College football recruiting is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you're going to get. There are so many can't miss five star flame outs every year that we can't even count them. There are just as many diamonds in the rough that go unappreciated and become quality players.
In the end college football fans stress out about and struggle with the whole recruiting process every year that many just get sick of it and want to ignore the whole hat game nonsense.
Last year there were five big time players that University of Miami fans so desperately wanted to choose the Hurricanes that they got their knickers all in a wad on National Signing Day.
But while UM fans were gnashing their teeth about the high school players they wanted on "their" team the players themselves were making some serious career choices of their own.
Now we are not here to bash any player for choosing any school of their choice because there are many different reasons why players select the universities that they want to attend for their college careers.
But we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at a few of the players who could have come to Miami but wound up in various other places across the Country. Here is #1 on our top 5 list of Miami misses from 2013:
RB Alex Collins: The most bizarre and ridiculous recruiting story of the 2013 class had to be RB Alex Collins. You see apparently his dog ate the LOI that his mother wouldn't let him sign and ran away with before the Arkansas Razorbacks believed every word of that story and welcomed him and his high school coach with open arms on NSD.
Collins has played a lot and done very well as a true freshman for the Hogs but his team on the other hand is not doing so well. You see the mud mingling hogs who respond to calls of "Suey-Suey" are now sitting at 3-4 and 0-3 in the SEC after losses to some of their closest rivals and will likely be spending bowl season at home in the slop.
Meanwhile the University of Miami football team is sitting pretty with an unblemished record at 5-0 and 1-0 in the ACC. If the Canes can take care of business against UNC and Wake Forest they will face FSU for a shot at a top 5 National ranking and a legitimate shot at the BCS championship.
Yet Collins is sitting in Arkansas at 3-4 and nowhere to take Mom except the old, muddy hog farm. Now, is that anyway to treat your mother when she could be watching her son play every Saturday at Sun Life Stadium and sunning herself on South Beach?
Yeah, we don't think so either.
LOL Soup Great Point I got a feeling his mom still be sunning herself at Beach Place LOL. Go Canes Beat UNC!
Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | October 15, 2013 at 11:29 PM
1-0 in the acc! Don't jinx us
Posted by: Travis | October 15, 2013 at 11:31 PM
Yep hope Collins and Kirkland enjoys themselves in Fayetteville. Go Canes.
Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | October 16, 2013 at 12:08 AM
SOUP you took the words out of my mouth...
Good piece once again...I hope the 2014 recruits read this...
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | October 16, 2013 at 12:41 AM
USC brought out some serious star power in the past 10 days RT @USC_Athletics Ray Lewis spoke to the #Trojans today.
http://instagram.com/p/fgQwOcyoDd/
Do you think Ray Lewis got paid to do that???
If not what the F...
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | October 16, 2013 at 12:50 AM
Lewis is a motivational speaker. I would think that Ray Lewis was paid (but not as much as the USC scholar-athletes he was addressing).
Orgeron was an assistant coach for the Canes from 1988 to 1992. Orgeron taughts his connection to the championship Canes teams. Orgeron may have recruited Lewis, but I don't think he coached him directly. Lewis still may have some connection to Orgeron through the U, and this may also be an attempt by him to help a friend and collect a check.
Posted by: BigWindyCane1 | October 16, 2013 at 05:16 AM
Good job SOUP....BUT...we are 1-0 in ACC, not 0-1. I was going to edit it, but haven't got that far yet lol
Posted by: UMike | October 16, 2013 at 06:17 AM
The Hurricanes have been practicing with plenty of crowd noise blasting this week at Greentree Field to prepare for Thursday night, but it likely won’t be as intense as what they face at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
“It’s a big challenge,” UM offensive coordinator James Coley said. “It’s going to be a hostile environment. It’s going to be loud. We’re going to get their best this season.
“Your adrenaline is going, the game is physical. … You try to simulate the best you can, but it’s never going to be the same as it is on Thursday night.”
So, with all that noise, how do you keep the communication going on the offensive line, especially with all the recent switching of positions?
