Canespace

NSD Flashback: 2012 (Part I)

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. 

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NSD Flashback: 2011

These are some of the recruits that UM is looking to sign in the next few days.

Jacoby Brissett (QB)– Choosing between Wisconsin and Miami. Miami got into the game very  late but has a pretty good chance to land this guy. Mom wants the hometown Hurricanes but the relationship with Wisconsin coaches it what Wisconsin has over The U. Possibly announcing on NSD but not sure. News came out a couple days ago that Sousa and Weatherford were never offered scholarships and have chosen programs. The fact that these 2 were never offered means Golden and staff must feel pretty good about where they are sitting with Brissett.

Tom Savage (QB Transfer)– Just cleared by Rutgers coach Schiano to pursue a transfer to UM or UF. Savage would be forced to sit out 2011 and would then be eligible for 2012 and 2013. He would provide some good depth and possibly challenge for a starting role in 2012 if Morris can not succeed.

Dominique Terrell (ATH) – Choosing between Miami, Virginia, and West Virginia. Lives in Virginia so staying near home could very well be his choice. Terrell did love his visit to UM. Supposedly he has to talk it over with the family. His family really wants to watch him play football and being in Miami that could be an issue. Decision coming Tuesday.

Kaleb Johnson (OL)– Loves UM and waited to see who we hire as OL Coach.

Devin Lucien (WR) – This kid liked his visit and Miami gave him a lot to think about. Supposedly choosing between UCLA and Miami. Lucien lives in California so Miami has distance against them. UCLA is favored.

Patrick Onwuasor (WR)– Choosing among Miami, Arizona and Arizona St. He will make his announcement on NSD. He also liked his visit to Miami and is also from the West Coast.

Jalen Grimble (DT/DE) – Was a USC commit but it was rumored that his scholarship to USC was pulled and he opened up his recruitment again. Now he will be choosing between UCLA and Miami. Grimble loved his Miami visit but this is another California kid and distance may be to much to overcome. Lots of rumors flying around that he skipped his UCLA visit last weekend. Washington could also possibly be in the picture.

Elkino Watson (DT)– This is a Booker T kid and hopefully will choose the hometown Canes. Rumored to have dropped Florida from his list which would be good because as far as I know he is down to UF and UM.

Marqise Lee (ATH)– Most likely will be looking to play WR if he does indeed picks Miami. This kid is from California and has in his top 3 – Miami, USC, and the Oregon Ducks.  Has kept his recruitment decently quiet but Miami seems like an underdog for this athlete.

My picks – I think UM ends up with Brissett, Terrell and Johnson and anything past that would be an amazing job by Coach Golden.

 

There is no question that Al Golden has shown that he can compete nationally in recruiting but unfortunately he had a small window of time to patch together a class this year. Even with this short time though, Golden has landed some talented, under the radar kids.

Coach K Wears Coach L Pajamas

Senior Angel Rodriguez hit three 3-pointers and added a career-high 11 assists to help No. 15 Miami beat No. 24 Duke 80-69 Monday night, the Blue Devils' fourth loss in five games.

Rodriguez scored 13 points for the Hurricanes, who led for the final 24 minutes. Sheldon McClellan scored 21 points and benefited from Rodriguez's most spectacular assist late in the game. Brandon Ingram led Duke with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Grayson Allen added 17 points but shot just 6 for 17.

Miami (16-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat a ranked team for the third time this season, and won by double digits for the 15th time.

Rodriguez came into the game 4 for 30 from 3-point range in league games but went 3 for 5 from beyond the arc in the first half to help Miami take the lead for good.

His best play earned a late assist. Duke (15-6, 4-4) was mounting a rally when Rodriguez dribbled quickly through the defense in transition and tossed an alley-oop pass on the run to McClellan for a dunk and a 64-55 lead.

Tonye Jekiri, Miami's 7-foot center, contributed assists from the perimeter on consecutive possessions to keep a cushion down the stretch. McClellan scored six points in the final 2 minutes.

Duke came into the game ranked fifth in the nation in scoring at 85.7 points but continued a recent offensive slump. They shot only 42 percent and went 6 for 20 from 3-point range.

