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.
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Boy you should see the reaction from fans of other schools across the web reguarding Feldman's story. Most notably fans of florida and ohio state. It's like, WHAT!! The canes on the rise?! Nope. No. Uh-uh. Cant happen...lmfao, it's hillarous. Fans of other schools, especially our rivals, are in complete denial and actually contest Feldman's remarks. This guy is an expert and has seen what state miami's program is in with his own eyes, and these regular mo's feel they have a more knowledgable view of how miami's going to do the next few years. It's annoying yet entertaining.
Being a longtime fan of the Canes, I believe miami is very capable of reaching their first 10 win season since 2003 and finally competing for their first ACC title this year. If miami's lines can play with great intensity throughout the season and avoid injury, it will make those goals easier to achieve. I think we are still a year away from serious national title contention although that's just my opinion, anything can happen. It feels great saying that again because we have had some tough times but honestly "IF" we are able to come out of the horse shoe with a win...LOOK OUT!!!
Just to be fair, it needs to be noted that when Butch Davis left Miami, the players pretty much gave an ultimatum, Larry Coker is the next head coach, or else.
They liked the guy, but we now all see the result.
Now, it seems as if things are actually looking up.
Finally!!!
Great article allCanes. Thanks for posting this.
By just looking at our WR's and RB's... other teams should be and WILL be having nightmares defending us.
Can allCanes design an "In Randy We Trust" shirt with a Shannon head-shot on it?
It'd be nice to have one as a show of support as he builds the machine. It'd also be nice to have it a few years from now once he has the program humming again.
Cheers.
If we take care of the ball, we can beat anyone. All of the games we lost last year except VT were due to turnovers in large part. We shouldn't be in awe of any team on our schedule this year, including OSU on the road (who by the way, only play 4 road games next year - BS scheduling). Who gives a damn what other fans say about us. They fear The U and fear us getting back to being the face of college football, despite all the hurdles we have. F 'em.
It's time to pay Shannon and stop the dumb sht. Coaches are CEO's of corporations basically, and Shannon deserves to be paid the going rate - I'd say $2 million to be paid an average wage nowadays. The program makes $80 million or whatever it is, and as the face of the school, deserves to be treated as such. Letting him get to the last year of his contract really says a lot about the administration. Either pay him what he deserves or let him go and get who you want in there (who you'll have to pay even more than the hometown discount by the way). Shannon has pretty much rebuilt Miami inside out with little acknowledgement or support nationally. It IS being used against him right now daily on the recruiting road, and it's a shame and pathetic it has gone this far. Pay the man!
So true Columbus. Randy deserves to GET PAID.
As for recruiting... many people might be pissed that we only have 2 verbal commits right now but wait until Randy gets his extension, I'm sure the verbals from the top kids in South Florida will roll in.
I just don't see how any "true" miami fan isn't pleased with the progress Shannon has made rebuilding this program. Yes, he needs to be more of an emotional leader at times and motivate these kids to close strong but this guy's done a fantastic job. Ask any coach of any team in any sport how easy it is to take over as a head coach with no head coaching expirence, 3 years worth of lackluster players and off the field issues and tell me what they say... This man took the job when many shunned it, brought in 2 top 15 recruiting classes, has only had 2 players be arrested the last 3 years under his watch, propelled miami's graduation rate to sit with the likes of notre dame, raised a million for our facilities and put miami back in the top 10 for the first time since '03. If that ain't worth 2 mill, it's certainly worth more than being the 2nd lowest paid coach in the ACC, come on now. DUKE pays their coach more for football. DUKE!!!
I agree Ronny.....I think recruits are waiting on that extension and will start getting on board quicker once the extension is finalized.
That game in Columbus will be huge. Definetly going to be a sellout or close to one. The gameday crew will probably be there and I think it will live up to it's billing. Not that the rest of our schedule isn't important for us to win, especially the conference games. This game against the buckeyes though, in my opinion, will reveal exactly how far miami has come and how close they are to rejoining college football's elite. Going up against a big ten powerhouse, in their stadium in front of a deafening sellout crowd is a sure way to find out where your program stands. That is one thing every fan of college football should respect about the Canes, is that they aren't afraid to play anyone, anywhere at anytime.