“Are you trying to get my stomach to hurt?” Coley said, laughing. “It’s very important. Guys need to be in tune. That’s why we practice the crowd noise and we make it hard in practice to switch guys in and switch guys out. The biggest thing when you practice with crowd noise is watching the film afterward. That’s the biggest teacher.
“Now we get back in there and say, ‘Hey, what happened here?’
‘Well, I thought this and I thought that.’
“And you can start cleaning things up, where you can say, ‘No, you’ve got to handle this call,’ or ‘Quarterback, you need to redirect this play at that point.’
“Things have got to be quick. It’s got to be one-syllable words. But it’s always a challenge.”
LINDER, FELICIANO SWAP
Two of the mainstays on the offensive line, Brandon Linder and Jon Feliciano, swapped positions after the beginning of UM’s last game, against Georgia Tech, and they each said they enjoyed the switch.
Feliciano started at right tackle, and Linder at right guard. The two switched after the first quarter. The newest depth chart had Linder at right tackle and Feliciano at left guard.
“The biggest difference is at tackle you’re out in space a little bit more and inside you’re kind of mauling and going against bigger guys,” Linder said. “Outside you use more technique and you’re able to do stuff on your own.”
Said Feliciano: “I like guard a little better. At right tackle you have a little more time to think about stuff. At guard everything happens so fast. You have to deal with the big boys in the middle.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/10/16/3691642/miami-hurricanes-brace-for-noise.html#storylink=cpy
Posted by: UMike | October 16, 2013 at 06:18 AM
Wouldn’t it be fun to have a good guys vs. bad guys game?
Not that the North Carolina Tar Heels are bad guys, but they will be, after all, dressed for the part. Well, at least usually that's the way it is.
For the style conscious among you (or just those who love the look of football uniforms), the Tar Heels will wear all-black uniforms against Miami in a game billed in Chapel Hill as “Zero Dark Thursday.’’
The Zero Dark Thursday theme, of course, is based on the acclaimed 2012 movie Zero Dark Thirty, about our manhunt for Osama bin Laden. But hey, Tar Heels?...C.I.A? UM?...bin Laden?
Could this be the night the Canes come out in all white?
I'm guessing yes -- and I know I'm at least half right.
UM's assistant athletic director for communications Chris Yandle said that he knew the Canes would be wearing white jerseys for the game (as expected), but that he wouldn't know until Thursday what color their pants would be.
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/umiami/2013/10/for-the-style-conscious-among-you-or-just-those-who-love-the-look-of-football-uniforms-the-north-carolina-tar-heels-will.html#storylink=cpy
Posted by: UMike | October 16, 2013 at 06:21 AM
CORAL GABLES —
Miami coach Al Golden, a former tight end at Penn State, has an eye for talent at his former position.
Given that fact, his assessment of Eric Ebron comes as little surprise.
In advance of Thursday’s game in Chapel Hill (7:30 p.m., ESPN), Golden couldn’t find enough ways to praise the North Carolina junior.
Excerpts from the coach’s scouting report:
• A great challenge for us. … An excellent route-runner, soft hands, can open up his hips. … He can block you (or) get vertical on you like a wide receiver. … He’s just nifty, no question.”
Golden said he “has a lot of respect” for the 6-foot-4, 245-pound kid out of Greensboro, N.C. He should. Though UNC (1-4, 0-2 ACC) has had a disappointing start, Ebron and the Tar Heels’ passing attack are the reason they have a chance to upset the 10th-ranked Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0).
Ebron, who leads his team in receiving yards (333) and catches (23), is a matchup problem for most teams, even a Miami pass defense that has excelled thus far.
Want proof of his skill? Watch the one-handed touchdown catch he made against Georgia Tech, where he leaped to snag a 19-yard pass over his shoulder. Increasing the degree of difficulty: It was raining. He must have had help from his sticky gloves, right? Wrong; he wasn’t wearing any.
On Wednesday, he was one of 29 players named to the midseason watch list for the Mackey Award, given annually to the nation’s top tight end. Hurricanes junior Clive Walford and Florida State’s Nick O’Leary, a Dwyer High alum, were also named.
Ebron is the best pass-catcher Miami has faced this season. UNC also boasts senior Bryn Renner, the most talented pocket passer to face the Hurricanes.
