Signing Day ’10 comes to a close

To the twenty eight new Canes who signed letters of intent today, welcome to ‘The U’. To those who didn’t want in, best of luck in your future endeavors. All parties need to move forward.

That’s where it starts and where it ends. Appreciate and embrace those who got on board instead of lamenting over those who you feel got away – the term ‘got away’ used loosely as they were never yours to begin with.

Those caught up in the recruiting process, enamored with player rankings and YouTube highlight reels, this class isn’t going to “wow” you. No five stars. Six four stars. Eighteen three stars. Four two stars. Only a few kids from ESPNs’ Top 150, too. 2010 wasn’t about flash, it was about substance.

For Randy Shannon, a “great class” that can “help us get that next step” regarding his take on its impact on the future of the program.

Needs were met – most notably offensive line, tight end and linebacker. Miami reeled in five offensive linemen, three tight ends (including a JUCO transfer) and five linebackers. Five defensive linemen were also added, bringing some depth to the trenches.

Anyone who watched Miami’s lines getting manhandled by Virginia Tech and Wisconsin this year should obviously welcome the upgrades.

To say that college football recruiting has gotten out of hand – the understatement of understatements. Played out hat tricks. Flip flopping and double-talk. Coach-speak coming out of the mouths of babes. Star rankings rising and falling based on the outcome of one game. Not taking ‘competition faced’ into the evaluation. Everything is so arbitrary, which makes for less accountability and more wiggle room when making predictions.

Star rankings for high school players may sell subscriptions to paid sites, but it’s as inexact a science as you’ll find. Want proof? Look no further than some past Miami classes:

>>> In 2002, wideout Ryan Moore was a five-star prospect out of Dr. Phillips in Orlando and was listed as the top receiver nationwide, according to some. Moore’s career flamed out at ‘The U’ before it even started and he’s more known for smacking up a female bar patron than any catch he ever made on the field.

Others to flame out in that highly-touted ’02 class; Kareem Brown (#1 defensive player in Florida), Marc Gullion (nation’s #10 quarterback), Akieem Jolla (#5 wideout in nation), Curtis Justus (highly-touted TE that flamed out), Alex Pou (#21 OL in nation), Greg Threat (#21 DB in nation), Alton Wright (highly-touted DL).

Miami had the 7th ranked class in ’02 and of those 20 players, only three made the NFL – Eric Winston, Sinorice Moss and Brandon Meriweather – and over a dozen could easily be referred to as ‘busts’.

>>> Larry Coker reeled in what was rated the sixth-best class in 2003. Five-star quarterback Kyle Wright led the charge and obviously never became the next big thing, as expected. Devin Hester and his speed have taken him to new heights in the NFL, but his role proved limited at UM. Tyrone Moss was a local four-star back expected to be the next great. He wasn’t.

Again, a highly-ranked class full of more misses than hits: Glenn Cook (#26 linebacker in nation), Willie Cooper (#21 safety in nation), Vegas Franklin (#18 outside LB in nation), Dave Howell (drew comparisons to Vince Wilfork), Terrell Walden (#9 DB in nation).

The ’03 class was thought to have reeled in a top-flight offensive line with Derrick Morse, Cyrim Wimbs, John Rochford and Andrew Bain, but outside of Morse the rest flopped.

Regarding “those who got away”, this should’ve been a class that included Ali Highsmith (LSU) and H.B. Blades (Pitt) — UM legacy that went elsewhere, yet Coker wasn’t raked over the coals as Shannon would’ve been. Amazing how that happens on the heels of a 24-1 start to ones coaching career – not to mention inheriting such tremendous depth that a few “misses” could be absorbed without missing a beat.

A lot of the kids Miami reeled in earlier this decade were thought to be big time talent and they proved to be busts, meaning two things – the players weren’t developed and the so-called experts were wrong regarding the overblown rankings, which can happen when trying to predict the career path and future of a high school superstar.

Miami didn’t win the beauty contest on Signing Day ’10, but there’s substance which should pay off down the road. Tom Luginbill agrees:

“I term this class an upside class, a class that you could look back in two or three years and say, ‘You know what, there’s some really fruitful kids that came out of this class that not a lot of people talked about”, said longtime ESPN recruiting analyst.

“I just think there are some targets who are really special. Even without (Seantrel Henderson), I still think its a very, very good class… Because of how young they are I think they’ve found some kids who they can redshirt and develop down the road — real gifted athletes. I know some people may criticize that, but I’m not sure that wasn’t done by design. Plus, you look at the six kids they already have in school.”

The six early enrollees – Malcolm Bunche (OL), Stephen Morris (QB), Allen Hurns (WR), Storm Johnson (RB), Tyrone Cornelius (LB) and Shane McDermott (OL). This is the third straight season Shannon and staff have been successful getting kids on campus for spring ball, helping build depth and experience – as well as getting an eight-month jump on a freshman’s first season.

The Canes landed only one Signing Day ‘bonus’ in tight end Asante Cleveland. Shannon stressed the importance of adding depth at the position, so a fourth tight end in this class was a huge pick up. JUCO transfer Chase Ford should vie for immediate playing time, while either Andrew Tallman or Clive Walford could redshirt. Regardless, today’s addition will help ease the loss of Dedrick Epps and Jimmy Graham.

