The Latest at The U…

Another football recruiting class is in the books, spring ball is underway, men’s basketball remains in the toilet and the baseball team opened the season with a three-game sweep of an old Big East foe. Such is life at The U early in 2010. The latest:

Toughening up is the new mantra around Greentree this spring. When asked his one overall goal for spring, Randy Shannon answered “get tougher”.

“It’s going to be physical football this spring. I want to see how our mindset is. I want to see us take the next step in improving in a lot of different areas. We’re really going to go after it”, said Shannon.

Many were critical after the Canes were pushed around by a mid-tier Big Ten squad in the bowl game. Wisconsin owned both trenches and Miami came off soft. Jacory Harris was sacked five times, UM never got any offensive rhythm and defensively never got any pressure on the Badgers, proven by an unscathed quarterback, a powerful ground game and tight ends who ran rampant all night.

Practice officially kicked off today and the Canes have just over a month to ‘get it’, as does Shannon. This is more than just rededication in the weight room; it’s a change in mindset. How does Miami get mentally stronger? How does Shannon coach up his team without wearing them out down the stretch?

This marks Shannon’s fourth spring as head coach. Time for another step forward. He has the coaches he wants and February marked his third full recruiting class. Will Shannon’s message resonate? Will these kids respond? Will we see a tougher bunch come fall?

Miami is at Ohio State on September 11th – the defending Big Ten champs, not a mid-tier Wisky bunch. Toughness is a must.

J-12 is limited to non-throwing drills this spring as he recovers from shoulder surgery, meaning sophomore A.J. Highsmith, true freshman Stephen Morris and scout team quarterback Spencer Whipple, son of Mark, will trade snaps.

Two sides to the argument – a sky is falling mentality to Harris’ absence or acceptance and understanding that the back ups will get some valuable playing time. Whatever the mindset, Harris is gone and Miami will deal with the blow.

One optimistic take; Harris physically needs the rest. He took an ass-beating in 2009 between a line that faded down the stretch. At 6’4″ and 190 pounds, Harris needs to focus on building man weight and healing for fall.

Get healthy, study film and come back strong in fall while the Canes settle on a legit second option.

Regarding the younger Whipple, some good ink in the Herald recently. Son is helping explain father’s schemes to his teammates. On the surface doesn’t seem like much, but probably a bigger deal than most would initially give credit for.

Where the elder Whipple might not relate to some teenage quarterbacks, a quarterback son who is their peer can. Son knows father, his schemes, what he means and can help deliver that message.

Curious to see how the Spencer Whipple experience plays out, but whether he takes a meaningful snap or not, his presence and lineage will absolutely help the development of University of Miami quarterbacks while he’s on campus and his father is calling plays.

Marcus Forston looks to be out all spring after missing most of last season with a lower extremity issue. Gavin Hardin continues battling neck issues and rumors swirl regarding not when he’ll return, but if.

Any question as to the importance of building depth, look no further. Miami’s defensive line can’t afford the hit, proven last year when Adewale Ojomo missed the season due to a broken jaw. The Canes lacked the numbers, forcing young, inexperienced players to play more than they should’ve.

Miami brought in some defensive line talent in last year’s class – Dyron Dye, Curtis Porter, Luther Robinson and Oliver Vernon. Time for all four to take a step forward and help out an in-need line.

Creating pressure up front; a Miami staple for all great Cane teams. UM hasn’t seen top-flight line play in years. The last three classes can hopefully turn the tide.

Random thought; why so much chatter about the state of Shannon’s contract? You can’t turn anywhere Cane-related and not see a slew of opinions on the subject.

Shannon is heading into the final year of his contract and has been offered a three-year extension and a ‘modest’ bump regarding his $1M a year salary. Shannon was the eighth-highest paid coach in the ACC last season. Conversely, first-year Tennessee coach Derek Dooley is earning a cool $1.8M as a first-time head coach.

For all the idle chatter and questions, it sounds like an agreement is close to being reached. Either way, it’s late February and as long as it’s dealt with in the coming weeks, what’s the big deal? The 2010 class is in the books and Miami is just beginning to turn up the heat recruiting-wise for next season.

Whatever the subject matter, if it’s Shannon-related you can be ensured opinions will be voiced. The ‘anti’ contingent loves to make something out of nothing, in this case taking it upon themselves to determine what Shannon “deserves” to be paid – clueless to the process of negotiating, as well.

If nothing more than to shut some mouths, here’s hoping an agreement is reached sooner than later. The commentary surrounding the new contract, or lack thereof, is tiring.

I’ve received a few emails asking about Miami Basketball and the lack of coverage here. Living on the left coast, I haven’t seen much of the 18-9 Canes, so it’s tough for me to cover them or to have much of an opinion. If/when they make the post-season, it’s easier to follow with the national coverage, but the regular season is tough from So Cal.

From what little I have seen, it’s been disappointing and I’ve made a conscious effort to not get emotionally involved with Miami Basketball over the years. The football program sucks the life out of me every fall and I sweat out the regionals and College World Series for the baseball program annually. Another Miami sport tough to cover from out west, but growing up going to Ron Fraser’s camp, Hurricanes Baseball remains near and dear.

A 4-9 ACC record is pretty brutal in what looks like a down year for the conference. Even more frustrating, seeing Leonard Hamilton and his Seminoles at 8-5 in conference and continuing to grow annually. Florida State is far from being a powerhouse like Florida turned into a few years back, but they look to be closer to getting over the hump than the Canes are.

Miami got a much-needed ACC win over Virginia a few days back, but is still 0-7 on the road against conference foes. The Canes have one road game remaining – at North Carolina on March 2nd – meaning Miami has a good shot at winless in ACC road games for ’10. Pretty pathetic.

Not sure what has to happen, but something’s gotta give. Here’s hoping Frank Haith can turn it around next year. You have to think the clock is ticking.

Speaking of Miami Baseball, 3-0 out the gate after a home sweep of Rutgers. Last night’s game against Florida Gulf Coast was postponed and Manhattan visits this weekend, so 6-0 should be a reality come Monday. The Canes’ first real challenge comes the weekend of March 5th with the Gators come to town.

Tough to get fired up about baseball this early in the year as it’s really all just a race for the Super Regional and Omaha. Two years back the Canes waltzed into the College World Series a top seed, choked against Georgia in the opening round, beat Florida State and were sent home by Stanford… while nobody Fresno State went on to win the whole thing. Last year Miami couldn’t even find its way out of the Gainesville regional, losing to the Gators twice.

The Canes look promising this year with some more depth, stronger pitching and a good unit… but until June, who really knows where this season will go.

Lastly, a lot of ink on Ojomo’s return this week. After sitting out all of 2009 with a broken jaw, resulting from a sucker punch, Ojomo is healthy and good to go.

You hate to see a young man suffer such a setback, but the older we get the more we realize the growth that comes from loss. Sometimes you have to lose something to realize the love and passion you have for it. Ojomo was sidelined for a 9-4 season where the Canes truly needed some help at defensive end. He’s now back on the field and will have the chance to make up for lost time.

Miami is in need of some leadership on defense and Ojomo looked fiery in his freshman campaign two years back. Here’s hoping he can pick up where he left of – bigger, stronger, faster… and more appreciative of the opportunity in 2010.

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