Renner is fighting a bit of an uphill battle. He has little running game to rely on. After losing star Giovani Bernard to the NFL, the Tar Heels rank 115th in rushing yards per game (100). Renner also has compromised protection. The Tar Heels, after sending three offensive line starters to the NFL, have allowed 11 sacks, matching last year’s 12-game total.
But when standing upright, Renner (1,117 yards, seven touchdowns, three interceptions on 60 percent passing) has shown why he was rated among the top quarterbacks in this NFL draft class.
“He’s excellent, tough to replicate,” Golden said. “Excellent vision, arm. He can move his feet. He’s not afraid to run it. When he does run it, he’s a big man. … We have to keep him in the pocket as much as we can.”
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/sports/college-football/north-carolina-has-struggled-but-its-tight-end-pre/nbPTb/
Posted by: UMike | October 16, 2013 at 06:22 AM
Looks like someone has been in BIG AL cookie jar.....Just an FYI...
Even though these teams have never met on the field, for many players in this game, it will be personal. Louisville and UCF have gone head-to-head in recruiting battles against O'Leary and the Knights. Louisville has won some of those battles (Teddy Bridgewater and Eli Rogers being the most notable), and UCF has won some (linemen Jordan and Justin McCray and Torrian Wilson).
There will be six players in the game from Miami's Northwestern High (Bridgewater, Rogers, Wilson, Corvin Lamb, Jermaine Reve and Michaelee Harris).
There will be six players from Miami's Central High (Louisville's John Miller and Charles Gaines and UCF's Jeff Godfrey, Miles Pace, Jamar McClain and Josh Reese).
There will be five players from First Coast High (Louisville's De'Asian Richardson and UCF's Jared Henry, Seyvon Lowry, D.J. Killings and Chris Johnson).
There will be four players from Miami's Southridge High (Louisville's Gerod Holliman and Andrew Johnson and UCF's McCray brothers).
Both schools have also pulled talent from Tampa Bay Tech and Seminole Ridge.
Beyond all the teammates squaring off, think of all the high school rivals who will be on opposite sides of the field Friday night.
Louisville as 39 players on roster from Florida, and there are certainly players on UCF's roster that feel slighted they weren't offered by the Cardinals.
Posted by: LA3 | October 16, 2013 at 06:55 AM
1-0 in the acc! Don't jinx us
Posted by: Travis | October 15, 2013 at 11:31 PM
Yeah don't know how that sipped by? I fixed it.
Posted by: SOUP | October 16, 2013 at 07:12 AM
Lebron James:
"I'll just put it this way, man. There are different ways to hunt. I watch the Discovery Channel all the time, & you look at all these animals in the wild. And they all hunt a different way to feed their families. They all kill a different way.
Lions do it strategically -- two females will lead, & then everybody else will follow. Hyenas will just go for it. There are different ways to kill, and I don't think people understand that.
Everybody wants everybody to kill the same way. Everybody wants everybody to kill like MJ or kill like Kobe. Magic didn't kill the way they killed. Bird didn't kill like MJ or Kobe. Does that mean they didn't have a killer instinct.
Tim Duncan don't kill like Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant, but I've played against Tim Duncan twice in the Finals. Can't nobody tell me that man don't have a killer instinct with the ability to "kill" with the game on the line. So everybody has a different way to kill and people have to respect that."
Posted by: CaneRock | October 16, 2013 at 07:48 AM
Brooksville early, then back to the 863 later today. UM vs UNC article much later tonight.
Posted by: SOUP | October 16, 2013 at 07:57 AM
"For the style conscious among you (or just those who love the look of football uniforms), the Tar Heels will wear all-black uniforms against Miami in a game billed in Chapel Hill as “Zero Dark Thursday.’’"
I know it tries to come off as cool, but that's just weird.
Posted by: LB | October 16, 2013 at 08:33 AM
So in other words the Tarheels want to look like they've been tarred.
Posted by: Old Skool | October 16, 2013 at 08:49 AM
So in other words the Tarheels want to look like they've been tarred.
Posted by: Old Skool | October 16, 2013 at 08:49 AM
No, it's just that it's a night game, and they figure the ass-kicking that they've got coming can't find them if they get all ninja-ed up.
