The latest at The U…

Some recent Miami Hurricanes related news lately. Let’s dive right in.

Linebacker coach Micheal Barrow was recently relieved of his duties as head coach Randy Shannon wants new defensive coordinator John Lovett to handle linebackers. Some have questioned the move and fear Barrow will look for another opportunity. Personally, I think it’s another strong play by Shannon.

Barrow will now focus on special teams (a weak link for Miami as of late) and recruiting. Before returning to The U, Barrow was defensive coordinator at Homestead High (2006). Prior to that, Barrow wrapped up a thirteen-year NFL career. Homestead was the first stop in the former Cane’s coaching career.

Barrow is as important a coach as Shannon has on staff, so you have to believe this reassignment was handled tactfully. All signs point to Shannon wanting Barrow to learn more as a defensive coach, specifically from both he and Lovett. Cut his teeth with special teams and work his way up to defensive coordinator someday.

Barrow earned a nice NFL payday and isn’t in the game for money these days. This is a labor of love. A hometown kid back home working for his alma mater. A coach on the fast track might not have handled the ‘demotion’ but Barrow is a unique situation and this was a great move on Shannon’s part. Barrow is a top recruiter for The U and there’s no way Shannon would’ve done something detrimental to Barrow’s future with Miami.

Mark Whipple got some good ink this week. Critics, media members and Miami players are impressed with his playbook and stated that it’s giving an “NFL feel” to UM’s offense. Jacory Harris expressed his excitement and stated that there’s much more creativity in the offense.

Whipple has Miami players watching NFL film, something that never happened on Patrick Nix’s watch.

Whipple wants Harris making quicker reads. Release the ball quicker. Find #2 if #1 isn’t open. Expose mismatches by lining running backs up against linebackers. For the first time in forever, running backs are learning more passing routes and will be more involved in the passing game. This is something that’s been talked about at Miami for years (Who hasn’t forgotten about Coker talking about Devin Hester or even Graig Cooper becoming “the next Reggie Bush”…)

Shannon had an interesting comment regarding Whipple’s offense, saying “sometimes you’re going to have to outscore people and that’s one thing Coach Whipple has always been able to do.”

The Herald’s Barry Jackson went on record saying that Shannon has placed no limits on how creative Whipple can be with the playcalling. Sounds like the head coach wants to clear the air after a recently-fired Nix accused Shannon of putting restrictions on him.

The Bryce Brown circus looks to have come to an end; at least as far as Miami is concerned.

Rumors are flying, so it’s hard to tell truth from fiction. Shannon isn’t allowed to speak on the matter (and probably wouldn’t anyways…) so all news coming out is either from Team Brown, Bryce Butler or conspiracy theorists.

What we do know as fact, Signing Day was February 4th and Brown’s scholarship offer expired on the 18th. Team Brown insisted that wasn’t the case and that the door was still open according to Miami coaches, though it never rang true among fans and sounded more like damage control.

According to the Miami Herald, Monday was showdown day as both sides traded calls. It appears The U sent a strong message; commit and end the charade now, or make plans to go elsewhere. Team Brown is pressing on with their sideshow and Miami hasn’t returned their call since. Brown is expected to visit LSU this week and no trek to UM appears to be on the books.

While Bryce and “mentor” Brian Butler continue with the double-talk, the elder Brown at least has a level head about things.

“In all fairness to Coach Shannon, I have to kind of say I understand where they’re coming from. This thing has turned into something we never anticipated,” said Arthur Brown Sr.

“It has gotten to the point where this whole thing should have been avoided and could have been avoided. If we could do it all over again, there are a lot of things we should have and would have done differently.”

“For Bryce, I’d say regardless of how you express the need to make additional visits, if that’s your plan, then don’t commit. Don’t commit. Also, you should keep a very frequent communication with the coaches — Coach Shannon and the other coaches. If you have that time constraint, then keep in mind that [the coaches] have time constraints, too, and you should be sensitive to that.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself, Pops.

