I want to start by saying I’m a fan of Manny Navarro’s work. As far as University of Miami football coverage goes, this guy rolls up his sleeves and gets knee-deep in it. No local beat writer covers the Canes like Navarro. He’s has my respect.
Whereas this blog is editorial-style, with long distance thoughts from a long-time, opinionated Cane, Manny’s reporting helps fans keep better tabs on the day-to-day regarding all things The U. No one is pretending to be something they’re not.
Being that this site is all about giving opinions, let’s throw another out there for discussion — Manny’s Friday rant was off base, out of character and definitely jumped the gun.
What is the point of a mid-April piece about ‘intruders’ breaching UM’s local recruiting wall – two months after Signing Day and ten months from the next one? Navarro claims that UM’s hold over local talent “is beginning to disappear like the ozone” and says that he’s hearing change in the voices of local players and their affinity for the Canes.
Ten months from now we’ll find out the fate of Corey Lemonier, Jakhari Gore, Jose Jose and Ivan McCartney. All grew up Miami fans and according to Navarro, all could wind up elsewhere because all lack some cult-like adoration for the hometown program.
Godforbid some high school seniors want to explore and see something outside their beloved 305 or 954 area code.
I don’t get the ‘sky is falling’ tone of Navarro’s piece. Not now. Not when things at Miami are looking better than they have in half a decade. The Canes finally have a playmaker and leader at quarterback. A slew of talented wideouts. A stable of running backs. Depth on the defensive line. Talent at linebacker. Potential in the secondary. A veteran offensive playcaller and a capable defensive position coach that will work with a defensive minded head coach.
With an exciting season around the corner, why in God’s name is Navarro sweating what some teenagers are saying regarding a decision they’ll make almost a year from now?
Ten months is a lifetime to a high school senior; especially a big time football recruit. Opinions change like the weather and these kids are all about following trends, being easily influenced and even more so, talking a big game. They’re kids. C’mon now, what did ANY of us really know when we were seventeen? Not a fraction as much as we thought.
Navarro asks why Booker T. Washington running back Eduardo Clements is favoring Georgia, despite the fact his former high school coach is now on UM’s staff and three of his former teammates are at The U.
The Knowshon Moreno train has left Athens and the Bulldogs have both Caleb King and Richard Samuel waiting in the wings, as well as a few lesser known backs. King and Samuel come highly-touted, but rather inexperienced.
In Miami, it’s the Graig Cooper and Javarris James show for at least one more year. Also waiting in the wings, Lee Chambers and newbies Mike James and Lamar Miller. Not to mention, out of nowhere safety-turned-running back Damien Berry, who tore up spring ball.
Two legit prospects at UGA versus a few proven entities and some new super freshman at UM? Might the depth chart have more to do with Clements’ waning interest than some conspiracy theory that Miami’s wall around South Florida is crumbling?
Same to be said for local receiver Quinton Dunbar, a recent Miami decommit from a few weeks back. Is this really an indictment on UM or simply another kid who reexamined the depth chart? Sounds more like Dunbar is trying to avoid an uncomfortable Bryce Brown-like moment and realizes an early commitment isn’t the best call if he’s truly looking elsewhere.
Leonard Hankerson, Aldarius Johnson, Travis Benjamin, Thearon Collier, LaRon Byrd and Davon Johnson all made a mark in 2008 and now Kendal Thompkins and Tommie Streeter are on healthy for 2009. That’s eight receivers Dunbar is looking up at depth chart-wise if he signs with Miami in fall.
Definitely not the place if you’re not in the mood to compete or expect the promise of immediate starting time.
Former wideout Jermaine McKenzie — a four-star prospect a few years back — recently left the program because of an influx of talent at Miami and inability to crack the depth chart. Others feel the depth at receiver sent Andre Dubose to Florida, instead of to Miami with high school teammates Dyron Dye and Ray Ray Armstrong.
When hearing that, is it a big deal of Dunbar, a three-star, also seemed to flinch when sizing up the current crop of talent and reopened up his recruitment? Furthermore, what’s the point of committing early anyways? Word is hardly a bond when talking about athletes and their supposed “commitment” to a university. I don’t know of many committed relationships where one party is allowed to keep their options open, while being wooed by other prospects.
The recruiting game is a joke and this double-talk from the mouths of babes means absolutely nada.
