College football season is over, National Signing Day is around the corner, a back-up quarterback earned MVP honors, men’s basketball is coming off a colossal upset and Sun Life Stadium is getting a much-needed facelift.
Lots going down a few weeks into the new year. Let’s dive in with the latest at “The U”:
A sane person would start off with Miami’s upset of Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium days back as the Hurricanes ended the Blue Devils 41-home game win-streak, in a lopsided, 90-74 beat down.
That said, few are feeling sane these days and football remains first and foremost on the brain, stuck in that post-season / pre-Signing Day limbo—while holding out for change and a return to greatness.
Watching Ohio State win a national championship certainly isn’t helping the cause, either.
Three years ago the Buckeyes and Hurricanes went at it in South Florida, with Miami prevailing, 24-7. It was year one of the Al Golden era, while Luke Fickell replaced the recently let-go Jim Tressel on the other sideline.
While it’s impossible to make an apples-to-apples comparison between the private school that is the University of Miami and the football factory that is the Ohio State University, it doesn’t make their success or UM’s lack-of-success any easier to deal with.
Of course the Buckeyes rolled out the red carpet and blank check for former Florida coach Urban Meyer—and of course Meyer turned things around with relative ease; though it should be noted Ohio State was 13-1, whooped Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl and finished No. 5 in the nation one year before Fickell’s 6-6 one-year campaign.
Still, a theme throughout college football as Miami fans watch other programs making necessary moves in order to ensure success, while the Hurricanes appear to be scrambling for last minute recruits, while putting zero focus on personnel changes or upgrades.
Bob Stoops is making some big moves at Oklahoma, in the wake of a disappointing 8-5 season and embarrassing bowl loss.
Florida cut ties with Will Muschamp—who Auburn immediately snapped up to run the Tigers’ defense. The Gators then welcomed Jim McElwain, a former Alabama offensive coordinator under Nick Saban who recently revamped Colorado State. For recruiting-sake, UF also reeled in former UM head coach Randy Shannon, who will coach up linebackers and head-up recruiting.
Michigan threw big money at Jim Harbaugh and Nebraska cut ties with a nine-win Bo Pellini. Florida State locked down Jimbo Fisher with a monster contract, while LSU hired the recruiting machine that is Ed Orgeron to coach the defensive line and reel in talent.
Everywhere you look—outside of Coral Gables—change is occurring, in order to get better. Meanwhile, Miami’s only hiring and firing was in regards to apparel, dumping Nike for adidas; which was a wise move, but merely the tip of the iceberg.
Until things get pointed in the proper direction, with measurable growth, expect the insanity and frustration to continue. Basketball wins are great—but football’s disappointments quell the overall excitement.
Another impossible-to-ignore comparison these past few weeks; watching Ohio State win a Big Ten Championship game, a College Football Playoffs semifinals match-up and a national title with a third-string quarterback—while Miami lost seven games with a freshman phenom; it’s frustrating.
The Hurricanes had bigger issues across the board than Brad Kaaya—who rightfully earned ACC Freshman of the Year honors. Kaaya threw over over 3,000 years and had 26 touchdowns to 12 interceptions—seven of those picks coming the first four games of the season, showing measurable mid-to-late season growth.
Still, where the situation warrants a shift back towards coaching, leadership and decision-making regarding personnel—seeing senior back-up Ryan Williams recently earning MVP honors in the Medal Of Honor Bowl. The former Canes quarterback was a respectable 7-of-15 for 115 yards and a touchdown, helping the National squad rally from a 14-6 deficit for a 26-14 victory.
Williams wound up at Miami after a season at Memphis, where he played in all 12 games as a freshman—throwing for over 2,000 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Tigers were a one-win team that season, but Williams certainly earned a baptism by fire before sitting out the 2011 season in Coral Gables due to transfer rules.
Williams only saw action in three games for Miami in 2012—even down the stretch when junior Stephen Morris was playing on bum ankle and struggling.
Morris held down the job as a senior, with Williams set to get his shot in 2014, but an ACL injury sidelined the transfer in spring. Miami already had Kaaya on board, but brought in Kansas transfer Jake Heaps for depth.
