For the Hurricanes, one question always reigns supreme. With the bar set so high decades back, every new Miami team is chasing ghosts of yesteryear and while all the aforementioned inquiries apply to UM, when coming off a handful of down seasons, it always comes down to the same three words: “Is Miami back?” – with everyone knowing what “back” implies.
Year three of the Al Golden era and after over a half decade of mediocrity — 48-41 record, dating back to the 2005 Peach Bowl loss to LSU, to be exact — that heavy question seems to ring a little bit louder each passing year.
Miami is getting some love as another season is just over a month from kicking off. The Canes look to be ranked in the pre-season for only the second time since 2006 and finally have a few athletes making their way onto some awards lists, albeit all offensive players as that side of the ball appears loaded while the defense has much to prove.
The media has even changed its overall tune as of late, praising the recruiting efforts, a slew of recent verbal commitments, the talent Golden and staff will return this season (again, the praise coming on the offensive side of the ball) and the endurance the program has shown in light of the recent NCAA investigation, self-imposed bowl bans and some form of sanctions still looming, though a far cry from the ‘death penalty’ chatter that swelled two summers ago.
Year three is often the season a new coaches begins to make their mark, after taking over a program in some form of turmoil. For the better part of the past few decades, first-year Miami coaches were usually taking desirable jobs as their predecessors had moved on to professional riches, climbing the coaching ladder.
Jimmy Johnson took over for Howard Schnellenberger, who at the time took what looked to be a desirable coaching opportunity with the USFL in 1984. When Johnson left Miami for the Dallas Cowboys after the 1988 season, the cupboard was full for Dennis Erickson, who lasted six seasons with the Hurricanes before the Seattle Seahawks came calling.
Probation ensued for crimes committed on Erickson’s watch and while Butch Davis took over a prestigious program, probation and scholarship reductions put Miami in a bind, with the Hurricanes going 5-6 in Davis’ first year, after opening 8-3 and following up with a 9-3 campaign year two. (Miami self-imposed a bowl ban in 1995, Davis’ inaugural season as UM’s leader.)
Larry Coker also bucked the trend, taking over a loaded squad in 2001, going 24-1 out the gate and putting together an 11-2 campaign in his third season, which was followed by 9-3, 9-3 and 7-6, which led to his eventual firing after year six.
Randy Shannon took over a depleted squad in 2007, went 5-7 his first year, but signed a top-ranked recruiting class the following February. Miami went 7-6 in Shannon’s second season and year three boasted a 9-4 record, including early wins against Florida State, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma, but marred with regular season losses to Virginia Tech, Clemson and North Carolina, and eventually a bowl loss to Wisconsin.
Shannon stumbled year four, going 7-5 in the regular season, including a lopsided, 45-17 loss at home to Florida State, which was the beginning of the end – his team backsliding in what was expected to be a big-time season for Miami and a step forward. The number-one recruiting class from a few years back were juniors and instead of reaching that next level, most underachieved, never lived up to the hype and their game didn’t translate from the high school to college level.
While Shannon looked to have recruited strong in 2008, in hindsight it was a class with some marquee names, but not exceptionally solid regarding filling needs and voids. From there, the recruiting magic was lost and the next two classes proved to be the biggest detriment to early success for Golden and staff, outside of NCAA investigation itself.
Even the 2011 class, technically Golden’s signees though only on the job for two months when Signing Day approached, falls on Shannon’s shoulders as Miami only had four verbal commits in December 2010 when the coaching change took place. (Conversely, Miami already has twenty verbal commitments for the 2014 class in early July.)
Shannon’s 2009 class had nineteen signees and some names that looked good in theory, but didn’t pan out. Defensively Miami reeled in Shayon Green, Curtis Porter and Luther Robinson defensively, who are the only remaining veterans available this upcoming season.
Ray Ray Armstrong and Olivier Vernon were also members of this class, contributing little as one chased an NFL dream early, another was removed and both were at the heart of the Nevin Shapiro scandal, earning a total of eleven games suspended during the 2011 season.
Lamar Miller, Brandon McGee and Mike James were long-time contributors from the 2009 class who have since reached the NFL, and a handful more return this year –Dyron Dye, Jared Wheeler and AJ Highsmith, originally signed as a quarterback but moved to safety, but there were more busts than consistent and solid players.
Cory White. Stephen Plein. Jamal Reid. Billy Sanders. Prince Kent. Some who flamed out, others never played, and a few that didn’t qualify or got the boot.