There’s a lot of football to be played between now and February 2010. The entire schedule and bowl season, actually. I promise everyone that Lemonier, Gore, Jose and McCartney do their fair share of flip-flopping over the next ten months. Let’s see how hot Clements stays on Georgia if their two new backs light it up this fall and clog up the depth chart. Let’s also wait and see Clements’ reaction if the hometown Canes have a breakout season. Same with Dunbar. Will these guys really want to look elsewhere and miss out at a shot at playing for the hometown team?
According to Manny, Miami isn’t the sexy pick right now. Some kids are fawning over the style and dare I say ‘swagger’ of former Cane Mario Cristobal over at FIU — 1-11 two years ago and 5-7 last season.
Let’s see how things play out for the Golden Panthers this year and let’s measure the growth of both local programs after the season. February is a long way away and not only can a lot change between now and then, you can bet that it most certainly will.
Kids were loving on Greg Schiano and Rutgers after a big time run in 2006, but the tide quickly turned a year later and hasn’t been the same since. Perception becomes reality, but as we know with high school kids, perception changes on a dime.
Let’s discuss all these supposed chinks in the recruiting armor after year three of the Randy Shannon era, not before. The present is too bright to ‘worry’ about what some high school phenoms might or might not do. The current crop of Canes are the ones who need to win games and ensure future players get on board and keep the tradition alive.
Focus on the kids who are here, not the game players who are stringing you along for the ride.
Well said. A lot of these kids are spoiled. It’s the “me me me” generation and I don’t think Shannon will put up with many of them after hearing their comments. FIU? Even if they did become a real program, they’d still be in the Sun Belt. Hey, I’ll take the Emerald Bowl in California over the New Orleans Bowl any day of the week.
great blog…
so here is how i feel about it…these kids that look at our depth chart and run away from it are the kids we dont need anyways…miami was built on competition and we want the kids who are going to look at that depth chart and say shit…i am coming in and going to the top of it and i am going to compete…you know randy was around that type of mentality for a long time at miami and he is rebuilding that…i remember for a long time i use to hear people say …miami’s second squad can beat most teams first squad…that is where randy is getting back to…and all of that starts with kids that want to compete…not kids who see a challenge and run away…these kids are getting more like bryce brown…did we not learn anything from that…look at the situation bryce walked into…really no competition for him…and two of their running backs at tenn…just left school…that is what these kids want…immediate playing time because they all think they are superstars…becuase their coaches tell them they are every day…and some website gives them five stars or some shit…they all learn real quick …minus a small few…that the next level is the real deal…and they better work hard…but let these kids go to fiu…play on bad teams…i can tell you from personal experience that it is more enjoyable when you do a little on a great winning team…then when you do a lot on a losing team…it sucks…you get the personal awards…but you get your ass kicked all the time…who wants to be a john stockton, dan marino, etc…great players…never won the big one…come on…seems to me like these kids these days need some good parenting
also…miami does not need 10 five star players every year…and honestly that is not realistic..some of our fans…just expect every five star from around the entire country to come…and all these ratings dont really mean shit…these stars dont produce on the field the player does…i am from va…let’s take va tech for example…their recruiting classes are rarely ranked high (#1-10) nationally…if ever…have gotten better over the years…but they always take three star guys and four stars…and once in a blue moon get a five star…and if that happens the damn valley shuts down and locally people expect a national title…but what tech does …is they develop their players…and their players stay four years…and they win…and they compete every year..i mean look what they do in the acc…so you know…screw these kids that want to walk away from the competition..lets get these kids who have heart..can play and want to compete…and let our coaches develop them and coach them up…people need to stop worrying about what these 17-18 year olds say…randy and clint hurt i can promise you know what they are doing and got this under control…lets remember this…randy’s first recruting class..espn#1..his second…espn#7…come on …let the man recruit stop this nonsense..he will bring in another top 10 class…then man is a monster at this
va cane
mannys article wulda been great after the 2010 signing day if we missed out on a lot of local talents, but 8 months away, cmon now
Right on the money again, Mr Bello. I saw Manny’s piece on Friday and was very disappointed. Like you, I am a fan of his work and didn’t understand where that piece came from. Very pessimistic and out of place.
Recruiting is an inexact science and let’s call it like it is, these kids are full of shit. They’re teenagers with a sense of entitlement and they think they’re much savvier than they are. They’re playing the schools and the schools are playing them.
