ESPN’s Ivan Maisel: No Experience Required

ESPN’s Ivan Maisel doesn’t always show the Miami Hurricanes the respect they deserve, but he took time out from his BCS rant on Wednesday to pay some respect to the rebuilding job Randy Shannon is doing down south in Coral Gables. For those who haven’t read the piece, we’ve reprinted it below:

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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