There are coaches who have outsized personalities, and there is Miami coach Randy Shannon. When he walks into a room, he does not take it over. He’s so quiet, librarians beg him to talk.
Tough? Yes. Stoic? Absolutely. Suffice it to say that Shannon is not a man who caves to impulse.
All of which makes his decision to stake the Hurricanes’ future on their freshmen that much more interesting. Give Shannon credit: After the Hurricanes’ 2-3 start, they have won four consecutive games, including that 24-17 comeback victory in overtime this past Saturday at Virginia.
Alabama has climbed to No. 1 in the nation in part because of the contributions of freshmen like wide receiver Julio Jones and tailback Mark Ingram. But the Crimson Tide have veterans on both lines, at quarterback and in the secondary. Miami has 31 true freshmen, 12 on the depth chart, four of them starting. Coaching freshmen has made for a different experience for Shannon and his staff.
“You have to be very patient,” Shannon said. “You can’t destroy them. We coach them. We coach them hard. But we coach them on the little things. You can’t beat them up when they play as freshmen.”
It can be difficult for coaches not to light into their players. Coaches are intense, demanding teachers in a physical sport. It’s easy to instruct in a manner that would be R-rated. But Shannon doesn’t want them scorched by invective, no matter how well meant.
“A couple of weeks ago,” Shannon said, “Aldarius Johnson dropped a couple of passes. I asked him to tell me what he was thinking when the ball arrived.
“He said, ‘I was thinking about getting upfield.’
“I asked him, ‘What do I always tell you? Secure the football, and then get upfield.'”
Shannon has scheduled 6:15 a.m. team meetings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in which the coaches dole out the game plan for Saturday. Not only do the meetings instill discipline in his young players, Shannon said, the meetings allow them to digest what they must learn.
“They got all day to look at their game plans when they get a minute,” Shannon said. “We come back in the afternoon and say, ‘Any questions?’ We do a lot of reps in practice. The more reps they can get, the better off they can become. We don’t give them a million plays to learn. If we get perfect at 10 plays, learn them with reps, then we can get two more yards upfield after a catch or two more yards upfield on a pass rush.”
He plays freshman quarterbacks Robert Marve and Jacory Harris because he realized that if he picked one to start and that one got hurt, the offense would have to start from scratch with the second one. Marve starts and Harris finishes. Harris made an incredible athletic play to throw the game-tying, fourth-quarter touchdown at Virginia. On third-and-15, the right-hander scrambled to his left and flung a 26-yard pass to LaRon Byrd.
Shannon doesn’t say he is coaching a high school team. It’s not that he considers that an insult. It’s a goal.
“It’s like elementary school,” Shannon said. “Many, many parts of this young football team are just doing a tremendous job. They don’t know better. They don’t understand about not fighting hard. They just go out there and play and keep going.”
Hopefully the above piece will quiet some of the doubters and Shannon’s harshest critics.
While many Miami fans realize rebuliding projects don’t just “happen” overnight, there’s a strong contingent who critique every move, every play and every decision. Some are quick to reference what Nick Saban is doing year two at top-ranked Alabama.
Maisel does a fine job pointing out the differences between a much deeper Crimson Tide squad (solid o-line and d-line, deep secondary, veteran quarterback) and a green Canes bunch (31 true freshmen, 12 on depth chart, four starters).
“Patience” is a word that Shannon isn’t afraid to stress, though many fans continue wanting instant results and a ready-made champion. Land some freshman, just add water and ‘voila!’. As if it’s just supposed to ‘work’ when you reel in a handful of highly-touted 17 and 18-year olds.
Coaching is more than Xs and Os. The element of teaching is as important as the plays you’re drawing up. You crawl before you walk. There’s a science to developing newbies and it proved to be unsolvable during the Larry Coker regime, with so many top-rated kids never panning out.
Early team meetings to instill discipline and accountability. A back and forth about the plays, in an effort to teach. Game plans, practice and a Q&A session about what was learned. Work new plays over and over so in two years they’ll be run to perfection by a well-oiled machine.
Those still full of doubt, go back and watch your Virginia game tape. How much more comfortable did Jacory Harris look on the final drive in regulation, game nine into the season, as compared to game one?
The true freshman is finally able to tap into his ‘it’ factor, improvising and making plays with the game on the line. Harris and his receivers are getting on the same page, thanks to repetition and the confidence that success brings.
How else do you explain a LaRon Byrd trusting his instincts and battling two defenders for a game-tying touchdown after a Harris scramble? Why is a Davon Johnson breaking off his route, coming back for the ball and getting to a place where his quarterback can thread a pass between two defenders?
