The University of Miami football team has been called many names over the last three decades, some of them true some not so true. One thing that IS true is that Miami is accurately known as "Tight End U".
Don't believe me? Then just read this partial list of former Hurricane TEs that have gone on to do great things at the highest level of competition in the NFLU:
Glenn Dennison: Drafted in the 2nd round of the 1984 NFL Draft as the 39th pick, and played for the New York Jets (1984) and the Washington Redskins (1987).
Alfredo Roberts: Drafted in the 8th round of 1988 NFL Draft as the 197th pick, and played for the Kansas City Chiefs (1988–1990), and the Dallas Cowboys (1991–1993).
Bubba Franks: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2000 NFL Draft as the 14th pick and played for the Green Bay Packers (2000–2007) and the New York Jets (2008).
Mondriel Fulcher: Drafted in the 7th round of the 2000 NFL Draft as the 227th pick and played for the Oakland Raiders (2000–2002).
Jeremy Shockey:Drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft as the 14th pick and played for the New York Giants (2002–2007), and the New Orleans Saints (2008–2010). Shockey currently plays for the Carolina Panthers (2011-present).
Kellen Winslow: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2004 NFL Draft as the 6th pick and played for the Cleveland Browns (2004–2008), and currently playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009–present).
Kevin Everett: Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2005 NFL Draft as the 86th pick, and played for the Buffalo Bills (2005–2007), suffered a career ending cervical spine injury in 2007, was not removed from the active roster by the Bills until 2008 so he could qualify for full pension.
Buck Ortega: Played for the Washington Redskins (2006), Cleveland Browns (2007), Miami Dolphins (2007), and currently playing for the New Orleans Saints (2008–present).
Greg Olsen: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2007 NFL Draft as the 31st pick and currently playing for the Chicago Bears (2007–present).
Jimmy Graham: Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2010 NFL Draft as the 95th pick, by the New Orleans Saints. Played four years of college basketball at Miami and only one year of football at The U. Currently plays for the New Orleans Saints (2010–present).
Dedrick Epps: Drafted in the 7th round of the 2010 NFL Draft as the 235th pick by the San Diego Chargers (2010). Currently plays for the Miami Dolphins (2010–present).
This year there are so many players battling for time at tight end that no clear front-runner stands out. The final depth chart at the end of Spring practice was actually pretty interesting considering that the players competing for the position were simply listed alphabetically.
The little talked about and seemingly unheralded Clive Walford may have been the most promising of the group in the Spring. He played extremely well in the scrimmages and in the Spring Game. Walford showed great ability to catch passes in traffic and the willingness to battle for the ball in the air. Many Hurricane insiders have already warned us that Walford is the man to beat at TE for Miami in 2011.
Asante Cleveland was not able to play this Spring due to injury although if he had he certainly would have been able to show his many skills. Cleveland showed big time ability late last season, but missing the Spring could hurt him a lot, especially with a new coaching staff in place.
Blake Ayles, John Calhoun, Corey White and Chase Ford are also in the mix.
Ayles is a tall, lanky pass catcher mutch like Greg Olsen. He transferred from USC under the NCAA rule allowing Trojans to transfer without the usual one year requirement to sit out a season. Ayles impressed some with his excellent route running this Spring.
Calhoun is a converted fullback and White is a converted OL trying to find playing time at TE in 2011. Both are devastating run blockers.
Ford is entering his Senior season in his second year at Miami after transferring from a JUCO. At the beginning of last season Ford was seen as the answer to the TE position at Miami but had a disappointing year that included several drops along the way.
With continued questions at QB this year Miami is expected to keep the ball on the ground a lot in 2011 so it will be especially important to have tight ends that can block effectively in the running game.
In fact we expect the Hurricanes to play two tight ends at the same time in certain situations early in games and with the lead late in games making the TE position critical to this season's success.
Still the question remains: Who will be the next great tight end at TE U?
John Calipari's win total changed
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- It turns out Kentucky coach John Calipari hasn't reached 500 career victories after all.
The school says it will change Calipari's career record because of 42 vacated victories from his time at Memphis and Massachusetts. In a statement, Kentucky said it had consulted with the NCAA and determined it was "in error" to have celebrated Calipari's 500th career win against Florida on Feb. 26.
