You Always Remember Your First Time

The University of Miami football program was mired in mediocrity for the longest time. Previous coaches names Tate, Curci, Elliott, Selmer and Saban tried to make it work but couldn't get it done.

And then, all of a sudden, it happened.

Along came a coach with a really long last name that was really hard to spell.

That name was Schnellenberger.

That name changed everything that has to do with University of Miami football.

That name changed my life. And most likely yours too if you are reading this.

He coached guys named Kelly, Kosar and Testaverde who made Miami QB U.

Most importantly, he brought us our first National Championship in 1983.

To Schnellenberger we owe our history, our fandom and our incredible success.

There is only one first time. In any thing, at any time. Howard was that guy.

Howard Schellenerger gave us a dream that lives on and that's all because of that pipe smoking, tie wearing, bear of a man.

And for that we will forever and eternally be grateful.

Thanks Howard and rest in peace.

Comments

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Rest in peace.

[DallasTX Cane]

Sad day. But thank you for the memories. RIP.

[VA Cane]

Nice article 86. Howard was a good man and gave us a dream and vision to build on....and build we did. Lets get back to the level the Father of UM football took us almost 40 years ago!!! RIP coach!

[KYcane]

“That name changed my life. And most likey yours too if you are reading this.”

That’s why I’m here

[HerbieIbis]

I can tell u what he did for The Herb:
He changed my alligence from being a die hard Bama fan to a beyond diehard Canes fan.
Bear Bryant was like a god to me but when he retired, it was like my Bama ties died too and there was this small school that always seemed to be a Notre Dame whipping boy which was Miami.
I hate Notre Dame but in 82 something came over me that has never changed. From 1967 until 82 it was all Bama. Howard had a vision that many of us came to share, which culminated with a ship and from that point on we think of our selves as one of the big boys and with that comes the expectations, like constant winning and more ships, which has also happened. He started all this and through all the years, we still have the same vision as fans and even after 20 years we expect those visions to result in alot of wins and more ships.
Times have been tough but the dream lives on and that's all because of that pipe smoking, tie wearing bear of a man. Thanks Howard and rest in peace.

[86Cane]

Times have been tough but the dream lives on and that's all because of that pipe smoking, tie wearing bear of a man. Thanks Howard and rest in peace.

Posted by: HerbieIbis | March 28, 2021 at 11:12 AM

This is so good I am going to add it to the article. Thank U!

[Sarasota 'cane]

Thanks for this tribute Soup. I was in Army Basic Training when Schnelly & Co. won UM’s first title. My Dad was at the game with a few of his UM fraternity brother’s and their wives and when I called home to tell him how I was getting along at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in the middle of 20 degrees below zero weather he kept cutting me off to talk about the game! LOL! He was like a kid in a candy store.

Schnelly probably would’ve been UM’s Bobby Bowden if the school wasn’t so cheap at the time.

RIP Coach Schnellenberger...

[86Cane]

Schnelly probably would’ve been UM’s Bobby Bowden if the school wasn’t so cheap at the time.

Posted by: Sarasota 'cane | March 28, 2021 at 01:18 PM

#ColdHardFacts

[roachcane77]

Great article, and wonderful memories of a great man and coach.

RIP Big Howard.

🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[AeroCane]

Great article and some great comments!
I was a fan a few years prior to schnelly getting there - go every Saturday to watch the canes get whooped and go back on Sunday to watch the fins win! But I still remember the joy and how proud me and my dad were after they beat Nebraska!!
I didn’t know him but seemed like a great man and person! I agree that had he stayed he would of been our Bobby Bowden (however, it all worked out - JJ and DE and BD weren’t too bad! Lol)

PS canes win 4-2 today - morales with a HR (but this team is not well coached and not that great - still too many errors, not hitting in the clutch, not situational hitting etc)

[Terrance Sullivan]

Rest In Paradise To The Godfather Of Miami Hurricanes Football! Rest Well Coach We Love U!

[CGNC]

Thank you Howard Schnellenberger and RIP. #1. Always.

[CGNC]

“We would be talking about him with the Bear Bryants if he hadn’t left Miami,” Highsmith told the Herald. “Leaving Miami, no one ever gave up more for less.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/howard-schnellenberger-college-coach-who-built-winning-football-tradition-at-miami-dies-at-87/2021/03/27/260ff73a-8f17-11eb-a730-1b4ed9656258_story.html

[nemo2020]

OFF TOPIC: Men's Basketball News

Miami Hurricanes center Nysier Brooks enters transfer portal.