The Blue Devils missed nine consecutive shots, including five in one possession, during an 8-1 Hurricanes run that put them ahead 45-35.

The Hurricanes' man-to-man defense didn't let Duke get to the free throw line much, either. The Blue Devils average nearly 26 free throws a game but went just 13 for 17.

Ja'Quan Newton scored 15 points to help Miami's bench outscore Duke's 21-7. Davon Reed added 14 points, and Jekiri had 10 rebounds, six offensive.

 

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Miami Releases 2016 Football Schedule

The University of Miami released its 2016 football schedule on Tuesday in conjunction with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
 
Miami’s upcoming schedule will feature six away games and six home games at Sun Life Stadium, which will see the second phase of its renovation project completed for the Hurricanes' season opener. The schedule also features a challenging four game non-conference slate, which includes a trip to Notre Dame (Oct. 29).
 
In total, eight of Miami’s 2016 opponents played in a bowl game this past season and posted a combined record of 83-69.
 
The Hurricanes kickoff the 2016 season under first-year head coach Mark Richt on Sept. 3 against Florida A&M.
 
Miami’s additional non-conference opponents include matchups against FAU (Sept. 10) and at Appalachian State (Sept. 17).
 

 

Miami opens league play on Oct. 1 as it travels to Georgia Tech. The following week on Oct. 8, the Hurricanes welcome in-state rival Florida State to Sun Life Stadium.
 
The Hurricanes’ remaining conference slate includes matchups with North Carolina (Oct. 15), at Virginia Tech on a Thursday (Oct. 20), Pittsburgh (Nov. 5), at Virginia (Nov. 12), at NC State (Nov. 19) and Duke (Nov. 26).
 
Miami concluded the 2015 season in the Hyundai Sun Bowl, falling to Washington State by a score of 20-14. The Hurricanes return 17 starters and six all-conference players from last year’s squad that posted an 8-5 mark.
 
In 2015, the Hurricanes logged a 5-1 record inside Sun Life Stadium. Miami has posted a 12-1 non-conference home record since 2011 and are an impressive 16-4 in its last 20 home games.
 
For the latest information on the Miami Hurricanes, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @CanesFootball, or visit our website at HurricaneSports.com.
 
For the most accurate and up to date information delivered to your phone, download the official Miami Hurricanes app for your Droid or iPhone.
 
Season tickets to the 2016 Miami Hurricanes football season are on sale now – visit CanesTix.com or call (305) 284-2263 for more information.

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NSD Flashback: 2010

Today is the most celebrated Holiday of the college football fan.  National Signing Day has finally arrived.  After a year of rating and ranking the players, after months of predicting who would go where, we finally arrive at the defining moment of any high school football player's career. 

Here is the list of players expected to commit today to "The U"!

These are the defensive players expected to commit to Miami:

DT Jeffrey Brown

LB Kelvin Cain

LB Tyrone Cornelious

DB Devont'a Davis

LB James Gaines

DT Tavadis Glenn

LB Kevin Nelson

DB Keion Payne

DE David Perry

DB Kacy Rodgers

DE Andrew Tallman

DT Delmar Taylor

LB Travis Williams

On offense these are the players expected to sign a LOI with UM:

OL Jermaine Barton

OL Malcolm Bunch

RB Eduardo Clements

WR Jeremy Davis

OL Johnathan Feliciano

TE Chase Ford

OL Tavadis Glenn

RB Maurice Hagens

RB Darion Hall

WR Allen Hurns

RB Storm Johnson

OL Brandon Linder

OL Shane McDermott

QB Stephen Morris

OL Andrew Tallman

TE Clive Walford

Will there be defections?  Probably.  Any signing day surprises?  U betcha! 

So let the signings begin, the faxes get started and GO CANES!!!

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NSD Flashback: 2009

The list of recruits below includes players that have either verbally committed to the Hurricanes or are being targeted by UM and was originally developed by Jorge Milian of the Palm Beach Post.  Some of these players like OL Marcus Hall (OSU) and LB Sam Barrington (USF) recently committed to other schools so they can be scratched from the list of UM targets.

