10th highest-graded passing attack in the nation according to Pro Football Focus after being graded 86th in 2016. The 76-spot swing in the passing game rankings was the third highest in all of FBS. Harry racked up 82 catches for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors. The Sun Devils had five different receivers with 100-plus yard games in 2017, a school record.

Likens arrived in Tempe after two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Kansas. He spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons at California as assistant head coach and outside receivers coach, adding the title of passing game coordinator his second season. 
In 2014, Likens' passing game, led by future NFL top overall draft pick Jared Goff, ranked sixth in the NCAA in passing yards per game (346) and broke the school's single-season passing yardage record with 4,152 yards. Additionally, three of Cal's top four receivers were Biletnikoff Award candidates in Chris Harper, Kenny Lawler and Bryce Treggs.
 

Cal's passing game during Likens' first season with the Golden Bears set single-season school records for passing yardage (3,977), pass completions (368) and pass attempts (622), while also establishing new single-game marks for passing yardage (521 vs. Washington State) and pass attempts (65 vs. Northwestern). 

I Feel The Need, The Need For Reed

In a famous line from one of my favorite movies Top Gun, actor Tom Cruise is quoted as saying: "I feel the need, the need for speed."

Well apparently in the ever emerging script being written by Manny Diaz in his effort to build "The New Miami", Diaz felt a need to reach back into The Old Miami days and dig deep into Hurricane history and tap former UM player and NFL Hall of Famer Ed Reed as his new Chief of Staff for the University of Miami football team.

If you the fans were waiting for it to get real, and really get better at UM, well it just did. It doesn't get any more real than Ed Reed.

This is not only a "step in the right direction" this is a huge "leap into the future" for the once legendary, but recently tarnished, Miami Hurricane football program. With this one move accountability has returned to Coral Gables.

While many, including myself, were already prepared to accept Diaz's demise after year two, this move may turn out to be the saving grace that actually results in "The New Miami" lasting a little bit longer than we may have expected and hopefully longer than just the wink of a young girl's eye. 

While it is way too early to know or predict how much or how soon Reed will impact this team, we the fans must be encouraged by this sudden and unexpected positive turn of events. We like it, and we like it a lot.

For now, I will leave you with one thought in the form of a question: Is it random chance, just circumstance or maybe a divine intervention that #20 is coming back to resurrect the Miami Hurricanes football program in 2020?

What Ever Happened To QB U?

The names are very familiar and read like a "Who's Who" of college football QBs.

Jim Kelly

Bernie Kosar

Vinnie Testaverde

Steve Walsh

Craig Erickson

Gino Toretta

Ken Dorsey was the last great QB to play at Miami.

And then, all of a sudden, it was over. Just like that.

It's interesting to see the lack of impact of star ratings for quarterbacks since then.

Let's take a look at Miami's quarterbacks since Dorsey:

2003-2004: Brock Berlin (5 stars) Above average

2005-2007: Kyle Wright (5 stars) Below Average

2004-2007: Kirby Freeman (4 stars) Below average

2007: Robert Marve (4 stars) Average

2008-2011: Jacory Harris (4 stars) Average

2012-2013: Stephen Morris (3 stars) Above average

2014-2016: Brad Kayaa (4 stars) Above average

2017-2018: Malik Rozier (3 stars) Average

2018-2019: N'Kosi Perry (4 stars) Below Average

2019: Jarren Williams (4 stars) Below Average

This doesn't include the quarterbacks who never even played, such as Kevin Olsen (4 stars) or Jack Allison (4 stars).

Meanwhile three star quarterback D'Eriq King is now being rated as an elite level quarterback. Johnny Manziel, Joe Burrows, and Marcus Mariotta were also three star players coming out of high school yet all became transcendent players for their college programs. It really points out how much of a crap shoot recruiting can be, at least at the quarterback position.

So when you think about it, you have to think that Miami's biggest challenge is finding that new star QB that can transcend over the "average" level and excel the team above the next level.

Who is that guy?

Is it the new QB King?

I guess only time will tell.

Star Struck

The following information is according to our star studded recruiting expert TonyCane. Here's how UM recruiting has trended over the years.

