Canespace

Seminoles Bounce Hurricanes

The streak is officially over.

Miami's impressive five game winning streak against ACC opponents came to an end in Tallahassee on Saturday afternoon as the 15th ranked Florida State Seminoles outlasted the Hurricanes to register a 64-59 victory over Miami.

The Hurricanes came out hot and fast and jumped out to an early six point lead but could not sustain that pace and trailed most of the second half. Still, the Hurricanes kept it close until the very end and trailed by only three points with under two minutes to play but could not get any closer than that as time ran out on their comeback hopes.

Miami (15-8, 6-4 ACC) failed to knock down a few critical fouls shots late in the game that could have produced a different outcome for coach Larranaga and his resilient players who showed no quit before a packed and raucous crowd at the Civic Center in the State Capital.

FSU's (17-7, 8-2 ACC) Bernard James scored 15 of his 18 points to propel the Seminoles to victory. James appeared to be quicker than Miami's Reggie Johnson who had a difficult time defending the paint and keeping up with James' athletic moves under the rim.

Miami's Kenny Kadji led the Hurricanes in scoring with 14 points and Durand Scott dropped in 12.

Johnson, who played so well in the Hurricanes huge upset of #5 Duke last week, could only manage two baskets on the day.

It doesn't get any easier as next up for the Hurricanes are the highly regarded and highly ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on 2/15/12 at The BankUnited Center in Coral Gables.

We urge you to show up at "The BUC" on Wednesday night and support your Miami Hurricanes!

Analysis 2012: ESPN's JC Shurburtt

I recently had the chance to interview national recruiting expert JC Shurburtt about college football recruiting and the Miami Hurricanes 2012 recruiting class.

JC has over a decade of experience in covering recruiting and is recognized for his widely read and respected recruiting blog at ESPN. He also hosts a national recruiting talk show on Clear Channel Radio and currently serves as the National College Football Recruiting Director for 247 Sports.

We recommend that you follow him on Twitter for the latest recruiting updates: @jcshurburtt

In addition to looking at Miami's current recruiting class he also provided some very candid opinions about a few other national recruiting issues that impacted the 2012 recruiting cycle and will likely have an impact going forward.

Here is JC Shurburtt's analysis of college football recruiting issues:

Q. Several universities offered four year football scholarships this year in place of the traditional renewable one year scholarships. Do you see this trend expanding next year and are you in favor of it? If players can still request a transfer but coaches cannot pull a scholarship how will that impact the power and control dynamic between the players and coaches?

A: I am not in favor of it and think schools that do it are slitting their own throat from a competitive standpoint in order to gain an competitive advantage by appearing to do something noble. The bottom line is that it's wrong for coaches to take scholarships from players that are doing what they are supposed to do. The trouble is people want to stereotype this as "goes to class and stays out of trouble". Well, it's a football scholarship so there is business to take care of on that end, too. You guarantee four years, a coaching staff has no recourse when it comes to a player that just wants to coast by, eat at the training table, wear the jersey and be on the sidelines Saturdays, that doesn't want to come to any voluntary workouts, that consistently lays out of practice, that straight up doesn't try, etc. That's what some of these folks who cry about big, bad coaches ruthlessly cutting players. I am not saying some coaches haven't done that, but far more often it's the student athlete not living up to his end of the bargain and the coach taking the high road instead publicly embarrassing the kid and his family when a stink is raised. That, of course, and Big Ten fans screaming about coaches in the South "oversigning" and acting like it's an epidemic and they care so much about the student athlete. In reality, they perceive it to be a competitive advantage and could care less about the kids. It's all about their program being at a disadvantage.

Q. It would appear to the casual college football fan that the SEC continues to dominate in recruiting year after year and the other conferences are trying to play catch-up. FSU and Miami did well (top 10 classes) for the ACC but how do you see the conferences stacking up recruiting wise in 2012 and going forward. Do you sense any shift in status of the conferences or balance of power being restored?

A: I think that the Pac-12 really has a shot to make a move with the new coaches at the various programs and for the simple fact that there are more football players that come out of California than any other state and that's the state most of the Pac-12 programs recruit from. Arizona is an emerging area for talent and Washington has always been solid. In the ACC, the key is for the conference to have more than one consistently strong program. Miami (Fla.) and Florida State need to get back to being the Canes and Noles and Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia, N.C. State and Georgia Tech need to reach their full potential consistently with Virginia Tech remaining strong. I also think that Pitt and Syracuse are coming into the league with a lot of history and tradition (Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Jim Brown, Donovan McNabb) so there's potential there too.