By teaching, coaching and being patient with, Shannon has his kids playing loose and making plays. It’s something the Miami Hurricanes haven’t seen in half a decade. The fact that the majority of the playmakers are true freshman; folks better start taking notice. These Canes aren’t “back” yet, but they’re close and they’ve passed the point of no return for this season.
4-0 this past month, Miami is playing without thinking. Like walking out onto a ledge, the Canes are fine unless they look down. Stay focused. Move ahead. Three winnable games remain and the goal of Tampa is a reality.
3-0 is doable. 2-1 is realistic. 1-2 means the Canes looked down, remembered they were freshman and made some rookie mistakes.
Will it happen? Depends.
If Miami doesn’t flinch over the next 12 quarters, an ACC title berth is a distinct possibility.
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I think Shannon has done a nice job this year and turned the corner, on the way to molding The U back into a factor. I think Coach Shannon is always overlooked by the media and fans as doing a great job this year because of his quiet demeaner, which I'm sure is fine with him. This is a foundation year and I admire Shannon taking the USC approach and playing the best players each week, regardless of year. The ball is rolling, and with the staff keeping recruiting going, the program is shaking off past funk. I predicted a 6-6 season after the loss to FSU and now it looks like at least 8-4 is very possible. The only other national person who I've seen give The U any props is Herbsreit who said we could win the ACC before the FSU game. It's still possible. Win the rest of our games, and have GTech beat UNC. But regardless, so far the year has been a nice step forward. I love it!
-Columbus Cane
Once again. Great article.
If it ain't broke don't fix it.
I would say that Miami is proving a lot for people who were saying that the program is failing and they are gonna be down for awhile. I didn't believe that. They are on pace to silence a lot of people. Sure they have their share of problems. But Freshman are making plays left and right. Silence every hater(espn critics) and keep beating good teams. Wake,Virgina and even Duke. I believe in Shannon. Orange bowl bound. Keep the Canes under the radar. Cause they are gonna be seen and heard.
They can only be under the radar so long because once they beat VT and GT there is no under the radar because the next stop for the Canes is Tampa on the shoulders of the freshman
Tampa Here We Come!!!!!!!!!
destiny has scheduled a rematch for the Canes vs FSU in Tampa and the outcome is gonna be different
I have to be honest, I am both excited and nervous about the next 3 games!! The next two weeks are going to require different components of our team to step up HUGE!! Next week we face arguably the best defense in the league and the week after we face one of the best rushing attacks in the country. Our offense is going to need to play smart against the Chokies and the defense is going to have to maintain their lanes and discipline against the Bumble Bees (Yellow Jackets)! If we can win those two games we have to avoid the let down against NC State. Even though I am extremely nervous, I believe in these Canes and this coach!!
It's on Shannon plain and simple. The reality is the returning talent this season was the worst in the ACC and capable of maybe 3 overall wins and 1 league win.
Six wins already is better than what we expected. For all the Shannon haters out there I would claim he has already proven himself. David Cutcliffe is the top ACC coach this year: no argument there for the job he's done with Duke. But Shannon has done a better job than anyone else. Look at FSU: find me one Canes player not on the offensive line who'd start for FSU this year? I say zero other than maybe Dedrick Epps.
Yet we played FSU within 2 points and have the same league record of them. That's due to Shannon and yes Nix and Young. North Carolina has a lot more talent than us and we almost beat them as well.
Miami is over achieving right now. Some of you may not believe it but we have essentially beaten two teams that right now are much better than us the last two weeks. That's coaching: Thanks Randy Shannon!
Instead of playing down to the competition as we did under Coker and Butch Davis we are playing up to them under Shannon. He has the potential to be the best gameday UM coach since Dennis Erickson and is a much better recruiter and obviously a better man than Erickson.
I look at what Shannon is doing as being similar to what Butch did. He is building a program. It doesn't happen overnight. He is getting the players he needs, the talent is getting better and they are improving. I love the job Randy is doing. The team is better this year than last year, I can see improvement and that is the most important thing. They very well could be playing in Tampa in a few weeks. You cannot complain about that if you are a true fan.
Can anyone explain how Wake Forest is now ranked in the BCS with the same record as us and we beat them? HOW DOES THIS COME ABOUT? They lost to Navy, shut out by Maryland and lost to us...we lost to the #4 team and two other ranked teams as our losses....THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!
When we play VT, we have to stop the run to win the game. That's all they have. If they want to put their TE under center then blitx his butt and make him pass. I'd take that chance. They can not throw the ball consistently. Another reason to blitz is that when Glennon is in, he can't move with that bum ankle. Stop the run and we win the game. Their D is nice, but we should be able to outscore their offense at home. Be the bully!
-Columbus Cane