Recruiting: A Mid-June Hot Topic…

I’m not a fan of the circus college recruiting has become. I give that disclaimer every time I wind up writing any piece featuring the word ‘recruiting’, but it’s true. That being the case, when Randy Shannon and staff are making some summertime moves, it deserves some discussion.

Verbal commitments are piling up, offers are being doled out and old is becoming new again. Resting on some post-championship laurels, Miami slacked half a decade ago. Summertime commits were few and far between. Everything Butch Davis preached in the late 90s, Larry Coker forgot within weeks of that early ’03 robbery in the desert.

ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill chimed in regarding Shannon’s new “old school” approach. Like Jimmy Johnson two decades back, his protege doesn’t give a damn about player rankings. In 2009, a player’s worth seems to be determined online instead of under the lights. At Miami it’s not about padded stats – it’s about competition, desire and production on the field.

“In my opinion, you’ve got to stay true to your own evaluation, your own blueprint,” said Luginbill. “Don’t worry about what everybody else is saying… but that’s a very difficult thing to do.”

Recruiting coordinator and former Miami defensive lineman Clint Hurtt took it a step further.

“I’ll always take a kid that is highly productive in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County,” said Hurtt. “If you give me a running back that runs for 1,000 yards in Florida, I’d take that over a kid that runs for over 2,500 in a lot of other states.”

Safe to say there was a little dig there at almost-Cane and Kansas-bred tailback Bryce Brown.

Shannon and staff are not only focusing more effort on under the radar, non-overhyped kids — but they’re staying closer to home and putting the emphasis on local talent, which has always been Miami’s bread and butter.

Offers are going out on a daily basis and kids are again hyped up about the Canes. While Florida has the most recent in-state success, kids who are high school seniors today all recall growing up on Miami. The dominance UM showed between 2000-2004 took place when next year’s college freshmen were playing Pop-Warner and entering high school. Marcus Forston echoed that sentiment last year as a true freshman.

“The Canes were gladiators that never could get beat,” said freshman Forston. “They always found a way to win. When I was growing up, those were my heroes, my role models.”

Naples Lely High running back Darion Hall committed to Miami this past week, wanting to stay close to home and to be a part of something special. Other recent players offered – TE Clive Walford (Belle Glade), listing Miami as his #1. OL Brandon Linder (St. Thomas), who has 29 scholarship offers and is in contact with Jeff Stoutland on a weekly basis. Pahokee DB Raheam Buxton, wowed by the fact UM is such a small private school with an intimate environment.

Shannon has even sent Micheal Barrow into Gator Country in an effort to lure LB Kevin Nelson and DB Devont’a Davis to Coral Gables. Both grew up life-long Canes and want to attend the same college.

Cane coaches are looking out of state at Atlanta CB Darius Robinson, a three-star who wants to get his folks to campus for a visit – which is always Shannon’s goal.

“They don’t understand that Miami is a private school, that we only have 8,000 students. They think Miami is 40,000 students. That perception you have to knock down real quick,” said Shannon.

“If we can get the parents on campus with the kid at the same time, I think we have an 80 percent shot that we’re gonna get him.”

Washington D.C. linebacker Javarie Johnson isn’t a homegrown product, but he lists The U as his “dream school”, which fits Shannon’s criteria of Miami-style players.

Signing Day is over half a year away, so it’s too soon to get over-excited about the potential influx of talent. The point to be made here is that Cane coaches are working tirelessly to rebuild this program and stockpile talent.

Weeks back, the Herald’s Manny Navarro penned a piece that threw Cane Nation into a frenzy, stating that Miami was no longer top choice for a handful of local kids. UM local recruiting wall had supposedly been ‘breached’ and the fear was that the tide would turn on the recruiting front.

Based on the action we’re seeing during these dog days of summer, I wouldn’t bet on that happening anytime soon. Shannon, Hurtt, Barrow and the rest of this staff absolutely have their thumb on the pulse regarding what it will take to get the right kind of kids back on board.

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