Q. Let’s talk about the Atlantic Coast Conference. As I mentioned FSU and Miami both had excellent recruiting classes in 2012. How would you rank the ACC recruiting classes from top to bottom (1-12) for this year? Which teams did the best job filling their needs?

1- Florida State
2- Miami
3- Virginia
4- Clemson
5- Virginia Tech
6- North Carolina
7- Maryland
8- N.C. State
9- Georgia Tech
10- Duke
11- Wake Forest
12- Boston College

I think Virginia Tech and Miami from strictly a filling needs standpoint did the best job. The Hokies needed running backs and signed three good ones. The Canes did a great job with overall numbers.

Q. Let's narrow our focus to the Miami Hurricanes. From your National recruiting perspective how did Al Golden and crew at UM do in recruiting in the face of a mediocre 6-6 2011 season and the looming NCAA sanctions? What have you heard about Golden and his assistants on the recruiting trail?

A: It was one of the best efforts of the recruiting cycle in my opinion. We all learned this cycle not to count Miami out. It didn't look like they were getting Deon Bush and Tyriq McCord. Well, they did. Tracy Howard looked bound for Florida until the last weekend of the cycle. He signed with the Canes. Nobody really defected from the class. I know a lot of programs that would have loved to have Raphael Kirby- Miami got him to enroll early. You just saw win after win down the stretch here.

Q: Which 2012 recruits at Miami do you expect to see the field as Freshmen in 2012? If you had to pick one or two players on offense and defense that are likely to be the biggest contributors this year who would they be? Which player(s) do you see as a "sleeper" in this class that could surprise Hurricane fans long-term?

A: Offense- I would have to say Duke Johnson and Angelo Jean-Louis. Both are high-level skill players and the types of guys that Miami needs to be great. I am not talking about good, I am talking about great.

Defense- Kirby and Howard- also watch out for defensive back LaDarius Gunter.

Analysis 2012: WVUM's Chris Wittyngham

Here is our recent Q&A with WVUM's witty Sports Director Chris Witttyngham...

Q: Several universities offered four year football scholarships this year in place of the traditional renewable one year scholarships. Do you see this trend expanding next year and are you in favor of it? If players can still request a transfer but coaches cannot pull a scholarship how will that impact the power and control dynamic between the players and coaches?

A: I think the NCAA President's endorsement of the concept is a good sign for it's development. I'm kind of conflicted on the idea. It definitely protects the morality and the value of the scholarship and prevents teams from oversigning and punishes teams for misevaluating, however, the one trepidation I have is new coaches being forced to take on every player even though he didn't give them the scholarship. 

Q: It would appear to the casual college football fan that the SEC continues to dominate in recruiting year after year and the other conferences are trying to play catch-up. FSU and Miami did well (top 10 classes) for the ACC but how do you see the conferences stacking up recruiting wise in 2012 and going forward. Do you sense any shift in status of the conferences or balance of power being restored?

A: The only thing at this point that will create a shift in conference power is that every school in the ACC and Big 10 and Big 12 and PAC 12 takes on an SEC mentality. You saw with that article that came out about Urban Meyer at Ohio State that he recruits a little differently than everybody else in that conference (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2012/02/ohio-state-urban-meyer-recruiting-big-ten-mark-dantonio-wisconsin/1). Also hogging the championships helps them a great deal.

 

Q: Lets talk about the Atlantic Coast Conference. As mentioned FSU and Miami had excellent recruiting classes in 2012. How would you rank the ACC recruiting classes from top to bottom (1-12) for this year? Which teams did the best job filling their needs?

A: FSU and Miami need to start leading the way and winning BCS bowl games and championships to lead the example that ACC football is legit. It's kind of a joke the way Virginia Tech and Clemson represented the ACC in the BCS. It makes ACC football seem like weaker quality football and until Miami and FSU start dominating, then it raises the ACC's profile and every team gets better as a result, kind of like the SEC.

Q: Let's narrow our focus to the Miami Hurricanes. From your National recruiting perspective how did Al Golden and crew at UM do in recruiting in the face of a mediocre 6-6 2011 season and the looming NCAA sanctions? What have you heard about Golden and his assistants on the recruiting trail?