From an on the field standpoint and regarding Brown’s skills, it’s a shame he won’t suit up for Miami. That said, from a maturity and a ‘where his head is at’ standpoint, he’s proving to be the exact type of player Shannon is weeding out. Thankfully this circus appears to be over… for now, at least.

As I peck away with this blog, a Google alert just informed me that a brand new Sports Illustrated article has Brown Sr. stating that there’s been a death in the family and that reports of Miami being eliminated from the equation are absolutely false.

Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. Stay tuned, I guess.

Spring practice is officially underway, so prepare for the media onslaught. ESPN’s College Football Live profiled Miami on Monday and didn’t say anything that the uber fan doesn’t already know. New coaches. New schemes. Brutal schedule.

A nickel’s worth of free advice to the fan who hangs on every article or tidbit of coachspeak; it’s not even March yet, people. We’re half a year from kickoff and a lot of things will happen between now and then. More time spent in the weight room. More unofficial practices led by players. New blood making their way on to campus this summer.

Yes, there’s been some good news out of Greentree. Freshman running back Mike James is ‘wowing’ his teammates with his work ethic, attitude and skills set. Rumors of Sam Shields doing dual duty at WR/CB have been squashed out by Randy (Shields will stick with defense, no offense.) Jason Fox is taking young offensive linemen under his wing and is attempting to pass on some knowledge.

The Herald did a write up on Tommy Streeter and Randy Phillips, both sidelined last year due to injury and ready to get back to business. Vaughan Telemaque wasn’t mentioned in the piece, but he too is expected to give the defense a jolt upon his arrival.

There will be a lot of feel-good stories this spring, but keep things in perspective. Spring ball is for the team, not the fans. This isn’t about sizing up the competition from the fans’ perspective. It’s about getting these kids back in football shape, putting the pads back on, introducing new schemes, new coaches and new players.

Start your “worrying” in August and save the criticism for them. Until then, let the players play.

Miami Baseball started its season last weekend with a homestand against Rutgers. The Canes eventually took the series, 3-1, handling the Scarlet Knights. Miami outscored Rutgers 28-12 in the three wins, but dropped a 5-4 contest in the late game of a Saturday doubleheader.

Head coach Jim Morris notched his 1,200th career victory in the season opener, last Friday night as the newly dubbed Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. A sell-out crowd of 3,000 were on hand for the new season.

The Canes opened the season ranked 12th and climbed to 10th after winning 3-of-4 against Rutgers. Miami lost a lot of talent after last year’s College World Series run and is doing their best to reload. Some of Morris’ best teams have been a bit more under the radar and found a way to overachieve, while talent-heavy teams went ice cold in Omaha.

Miami faces its first big challenge of this young season this weekend with a three game series against at 13th-ranked Florida. Since 2006, the Gators have won six of the past nine against the Canes. Seven of those contests were decided by three runs or less.

Time is officially running out for Miami Basketball. 16-10 overall and 5-8 in the ACC, this team came into 2009 with high hopes and is now hoping others lose to assure a spot in the conference tourney and outside shot at an NCAA bid.

On some level the Canes underachieved this year. The games I’ve watched, it’s been the Jack McClinton show and everyone else. If McClinton was off, rarely did someone else pick up the slack. A three-game skid in late January might prove to be the nail in the coffin this season.

From a talent standpoint, Miami could sit somewhere around 21-5 right now. In February they proved they’re a dangerous bunch, taking Duke to overtime and falling at North Carolina by four, in another game that went to the wire. From there, a 13-point loss at Florida State in a must-win situation.

Road trips to Virginia and Georgia Tech remain, with a season-ending home game against NC State. Miami obviously has to win out and hope that a handful of other things happen. With no control of their destiny or collective fate, I’ve stopped trying to do the math. Here’s hoping these Canes get a chance to prove their mettle in the ACC tourney, but should that bid fall short they have no one to blame but themselves.

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