Like you, I say let’s see where the six kids in this article wind up next February. I’m willing to say that no less than three and as many as 4-5 wind up at Miami.
If not, you can guarantee that another class of kids who WANT to be Canes will be on board!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very bush league piece from Manny. I expect better. Nice retort, AllCanes. You make some very vaild points.
Rich Pierce
SarasotaCane
so here is how i feel about it…these kids that look at our depth chart and run away from it are the kids we dont need anyways…miami was built on competition and we want the kids who are going to look at that depth chart and say shit…i am coming in and going to the top of it and i am going to compete…you know randy was around that type of mentality for a long time at miami and he is rebuilding that..
I agree VA Cane. The U is built on competition. Absolutely.
I’m not saying the six guys Manny mentioned are ‘running away’ from competition. For all we know, all six wind up in Coral Gables next winter.
I wrote what I wrote because I disagree with Manny that Miami should be in *panic mode* right now.
I don’t care if a few high school kids don’t think UM is the flavor of the week this week. Let’s see what happens Signing Day 2010 and then assess the situation.
I believe a few of these kids wind up at Miami. All recruits go through this kind of stuff with the hometown team — talking of branching out and looking elsewhere. How many times has Miami been on the other side of that?
Ohio-bred Marcus Hall was flirting with UM and a few other schools, but when the rubber met the road he wasn’t turning his back on Ohio State. I think the same will be said for Gore and a few others. They’re kids. They’re sowing their oats. They want to know what else is out there.
Randy needs to win some ball games this year, prove that Miami is the place to be and in the end, these hometown kids that claim to love UM are going to get on board. I don’t care what they say.
They’re 17 and I’m a grown man. I’ve seen this story play out since my high school days when these kids were zygotes. They’re not the first crop of athletes to talk this game.
Wow. Nail, meet head because that’s what you just did here. You hit the nail right on the head.
I hate all this fearmongering and sky is falling type of stuff, too.
If Randy and his coaches can’t recruit and lose all those kids in February, then it makes sense to write an article like this. Like you, I just don’t understand the point of doing that now.
SLAM DUNK ARTICLE.
Excellent Rebuttal.
561CANES !!
I agree that it was a great piece and well written.
MaNny's a reaL F*C|< up!!!
WhO giVes a 5h!t whaT TheSe pUNks are sAying in aPRil???
wE ARe tHe U…
i tell you what..the kids i want are kids like johnathan feliciano…a long time fan and lover of the canes…a kid who has worked his ass off his whole life…a kid who has been nothing short of persistant…a kid that has been looked over and is a diamond in the rough…a kid who put his own dvd together and waited outside at the spring game for coaches to present his dvd…and what do you know…he is very good…monster…nasty on the o line…and crushes d lineman off the ball…and you know what he is committed solid…and you know he got a offer…and he should…he will work his ass off at miami…and be great…these are the kids we need..the kids who work…who want to roll their sleeves up and get nasty…i love kids like him…will always pull for a kid like this
va cane
EVERYONE CHECK THIS ARTICLE OUT ABOUT SOUTH FLA RECRUITS BEING SPOILED? HOW DO YOU FEEL? http://WWW.CANESPACE.COM
I saw that Canespace.com article a few hours ago. Very good site those guys run over there. I’m definitely a fan.
Some good points regarding South Florida recruits being spoiled… though I think about 90% of all big time recruits act spoiled and need to check themselves.
I don’t think Shannon and staff are spending too much time focusing on South Florida. That’s where you get some of the best talent in the country and they need to keep as many of those kids home as possible — while obviously cherry-picking the best talent they can from the rest of the state and country.
Randy Shannon and staff have done a solid job recruiting these past few seasons. I think they have their thumb on the pulse regarding focus on South Florida versus the rest of the talent out there.
i tell you what..the kids i want are kids like johnathan feliciano…a long time fan and lover of the canes…a kid who has worked his ass off his whole life…a kid who has been nothing short of persistant…a kid that has been looked over and is a diamond in the rough.Definitely a fan of kids like this. Miami has always succeeded with their fair share of under the radar-type kids.
I’m not comparing Feliciano to an Ed Reed-type, but Reed was an under the radar kid that chose Miami over Tulane, after Florida State shunned him. (Reed was a Noles fan.) Santana Moss rolled in on a track scholarship and that worked just fine.