When breaking down Miami’s current defensive woes and lack of depth, look no further than 2010 and 2011 as classes that will prove more crippling than probation, barring Golden navigates UM through any rough seas and the NCAA proves semi-fair with the punishment handed down (re: something in the three scholarships per year over three years arena).
Some of the names from 2010 that didn’t pan out; defensive tackle Jeffery Brown, defensive back Devont’a Davis, defensive tackle Tavadis Glenn, linebacker Kevin Nelson, defensive back Keion Payne, defensive end David Perry, defensive end Andrew Tallman, defensive tackle Delmar Taylor and linebacker Travis Williams. Late signee Latwan Anderson, projected as a defensive back, was also part of this class.
A year later, Golden’s thrown-together-last-minute class had some would-be athletes, but guys who battled immaturity and poor decision-making; defensive back Thomas Finnie, linebackers Eddie Johnson and Gionni Paul.
Defensive end Ricardo Williams proved to be a tweener and a bad overall fit, while cornerback/running back Kevin Grooms wound up at Marshall last minute and linebacker Antonio Kinard had academic issues and cornerback Dallas Crawford was eventually moved to running back.
Defensive end Jalen Grimble was also part of this class and while still on the squad, is yet to start and has only netted six career tackles.
Quick math will show that depending which side of the ball a few wound up on, up to nineteen would-be defenders didn’t pan out for the Hurricanes between 2010 and 2011, which is absolutely crippling and helps explain the defensive woes this program has endured during the first two years of the Golden era.
Even the drop-off Mark D’Onofrio and his defensive experienced between 2011 and 2012 were the result of so many players not panning out, as Miami was unable to endure the losses brought on by graduation, players who departed early and those not granted another year of eligibility.
Linebacker Sean Spence, safety JoJo Nicolas, defensive linemen Marcus Forston, Marcus Robinson, Adawale Ojomo, Micanor Regis and the aforementioned Vernon, should not have been impossible for Miami to overcome, but was based on the disastrous recruitment and development of players on the defensive side of the ball Shannon’s final two years and Golden’s first forced recruiting haul.
Taking all of this into consideration, it makes it rather difficult to answer the, “Is Miami back?” question regarding this upcoming season.
Will the defense be better? Absolutely. Why? Because honestly, it was so God-awful in 2012 that it really can’t be much worse – even with the losses of Finnie, Paul and Johnson, all due to being removed from the program (as was linebacker Gabe Terry from the 2012 class).
Depth remains an issue and with little change regarding the defensive line position, pressuring opposing quarterbacks will still be a problem and both an in-progress secondary and constantly shuffle linebacking core will be asked to work more miracles until the line starts winning those up front battles.
Miami will be an improved squad in 2013 and with a lighter out of conference schedule and an easier workload early on, opposed to taking on the likes of Florida State, Ohio State, Kansas State, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma out the gate as this program has over the past several seasons combined.
Florida does arrives week two, but the game is sandwiched between showdowns with Florida Atlantic and Savannah State, while games against Florida State and Virginia Tech take place early November, when Miami should’ve found it’s season groove – and if said groove has been been discovered, a case could be made that the Canes are “back”, but the result still may be inconclusive.
The old adage states that offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships and in a nutshells is the answer regarding Miami’s true return back to prominence. The Canes will be “back” when boasting a playmaking, aggressive defense that sets the tone, creates turnovers and makes statements week in and week out.
Look at every great Miami team over the years. Future NFL stars across the board. Disruptive defensive tackles, lockdown corners and heady, athletic linebackers who made sure the middle of the field was a war zone. The Canes don’t need a 2001 to 2003-era defense to be considered “back”, but certainly need something that churns out NFL talent, makes plays and sets tones. A far cry from one of the nation’s worst units, which was the case last season at The U, hard as that is to believe.
The talent is returning, though the defensive line remains thin – even looking at next year, unless some JUCO transfers can head south and have an immediate impact. Miami coaches are targeting top defensive line talent for the class of 2014, but with the dark cloud that’s hovered over this program the past few weeks, it’s been impossible to reel in Grade-A talent at that position for years now.
Many want to pin the lack of depth and overall defensive talent on coordinator Mark D’Onofrio, which is a logical knee-jerk reaction after watching points pile up last season, with the Canes unable to stop anyone.
