The Latest at The U…

Some recent Miami Hurricanes related news going down right now. Let’s dive right in:

Fall ball is officially underway. Amazing how the time is flying. Thanks to all the loyal fans who dropped by allCanes on Saturday before and after practice. Such a welcomed site to see a store full of people, fired up and treating it like a Saturday game day. Safe to say we’re all backed up and we’re all ready for this program to turn the corner and get back to winning ways. Stay tuned as better days are ahead… starting four weeks from tonight when Miami takes down Florida State in Tallahassee.

Football season is definitely around the corner based on the amount of ink coming out of South Florida these past few days. The Miami Herald has been on a tear, profiling several Canes — in deep with a focused and thankful Eric Moncur, where Javarris James is at health-wise, the ‘new and improved’ Leonard Hankerson, offensive lineman Matt Pipho being referred to as ‘The Brain’, Arthur Brown appearing ready to step up in the middle, as well as talk of no new contract for Randy Shannon.

Commentary about the players and the first few practices is some fluff and easy reading, but the Shannon contract story is definitely worth checking out. Randy’s story has been told time and time again. Inner city kid escapes the same streets his siblings and father couldn’t. Drugs. Disease. Poverty. Shannon proved he was a one-percenter by getting out.

Lettered at The U, won a national championship and spent just about every year in his own backyard – minus a short-lived stint with the Dallas Cowboys. Even the three years spent coaching in the NFL were just up the street with the Dolphins. The other twenty years spent either playing or coaching were spent in Coral Gables.

As if Shannon didn’t go through enough en route to earning his shot as Miami’s head coach, he’s dealt with nothing but criticism and second-guessing since moving into the big boy office in December 2006.

While Shannon doesn’t have the universal support of a fickle fan base, the Miami administration is behind him and went as far as to offer a contract extension… which Randy turned down. Haters reign down cries of “Oh and four, out the door” in reference to Miami’s brutal early schedule – @Florida State, Georgia Tech, @Virginia Tech and Oklahoma. Shannon chooses to ignore those critics, focusing on nothing more than recruiting the pants off most coaches in the game – rebuilding depth so he can rebuild this program from the ground up.

Shannon believes this team has the potential to go 9-3 or even 10-2 this year, with a major bowl on the horizon.. ‘if’ all goes according to plan. In the past he’s mentioned that it’ll take a stroke of luck as well as some solid ball.

Those who don’t buy the ‘luck’ argument, look no further than Virginia Tech and their preseason #7 ranking. The Hokies lost Orange Bowl MVP running back Darren Evans to a torn ACL in practice on Tuesday. Tech has some capable back ups, but none at Evans’ level. This stroke of bad luck could be the difference in a few wins or losses in a very competitive Coastal Division.

Shannon is banking on a turnaround this year, not next. He believes that a national championship run is in the cards for 2010 and that this team has a shot at the ACC this fall.

I read articles like this and continue to scratch my head regarding the portion of the fan base who questions this man. A protege of Jimmy Johnson and Butch Davis who also seeks counsel from Bill Parcells and Pete Carroll. A local kid made good. A national champion as a player and coach. A Broyles Award winner for defensive coordinator of the year. A tireless recruiter who has finally assembled the coaching staff he wanted… not to mention the fact he bleeds more orange and green out of one pore than an entire message board full of supposed fans.

On top of all that, Shannon just put his money where his mouth is. Don’t pay me a little now; get my back when I turn this thing around and give me what I deserve then. Honestly, what’s not to like here? Why don’t more people believe?

Prove the idiots wrong, Coach.

While I’m thrilled that fall ball is underway, I don’t generally get caught up in the August hype. I’m glad when kids do well… but Greentree Field warriors don’t impress me. Do it on Saturday at Joe Robbie LandProSharkPlayer Stadium this fall.

Newbie running back Lamar Miller was today’s star with two long touchdown runs — the first a 50-yarder and the second for 70 yards. Thankfully Miller didn’t geek out the same way the online folk have. He’s taking it in stride, talking about it simply being practice and a whole new ballgame when he’s in full pads later this week. The new #27 wants to help the Canes win ball games again and he realizes he needs to remain motivated and hungry. Hopefully he does just that.

Tommie Streeter grabbed Monday’s headlines with a touchdown, while senior/first year tight end Jimmy Graham and junior Leonard Hankerson both had big grabs of their own. On the other side of the ball, the defense is focusing heavily on creating turnovers. Ramon Buchanan reeled one in off a deflected pass.

Guys are working hard… but that’s what you’re supposed to do in summertime after going 19-19 in the past 38 games. Shannon hasn’t been overly impressed, again, because he knows what it will take for this team to compete in the ACC and win ballgames.

Following fall ball is always fun, but like verbal commitments leading up to signing day… there’s only so much weight you can put into the reports coming out of Greentree mid-August.

A few weeks back, Randy Shannon was asked what it will take to win the ACC this year and some scoffed when he said “luck”. We all know it takes talent, commitment, passion, heart and a slew of other cliches… but Shannon was spot on when he mentioned “luck”. There are no guarantees once the season gets underway and besides backing into a few wins, you also need to stay healthy – which is requires luck as well as the football gods smiling down on you.

All disbelievers look no further than defending ACC champ Virginia Tech, sporting a #7 rank entering the season and predicted to win the conference again this season. Before you could even think about the season opener against Alabama, running back and Orange Bowl MVP Darren Evans blew out his ACL the first week of fall practice. The Hokies have a handful of capable backs, but none that ‘wowed’ like Evans did as a true freshman last year.

This will be an interesting sub plot as this season rolls on. Can Virginia Tech overcome this loss? What would a healthy Evans done for their 2009 campaign? Will a new star emerge or does this injury give Georgia Tech and Miami a leg up on the conference champs?

Luck has as much to do with winning as anything else. Better hope the Canes can stay healthy this year, avoiding the injury bug.

Speaking of Jimmy J, I stumbled across a great blurb from the former Canes coach regarding the State of Miami and stopping the highly-touted spread offense:

“It all comes down to talent. If you have more talent and more athleticism on the defensive side of the ball than the offense has, you’ll stop the spread. But Florida has so many good athletes and so much good talent, you’re not going to be able to have more speed and athleticism, so it all comes down to familiarity. Michigan lost to Appalachian State at the beginning of the year because they weren’t used to seeing the spread. They weren’t ready. If you see it week in and week out, you get used to how to read it and you get much better at stopping it,” said Johnson.

“First you have to take away the quarterback, but with a guy like (Tim) Tebow with too much strength and power, he’s too effective running the ball and can produce even if you get to him. And then you need the defensive backs to be able to stay with the receivers so you can focus mostly on stopping the quarterback. Most importantly, you need fast, athletic linebackers. … Or you can be USC and you can pick your guys to stop the spread. They have the big, fast defensive linemen to take away the quarterback and let the big, fast linebackers and defensive backs take care of the rest.”

Sounds like JJ has the recipe… and thankfully Coach Shannon is following his mentor’s advice regarding keeping local kids home and recruiting Miami-caliber players.

Hopefully someone can step up and put that blueprint to work this season. Florida will play with that bull’s eye on their back. How will their opponents respond? Will teams roll over or will someone find a way to slow the spread and capitalize on the lack of Percy Harvin and his yards after catch? Stay tuned people, in a few weeks the journey begins.

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