Throughout National Signing Day (NSD) we will follow all the action to keep you up to date with the latest breaking news as the recruits formally confirm their committments and submit their official binding Letter Of Intent (LOI) to the UM Athletic Department.  Several regular Canespace bloggers led by bg1906, Esteban, Canez1, SuperCooper who follow the recruiting game closely will be providing up to the minute updates and commentary as NSD 2009 progresses. 

And of course we expect to also hear from Manny Navarro from the Miami Herald and insiders The Truth, J and others as well.  Next week we plan on interviewing Gary Ferman from Canesport for another recruiting wrap-up feature in the first of our "Five Questions with Ferman" blog articles.

Later in the day I will be on campus at UM to attend the Hurricane Club's NSD event at The Knight Sports Complex from 5:30 to 7:30.  We plan to have interviews with coaches, players and media representatives. 

So stay tuned to The Space for continuing coverage and the latest news on who is going where!

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	High school	Status
Five-star recruits
Ray Ray Armstrong	DB	6-4	218	Sanford-Seminole	Committed
Bryce Brown	LB	6-0	210	Wichita (Kan.)-East	Committed
Sheldon Richardson	DT	6-4	292	St. Louis-Gateway	Targeted
Quinton Washington	OL	6-3	315	St. Stephen (S.C.)-Timberland	Targeted
Four-star recruits
Dyron Dye	DE	6-4	215	Sanford-Seminole	Committed
Mike James	RB	5-11	211	Davenport-Ridge	Committed
Jermaine Johnson	OL	6-6	309	Chatham (Va.)-Hargrave Military	Committed
Prince Kent	ATH	6-3	195	Norcross, Ga.	Committed
Brandon McGee	DB	5-11	186	Plantation	Committed
Lamar Miller	RB	5-11	205	Miami-Killian	Committed
Jamal Reid	ATH	6-1	175	Mayo-Lafayette	Committed
Luther Robinson	DT	6-3	280	Fort Pierce-Westwood	Committed
Olivier Vernon	DE	6-3	239	Miami-American	Committed
Brandon Washington	OL	6-5	330	New Berlin (N.Y.)-Milford Acad.	Committed
Marcus Hall	OL	6-5	290	Cleveland-Glenville	Targeted
Dion Sims	TE	6-5	230	Orchard Lake (Mich.)-St. Mary's	Targeted
Pete White	OL	6-5	325	Washington, D.C.-St. John's	Targeted
Three-star recruits
Malcolm Bunche	OL	6-6	315	Neward, Del.	Committed
Shayon Green	DE	6-2	225	Tifton, Ga.-Tift County	Committed
A.J. Highsmith	QB	6-0	186	Fort Bend (Texas)-Hightower	Committed
Curtis Porter	DT	6-2	334	Charlotte (N.C.)-Victory Christian	Committed
Kayvon Webster	DB	5-11	181	Miami-Pace	Committed
Jared Wheeler	OL	6-3	310	Plantation-American Heritage	Committed
Cory White	TE	6-4	225	Jacksonville-Fleming Island	Committed
Sam Barrington	LB	6-3	220	Jacksonville-Terry Parker	Targeted
Demontre Hurst	DB	5-10	170	Lancaster, Texas	Targeted
Billy Sanders	TE	6-4	235	Coeur d'Alene (Idaho)-Lake City	Targeted

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Dumb And Dumber

Five Star Flameouts, Fizzels And Flops

A few years ago the well known and frequently followed recruiting service Rivals.com published an article in which they revealed the names of players that made the Rivals "five-star" football recruiting lists over a five year period.

The story was written by the talented Steve Megargee, one of the National feature writers for Rivals who researched the football recruiting classes from 2007 to 2011 and gave a brief analysis of each players success or failure at the college level and in some cases also provided their NFLU draft status.

We thought it would be interesting to do a quick statistical analysis on his reporting so that we could try to get a "big picture" overview of just how good a predictor the five-star high school recruit designation was at predicting which players would be successful at the college level.

Here is what our initial summary analysis found:

• Between 2007 and 2011 a small and select group of only 144 players received the five star rating from Rivals.com.
• The 2009 class was the largest with 33 players making the list.
• The 2010 and 2011 classes were the smallest with 26 players each.
• In 2008 there were 30 players that received the five star label while in 2007 there were 29.