As I stated before, no one wants to sail anymore on Laranaga's sinking ship!

[86Cane]

Laranaga is leaving.

[nemo2020]

Laranaga is leaving.

Posted by: 86Cane | March 29, 2021 at 09:19 PM

One can only hope!

[AeroCane]

As I stated before, no one wants to sail anymore on Laranaga's sinking ship!

Except alpine and Harry - LOL

[Harry Miller]

Aero why don't you give that kind of sh+t up.
You are not 6 yrs old. or are you.

[Old Skool]

Phillips and Rousseau in the Tampa Bay Times

tinyurl.com/3hb3akhy

[AeroCane]

Harry
Don’t take it personal but you and alpine are the only 2 on the blog consistently wanting to give the guy another year. Facts are facts. Most on here want better than below average for our canes teams!

[AeroCane]

Old skool
Both were impressive but Phillips even more so. 6’5, 260 running a 4.58
Impressive
Personally, I think brevin should of come back and showed he could play a full season and he could of possibly moved up to late first or second round; as it is he will most likely be a 3rd or 4th round;

[AeroCane]

Oops
A 4.56 - wow

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Posted by: AeroCane | March 30, 2021 at 04:21 AM

I'd rather give him another year than have Fake Lames attempt to hire a replacement since he'll fail at that like he does every football hire. My favorite part about this offseason; Chris Lykes assuming he had a pro future for all of two days before he realized, or more likely got clued into the fact, that gimpy ankled midgets have no pro futures in basketball. Somehow this is the coaches fault though...

[AeroCane]

As much as I dislike our AD, I can’t stand seeing coach L on the sidelines (???) anymore
JMO
I really wish they’d fire James and hire a real AD - but that’s just not reality.

[86Cane]

Both were impressive but Phillips even more so. 6’5, 260 running a 4.58

Posted by: AeroCane | March 30, 2021 at 05:18 AM

Should have been a TE.

[86Cane]

So here is where I stand on Coach L:

1. I like him as a person.
2. I think he is a good coach.
3. I think he has done more good than bad at UM.
4. I don't blame him for this season.
5. I think his best days are behind him.
6. I think he should simply bow out gracefully and just enjoy his life and wife and family. IMHO he doesn't need basketball in his life at this point.

No matter how you paint it or frame it, nobody out there in basketball land (coaches, players, announcers, analysts) thinks that he will be here a long time or that this program is suddenly going to grow, strengthen and improve under him at this point.

I think the program needs a good, young coach who is on the upward swing of his career. There are several out there that are at small, private schools and have recruited better, teams have played better, won more games, have been higher ranked and gone dancing.

That's what I think.

[AeroCane]

86 - you think GOOD!

[HerbieIbis]

Back to one recruit. Cleveland decomits.

[AeroCane]

Herb, supposedly our doing. Simpson going after his own guys.

[TonyCane]

Herbi, that’s what Ive seen too. A little nervous with just one onboard, but I expect we’ll be at 4-5 within the next month. We’re also purportedly willing to use up to 4 more 2022 scholarships on transfers this year.

A bit different from the days under Golden where we would have the number 1-3 recruiting class in the country at this point with something like 15 guys committed, only to see us fall outside of the Top 10 by NSD.

[HerbieIbis]

Tony,
It was that way just a couple years ago, where we had like 12 decomits, with a majority being 4 star guys.

I believe the way we will be flowing from now on is about 17 to 18 high schoolers and the rest portal guys. Go hard after the guys u really want and whatever don't pan out jump in the portal.
No more under the radar grabs to fill up the class.

[AeroCane]

I believe the way we will be flowing from now on is about 17 to 18 high schoolers and the rest portal guys. Go hard after the guys u really want and whatever don't pan out jump in the portal.
No more under the radar grabs to fill up the class.

I agree Herb!!

[HerbieIbis]

Until we start to dominate like we should and who knows when that will be, the big dogs: Bama, OSU, LSU, Clemson will continually Cherry pick a good portion of the top players, even in Florida. Allot of these top defensive players, especially the Dee line players, aren't showing us much love, Yet! I mean we could really load up on the dee front this cycle, especially DE.
So, until we slowly trudge our way up the hill we will be mainly relegated to getting the good players but not many of the potentially great ones, therefore the portal will have to push us into the top 10.

