Irrelevant U? Not buying it…

College football season is less than a month away and some local writers are piling on, essentially writing the Miami Hurricanes off, as it seems the trendy thing to do in 2008.

The latest critic? Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald. His Friday article, “Hurricanes bordering on irrelevant” hardly gave the hometown team a ringing endorsement and sounds like the same drivel every writer north of Orlando is spewing.

The Canes can’t even get some ‘homefield advantage’ from the local rag. Hardly a shock.

Last year’s losing record was embarrassing to all parties involved. From the coaches and players, right down to the casual fan, everyone associated with the program was feeling the effects of a losing season.

That said, 5-7 was a few plays away from 8-4. North Carolina, Georgia Tech and NC State were all winnable games for Miami, but a losing culture and quitters mentality forced the Canes to break instead of bend.

While “almost” means nothing in regards to the final score, Miami’s potential for 2008 should earn them more than a top fifty ranking when entering the new season. Especially when so many other programs are given the benefit of the doubt.

Gutierrez is quick to point out that the Canes are getting no respect in the coaches poll. Forget the top 25; Miami didn’t even crack the ‘others receiving votes’ category. A top-ranked recruiting class, a new, proven defensive coordinator, a few healthy running backs and a handful of promise mean nothing in this ‘what have you done for me lately?’ era of sports.

Notre Dame is coming off of 3-9, yet gets more love than the Canes. Same to be said for Florida State, putting together back-to-back 7-6 seasons and losing to Miami at home last year – FSU is ranked higher than The U. A Kevin Smith-less UCF bunch even cracked the ‘others receiving votes’ category, while UM was absent.

More insult to injury? Randy Shannon ranked last of the 66 BCS coaches listed. Dead. Freaking. Last. West Virginia’s first-year skipper Bill Stewart garnered more praise, even thought he’s yet to step on the field as the Mountaineers’ head coach and his last previous stint was an 8-25 run at Virginia Military Institute. 

Shannon’s mindset? The past is the past. Let it go. Gutierrez’s take? A cheap shot at the Miami skipper’s potential fate should he ‘ignore’ history – with a reference to a famous George Santayana quote (“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”)

Remembering the past and dwelling on it are completely different actions. Learn from your mistakes, but don’t place your focus on the failure. Let it motivate you, while also reminding you where you’ve been.

Gutierrez is a Miami guy and if he were really paying attention, he’d see what was going on.

It doesn’t take a bleeding heart to feel the winds of change in Coral Gables.

The local media knows Shannon’s tale of woe and the adversity he’s overcome. Last year’s Canes may have been losers, but their second-year coach is born winner. Sometimes a step backward is required to take those two steps forward. 

5-7 was the story last fall. By year’s end, the dismissal of some players and coaches who contributed to that losing record. 

A few weeks later, a top-ranked recruiting class and a shot in the arm for a stagnant, mentally whipped bunch. They’ll make their rookie mistakes, but big time talent is returning to Miami and it’s only a matter of time before they make their presence felt. 

These aren’t Uncle Larry’s recruits. Top local talent and a handful of cherry-picked players from across the nation who will have “Shannon: 101” instilled in them for 3-4 years. Larry Coker proved bad management can ruin a “can’t miss” prospect and that cloud hovered over Miami a few years longer than it should.

Any legit Cane will tell you that the past few seasons have been marred with false hope. Any hype or belief entering the new season was faux. As much as anyone wanted to back last year’s quarterbacks and wide outs, it was tough to believe in guys who had failed the program year after year.

You’d pray for a miracle, but always found yourself expecting the worst. The result? A 13-15 run since an upset of Virginia Tech back in November 2005.

The Canes will line up a slew of freshman this season, but there’s reason to believe. Not the false hope this fan base felt the past few years, but a legitimate change in the air. Miami-caliber kids rejoining the program, with a winner’s attitude and desire to right this ship.

Local writers should know better because they’ve seen this before. Butch Davis came to Miami unheralded, but after a few solid recruiting classes and bringing Miami-caliber players back into the fold, the Canes turned things around. The talent returned – as did the right attitude – and before anyone knew it, The U was back on top after being left for dead.

Gutierrez should back the hometown coach, instead of piling on like the rest of the national media is choosing to. Where is his inside scoop? Where is his opinion of Shannon, based on his interaction as a writer for the hometown paper? Gutierrez graduated from North Miami Senior High and grew up with the Canes in his backyard.

Then again, something may have been lost when he trekked north, attended the University of Florida, wrote for the Independent Florida Alligator and let that orange and blue seep into his veins. Yet another dirty Gator writing for the Herald, Gutierrez doesn’t write like a Miami native – unbiasedly covering the hometown team, yet sticking up for the program when he should.

Gutierrez is the anti-Manny Navarro.

Navarro’s blog offers an in-depth look at the Canes. He’s a fan, but also plays the role of an unbiased reporter. He calls out what needs calling out, but also delivers the inside scoop and can provide positive insight on the program, covering the Canes on a daily basis – something the biased folk at ESPN, the Sporting News, SI, Athlon, etc. can’t do.

While Gutierrez chose to rant about Shannon’s low ranking, last year’s decline and the fact that as many as eight freshman might not report for fall camp (it’ll most likely be four, with the other four receiving clearance this week), Navarro, armed with his video camera, got knee-deep in fall practice and chose to offer some positive tidbits regarding Saturday morning scrimmage:

– Playmakers at the wide receiver position. LaRon Byrd was today’s standout and is predicted to have an instant impact this season. Davon Johnson, Kendall Thompkins, Travis Benjamin and Thearon Collier all stepped it up today as well.

– Regarding the quarterbacks, both Robert Marve and Jacory Harris looked sharp today in 7-on-7 drills, on rollouts and with their deep ball. Though it’s only practice, the feeling  is that both are ahead of the damaged-beyond-repair Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman.

Irrelevant? Hardly. Unproven? Definitely.

The Canes will have their growing pains this season, but they’re not as far off the radar as some uninformed folks are predicting. For the first time in years, there’s a legitimate reason to be excited. The talent is returning and will continue to do so, with upwards of ten commitments already on board for 2009.

Everything that made Miami “The U” a decade ago – it’s happening all over again. Shannon is following the blUeprint and is doing his best Jimmy Johnson in  an effort to resurrect this sacred program.

Ignore Israel. Read Manny. Be patient. Have faith. Hold on.

Comments

comments