So out of the 1 million or so high school football players in the U.S. in any given year only around 28 players (144/5) earned the five star designation on average over the five year period.

Based on this fact alone one would assume that almost every player receiving the prestigious five star designation by one of the top recruiting services in the Country would be considered a "can't miss prospect" that was soon going to win national awards and National Championships, right?

And, as usual, you would assume wrong.  In fact, you would be very, very wrong.  Which is why it is usually foolish and at times even dangerous to make assumptions based on opinions instead of analyzing the facts.

Which is why we are here to debunk the myths and to provide you the facts.  Here are some of the initial facts we found by studying the Rivals.com five star recruiting lists over five years (please sit down as you read this!):

• Out of the 144 players designated as five star studs only 36 players or about about 25% went on to becomes what most people would consider to be stars or impact players at the college level.
• That means that approximately 108 players or about 75% of the five star recruits over the five year period were just solid, decent or average players who did not have a major impact on their teams success for various reasons.
• As of last count at least 19 players (13%) transferred from the original school they signed a LOI with on National Signing Day.
• From the list we found that 18 players (13%) suffered major injuries that had a significant negative impact on their careers.

So what that tells us is that only 1 out of every 4 five star recruits will go on to even bigger things in college or beyond that in the NFLU. It also shows us that about 3 out of every 10 five star players will either transfer to another school or suffer a serious injury that impacts or ends their college career.

So before you go counting all of your five star recruits before or after National Signing Day you should be cautious not to go predicting their individual success or their team's potential accomplishments.

NSD Flashback: 2008

National Signing Day (NSD) this year brought so many new, bright and shiny presents to University of Miami Head Coach Randy Shannon that he must have assuredly felt like Christmas had come exactly 10 months and 19 days early.  Randy and his crew of top flight recruiters dominated NSD 2008 like the 2001 Canes dominated all of college football. 

Yes, in 2008, February 6 was indeed Christmas for the Canes.

ESPN rated the Canes class #1 in the country and all of the so-called experts and recruiting sources had the Canes ranked in the top 5 classes nationwide.  Focusing on the talent rich 305, Randy and crew made sure to lock down the local studs from Miami Northwestern High School and Booker T Washington in an unprecedented round-up of some of the best players in the Country. 

Remember these names: From MNW, Forston, Johnson, Spence, Thompkins, Washington, Jones, Streeter and Harris (Jacory).  From BTW, Collier and another Harris (Brandon) and Johnson (Davon).

And don't go to sleep the two "Muck Boys" WR Travis Benjamin and DL Micanor Regis.  Both could play a major role in the Canes success in 2008, Benjamin as a punt and kick returner and Regis in the rotation at defensive tackle across a suddenly solid Canes defensive line.

Nationally the Canes landed top rated LB Arthur Brown from Kansas, Antonio Harper from Tennessee, a Cook from Texas, a Kane from New Jersey, a Byrd from Louisiana and Safety Vaughn Telemaque from California.  The Canes also stole CJ Holton right out from under Bobby Bowden's nose and even took back Ramon Buchanon from the hated Gators and coach Urban Buy-her. 

Christmas in February?  This was even better, way better! 

Now the job for Coach Shannon and his assistant coaches is to get these young pups ready to play, and not soon, but NOW!   The only thing standing between these Canes and another 5-7 season is a new starting freshman QB and this sudden and dramatic infusion of talent and heart into the Canes locker room. 

Yet, once we get beyond the giddiness and glee of landing all of this top talent on NSD, the question still remains:  Which Canes team will see on the field in 2008?  More of the same from 2007, or a totally new team, more like the one we saw back in 2001?

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Why Many Recruits Fail Science

You are a five star high school total stud football player.

It is almost certain that you are going to be an incredible success story. You can't wait for the huge crowds to embrace you, the national awards to surround you and the National Championships to fall into your lap. 

In fact, the Heisman Trophy is just desperately waiting to be yours!