Posted by: dj moonbat | October 16, 2013 at 09:00 AM
Gonna have to keep the "Troll-Be-Gone" spray close by lol
Posted by: UMike | October 16, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Thursday is the classic trap game. Prime Time game, good opponent who has underperformed all season and is coming off a bye week. We will overcome it.
Canes by 17+
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | October 16, 2013 at 10:04 AM
Read it: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/fl-miami-al-golden-1016-20131015,0,1813053.story
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | October 16, 2013 at 10:26 AM
Ohio..I red that thru Twitter on my phone..tried to post the link from the website on my cpu and had to have an account to view it lol
Posted by: UMike | October 16, 2013 at 10:28 AM
Great article
Posted by: UMike | October 16, 2013 at 10:28 AM
Soup Janet Jackson approves of this blog title. Go Canes. Beat the Tar Heels.
Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | October 16, 2013 at 10:29 AM
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | October 16, 2013 at 10:04 AM
I am not too worried about trap games this year... I think the team is very disciplined under Al...We ran a good controlled game vs GT. .. All we really need is the offence to get in synch; no dropped passes, and we'll be good.
Posted by: CalgaryCane | October 16, 2013 at 10:32 AM
Calgary, I completely agree.
I only mentioned it, because once we win, it won't be talked about how easily we could've lost that game had Golden and staff not had this team focused on the moment.
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | October 16, 2013 at 10:34 AM
The tar heels unis--:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1812759-unc-will-wear-these-black-and-baby-blue-uniforms-against-miami?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=college-football
Posted by: TJL | October 16, 2013 at 10:47 AM
Soup Janet Jackson approves of this blog title. Go Canes. Beat the Tar Heels.
Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | October 16, 2013 at 10:29 AM
I was hoping that U would talk to her and get her approval. Nice work!
Posted by: SOUP | October 16, 2013 at 11:28 AM
So black will be the official color for UNC Thursday night.
I wonder if any fans will show up in black face.
As it's North Carolina, I wouldn't be surprised.
Posted by: Old Skool | October 16, 2013 at 11:40 AM
LOL Soup. Good One. Spacers these next tow games are important must win set up games for the two biggest and most important games of the season with a trip to Tally against FSU on November 2nd and we host Virginia Tech on November 9th for the ACC Coastal Crown and a trip to Charlotte. Go Canes! Beat UNC!
Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | October 16, 2013 at 11:53 AM
Sooooooo No Word on the U Case...
Nothing of Course on Saban's boys and Penalties..
Still Undefeated So Aht Well..
RCCF12%
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000117339359 | October 16, 2013 at 01:51 PM
UM AD Blake James: "At the end of September, we had the largest [ticket sales] increase in any program in college athletics..."
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | October 16, 2013 at 02:31 PM
UNC Preview
http://www.stateoftheu.com/2013/10/16/4835766/game-preview-miami-at-north-carolina-dealing-with-success
F' the Turds, $EC, & NCAA!
GO CANES!!!
Beat those Heels!
Posted by: Keoki | October 16, 2013 at 03:09 PM
UNC always plays up to Miami. Golden has done a good job of one game at a time mentality. IT also helps that the Cane don't play fsu or vt next week.
Posted by: trianglecane | October 16, 2013 at 04:29 PM
Soup I mailed U the two upper deck tickets and Orange Parking Pass off today. U should get them by Friday. If the 2 lower deck tickets dont sell on Miami Hurricanes Ticket Exchange by the end of the week I will mail U those 2 on Monday and U would get them by Wednesday for the Wake Forest game. Thanks so much bruh!
Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | October 16, 2013 at 08:33 PM
TSully...I leave on Tuesday at 5 AM for SoFL so do not mail them to the WH addy. If U are going to mail the other two Tix mail them to The Hampton Inn.
Posted by: SOUP | October 16, 2013 at 08:38 PM
Sweet Soup will do that bruh! Thanks for the heads up. Go Canes!
Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | October 16, 2013 at 08:52 PM
I thought we was suppose to get new uniforms?????
Posted by: WWIN | October 16, 2013 at 09:45 PM
NEW BLOG IS UP!
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