[Sarasota 'cane]

T-minus 15 minutes till Opening Day!

Go Rays!

[Sarasota 'cane]

Rays win, Yankees lose...that’s a good day by any measure!

Go Rays!

[TonyCane]

Tony,
It was that way just a couple years ago, where we had like 12 decomits, with a majority being 4 star guys.

I believe the way we will be flowing from now on is about 17 to 18 high schoolers and the rest portal guys. Go hard after the guys u really want and whatever don't pan out jump in the portal.
No more under the radar grabs to fill up the class.
Posted by: HerbieIbis | March 31, 2021 at 10:03 AM

True. If you look at the number of two and unranked players that we've taken, it has drastically gone down:

2002: (1) RB Talib Humphrey
2003: (1) DT Teraz McCray
2004: (3) DB George Timmons, TE Cedric Till, OL Josh Kerr
2005: None
2006: (2) WR George Robinson, OL Joel Figuerora
2007: (1) WR Kayne Farquarson
2008: (1) K Jake Wieclaw
2009: (1) TE Stephen Plein
2010: (1) LB James Gaines
2011: (4) K Dalton Bolts, DT Junior Alexis, DB Thurston Armbrister, OL Hunter Wells
2012: None
2013: (2) LB Walter Tucker, Patrick O'Donnell
2014: (3) OL Joe Brown, OL Tyler Grimsley, K Michael Badgley
2015: (2) DB Terrence Henley, P Justin Vogel
2016: None
2017: (1) CB Dee Delaney
2018: None
2019: None
2020: None
2021: None

[TonyCane]

True. If you look at the number of two and unranked players that we've taken, it has drastically gone down:

Posted by: TonyCane | April 01, 2021 at 11:06 PM

Specifically, at the number of two star and unranked players that we've signed.

[TonyCane]

Until we start to dominate like we should and who knows when that will be, the big dogs: Bama, OSU, LSU, Clemson will continually Cherry pick a good portion of the top players, even in Florida. Allot of these top defensive players, especially the Dee line players, aren't showing us much love, Yet! I mean we could really load up on the dee front this cycle, especially DE.
So, until we slowly trudge our way up the hill we will be mainly relegated to getting the good players but not many of the potentially great ones, therefore the portal will have to push us into the top 10.

Posted by: HerbieIbis | March 31, 2021 at 07:25 PM

That's pretty much how Clemson has done it. Let's compare Miami and the Tigers blue chip recruiting since 2010:

MIAMI HURRICANES
2010: 07 blue chip players (Shannon)
2011: 04 blue chip players (Golden)
2012: 09 blue chip players (Golden)
2013: 10 blue chip players (Golden)
2014: 09 blue chip players (Golden)
2015: 06 blue chip players (Golden)
2016: 09 blue chip players (Richt)
2017: 10 blue chip players (Richt)
2018: 15 blue chip players (Richt)
2019: 11 blue chip players (Diaz)
2020: 14 blue chip players (Diaz)
2021: 15 blue chip players (Diaz)

CLEMSON TIGERS
2010: 06 blue chip players
2011: 09 blue chip players
2012: 10 blue chip players
2013: 11 blue chip players
2014: 10 blue chip players
2015: 12 blue chip players
2016: 12 blue chip players
2017: 10 blue chip players
2018: 12 blue chip players
2019: 13 blue chip players
2020: 17 blue chip players
2021: 17 blue chip players

It was a steady slog for Dabo throughout the decade, and only in the last two years did they start to hit Alabama-like levels. What really set them off was quarterback recruiting, where like Texas under Mack Brown they had back to back NFL-caliber quarterbacks.

And just for comparison, here's the Crimson Tide over the same time period:

ALABAMA
2010: 15 blue chip players
2011: 19 blue chip players
2012: 18 blue chip players
2013: 18 blue chip players
2014: 22 blue chip players
2015: 20 blue chip players
2016: 17 blue chip players
2017: 24 blue chip players
2018: 15 blue chip players
2019: 26 blue chip players
2020: 21 blue chip players
2021: 23 blue chip players

[The Herb]

Great stats Tony.
For me the under the radar guy would be a low level 3 star.
In order for us to get to where we need to be, we need to average between 14 to 16 four star players or better.
We can't have a year where we bring in 8 or 9 and then the next we bring in 10 or 12. That's not good enough.
Of course coaching them up is just as important, plus coaching stability, which has been an issue.
QB play has been up and down, as well.
Ultimately, it comes down to the wins and losses, another sore area.
In the end, no way, playing in the ACC, should we only have one title and that being the lowly Coastal after what, 17 years.