Joaquin Gonzalez was another under the radar prospect that almost went the Ivy League route and chose hometown Miami and earned an academic scholarship. If Feliciano is half he player and person Joaquin was, the Canes are in biz.
Break out year in 2009 ? Yeah ok
YOU DON’T MESS WITH UGA VII.
Break out year in 2009 ? Yeah okAfter 5-7 and 7-6, an 8-4 or 9-3 year would be considered a “breakout” year.
More than the actual record itself, this is a breakout year if Miami has anything resembling an offense – after not having one since 2002.
Good article. Love Manny’s work but definitely premature considering these kids aren’t even done with their junior year of high school yet. The U has always dominated the 305 and will continue to dominate the 305 for a long, long time. So kids want to explore their options before they make a commitment, good that’s what they should do. These kids hardly ever get a chance to travel and visit different places outside South Florida so might as well take advantage through recruiting. That being said, the allure of playing for The U is not disappearing anytime soon and will only grow stronger as Randy gets the ship turned around.
Worst article I ever ready from Manny. Very out of character for him.
Even more out of character, the response from Shandel Richardson at the Sun Sentinel. He sort of echoes what’s said here, though not in as great of detail.
Shandel’s stuff is usually pretty weak and Manny’s is usually pretty solid, so I don’t get what’s going on. This blog remains true to form, though. Nice work.
these talented kids are willing to go to UiF and be 8th on the depth chart but not the U?
we need to start winning, plain and simple. these kids that grew up dreaming of playing for miami, didn’t dream about 5-7 win seasons.. there’s only so long we can hold onto the “miami” mystique before a lot of these kids say eff it, i want to WIN. that’s why patchan went to UF, that’s probably why dubose went to UF too..
these talented kids are willing to go to UiF and be 8th on the depth chart but not the U? Luis, Randy Shannon has virtually had South Florida on lockdown since taking the job. He’s outrecruited Urban Meyer locally from day one. Florida hasn’t taken any Dade County kids that the Canes were after.
Yes, Randy needs to start winning. That’s the most obvious answer and it’ll help solve a lot of this chatter.
Kids that grew up Canes fans didn’t dream of 5-7 seasons… but all those Northwestern kids got on board after that losing season of 2007 in an effort to clean things up.
Guys like Santana Moss and Edgerrin James did the same thing in the late 90s It’s the Miami way. Some guys come in when the program is on top. Others come to town, roll up their sleeves and want to be part of the resurgence.
The “Miami Mystique” has been going almost three decades now and it survived the probation era — it can survive Coker’s demise and Shannon’s growing pains. For a few more years, at least.
As for Patchan and Debose — great, you’re saying they’re frontrunners that went north because they wanted to join a winning program instead of rebuilding one. Not necessarily the type of players Miami needs right now. So be it.
Let me start off by saying that am a big fan of Manny we went to highschool together at Braddock and he is a great guy and does a hell of a job covering THE U. With that being said ALLCANES is absolutely correct. Why is Manny stirring this up now when everything is goin so well. This year reminds me of the 1999-2000 season when we started our come back to greatness.Randy and his staff have done a great job recruiting the last three seasons and there is no reason to think that he wont continue to do so. We are gonna surprise alot of people this season and when its all said and done these kids will come around like they always do. Am not sure if Manny had ran out of things to write about or if things were just slow, but this article was premature and completely irrelavent. All it did was stir up all the moron Gator fans and I’m not sure why in the world the FIU fans are even talking are they aware they have a long way to go to just reach suck status let alone step up to a program like THE U.
GO CANES!!!
I BLEED ORANGE AND GREEN
He didn’t write anything but his opinion. He has more insight than all of us regarding this topic. I’ll trust the more knowledgeable person versus the fan any day.
If the guy who actually talks to all the recruits has an impression that Miami’s traditionally strong recruiting base may be shifting ever so slightly, we should listen intently. He didn’t say resembling that players are NOT coming to Miami. He said that something in the water has changed and it won’t be as easy as it used to be. That’s all.
I agreed with the article and I hope the coaching staff read it as well. I never want to here about “super-recruiter” Randy Shannon losing a top player to another program.
Gabriel – Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but in this case Manny was sounding the alarm and there’s some fear-mongering going on here. It also comes off like he wants to ‘break’ the story and earn the right to say “I told you so” if Miami loses a recruit.
As for his ‘insight’ regarding recruiting, I think even Manny would tell you it’s absolutely a guessing game. These are coddled, entitled teenage athletes who change their mind like the weather and have already mastered the art of double-talk. Bet the house their stories change a half dozen times between now and February.
