Miami Hurricanes Spring Football Recap

Spring football is in the books and before going too far one way or another, let’s pump the brakes and see this whole show for what it really was.

A circus act.

A this-time-of-year void-filler.

Something for the kids to enjoy, while whetting the fans’ appetites for fall.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Amazing some of the commentary that always comes out this time of year. The over-analysis regarding what took place after a handful of practices and a few scrimmages, half a year away from game one and without some integral pieces to this upcoming season’s puzzle anywhere near in place.

You want to know when spring football will truly be fun, exciting and worth over-analyzing again? The day that Miami is fielding a fully-loaded squad with position battles galore and this program is where it needs to be depth-wise, with a full-blown reload-don’t-rebuild mentality.

UM knew that better than anyone at times over the past three decades. Back then spring was a time when it was all about consistency and plugging a few holes. All-Americans returned at every position and worst case scenario, a few NFL-bound juniors or seniors departed, expecting to go first round in The Draft, while some next-big-thing, four-star sophomore was gearing up to make his mark as a replacement possibly better than his predecessor.

Reloading could certainly be the way again, should Al Golden and The Process come to fruition. The third-year coach is putting in the work, mending fences, reconnecting dots, focusing on fundamentals, doing away with a broken culture and is implementing a new-old school way that will pay dividends … but until then, reality is the acceptance of this current ‘rebuild’ mode.

Because of the revamping this program requires, Golden is doing his best Howard Schnellenberger (who oft did his best P.T. Barnum in order to sell the program) by building excitement and fabricating some springtime hype, and there’s nothing wrong with any of that.

That’s why we saw new UM Sports Hall Of Fame inductee Brett Romberg snapping the ball to Gino Torretta, who play-faked and rifled a bomb to a streaking Andre Johnson, in the middle of Saturday’s scrimmage of Sun Life Stadium.

That’s why former running backs coach and local legend Don Soldinger was brought in the night before, asked to give a rousing speech regarding what it takes to be a champion.

That’s why coaches choreograph a touchdown pass to the back-in-action Malcolm Lewis, his first reception since gruesome, season-ending ankle injury early last season, punctuated with a team celebration soon after he crossed the goal line.

Hell, it’s the reason Golden and Miami’s staff even let the kids do a full blown, yet now dated, Harlem Shake video in early March.

Good management knows that when you’re “in the shit”, you need to make that heavy lifting as fun as possible for all those involved, barring guys doing their jobs, are putting in the work and handling what’s being asked of them.

FINALLY GETTING BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK

If there’s any true disconnect regarding the previous two staffs and what Golden is working to do, it’s the overall upgrade in administration style and an understanding that blanket management isn’t the answer.

There are too many moving parts and different personalities at play, each needing to be worked accordingly to maximize production and to get the overall and individual buy-ins.

Take a Seantrel Henderson, who Golden discussed when on the Joe Rose Show earlier this week.

Henderson came to Miami highly-touted, settling for his second choice after originally signing with Southern Cal and having an out due to sanctions and bowl bans.

Off-season surgery after a solid freshman season and a new head coach going into year two helped make for a less-than-eventful sophomore campaign and year three brought some personal drama and some doghouse moments.

With one last shot to get it right, Golden explained to Rose that Henderson is finally doing the little off-the-field stuff right, opening the door for all coaching-related interactions to be football- and technique-related.

“Seantrel’s always loved football,” said Golden. “Now I think he understand the discipline and the habits that have to go along with being a really good player.”

Golden went on to cite other offensive lineman like Brandon Linder, Jon Feliciano and Ereck Flowers having an influence on Henderson, helping him understand the camaraderie and unity the position requires.

This coming season will show if Henderson blossoms into the player he should, but based on the process and formula, you’d have to believe that barring injury, it’s all there for him to go next-level, which hasn’t been the case for others who’ve struggled over the years.

That’s “The Process” in its living and breathing form and it’s just one of the spring football subplots and storylines as this program grinds through rebuild mode.

Another? Holes throughout the roster, depth problems and an understanding that the squad suiting up this spring isn’t anything close to the unit that will take the field this fall, both due to injuries as well as a lack of early enrollees, help remaining on the way.

One of the biggest standouts this spring? Alex Figueroa, who landed an offer last December, was on campus a month later and was recently named first-team starting outside linebacker per the latest depth chart.

Another immediate-impact kid? Hargrave Military Academy transfer, by way of Nigeria, offensive lineman Sunny Odogwu, whose infectious spirit and leadership has been praised by coaches since he stepped foot on campus months back.

