On Friday afternoon I opened my windows at four o’clock on the dot and I could hear Hurricanes fans screaming from Hialeah to Hollywood to Homestead. No one wonder what the united screaming was all about. I had gotten the same tweet and the depth chart had been released.
Spencer Whipple was listed as the starting quarterback. Olivier Vernon wasn’t on the two deep. A kid that was in high school a few weeks ago and wasn’t even being recruited by Miami three months ago was listed as a starter at corner in Thomas Finnie. As promised by head coach Al Golden, there definitely were some shake ups.
I couldn’t really make out what everyone was screaming, but I bet it started with a “what”, followed by a “the” and ending with something else.
I felt mentally prepared for what was tweeted by @HurricaneSports on Friday because the previous morning we saw there in the Edgerrin James conference room listening to Coach Golden driving home the point that some guys were going to shocked by the new depth chart. This wasn’t going to be about putting the most talented twenty-two guys on the field; this was going to be about motivation, as well as hard work paying off. This was going to be a much-needed kick in the ass the program needed.
For those getting too animated regarding how thing shook out with this first look at the depth chart, one word; relax. It’s spring.
When you saw ‘Whipple’ listed atop the chart as the first-string quarterback, you immediately thought back to his 2-of-6, 22-yard, two interception performance at Virginia last fall – but as Coach Golden rebuilds this program, there’s more going on that what we saw on the field that random Saturday in late October.
Personally, I’m a big fan of Spencer. While the coaching changes impacted every kid on this team, it hit home a little harder for for the perennial back up as his offensive coordinator was also his father and has been since shipped off to Cleveland. Instead of wallowing, Spencer stepped up and became a leader this off-season and he’s done a tremendous job in the weight room.
Will Whipple be Miami’s starting quarterback early September when the Canes travel to Maryland for the opener? A safe bet that he won’t and that this was not only a reward for Whipple, as much as to light a competitive fire under both Jacory Harris and Stephen Morris. There will no longer be a sense of entitlement surrounding Miami Football and much of what you’ve seen on this first look at the depth chart is nothing more than that; a motivating tactic.
Those, like me, who have questioned the lack of access and closed practices – this helps clarify things. The only depth chart that matters is the one that we see on Labor Day night in College Park. Coach Golden is pushing buttons right now. He has a system, he has his core values and it’s something that we need to let play out before we go crazy over a March-released depth chart.
On Saturday I did ask Coach Golden, for the fans’ sake, why there weren’t any open practices at Greentree and he stated that they hadn’t thought about opening any practices on campus. “We already have three open and you’re already pushing me for four, huh” was the official response.
I am positive that Coach Golden knows how bad things had gotten at ‘The U’, but I’m not certain he understand how finicky Canes fans are. That’s something which will take time.
The chance for fans to come down to campus and hobnob with fellow Canes while watching the boys put in work on the field – that could mean the difference between a committed season ticket holder and a guy that feels disconnected, instead choosing to watch at home on his monstrous flat-screen.
For recruiting-sake, yes, holding scrimmages at Traz, in Palm Beach and at Lockhart are all important – but at day’s end, you can’t forget about the fans. With 30,000 at SunLife on a Saturday afternoon, kids aren’t going to head to Miami even if you hold the spring game in their living room.
There’s a large portion of this fan base that lives from downtown south and there’s a huge group that won’t head north to watch a scrimmage for a variety of reasons.
Based on a new-look Miami, it should’ve been a lay up that the first practice would be open, but that didn’t happen and I still contest that was the wrong move. The good news – there’s plenty of time left in spring. Do the right thing, UM. Open up a practice on campus as your students, alumni, fans and local businesses would all appreciated. Everyone is looking for something to cheer about as this local fanbase is starved for a winner.
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