Stop the media hype machine and ask yourself one simple question: "Why is it that so many five star players wind up as an epic fail?" Well let me give you just some of the reasons that these highly talented players often fail:

Academics: A, B, C, D...Uh, what comes after D?  Some players never get accepted and others flame out quickly when it comes to the main reason they are in college in the first place: getting an advanced education. It usually goes like this: "Coach when you said I would actually have to go to class and study and pass a test I thought you were just kidding dawg! You see in high school the teachers, well you know, they just looked the other way and gave me the grade. And that kid I had take the SAT for me well he was cool with the $250 I gave him so I could make the millions later on."

Drugs: Puff, puff, pass.  Too often too many college athletes get caught up in the sordid underworld of drug use.  While alcohol, steroids, amphetamines, cocaine, pain killers and other prescription and over the counter drugs are often abused by young adults nothing takes the place of the king: marijuana. When you fall asleep in the drive through of a McDonald's not once but twice while waiting for your food then you know you got the buzz working for you. Or is it against you, I forget? Who cares, just...puff, puff, pass.

Sense of Entitlement: You were a total stud in high school. You rated five stars, fast cars, loose standards and faster and looser women and all that.  You wore #1, you got preferential treatment everywhere you went in your home town.  So you walk into the college head football coach's office after seeing the depth chart that was just released today and you say: "Uh, Coach there must be some mistake here, you see I am a starter at (Name your position). I wear #1, I am a five star stud and just what the hell is going on here?" The Head Coach says: "Son, sit down here and let's talk about your attitude and lack of commitment to the...as Johnny five star walks out, transfers and heads to Memphis or Marshall or some other school.

Coaching Changes: Bobby five star was recruited by Head Coach A to play position X in a spread offense or position Y a 4-3 defense.  That all sounds well and good until Coach A gets fired in your second season and then Coach K comes in and decides that you should play position G in a pro-set offense or position Z in a 3-4 defense.  Bobby five star realizes he is totally screwed, figuratively and literally and goes into a major sulk or just transfers.

Lost sense of Ego: When you were in high school in Louisiana you were the big man on campus (BMOC). Everybody knew you from the name on your jersey since you were in Pop Warner football.  The high school chicks dug you, the guys wanted to be you and the adults all respected you.  Then, you go to college.  Nobody knows you.  The chicks are like: "Who is this freaky guy with the crawfish?" Meanwhile, the fans are all saying: "Show me what you got home boy from the Bayou!"

These are just a few of the reasons why talented high school players fail at the college level. Can you think of a few more?

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Why Have U Forsaken Me?

For Miami Hurricane fans there are reasons-a-plenty for Al Golden's failure to right what was wrong with the University of Miami football program. But careful thought and analysis reveals five primary reasons why Golden could not get it done at UM: scheme, coaching, player development, depth and recruiting.

Today we will take a closer look at how and why depth, or lack thereof, on the roster was one of the primary reasons that Golden is now gone from Coral Gables (research by blogger TonyCane).

Looking back at each of the signing classes under Golden, the first two were wrecked by very early departures or failures to qualify. TWENTY ONE of the fifty two players that committed in 2011 and 2012 were off the team within two seasons, and an additional three failed to qualify.

The majority of casualties came from the 2012 class. It's a major part of the reason that the UM roster level was so depleted of talent and depth:

2011:
Failed to qualify:2 (Grooms, Kinard)
Left after one year: 1
Left after two years: 4 (Grimble, Finnie, Johnson, Paul) *not counting Botts

2012:
Failed to qualify:1 (Jean-Louis)
Left after one year: 10 (Briscoe, Carter, Davis, Dewey, Dillard, Ivery, Terry, Thompson, Witt, Lockhart)
Left after two years: 4 (Blue, Dortch, Hoilett, Hope)

2013:
Failed to qualify:3 (Bond, Lockley, Griffith)
Left after one year: 2 (Olsen, Sandland)
Left after two years: 1 (Lewis)

2014:
Failed to qualify: none
Left after one year: 1 (Hester)

We all knew that Miami was under the scholarship limit, but not many had any idea that the Hurricanes may have been playing with somewhere around 70-72 players and that far under the 85 player scholarship limit.

Sure, some will argue that only 25 to 40 players may actually play during any given game, but when any team is that low in overall depth it cannot be a good thing, now can it?