A: Considering that no program has had a more damaging 12 months in terms of reputation, the Miami staff recruited superbly. They recruited South Florida and they're beginning to establish relationships with more than a few collegiate factory high schools in the area. They are also saying a lot that they only recruit Miami and don't do any negative recruiting, so as long as the relationships are built, Miami is providing themselves a great foundation to recruit well for years to come.

Q: Which 2012 recruits at Miami do you expect to see the field as Freshmen in 2012? If you had to pick one or two players on offense and defense that are likely to be the biggest contributors this year who would they be? Which player(s) do you see as a "sleeper" in this class that could surprise Hurricane fans long-term?

A: Obviously, Duke Johnson and Tracy Howard will play. Tracy Howard may even start when you consider the overwhelming lack of depth at corner. Also expect one of the receivers (Jontavius Carter, Malcolm Lewis, or Angelo Jean-Louis) to make a contribution early. Also, a few of the DBs will see playing. There's also likely to be Denzel Perryman-like players who make big contributions in year one.

Who Got Next?

As the well known narrative to the now wildly famous post Super Bowl ad goes:

NBC: "Eli Manning, you just won the Super Bowl, where are  you going to go?"

Manning: "I'm going to Disney World!"

But if that same question was posed to former Miami Hurricanes Antrel Rolle and Kenny Phillips who were also a BIG part of the New York Giants Super Bowl winning team you might get a different answer.

NBC: "Antrel Rolle and Kenny Phillips U just won the Super Bowl, where are U going to go?"

Rolle/Phillips: "We're going back to "The U" to work out under Camp Swasey!"

Former Hurricanes may win the Super Bowl, and maybe even slide by Disney World for a quick visit with their family, but that would only be on their way back to "The U" for Summer work-outs under Swasey.

That is what "The U" family is all about.

Here are the members of the University of Miami's Super Bowl Family:

Miami Hurricanes Super Bowl Victories
Player	Team	Super Bowl	Season
Ottis Anderson, RB	New York Giants	XXI	1986
	New York Giants	XXV	1990
Robert Bailey, DB	Dallas Cowboys	XXX	1995
	Baltimore Ravens	XXXV	2000
Pete Banaszak	Oakland Raiders	XI	1976
Coleman Bell, TE	Dallas Cowboys	XXVIII	1993
Jim Burt, NT	New York Giants	XXI	1986
	San Francisco 49ers	XXIV	1989
Tanard Davis, DB	Indianapolis Colts	XLI	2006
Gary Dunn, DT	Pittsburgh Steelers	XIII	1978
	Pittsburgh Steelers	XIV	1979
Kevin Fagan, DE	San Francisco 49ers	XXIII	1988
	San Francisco 49ers	XXIV	1989
Jeff Feagles, P	New York Giants	XLII	2007
Keith Griffin, RB	Washington Redskins	XXII	1987
Ted Hendricks, LB	Baltimore Colts	V	1970
	Oakland Raiders	XI	1976
	Oakland Raiders	XV	1980
	L.A. Raiders	XVIII	1983
Derrick Harris, FB	St  Louis Rams	XXXIV	1999
Michael Irvin, WR	Dallas Cowboys	XXVII	1992
	Dallas Cowboys	XXVIII	1993
	Dallas Cowboys	XXX	1995
Jimmie Jones, DT	Dallas Cowboys	XXVII	1992
	Dallas Cowboys	XXVIII	1993
K C  Jones, C	Denver Broncos	XXXIII	1998
Bernie Kosar, QB	Dallas Cowboys	XXVIII	1993
Ray Lewis, LB	Baltimore Ravens	XXXV	2000
Russell Maryland, DT	Dallas Cowboys	XXVII	1992
	Dallas Cowboys	XXVIII	1993
	Dallas Cowboys	XXX	1995
Sinorice Moss, WR	New York Giants	XLII	2007
Leonard Myers, DB	New England Patriots	XXXVI	2001
Burgess Owens, S	Oakland Raiders	XV	1980
Kenny Phillips, CB	New York Giants	XLVI	2011
Alfredo Roberts, TE	Dallas Cowboys	XXVIII	1993
Antrel Rolle, CB	New York Giants	XVLI	2011
Warren Sapp, DT	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	XXXVII	2002
Glenn Sharpe, CB	New Orleans Saints	XLIV	2009
Sam Shields, CB	Green Bay Packers	XLV	2010
Jeremy Shockey, TE	New Orleans Saints	XLIV	2009
Darrin Smith, LB	Dallas Cowboys	XXVIII	1993
	Dallas Cowboys	XXX	1995
Duane Starks, DB	Baltimore Ravens	XXXV	2000
Daniel Stubbs, DE	San Francisco 49ers	XXIII	1988
	San Francisco 49ers	XXIV	1989
Gene Trosch, DE	Kansas City Chiefs	IV	1969
Kipp Vickers, OL	Baltimore Ravens	XXXV	2000
Jonathan Vilma, LB	New Orleans Saints	XLIV	2009
Reggie Wayne, WR	Indianapolis Colts	XLI	2006
Nate Webster, LB	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	XXXVII	2002
Vince Wilfork, DT	New England Patriots	XXXIX	2004
Kevin Williams, WR	Dallas Cowboys	XXVIII	1993
	Dallas Cowboys	XXX	1995