The school says it will report Calipari's career record "consistent with the NCAA's official records and statistics."
The school had debated the issue with the NCAA because Calipari was never found to be at fault for the violations that led to the vacated wins.
Kentucky reached its first Final Four since 1998 under Calipari.
Posted by: solarcane | June 16, 2011 at 11:14 PM
Six Canes Named to Lindy's Preseason All-ACC Team
Miami also predicted to finish second in the ACC's Coastal Division
Lindy's ACC Predictions
CORAL GABLES, Fla.-- Lindy's Sports has announced that six Hurricanes have been named to its 2011 Preseason All-ACC Team.
Ray-Ray Armstrong and Brandon Washington each earned first team honors, while Travis Benjamin, Marcus Forston, Sean Spence and Vaughn Telemaque have been named to the publication's second team.
In addition, Lindy's has tabbed the Hurricanes to finish second in the ACC's Coastal Division behind Virginia Tech and ahead of North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Duke.
Washington, who was also recently included in Rivals.com's list of the Top 100 college football players nationally, started all 13 games for the Canes at right guard as a sophomore last season. He recorded 56 pancakes, 11 lumberjacks and was named ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week on two occasions (at Duke, 10/16; vs. Virginia Tech, 11/20).
Armstrong ranked third on UM's defense in tackles a season ago with 79. Playing in all 13 games and garnering four starts, Armstrong also tied for the team-lead with three interceptions.
Lindy's Coastal Division predictions are similar to the final standings of the 2010 season, when Virginia Tech went 8-0 and Miami went 5-3 to finish first and second respectively in the division. From there, North Carolina and Georgia Tech tied for third with a league mark of 4-4 and Virginia and Duke tied for fifth with an identical record of 1-7.
Lindy's Atlantic Division prediction for the 2011 season have Florida State winning the division followed by Clemson, Maryland, NC State and Wake Forest.
The Hurricanes will open their 2011 season at Maryland on Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Posted by: solarcane | June 16, 2011 at 11:17 PM
Coach Mercadante resigns from baseball program.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - University of Miami assistant baseball coach Joe Mercadante has turned in his official letter of resignation to head coach Jim Morris.
Mercadante spent the previous seven years at UM working with hitters and catchers. He spent his first four seasons in Coral Gables as a volunteer assistant coach before becoming the team's hitting coach following the 2008 season.
The official letter of resignation was turned in to Morris on Monday morning - a week after the Hurricanes were eliminated from regional play in their record 39th consecutive NCAA appearance.
A search for a new hitting coach will begin immediately.
Posted by: solarcane | June 16, 2011 at 11:22 PM
Explain this as well - hockey is everything in Canada, it's life. Why hasn't it been won by a Canadian team since 1993 (some Canadians say it hasn't been won since 1990 b/c they don't want to affiliate themselves with Montreal) ... and why has Canada lost their teams to the USA - it's not like all those towns were trying to support a football team, basketball team and baseball team at the same time
At least the Jets are going back to where they belong .. but probably won't be allowed to be called the Jets again
Real classy by Vancouver as well, trashing their town .. again .. as they did after losing to the Rangers for the Cup
Posted by: Six | June 16, 2011 at 09:02 PM
............................................
Six i like to bring the facts most of the time here and it's nothing personal against you. I am sure you know that Canada won the olympic gold in Hockey last year, Montreal is the most popular team all over the country and is the winningest franchise in pro sports history with the Yankees. Lastly hockey is not everything north of the border just go on the UN web site and just click on the best countries with the best quality of life based on education, health care and so on...
Total Stanley Cup championships
Montreal Canadiens 24
Toronto Maple Leafs 13
Detroit Red Wings 11
Boston Bruins 6
Edmonton Oilers 5
Chicago Blackhawks 4
New York Islanders 4
New York Rangers 4
New Jersey Devils 3
Pittsburgh Penguins 3
Colorado Avalanche 2
Philadelphia Flyers 2
Anaheim Ducks 1
Calgary Flames 1
Carolina Hurricanes 1
Dallas Stars 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 1
Oh and for the riots it's really stupid but it's nothing compare to the riots of the early 1980's in Miami while i was a student at UM. Actually UM was the only school open in Dade during the riots. To all the Parents Coral Gables is very safe , beautiful and has a great University.