Four and five star players signed and % of total class:

2002: 15 (68%)
2003: 13 (54%)
2004: 12 (44%)
2005: 13 (76%)
2006: 11 (52%)
2007: 08 (42%) COACHING CHANGE
2008: 16 (50%)
2009: 10 (53%)
2010: 07 (24%)
2011: 02 (11%) COACHING CHANGE
2012: 10 (29%)
2013: 09 (43%)
2014: 10 (34%)
2015: 08 (32%)
2016: 08 (38%) COACHING CHANGE
2017: 10 (40%)
2018: 17 (68%)
2019: 11 (46%) COACHING CHANGE
2020: 12 (57%)

So what was our overall roster composition?

Four and five star players total and % of overall team:

2006: 46 (58% of overall roster)
2007: 42 (55% of overall roster)
2008: 42 (49% of overall roster)
2009: 41 (57% of overall roster)
2010: 39 (47% of overall roster)
2011: 28 (36% of overall roster)
2012: 21 (27% of overall roster)
2013: 23 (31% of overall roster)
2014: 23 (32% of overall roster)
2015: 28 (34% of overall roster)
2016: 27 (36% of overall roster)
2017: 29 (38% of overall roster)
2018: 38 (48% of overall roster)
2019: 35 (47% of overall roster)
2020: 41 (54% of overall roster)

So what do you think about these past trends and Miami's future opportunities?

Updated Miami Roster Composition

From "The Source" our friend TonyCane:

QUARTERBACKS (5)
N'Kosi Perry (4 stars)
Tate Martell (4 stars)
Tyler Van Dyke (4 stars)
D'Eriq King (3 stars)
Peyton Matocha (2 stars)

WIDE RECEIVERS (8)
Mark Pope (5 stars)
Mike Harley (4 stars)
Jeremiah Payton (4 stars)
Michael Redding (4 stars)
Xavier Restrepo (4 stars)
Daquris Wiggins (3 stars)
Dazalin Worsham (3 stars)
Keyshawn Smith (3 stars)
Marshall Few (unranked)

TIGHT ENDS (5)
Brevin Jordan (4 stars)
Will Mallory (4 stars)
Dominic Mammarelli (4 stars)
Michael Irvin (3 stars)
Larry Hodges (3 stars)

RUNNING BACKS (5)
Camron Davis (4 stars)
Don Chaney (4 stars)
Jaylan Knighton (4 stars)
Robert Burns (3 stars)
Michael Parrott (unranked)

OFFENSIVE LINE (14)
Kai-Leon Herbert (4 stars)
Navaughn Donaldson (4 stars)
Cleveland Reed (4 stars)
Delone Scaife (4 stars)
John Campbell (4 stars)
Jalen Rivers (4 stars)
Corey Gaynor (3 stars)
Zach Dykstra (3 stars)
Zalon'tae Hillery (3 stars)
Jakai Clark (3 stars)
Ousman Traore (3 stars)
Chris Washington (3 stars)
Adam Elgammal (2 stars)
Zion Nelson (2 stars)

DEFENSIVE LINE (7)
Nesta Silvera (4 stars)
Jason Blissett (4 stars)
Jon Ford (3 stars)
Jordan Miller (3 stars)
Jared Harrison-Hunte (3 stars)
Jalar Holley (3 stars)
Willie Moise (3 stars)

DEFENSIVE ENDS (9)
Jaelen Phillips (5 stars)
Gregory Rousseau (4 stars)
Cameron Williams (4 stars)
Jahfari Harvey (4 stars)
Chantz Williams (4 stars)
Elijah Roberts (4 stars)
Patrick Joyner (3 stars)
Quentin Williams (3 stars)
Quincy Roche (2 stars)

LINEBACKERS (7)
Avery Huff (4 stars)
Zach McCloud (3 stars)
Bradley Jennings, Jr (3 stars)
Waynmon Steed (3 stars)
Samuel Brooks (3 stars)
Corey Flagg Jr (3 stars)
Tirek Austin-Cave (3 stars)

DEFENSIVE BACKS (14)
Christian Williams (4 stars)
Al Blades (4 stars)
Gilbert Frierson (4 stars)
Gurvan Hall (4 stars)
Keontra Smith (4 stars)
Te'Cory Couch (4 stars)
Bubba Bolden (4 stars)
Jalen Harrell (4 stars)
Keshawn Washington (4 stars)
Isaiah Dunson (4 stars)
Amari Carter (3 stars)
D.J. Ivey (3 stars)
Brian Balom (3 stars)
Marcus Clarke (3 stars)

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
Louis Hedley (3 stars)
Jose Borregales (2 stars)
Clay James (unranked)