Two random kids who exploded out the gate and based on this staff’s eye for the “right” kind of player, more just like them will be in the fold this summer, working out, getting football-ready and planning on having an immediate impact in fall, a la Duke Johnson, who hit the ground running against Boston College in the season opener quite literally.

Those worried about a secondary that needs more bodies? Four-star defensive backs Jamal Carter and Artie Burns are coming.

Feeling like there’s not enough quality depth behind Duke at tailback? Gus Edwards and Corn Elder are in route.

Want to see more bodies at linebacker? The position gets a boost when Devante Bond and four-star Jermaine Grace arrive.

Everyone, especially coaches, would’ve liked more defensive line help, but if it comes down to one, four-star Al-Quadin Muhammad cannot be denied.

Programs in reload-mode would put most of these kids on the shelf for the year, but as Miami grinds and claws its way back to the top, Golden and staff are ripping off the packaging, putting the the batteries and treating these kids like brand-new Christmas Day toys.

UM will also welcome back some veterans who missed spring – Thurston Armbrister (LB), Eduardo Clements (RB), Robert Lockhart Jr. (WR), Shane McDermott (C), David Perry (DL) and even the injured Lewis, who had his moment in Saturday’s game, but missed most of the spring season.

TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND LET THINGS COME TO FRUITION

The pieces are falling into place, but spring was never targeted as the time when it was all expected to come together.

If anything, the scrimmages and final game were formalities and marketing efforts to rile up fans, sell some season tickets, shake some hands and kiss some babies, so that nine-month lull between last year’s finale and the first kickoff in September don’t feel like the lifetime apart they truly are.

Holding spring football up to any other standard is unfair to the program, coaches and players, but even more so, this rebuilding process. Measuring this thing in defensive production during the spring game itself diminishes all the little things being done on a daily basis to get this thing back where it belongs.

Case in point, the constant harping on some supposed Signing Day “misses” versus praising some after-the-fact pick-ups Golden and staff has signed long after other programs called it a day.

While some were still crying the blues about local product Alex Collins choosing Arkansas in the final hours, Miami pulled Edwards out of Staten Island – a 6-foot-1, 222-pound three-star bruiser-type back that this class needed.

A week after Signing Day was in the books, one of the best products in Tennessee was still on the table and the Canes reeled in Elder, listed as an athlete but versatile enough to play running back, wideout or corner.

Days ago, Pat O’Donnell joined the squad and while there’s little “wow” factor regarding bringing a punter on board, there’s substance and this might prove to be one of Golden’s better off-season moves.

Field position battles for a struggling defense? Last thing Miami needs is a newbie shanking punts and giving the opposition the ball at mid-field. Now it has O’Donnell, a senior transfer from Cincinnati with a year or eligibility remaining and at 6-foot-5 and 222-pounds, maybe able to replace the hitter that Dalton Botts was, as well.

O’Donnell dropped twenty-three kicks inside the twenty last season, boomed ten kickoffs fifty-plus yards and averaged 41.8 yards-per-punt, earning him All-Big East honors the past two seasons.

Getting guys at the right time is huge, as is getting the right guys and having an understanding what made this thing work so well in the past, Golden is keeping kids home that want to be Hurricanes, while cherry-picking kids nationwide who always grew up dreaming of being part of The U.

How many of these new kids are singing the same song; that Miami was their top choice far and away – their ‘dream’ school.

Enough of these yahoos and three-card monte Signing Day hat trick nonsense. Go back to this program’s roots and bring aboard the kids who love the program, know what it will take to win and guys who realize it takes a different breed to want to call Miami “home”.

UM is a high-risk, high-reward choice for players and coaches alike. Faceplant and you’ll never hear the end of it. Succeed at the ultimate level and you’re immortalized.

Again, look no further than reception Romberg, Soldinger and Ken Dorsey earned last week when welcomed into the Hall Of Fame, a dozen years after college football’s best team in history went 12-0 for ring number five.

Fall will get here soon enough and as soon as Miami tees it up against Florida Atlantic on August 30th, it’s for real and the day-to-day critiquing can, and will, continue.

Until then, see spring for all that it was instead of what it wasn’t, or could’ve been.

Take inventory, appreciate the effort exuded by these players and coaches and then stick this thing back in the oven for the next four-plus months while the ingredients continue to blend and this thing slow-cooks itself into something special.

Christian Bello has been covering Miami Hurricanes athletics since the mid-1990s. After spending almost a decade as a columnist for CanesTime, he launched allCanesBlog.com. – the official blog for allCanes.com : The #1 Canes Shop Since 1959. Bello has joined up with XOFan.com and will be a guest columnist at CaneInsider.com this fall. Follow him on Twitter @ChristianRBello.

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