The only question is who, from The U, has got next?

Will the names Duke Johnson, Tracy Howard, Raphael Kirby, Malcom Lewis, Jelani Hamilton, Danny Dillard, Erick Flowers and Deon Bush one day be mentioned as Super Bowl winners or MVPs?

Maybe a few will, and others will almost certainly not, but really only time will tell...who got next.

Hurricane Hoopsters Make Devils Blue

While most sports fans had their minds on a certain football game being played in the Mid-West on this Super Sunday in February your Miami Hurricanes were busy focusing on playing a few college basketball games in the deep South.

As people all across the globe were grilling and chilling and getting their Super Bowl buzz on the University of Miami basketball teams were busy beating Clemson and Duke.

The seventh-ranked UM women's team easily dispatched on the Tigers 68-47 in Coral Gables while the men's team was busy pulling off their biggest win of the season in a huge, stunning overtime upset of the fifth-ranked Blue Devils in Durham.

While the women's team's win was impressive, it was the men's team's 78-74 victory over #5 Duke that was the big news of the day. Miami's win in front of nearly 10,000 Cameron Crazies ranks among the biggest wins in recent history for the UM men's team.

Head coach Jim Larranaga helped his team keep their composure as they once again struggled down the stretch after leading by as much as 16 points in the first half. However the Hurricanes somehow managed to find a way to win a game that they would have lost more often than not in recent years.

Big Reggie Johnson scored 5 of his 27 points in overtime to lead the Hurricanes in scoring. Johnson was dominant down low and had the green light from Larranaga to take it the the bucket all day.

Kenny Kadji dropped in 15 points of his own in returning to the UM lineup before fouling out late in the second half.

The UM men's team now stands at 14-7 on the season and owns a 5-3 record in the ACC which puts them clearly in the top half of the conference.

Miami's next three games are at home against VT, on the road in Tallahassee against the Seminoles and then back home with another big game against North Carolina coming up.

Oh, in case I forgot to mention it the University of Miami also won the NFLU Super Bowl on Sunday.

Former Hurricanes Antrel Rolle and Kenny Phillips became the latest Miami alumni to win a Super Bowl as the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

It was Rolle who helped to corral and control the Patriots' Wes Welker all day and it was Phillips who batted down the last second desperation pass from Tom Brady into the end zone to seal the win for the G-Men.

So in the end Sunday turned out to be just another regular day in the NFLU but a day that also provided a huge win for the Miami Hurricanes basketball program.

GO CANES!

Kennedy For President!

University of Miami alum Cortez Kennedy was voted into the Pro Football Hall of  Fame on Saturday afternoon.

Kennedy registered 58 sacks and scored one touchdown on a fumble recovery in his 11-season career with the Seattle Seahawks. The No. 3 overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, Kennedy had a streak of 116 games played, earned selection to eight Pro Bowls (1992 to 97, 1999, 2000) and missed just nine games out of a possible 176 in his career.

As a senior defensive tackle in 1989, he emerged as a dominant force on what many considered to be the nation's top defensive line unit.  Kennedy, started all 12 games and his tenacious defense helped lead UM to a 11-1 season, a victory in the Sugar Bowl over Alabama and the 1989 National Championship. He earned second team AP All-American honors.