As for the coaching staff, if you think they need to read an article by Manny Navarro to have their thumb on the pulse of local recruiting… you’re way off base and you’re pretty much implying that a Miami Herald blogger knows more about recruiting local talent than the Canes coaching staff. C’mon now.
Another news flash for you, Randy is going to lose another top player to another top program. Thems the breaks. Some kids want to get out of Miami to make a name for themselves. Others grew up rooting for other schools. Others will get family pressure to go elsewhere for a slew of reasons.
Same way Shannon has taken kids out of Gator and Seminole country recently, the same will happen down the road to Miami. That’s how the game works.
You sound very pro-Manny for some reason and very anti-Randy, per your comments. Seems a bit off base and biased.
Leonard Hankerson, Aldarius Johnson, Travis Benjamin, Thearon Collier, LaRon Byrd and Davon Johnson all made a mark in 2008 and now Kendal Thompkins and Tommie Streeter are on healthy for 2009. That’s eight receivers Dunbar is looking up at depth chart-wise if he signs with Miami in fall.
None of these guys have really done anything. And you call that depth?
Get off Manny’s back. I can’t believe the reaction to what he posted. Is it THAT HARD to believe that in these highly competitive times there are other schools getting in these kids ears? RELAX ! This is not the end of the world.
Everyone is barbecuing Mandingo. If you have a problem with what he posted, you need to look in the mirror.
Everyone INSTANTLY jumps to conclusions. Another poster pointed out that Manny is IN THE TRENCHES. He has always given solid info. But we can’t ACCEPT FOR ONE MINUTE that he has any base for his comments. Please.
RELAX !
Leonard Hankerson, Aldarius Johnson, Travis Benjamin, Thearon Collier, LaRon Byrd and Davon Johnson all made a mark in 2008 and now Kendal Thompkins and Tommie Streeter are on healthy for 2009. That’s eight receivers Dunbar is looking up at depth chart-wise if he signs with Miami in fall.
None of these guys have really done anything. And you call that depth?A. Johnson, Benjamin, Byrd, Collier, and D. Johnson all showed promise as freshmen and should do much better in Mark Whipple’s system, as opposed to Patrick Nix.
Streeter and Thompkins are entering their first year and have shown promise this spring and Hankerson is hoping to finally break out.
Any way you slice it, those are EIGHT guys who are capable and you can guarantee that AT LEAST 3-4 of them break out this year.
Other than that, you’re pretty much missing the point. I’m not on Manny’s back in the least. I praised the work he does and simply said I thought he jumped the gun with a recruiting article when we’re ten months out from Signing Day.
No one is jumping to conclusions more than Manny, who thinks Miami is losing its hold on local recruiting simply because a few local kids who grew up loving The U are now talking about going elsewhere. Let’s wait to see where they wind up before writing them off.
As for being ‘in the trenches’ again, with recruiting what does that really mean? All these kids spout double-talk and aren’t going to tell a beat reporter anything that the rest of us folks can’t figure out. They’re all guarded with their decision making process and outside of family, no one knows where they’re going to end up… hence why even all the self-proclaimed recruiting gurus are oft wrong with their Signing Day predictions.
HEY MOST RECENT “ANONYMOUS”, HOW ABOUT YOU RELAX? YOU’RE MORE HOPPED UP THAN ANYONE ELSE ON HERE.
I GET WHERE MANNY IS COMING FROM AND HE’S SENDING OUT AN EARLY WARNING THAT LOCAL KIDS DON’T APPEAR TO BE THE SLAM DUNK THEY ONCE WERE. SUCH MAY BE THE CASE WITH THE CLASS OF 2010, THE SAME WAY THE LOCAL CLASS OF 2008 WAS ALL ABOUT STAYING HOME TO REBUILD. COME 2011 ALL THOSE KIDS MIGHT BE ALL ABOUT DA U AND THE 2012 CLASS MAY BE FULL OF DIRTY GATORS. WHO KNOWS?
EITHER WAY, MIAMI ISN’T LOSING ITS HOLD ON LOCAL TALENT. NO WAY, NO HOW. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE LOCAL KIDS WHO WANT TO STAY HOME AND RIGHT THERE ARE A SHITLOAD OF TALENTED PLAYERS IN DADE THIS YEAR. MIAMI WON’T LAND THEM ALL AND THAT’S JUST FINE. GET THE GUYS WE WANT, FIND OTHER KIDS ELSEWHERE AND MOVE ON.