Debating this point with those who feel that way is as much a waste of time as arguing religion or politics. Opinions are strong and one side isn’t going to sell the other on their belief system. Still, a few things to consider outside the lack of overall talent on the defensive side of the ball since The Golden Era began.
For starters, everything runs through Golden and entering last season, Miami’s then-second-year leader made it clear in the preseason that the Canes were going to have to outscore the competition as the defense simply wasn’t up to par.
Anyone wanting to debate that point, look no further than a 41-40 loss at Virginia where the loss of Johnson at linebacker (due to suspension) created a huge dropoff, while the secondary had three true freshmen in action as safety Deon Bush and cornerbacks Tracy Howard and Antonio Crawford were asked to hold it down, while the defensive line got zero penetration and the Cavaliers’ offense continued to answer the Canes’ potent attack.
Facing what truly “is” has proven the most difficult aspect of Miami’s decline for long-time fans. A consistent belief that the “U” on the helmet, the overall brand and the legacy can somehow instill fear and win ball games.
Fact is, the Canes’ success is still semi-recent as UM has been a college football staple for over thirty years, finding a way to dominate part, if not most, of each of the past three decades. Losing was foreign to Miami for so long and having watched this program rebound in the past, it always feels like the Canes are a player or two away from being back on top again.
One last time, that hasn’t been the case for almost a decade now. The decline started in 2003, progressed the next two years and bottomed out on Coker’s watch in 2006, with Miami’s worst season since shackled by probation in 1997.
The writing was on the wall, quality coaches wanted no part of rebuilding and Shannon was handed the keys, a logical choice as “keeping it in the family” made sense based on his success as a defensive coordinator.
The people skills lacked and the inexperience hurt, but if the first-time head coach could hire veteran assistants, learn on the job and maintain, maybe Miami had a shot a comeback.
Not quite.
A mess created on Coker’s watch got infinitely worse under Shannon and by the time Golden took over, UM was a shell of the program Davis left behind almost a decade earlier. There would be no quick fix and Miami wasn’t a few players away from anything redeemable.
Even worse, the culture was dead. The work ethic nowhere near what it was when the greats battled it out at Greentree. The wrong players had settled in, as did a sense of entitlement and lethargy. The Canes were poorly conditioned and the win-loss record proved it, as did the way Miami was losing.
Offensively, a Duke Johnson can take a handoff and make an immediate impact as Golden inherited a squad that had a good enough offensive line, a quality quarterback in Stephen Morris and a few raw receivers who came around, as there was depth at that position. Defense? A completely different monster all together.
Without turning this into a full-blown defensive breakdown and D’Onofrio-fueled debate, it’s better to agree to disagree for one more season and close with this; if the current coordinator is good enough for the man in charge, he deserves the benefit of the doubt for one more season, minimum.
Fans cannot be sold on all things Golden, yet in the next breath question his choice in D’Onofrio. Golden has a blueprint, process and game plan to get Miami back and in just about every phase it’s currently proving successful. He stuck it out through probation, he knows this is a career job and also knows this is a tough, unforgiving city.
In other words, Golden knows that defense is what makes Miami tick and that until that side of the ball is humming again, he needs to overcompensate in other areas in effort to win, while recruiting like a madman and bringing in more ass-kickers on that side of the ball.
Golden’s career depends on the success of this program and the best way to win games is to keep the other guys from scoring. Golden’s success is dependent on figuring this out and he has chosen to vouch for his friend, former teammate and long-time coaching partner – a guy who was given little work with years one and two.
Year three is here and after reaching rock bottom last year, there’s nowhere to go but up. Can Golden and D’Onofrio get the most out of what they’re working with? Will experience and maturity come as a result from so many newbies being thrown to the wolves last year, battle-tested right out the gate? Even the biggest skeptic would have to say ‘yes’.
Year one started with Shapiro-fueled suspensions while the second season dealt with a hovering NCAA cloud, as well as key departures of veterans with no capable, experienced replacements. Again, things that the frustrated will call “excuses” while the logically-minded can accept as “explanations”.
Pivotal year ahead and one where a more consistent, veteran offense will have to set the tone, while the defense takes some necessary steps forward, without falling apart as it did in 2012.
Is Miami back? In a word, no – not yet. But 2013 will field the best overall unit this program has seen is years, made up of the right kind of players as the harsh pruning process weeded out the dead weight.
An exciting year is on the horizon and a stage-setting situation that will soon remind the rest of the college football world that another Miami rebirth is just around the corner.
Already looking forward to that “back” question again next summer.
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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