Kennedy joins fellow Canes Jim Otto (1980), Ted Hendricks (1990), Jim Kelly (2002) and Michael Irvin (2007) in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

Below is a full bio from the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

CORTEZ KENNEDY BIO
Defensive Tackle ... 6-3, 298 ... Northwest Mississippi Community College; Miami (FL) ... 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks ... 11 playing seasons, 167 games ... Seahawks 1st round draft pick (3rd player overall), 1990 NFL Draft ... First Team All-America choice at Miami in 1989 ... Extremely durable, played in 167 of possible 176 games ... Injury ended streak of 116 straight games played and club record 100 consecutive games started ... Named first-team All-Rookie by PFWA ... Voted to a team-record eight Pro Bowls (1992-97, 1999, 2000) ... Named first-team (1992, 1993, 1994) or second-team (1991, 1996) All-Pro five times ... Named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 while playing for a 2-14 team ... That season led all interior linemen with 14 sacks and career best 92 tackles; had four forced fumbles; recovered fumble and batted down two passes ... Recorded one of finest seasons in 1999 recording 73 tackles, 6.5 sacks, intercepting two passes, helping Seahawks reach playoffs for first time since 1988 ... In all, registered 58 sacks, intercepted three passes and scored one touchdown on fumble recovery during career ... He twice led the team in sacks (1992 and 1995) ... Born August 23, 1968 in Osceola, Arkansas.  

Chris Freet
Associate AD for Communications | University of Miami Athletics

National Signing Day Celebration

National Signing Day (NSD) 2012 is now in the books as high school recruits all across the Country have signed, sealed and delivered their National Letters of Intent to their respective schools.

At the University of Miami NSD was celebrated in style as Hurricane coaches, administrators and fans all gathered to rejoice in the day's events at the BankUnited Center on campus. 

Over 1,500 fans, including the infamous CaneFreak and Canespace blogger 3G, were on hand to hear about the "mother lode" of talent that the UM coaches had managed to gather in Coral Gables during the 2012 recruiting cycle.

With 33 players added to the roster this year the Hurricanes coaching staff has recruited 50 players to UM over the last two years.  That alone is a major accomplishment in and of itself.

Head Coach Al Golden held an official press conference earlier in the day so his opening address to the warm and welcoming crowd was brief.  He first gave credit and thanks to the UM administration, coaches and boosters for their support during the recruiting process before turning the event over to his assistant coaches.

Each coordinator and position coach took turns introducing the 2012 recruits via video tape highlights.  The coaches gave a brief summary of each player's abilities during the video segments that showed each player's strengths.  

Assistant coaches Barrow, Kehoe, Taylor and Richardson were particularly excited and outspoken about the players they landed in the 2012 class. 

But it was my post-event casual discussion with Defensive Coordinator Mark D'Onofrio that proved to be the highlight of the event.  Several fans had gathered around Coach D to chat about the Hurricanes defensive challenges in 2011 and to try to get a feel for what Miami would do on defense in 2012.

D'Onofrio talked candidly about the talent and toughness deficiencies on defense in 2011.  He said: "Not going to a bowl this year was exactly what this team needed.  We needed to get stronger, bigger, faster and mentally tougher.  All of the players have been in the strength and conditioning program since the first week of December."

Coach D turned the tables and then began asking us questions: "Have you seen Olsen Pierre lately?  He added about 25 pounds of muscle and looks great at around 265. Jalen Grimble is another player who has taken off in the weight room. He's up to about 290 and looks solid; he basically changed his body shape.  Have you seen Gionni Paul ?  That kid is huge; there is a guy who looks like a football player."

Then when the talk turned to scheme and the soft DB coverage at Miami he said: "It all comes down to points allowed.  We try to avoid turning the game into one-on-one match-ups, not give up the big play or easy score.  We make the other team earn their points and give up fewer scores that way."

Then Coach D turned questioner again: "Did you see Alabama play in the National Championship game?" We all nodded yes.  "OK, then tell me: What defense did they run?"

Then he answered his own question: "They were in a basic cover two almost the entire game.  Why? Because they had the talent up front to win the battle.  Their front seven took care business at the line of scrimmage so they didn't have to run any fancy schemes, or stunts or blitzes. Those guys are big and strong.  We are not there yet. But we will get there, I promise you that."