Let's go Canes! Let's go Dolphins! Let's go Heat for next year! Let's go Rays because Samson and Loria are Franchises killers. The Canes may have a nice little stadium close to Campus when the Fish will move.
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | June 17, 2011 at 12:06 AM
Congrats to the Bruins and their fans! I just love athletes with big hearts like Thomas, Bergeron, Marchand and Recchi.
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | June 17, 2011 at 12:12 AM
Posted by: solarcane | June 16, 2011 at 11:22 PM
Solar Jim Morris is a class act he asked Mercadante to resign..It will look better on his resume than the word fired.
Jim Morris will put an excellent team on the field in 2012. His health is much better and he is recruiting really hard right now. The Canes will have one of the best pitching rotation in college baseball in 2012 and a much better offense. Very good recruits are coming to the U...Among them Albert Almora CF and Jack Lopez SS. Hopefully DeVoss will return in 2012. Have faith in Coach Morris! I thought he was done at UM but he is a fighter and determined more than ever now that his health is better.
From: Morris, James W III
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 2:52 PM
To: Hurricane Baseball
Subject: Re: 2012 CWS for the Canes
Thanks for your note. I am working to get it done. Jim
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | June 17, 2011 at 01:05 AM
Obstacles nio problem for Miami Hurricanes track star
After finally winning an NCAA title in the hurdles, UM Ti’erra Brown now has her sights set on earning gold at the world championships and Olympics.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/17/2270828/obstacles-nio-problem-for-miami.html#ixzz1PVUzJQPI
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | June 17, 2011 at 01:11 AM
Ahhhhhh!! We really do! Lol. How about both our first names start with a W too. Lmao!
You're girlfriend/fiance/wife's name isn't Allison, is it?!? LOL
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | June 16, 2011 at 09:09 AM
lol no her name is tierra, but i'm sure we'll find something else in common
Posted by: Willie Will in Nashville | June 17, 2011 at 01:16 AM
Montreal - no doubt the Canadiens are a dynasty, anyone who watches hockey knows that .. esp. how they dominated the:
- Mid to late '50s - 1960 (5 Cups in a row)
- Mid to late '60s (4 Cups in 5 years)
- Mid to late '70s (4 Cups in a row)
But my man, what I'm saying is look at from 1980-present ... 31 years
8 Times a Canadian team has won the Cup
- Oilers 5 times
- Canadiens 2 times
- Flames 1 time
22 Times a team based in the USA has won the Cup - including teams in Tampa, Carolina, Anaheim
It's just odd to me that a country that lives/breathes hockey, loses their franchises to the USA and also hasn't had a team within its borders win a Cup since '93
And you're one of the only Canadians I've ever heard say that their country doesn't live/breathe hockey. That is the sport of your country. That is what you are known for, whether you like it or not
Ya, Canada did win the Gold in hockey - they should, almost every single time, look at their damn team ... but it took OT to beat the USA in the sport of your own country?
And the USA beat them earlier in the Olympics, 5-3, even though Canada out shot the USA 45 to 22
Canada should mop the floor with the USA in hockey - seriously, look at the roster of Canada ... and they left a lot of good players off the roster b/c there are so many to choose from. Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and Vinny LeCavalier didn't even make the squad
The entire country of Canada would've gone into depression if they wouldn't have won the Olympics in hockey, esp. if they lost to the USA
Look what happened in Vancouver, for the 2nd time, when they didn't win the Cup and lost to an original six member AGAIN
That's what's the stupidest part about the riots that took place in Vancouver ... it was over a damn game. Were the riots down in Miami that you were talking about seeing, about the Canes losing a game in their stadium?
Probably not. Those morons in Vancouver rioted after their team lost - that was it .. wasn't a racial thing or political thing
Posted by: Six | June 17, 2011 at 03:03 AM
NEW BLOG IS UP!!
You're welcome, SOUP. =)
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | June 17, 2011 at 09:05 AM