[TonyCane]

QB play has been up and down, as well.
Ultimately, it comes down to the wins and losses, another sore area.
In the end, no way, playing in the ACC, should we only have one title and that being the lowly Coastal after what, 17 years.

Posted by: The Herb | April 02, 2021 at 09:26 AM

I look back at what we recruited at QB, and when you examine it in retrospect it's amazing how poorly we've done - either in quantity or in some cases quality. It's only in the last year or two that we've begun to stack talent

(indicates star ranking)

2003: Berlin (5), Wright (5)
2004: Berlin (5), Wright (5), Freeman (4)
2005: Wright (5), Freeman (4)
2006: Wright (5), Freeman (4)
2007: Wright (5), Freeman (4), Marve (4)
2008: Marve (4), Harris (4), Cook (3), Cannon (3)
2009: Harris (4), Highsmith (3)
2010: Harris (4), Morris (3)
2011: Harris (4), Morris (3), Williams (3)
2012: Morris (3), Williams (3), Crow (3), Thompson (3), Dewey (3)
2013: Olsen (4), Morris (3), Williams (3), Crow (3), Dewey (3)
2014: Heaps (5), Kayaa (4), Crow (3)
2015: Kayaa (4), Crow (3), Rosier (3), Shirrefs (2)
2016: Kayaa (4), Allison (4), Crow (3), Rosier (3), Shirrefs (2)
2017: Perry (4), Rosier (3), Weldon (3), Shirrefs (2)
2018: Perry (4), Williams (4), Rosier (3), Weldon (3)
2019: Martell (5), Perry (4), Williams (4), Matocha (3)
2020: Martell (5), King (4), Perry (4), Van Dyke (4), Matocha (3)
2021: King (4), Van Dyke (4), Garcia (4), Matocha (3)

Put in terms of recruiting:
2002: Kyle Wright (5)
2003: None
2004: Kirby Freeman (4)
2005: None
2006: None
2007: Robert Marve (4)
2008: Jacory Harris (4), Cook (3), Smith (3)
2009: AJ Highsmith (3)
2010: Stephen Morris (3)
2011: Ryan Williams (3)
2012: Gray Crow (3), David Thompson (3), Preston Dewey (3)
2013: Kevin Olsen (4)
2014: Heaps (5), Brad Kayaa (4), Malik Rosier (3)
2015: Evan Shirrefs (2)
2016: Jack Allison (4)
2017: Cade Weldon (3)
2018: Jarren Williams (4)
2019: Peyton Matocha (3)
2020: Tyler Van Dyke (4)
2021: Jake Garcia (4)
2022: Jacurri Brown (4)

[86Cane]

Tony...damn son, you deserve a raise! I am going to triple your salary effective immediately!!!

[KYcane]

Tony definitely brings the statistical heat

[TonyCane]

LOL...it's amazing what one can do when they can't sleep.

[The Herb]

I don't know who was evaluating Kirby Freeman, but if he was a 4 star QB, I'm dam Don Juan.
The worst throwing QB I've ever seen BUT he did win a bowl game, albeit a squeaka vs lowly UNLV.

[86Cane]

The worst throwing QB I've ever seen BUT he did win a bowl game, albeit a squeaka vs lowly UNLV.

Posted by: The Herb | April 03, 2021 at 12:56 AM

And he beat FSU at The Doak when Mrs. 86, CaneChic and her son and I were there. Pass to the corner of the end zone right after I predicted it would happen. TRUE STORY.

[TonyCane]

Didnt Freeman have a game where he only completed one pass?

[HerbieIbis]

Tony, I believe it was NC State and it was either one or none, with 3 ints.

[AeroCane]

Happy Easter/ Passover my Cane friends!!

[AeroCane]

So I’m know you get tired of me but Gino just is not a good HC. He does not seem to coach at all. 2 men on (2nd and 3rd) and our lead off guy is up (Lala) - you’ve got to do situational hitting here and score at least one - and he strikes out. Not sure what Gino teaches during off season/spring but it’s not good baseball.
BTW Duke is not a good ACC team.

[AeroCane]

Canes up 6-1 in the bottom of 8th
Going for the sweep