Two more players have left, or were asked to leave, the Miami Hurricanes football program – sophomore wide receiver Robert Lockhart Jr. and sophomore defensive end Ricardo Williams.
On the surface, these stories always seem to turn heads. More guys are bailing out? Something must be wrong. Is head coach Al Golden losing control? Blah. Blah. Blah.
This one really is pretty easy to decipher. Receiver-wise, the Hurricanes are set and Lockhart wanted out. Period. Look at this year’s roster. Allen Hurns, Phillip Dorsett, Malcolm Lewis, Rashawn Scott, Jontavious Carter and Herb Waters, as well as redshirt freshman D’Mauri Jones and incoming freshman, Stacy Coley.
Lockhart is out of Delray Beach and came to Miami out of Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia.
There was some question as to if he’d redshirt last season, but with some injuries at the wide receiver position, he saw action mid-season against North Carolina and played against Florida State. A week later, a season-ending injury against Virginia Tech. Lockhart finished the 2012 football season without a catch.
Did that burned redshirt lead to discontent? Is the logjam at wide receiver disheartening? Whatever the case, the kid can hardly be blamed. He did his year at Fork Union, he came to Miami wanting to play, his freshman year ended reception-less and his injury could’ve caused him to get a bit lost in the shuffle. If Lockhart wants out and to start elsewhere, wish him the best and open up the scholarship.
Same for Williams, the 6-foot-5, 251-pound redshirt sophomore out of Homestead who is yet to make his mark for the Hurricanes. Williams sat out the 2011 season and last year only saw action in one game at North Carolina.
Despite the lack of depth on Miami’s defensive line the past few years, Williams is yet to make a mark and never found his way and with three years remaining, another situation where it makes sense to cut a kid loose, wish him the best and to reel in a guy who might be a better fit, whatever the position.
That really is the name of the game right now for The U; it’s all about the numbers. No one has a clue what NCAA sanctions will be and while common logic and best case scenario revolved around this ‘time served’ talk, in regards to suspensions, two self-imposed bowl bans and a purposefully-missed ACC Championship game appearance, based on that train wreck of a governing body that runs this sport, one has to believe more could be coming down the pike, if for no other reason than to save face.
Gut feeling? Miami will lose some scholarships based on this NCAA investigation. Will it be lighter than what many expected a few years back? Absolutely, but even if you’re giving up a few slots on the roster, it makes every remaining kid that much more valuable.
If you have a few sophomores who aren’t making a mark and are making noise about heading elsewhere, then you part ways, thank them for the effort and make sure those two scholarships go towards guys who can help rebuild.
For those lamenting the departure of these two, what if Lockhart’s scholarship goes to the next great defensive back or Williams’ moving on allows the Canes to reel in a JUCO transfer that can help on the defensive line immediately?
The world of recruiting, building rosters and adding depth is an exact science and thankfully for UM, Golden appears to have a very good grasp on how this whole thing works. Ties have been cut with the ‘wrong’ players – be it a personnel issue, discipline related or simply a bad fit – since early 2011 and two years later, it’s still the case.
For Miami to succeed, this program needs the right kids. Guys who want to be here, players ready to buy-in and overall difference-makers that will lead the Canes to prominence.
In the short-run, it hurts to lose a Lockhart or Williams, but in the next two years, watch where those extra scholarships go.
As always, allCanesBlog.com thanks these kids for their effort and wishes them nothing but the best in their continued journey. #UFAMILY
For The U to DOMINATE COLLEGE FOOTBALL AGAIN, they need to get rid of its head coach and entire coaching staff and go get a proven WINNER! This coach is 13-11 in two complete years, that’s unacceptable! Ohio State proved that after they fired Jim Tressel and went with an unproven coach, they got rid of him and got Urban and after one season, they’re talking about OSU playing for it all after one year of Urban. Lets be clear, in one year at OSU, Urban has won 1 less game that Al, who has been in Miami 2 years! What does that say about the program and coaching!
Dumb argument across the board. Period. Let’s count the reasons:
– Ohio State ‘fired’ Jim Tressel because he had run a dirty program and got caught. Meanwhile the program itself had ZERO drop-off with overall talent and recruiting. The Buckeyes remained a powerhouse an always will be as a BIG TIME STATE-FUNDED program, THE program in the state of Ohio and with a HUGE, rabid fanbase like Florida’s, where boosters and alumni are not afraid to write a check and give back.
– Luke Fickell was ALWAYS a one-year option for Ohio State. He was never going to be ‘the guy’. Tressel was let go and Fickell was promoted from within for continuity-sake.
– Ohio State, with all their money, COULD AFFORD to write Urban Meyer a paycheck for $4M a year, making him the second highest paid coach behind Nick Saban at Alabama. The day you think a private school like Miami can afford to write a $4M check to a coach, let me know. Even when this program was ranked #1 in the nation in 2001, only 38K showed up for a home game against Temple.
Not being a state school with a huge alumni base kills UM’s fan support. When the Canes lose, the focus can shift to the Heat, Dolphins, South Beach, et al. In college towns, the program is everything so fans / alum live and die by it. Columbus, Ohio is as rabid as they come. Coral Gables? Not so much.
– Miami was 35-29 the previous five years before Al Golden took over. The program was in the absolute toilet. Coker / Shannon had killed recruiting and conditioning. Golden had to gut this thing from within and did so the past few years with the NCAA dark cloud hovering. Players were suspended, some have left and others were shown the door. UM needed a full-fledged overhaul. You are REALLY trying to compare this situation to what’s happened the past few years at Ohio State? Please. You’re WAY off-base, man. Way.
Lastly, Miami has neer hired a “proven winner”. Howard was an up and comer and perennial assistant. Jimmy was a second-rate Big 8 coach who got his ass handed to him by the big boys. Dennis was a smaller name from the Pacific Northwest. Butch was a life-long assistant with zero head coaching ability. Al Golden is actually the closest thing to a “proven” head coach as Miami has ever hired, based on his body of work at Temple.
Miami cannot afford a “proven winner”. Those guys want $4M a year jobs at big-time college programs, perks, benefits and to be king shit in a one-horse town.
The U is where names are MADE, not bought. Guys go on to bigger and better after they PROVE THEMSELVES at Miami. Period.