Unprecedented Branding Opp Via “The U: Part 2”

Things are awfully quiet out of Coral Gables since that regular-season ending thud against Pittsburgh and three-game losing skid for the Miami Hurricanes.

Fourth-year head coach Al Golden has been a ghost—nowhere to be found, right down to athletic director Blake James taking Golden’s place for the standard Monday media feeding frenzy days back—under the guise that the man in charge was on the road recruiting (and certainly not ducking any criticism stemming from another late-season collapse.)

Interestingly enough, the most visible coach this week proved to be modern-day fan favorite, former Canes’ leader Butch Davis—in the mix with Billy Corben and a slew of players from that once-in-a-lifetime era of Miami football.

The filmmaker premiered his 30 For 30 sequel; The U: Part 2 at Miami Beach’s esteemed Colony Theatre on Thursday night, while ESPN is following it’s blueprint from five years back—debuting the Canes-themed documentary in prime time, at the conclusion of another Heisman trophy presentation.

While Corben’s U-themed documentaries get the juices flowing for former players and fans of the Miami program, the Hurricanes have been an on-the-field disappointment since “The U” debuted in 2009—a pathetic 35-28 record the past four seasons, kicking off with a bowl loss to Wisconsin weeks after the “The U” first aired.

The Canes have seen hirings and firings regarding the coaching staff, a mass exodus of talent (upwards of 30 players leaving the program since 2011) as well as a two-plus year NCAA investigation, which seemingly crippled recruiting efforts even more than the eventual sanctions handed down.

The University of Miami football program ends the 2014 season at a major crossroads, at best looking at six losses in Golden’s fourth year—causing understandable frustration amongst a fan base, tired of losing, at its wit’s end and screaming for change.

While a Golden departure this off-season is the longest of long shots, at minimum there is hope for some turnover regarding some assistants and position coaches after the bowl game.

Zero change was made after a 2-4 skid to end last season and for a program now 8-10 since a 7-0 start last year, something has to give.

A new president is set to take over at Miami next summer, which could put Golden on somewhat of a hot seat to prove his worth year five, as it’s not far-fetched to believe that the next-in-charge would want to inject some new blood into a program that would hit a new low with another sub-par season.

Assessing all of this, Golden’s best option is to thrive on the recruiting trail. Davis proved that in the late nineties, as an abundance of talent paved Miami’s road back to the pinnacle of the college football universe; not next-level game planning or coaching.

The Canes weren’t out-scheming anyone—it was all about out-talenting with a mini-NFL roster.

The Hurricanes have 19 verbal commitments on deck for 2015—ten of which are 4-star prospects—earning Miami what is currently the 16th-ranked class nationally (according to 247 Sports) and the third-best class in the ACC.

Golden and staff have pledges from five offensive lineman and three quality running backs—good news in a sense, though it does little to address glaring defensive needs; especially at defensive tackle and linebacker.

While the game of recruiting has become much more cutthroat and kids are pledging their allegiance upwards of a year out these days, there are always some last-minute flips and nothing is final until that first Wednesday of February.

Unfortunately Miami has oft been burned day-of, with too many kids choosing elsewhere at the final hour—but here, less than two months before National Signing Day, Golden possesses a recruiting tool and trump card that no other program has.

Forget college towns, sold-out stadiums and obsessive fan support—Miami has “The U: Part 2”.

ESPN will essentially air a two-hour infomercial for the University of Miami this Saturday night and shame on this Canes coaching staff if they don’t use it as the ultimate sales pitch for years to come.

While president Donna Shalala and UM have foolishly shunned Corben and Rakontur on back-to-back documentaries, here’s hoping that at least this Miami staff understands what’s at their disposal this weekend and makes it count.

It’s been a Decade of Disaster for the Hurricanes’ football program—pathetically irrelevant since the 2003 football season, culminating with an Orange Bowl win over arch-rival Florida State.

The Canes knocked off the Seminoles twice that season, as well as notching a thrilling comeback against Florida earlier in the year, eventually finishing 11-2 in what at the time was considered “disappointment”, based on the success that 2000-2002 brought.

Due to a down cycle that few saw coming—and no one expected to last this long—the current state of college football is one where today’s high school senior has never truly witnessed Miami in it’s prime and must rely on oral tradition to get a grasp regarding the amazingness of what was accomplished.

The Class of 2015? Four years old when the Hurricanes hoisted the trophy January 2002 at the Rose Bowl, claiming the program’s fifth and last national title and only 13 years old when “The U” originally aired late 2009.

Miami is getting yet another brand-building chance of a lifetime, by way of a hometown filmmaker who’s initial effort had ESPN calling for the first 30 For 30 sequel in the series’ history.

What the Canes haven’t been able to do on the field—Corben has gifted them by way of a nostalgic two-hour marketing tool that should have some impact on athletes nationwide; especially those in Miami’s backyard who have at least heard the stories, if not witnessed the dominances first-hand.

Those big-name athletes featured in tomorrow night’s tale—made up of countless kids who got on board when UM wasn’t the popular choice.

The Hurricanes went 5-6 in 1997 an talking heads like Lee Corso were rambling about Miami getting surpassed as part of the Sunshine State’s “Big Three”—as Central Florida was on the rise in that era, behind the strong arm of Daunte Culpepper.

Still, guys got on board and bought in to the rebuild. They believed in whatever the process was and took pride in being the class that was going to bring Miami “back”.

These weren’t front-runners that got on board after the getting was already good—these were players that were content laying the proper foundation and being remembered as the guys who helped change history.

Those type of players are still out there and for the sake of Golden and this struggling Miami program, here’s hoping that Corben’s storytelling strikes a chord with another generation of future Hurricanes that want to be the players that write the next chapter in The U’s storied history.

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