Heaps and Kaaya battled it out, Kaaya got the nod and despite being ready to play by mid-September, Williams never got his shot. On the season, Williams saw action in one game; a blowout win over Cincinnati where he had one attempt for an incompletion.
While Kaaya more than produced this year, fact remains that Miami wasted a year of the phenom’s eligibility, as well as throwing away a year of Williams’ ability, experience and leadership.
Kaaya could’ve (and probably should’ve, based on how the year played out) been redshirted, while Williams took the reigns—especially for depth-sake, as 4-star prospect Dwayne Lawson decommitted in December.
As it stands, at-best Miami will have Kaaya through the 2017 season, when that could’ve run an extra year with a redshirt.
Furthermore, the capable Williams never got a fair shake—sitting out a year, waiting patiently for two more and never getting a shot at the job he earned in spring, due to injury and The Kaaya Effect.
Second-guessing in January is easy, after tough decisions were made in September. Still, many would have agreed back then that Kaaya should’ve been put on the shelf for a year while Williams did his best Scott Covington, leading the Canes for one season.
Nitpicking here? Sure. A little bit. But rather easy to as this can be filed as one-more-thing on a long list of miscues the past few seasons.
Recruiting remains in full force and while Miami has 20 commitments heading into the final weeks (a handful of which have already enrolled early), the Canes are looking for some last-minute additions.
UM has 17 kids headed to campus this weekend—including 4-star running back Jordan Scarlett of St. Thomas Aquinas, who is currently committed, but said to be favoring Florida.
Could a solid weekend on campus with 4-star running back Mark Walton (of Booker T. Washington) and talk of being power-duo help sway Scarlett back? Tough call. Especially with visits to Florida and Florida State on deck.
A lot of committed kids are taking visits—Ryan Fines (DT), Hayden Mahoney (OL), Tyler Gauthier (OL) and recent pick-up Robert Knowles (DB)—but Miami is looking to do some flipping.
Antonio Callaway (WR), DeVante Davis (DB), Marcus Lewis (DB), Kendrick Norton (DT) and Austrian Robinson (DE) are all high atop the Canes’ wish list. Can this staff sell and lock anyone down? Remains to be seen, but here goes another insane close to yet another recruiting season. Buckle in for a wild ride.
Some good news for the football program this week in regards to the Sun Life Stadium long-overdue renovation project. Things got underway soon after the Dolphins were eliminated from the NFL Playoffs (shock!) and images have been flooding social media for the past few days.
While the entire project won’t be completed until the 2016 football season, the majority of the work will be done by this September—including the concrete along both sides of the field removed and the lower bowl recast from the club level, which will bring the stands almost 20 feel closer to the field.
One of the biggest knocks on “No Life Stadium” has been the fans proximity to the field, which thankfully is being addressed.
Aesthetically there will also be weather canopies add, as well as a state-of-the-art sound system and giant high-def video boards in all four upper bowl corners.
No, this arrangement will never be as desirable for Miami as an on-campus stadium, or something closer to Coral Gables—but like the jump to adidas, this is a necessary upgrade and an much-needed improvement. Baby steps, right?
Lastly, on the basketball front, massive props to both Jim Larranaga and Katie Meyer for the jobs they’re done with their respective programs. While this news should’ve been front and center, fact remains football is always first and foremost on the brain—fair, or unfair as that may be.
While the men’s squad enjoys it’s recent win over Duke, the Lady Canes are riding high over an upset of Notre Dame—who the men will take on in South Bend this Saturday.
The men are now 12-4 (2-1) while the women are 14-3 (4-0) and headed to Duke on Sunday.
With football in repair, basketball success couldn’t come at a better time—and here’s hoping Hurricanes baseball can help this cause when the season gets underway in February.
Jim Morris and his staff reeled in another quality recruiting class, while Miami sits at No. 14 in the preseason rankings—fourth-best in the ACC behind Virginia (No. 3), Florida State (No. 11) and Louisville (No. 12).