That is when Cutler Ridge Laz and I got excited and decided to throw up the U in celebration!

Then D'Onofrio stated: "That is why this off season and this recruiting class was so important.  Getting bigger and stronger was our priority.  We were not a physical team last year. And we are recruiting a different type of player. I am not trying to be critical of anyone, I'm just saying we have a different philosophy.  We want big, strong guys that are physical at the point of attack."  

Everything was going along just fine until I mentioned Canespace blogger Orange and Green in the Vein's (OGV) constant criticism of his defensive scheme and even his coaching skills.  The UM DC, who apparently is an avid reader of Canespace, went into a serious rant about what he claimed was an unfair and unbalanced critique of his defensive strategy and his players.

In fact, he simply would not stop defending his defense and was still ranting when we took this picture. 

At the end of our conversation I shook his hand, wished him well in 2012 and tried to walk away and go to the UM vs MD basketball game.

But Coach D would have none of that. He gripped my hand tightly, pulled me close, looked me in the eye and said in a low voice: "Tell OGV I would like to have a word with him.  In private.  And soon."

OK, he didn't really say that last quote, but to be honest, I felt as though maybe he should have.

By the Numbers: Miami's 2012 Recruiting Class

Three or four years from now, when it is all said and done, the University of Miami's 2012 recruiting class may go down in history as THE class that turned it all around for Miami and restored the Hurricanes to their rightful place among college football's elite programs.

In terms of quality, and the sheer quantity of players signed by UM on National Signing Day 2012, this class of high school recruits has the chance to rank among the best ever at Miami. 

On paper and on potential this class of 33 players that now accounts for almost 40% of the entire 85 man roster at UM is the infusion of talent and toughness that Hurricanes head coach Al Golden said he needed to get things right in Coral Gables. 

Now it will be up to Golden and his assistant coaches to coach up this new group of players at "The U" so that they can reach their maximum potential and return the Hurricanes to national prominence and championship glory.

With the cards stacked against them, UM head coach Al Golden and his assistant coaches managed to work their magic to land this tremendous class in spite of a mediocre 2011 season and potential NCAA sanctions looming over the program like a black cloud. 

Miami fans I talked to at the NSD party on the UM Campus Wednesday night were wondering out loud: "If Golden can recruit like this under circumstances like this what can he do if and when the sanctions are gone and Miami starts winning again?"

Our first article about NSD 2012 will break down the recruiting class by the numbers:

• Number of players signed: 24 (not counting the 9 EEs)
• Number of defensive players on NSD: 14
• Number of offensive players on NSD: 10
• Number of players from Florida (NSD): 21
• Number of players from Southwest Florida: 6
• Number of players from Dade County: 5
• Number of players from Broward County: 5
• Number of players from Palm Beach County: 3 
• Number of players from other States: 3 (GA, PA, LA)
• Number of defensive backs: 6
• Number of wide receivers: 5
• Number of defensive lineman: 4 
• Number of NSD hits on Canespace: 14,773
• Number of NSD comments on Canespace: 590

We will have several more articles on the Miami Hurricanes 2012 recruiting class in the coming days that will cover it from all angles and in great detail.

Until then just sit back and appreciate the hard work and incredible effort that UM head coach Al Golden and his staff put into the recruiting process this year in bringing in one of the biggest and potentially best classes in Miami Hurricane football history. 

National Signing Day: LIVE Coverage

College football fans the moment you have ALL been waiting for has finally arrived: Today is National Signing Day 2012!

The recruiting process is over, scholarship offers have been made and now it is time for things to get serious and for the young and talented high school athletes to sign on the dotted line.

Beginning this morning at 7 AM high school football players from all across the Country will begin faxing in their official Letters Of Intent (LOI) to the university that they have chosen to attend.

At the University of Miami like at any other of the 120 or so major college football programs across the United States the scene will repeat itself over and over again as the LOIs are received via fax (do fax machines really still exist?).

The action will be fast and furious early in the morning and throughout the day at the beautiful Hecht Athletic Center in lovely Coral Gables, Florida.

Once the LOI is received and verified by the UM coaches and compliance department then that recruit will be formally announced by UM first and then by media outlets and blogs like Canespace.

So stay tuned to Canespace throughout the day for the latest breaking news about surprise recruits and even some near misses in the 2012 recruiting game.