I DON’T ALWAYS AGREE WITH ALLCANES, NOR DO I ALWAYS AGREE WITH MANNY. REGARDING THIS TOPIC, I SEE ALLCANES SIDE. NOTHING PERSONAL AGAINST MANNY, BUT HIS ARTICLE WAS KIND OF POINTLESS.
SO SOME KIDS MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT DECIDE TO STAY HOME AND A FEW DON’T HAVE THE HOMETOWN SCHOOL LEADING. HOW IS THAT LATE BREAKING NEWS? AND HOW IS THAT A STRIKE AGAINST SHANNON? WHAT ABOUT ALL THE KIDS RANDY HAS PULLED OUT OF NORTHERN FLORIDA THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GATORS OR NOLES? THAT’S THE WAY IT GOES SOMETIME. MOVE ALONG. NOTHING TO SEE HERE.
BIG ‘N’ RICH CANE
KENDALL, FL
Well, after this recruiting cycle is over the whole Hurricane community will know whether or not the Gators truly have a foothold on the region.
And I back up Navarro because he has more contact with the recruits than anyone and if there’s a writer who’s more pro-Hurricanes than him, I’ve never seen his work. I can’t just simply ignore his resume’ and its unarguable that he has perspective on this topic. Wouldn’t Navarro know that these recruits are disingenuous? Its a huge leap to question his motives.
What you advocate is for me to close my eyes and have faith…
And I can’t do that. Not until this coaching staff proves to me that it has the chops to compete against the major college programs in the country.
Gabriel – You can either choose to have faith or you can have a ‘sky is falling’ mentality. Doesn’t matter to me. I choose to have faith and believe because I don’t care for the alternative. I’m not going to be miserable every day, “worried” that the program is going to hell in a handbag.
Randy Shannon is the head coach. That’s not changing anytime soon. The team is the team and Signing Day is ten months away.
Miami’s coaches will have 12 to 14 chances to ‘prove’ to you that they can compete against the best. Season starts on Labor Day. Hopefully you don’t pull out all your hair between now and then.
Excellent analysis and commentary.
Agreed completely – there is nothing to worry about, and after pulling in another top 10 ranked recruiting class a few weeks back, Miami’s pull is just fine.
Shannon’s focus on the state of Miami is phenomenal and has brought back the focus we needed to our recruiting.
Go Canes!
Teams have been hitting Florida and South Florida hard for years and years. It’s nothing new. Miami will continue to get plenty of top local talent, just like Florida and FSU get their share to the Northern portion of the state. You’ll win some and you’ll lose some. Shannon knows the pulse of the area better than anyone and knows the mentality of the South Florida kid better than anyone. Shannon has shown he can get kids to come from Day 1, so I don’t understand the panic. I’m not worried at all.
One thing I will comment on that the top teams are taking advantage of, and the AD needs to get on for 2010, are Spring games on ESPN. I know it means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but that’s free publicity and is being brought to many potential recuit’s living rooms. The past 3 or 4 years have been the same suspects: Gators, Sooners, Trojans, to name a few. I think The U should inquire about getting next year’s game broadcast. It’s just another tool we can use and I don’t see any drawback. If it’s too early in the season since Miami is earlier than most, then you have it taped and then played when the other programs are having theirs.
-Columbus Cane
305… Nice come back and great points thrown out to rebut Manny, but Manny’s viewpoint does have (some) merit, as to why recruits are currently looking elsewhere. Miami’s recent (3/4 year) slide has caused many to question Miami’s direction and with many, it’s all about winning.
Your counterpoint of competition is well received and is probably the final deciding factor within many, as kids wants instant gratification and playing time, but that’s nothing new and they then look elsewhere to where they might be a better fit.
Another point that weighs into this equation is the recruiting system is evolving into hyper-space techknowledgy and kids today have virtual reality in hand… this being said, many recruiting sites play the ranking games and kids are now only a blog away from national attention and connection to pick a school of your choice! Where as 10 years ago, kids where more home grown to the state they lived in.
The bottom line is compitition will always be and Miami is a small school competing against the giants with big pockets… recruiting slides will come and go, but will take care of themselves when we start winning again…
It’s All About The U!!!
Cat5