Some are saying Miami whiffed, but last minute pick ups haven’t been Shannon’s style down the stretch. The Canes take care of recruiting business all year long, landing more than the average amount of mid-season verbal commits. Entering this morning, UM had over two dozen kids (almost) signed, sealed and delivered, whereas other programs had much less, allowing them to ‘close’ on Signing Day.

Of the supposed “misses”, Ivan McCartney picked West Virginia over UM. The Canes are loaded at wideout, McCartney’s former Miramar quarterback is in Morgantown and his high school coach was a Mountaineer. Is it really a ‘miss’ when a kid chooses playing time over being buried on the depth chart? Same could be said for Florida’s Quinton Dunbar, a local wideout who decommitted from Miami months back.

OT Shon Coleman chose Auburn and was always considered a Miami “longshot” so again, is it really a “miss” when the odds were considered low?

Ego Ferguson surprised everyone last minute and chose LSU over UM, FSU and Texas Tech. The DE out of Virginia’s Hargrave Military Academy had no real UM ties and was recruited late and while he’d have been a great addition, he wasn’t Miami’s to lose.

California LB Josh Shirley decided to stick with a hometown program and chose UCLA over Miami and USC. A left coast kid wanted to stay out west and like some others who went elsewhere, he was never a Cane and UM was a underdog in the three horse race.

Lastly, Seantrel Henderson gave Miami a late look, but went with Southern Cal – a favorite of his, along with Ohio State. The Minnesota product was beyond a longshot, but again the staff will be blamed for an inability to ‘close’.

Of the six final day prospects, Cleveland was the lone signee – a northern California kid committed to Washington State who essentially defected because of Miami’s need at tight end. The exact opposite of the situation at wide receiver which obviously weighed in McCartney’s decision to seek out a weaker depth chart.

Miami started the day with 27 commitments and ended with 28. Cleveland is a nice pick up (the nation’s #15 TE) and is one more played than the Canes began the day with. Plus, he fills a huge void at tight end – where some who’ve seen him film are reminded of former Cane great Bubba Franks.

Jacory Harris is the key to Miami’s offense and the first-year starter was tossed around like a ragdoll late last fall. A new-look Mark Whipple offense worked early on, but the offensive line fell apart when different schemes were tossed at them. The lowlight, a 20-14 bowl loss to Wisconsin, where Miami was owned in the trenches and Harris was sacked five times.

Offensive line was a glaring hole and while Henderson would’ve been a dream left tackle, again, focus on who’s on board.

Brandon Linder is a top-notch prospect from St. Thomas, a program that churns out some college-ready talent like Sam Young (Notre Dame) and Andrew Datko (Florida State).

The 6’6″ almost 300 pound Linder is joined by high school teammate Jermaine Barton, prep school transfer Bunche, local product Johnathan Feliciano and Wellington’s McDermott, a 6’3″ down and dirty center who looks like he’ll bring some piss and vinegar to the line.

What the line has been to the offense, the linebacking core has been to the defense – spotty, undeveloped and full of holes and a day after Arthur Brown decided to “take some time off”, five new Cane backers are on board.

I guess four-star Travis Williams leads the charge, if you’re judging rankings. A solid pick up out of Virginia. Miami also added three-star Tyrone Cornelius, two-star James Gaines, three-star Gainesville product Kevin Nelson and two-star Kelvin Cain.

Gaines, Cain and defensive linemen Delmar Taylor and Jeffery Brown are the under the radar types that Shannon and staff have made a habit of targeting. Miami coaches obviously go after top talent – proven by the half dozen four-star players and the heavy pressure put on a five-star like Henderson. Yet in the same breath, Cane coaches won’t shun a kid who doesn’t garner the same hype.

Gaines sent a highlight tape to Miami mid-January. He planned on playing for the hometown team, but after Buffalo head coach Turner Gill booked for Kansas it was game off. Cane coaches dug what they saw and the academically sound, hard hitting linebacker received an offer.

Taylor, a local product, hand delivered his reel to Cane coaches and everyone liked what they saw. Taylor is raw, but Miami is his dream school and there’s said to potential and upside.

California-bred Cain said his heart dropped when Miami offered and the versatile athlete committed on the spot. His coach calls him a born leader and made him team captain. Sounds like the kind of kid you take a chance on. Especially late in the game when a D.C. linebacker breaks his commitment, defecting for Maryland and staying closer to home.

At some point, everybody is unheralded. The greats eventually have that first ‘next level’ moment and it grows from there – but at some point, everybody is a nobody.

Gaines, Cain and Taylor could become ‘all world’ or ‘no world’. Time will tell, but at least give them the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to prove themselves.

If “can’t miss” products like Wright, Moore, Moss, etc. all missed, who’s to say today’s “nobody” can’t become tomorrow’s superstar?

All the so-called ‘experts’ who earn a living ranking classes, a bit of advice – save your opinions as you’re way ahead of yourselves.

You can’t rank a class based on potential. You have to let it develop over time and rank it when it’s fact, not theory. “On paper” means nothing. High school and college are night and day. Just ask Kansas-bound Brown, passed on the depth chart two years in a row by “lesser” players, according to Internet rankings.

Signing Day is simply the starting line. Don’t predict how the race will be run. Watch it go and write about it when it’s done.

A slew of new Canes on board today. Welcome them with open arms as they signed on and will spend the next four years putting this program back on the map. Another class is in the books.

Celebrate the victory instead of dwelling on perceived loss.

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