Ye of little faith.
Many of you laugh off the notion regarding the “five-year rebuild” many called for regarding the State of Miami in the post-Larry era. With year four on the brink, former Canes and one national media member are ready to believe.
Bruce Feldman penned a post-scrimmage article for ESPN on Monday and in his opinion, the Miami Hurricanes as you once knew them are just about “back”. Being a premium content article, I can’t repost here without ESPN’s permission, but for those of you curious, root around a bit online (specifically UM message boards) and you should be able to uncover it.
For those too lazy to do that, the Cliff Notes version of Bruce’s piece, “The U Shall Rise Again”:
>>> A different vibe surrounds present day UM football, with Feldman stating that UM looks and seems like a “legit powerhouse program” again.
>>> The receiving corps were praised. Feldman states that Miami is “seven deep” at the position and that LaRon Byrd, Leonard Hankerson and Tommy Streeter all cast an “imposing shadow”. He also touted Travis Benjamin as the fastest wideout.
>>> Tailbacks were also a hot topic, with comparisons to the Clinton Portis/Willis McGahee era, as was the defensive line – a staple with great Miami teams and something that has been lacking in recent years.
>>> Offensive line, a recent weak line, is looking solid. Feldman praised offensive tackle Jermaine Johnson as “a lean up and comer who has insiders raving”.
>>> Feldman states that the 2010 Canes passed the ever important “eyeball test” with the U Family and 100+ Hurricane Football alum in attendance. In recent years, past Canes had ripped the current state of the program. No more. Jimmy Johnson. Ted Hendricks. Cortez Kennedy. The old schoolers were out there and one unnamed 90s era Cane stated, “This looks like what Miami is supposed to look like. It hasn’t been like this for a while, but we’re ready now.”
>>> Strength & Conditioning coach Andreu Swasey raved about not just the athleticism of this current team, but the maturity and work ethic. I’ve read a lot of Swasey bashing online the past few years and where many were quick to blame the coach, I oft said the issue was the talent, or lack thereof.
Swasey was good enough for the dominant Canes of the early 00s and current NFLers still come ‘home’ to train with him, even bringing NFL teammates along for the ride. If things are truly turning the corner as Feldman states, this validates Swasey, further proving that lesser, lazier talent was to blame for the recent drop off – not the S&C coach.
>>> Feldman isn’t calling Miami a national title front-runner just yet, but stated that after seeing this squad up close, he’s now thinking “a little harder about the Canes”.
>>> Feldman expects Jacory Harris to thrive year two under Mark Whipple, due to his own personal development, the maturation of his body (physically) and the development of the current crop of wideouts. He also praised the situation regarding back up quarterbacks, a weak spot the past several seasons.
>>> He calls the first month of Miami football “treacherous”, just like last year. This time around it’s Ohio State, Pitt and Clemson all on the road after a home opener against Florida A&M. Despite how the first four play out, Feldman doesn’t believe it’ll impact Shannon’s future at UM – nor does he feel it should. He also expects contract issues to be ironed out by then.
>>> Feldman states that Shannon inherited a “tricky situation” when taking over for Coker after the 2006 season. He praises Shannon for “instilling more discipline into the program” as well as squashing out off the field issues.
>>> Feldman did knock the Patrick Nix hiring, but failed to mention that Dirk Koetter turned Miami down at the final hour – as did Kevin Sumlin, John Bond and John McNulty. (Not all officially, some merely declined interest.) Still, it should be noted that Nix was a last ditch effort before Signing Day after several others didn’t want in.
It should also be noted that the Nix experiment ended after two seasons, with Shannon going out and getting his guy next time around in the proven, experienced Whipple.
>>> Some former Canes originally felt that Shannon had too strong a hold on the current Canes, but feel that the culture has finally changed. Allen Bailey summed it up saying that Shannon has “lightened up” and that he’s giving player “a little more leeway”.
Truth be told, Shannon had to be a hard-ass out the gate. For those who don’t remember, the wheels fell off during the 2006 seasons – Larry’s last.
An embarrassing display of false bravado, jumping up and down on the Louisville logo mid-field, moments before being handed a 31-7 beat down. A month later national news was made with the battle royal with Florida International – the biggest black eye for this program since the probation era. A month after that, the murder of beloved teammate Bryan Pata cast a dark cloud over the Coral Gables campus and gave rivals some recruiting dirt regarding safety at UM, making the job that much harder for the next head coach.
Miami lost four straight before upsetting Boston College and eking out a one-point win over Nevada in the Blue Turf Bowl, en route to a 7-6 season – the Canes worst non-probation finish in three decades.
Players needed to earn their head coach’s trust and entering year four, they have. Shannon now trusts they players and in turn, they trust him… which is why Feldman wrapped up his piece with a dig at the admin which hasn’t show Shannon the same faith (“I think UM needs to show the same trust in its head coach and extend his deal.”)
Another stellar piece by Bruce and another reason for fans to believe in the 2010 Miami Hurricanes.