Our Take on Hurricane Football

Recruiting News

2009-11-10T15:47:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend we had a big commit from our CB target out of the country's #1 team, St. Thomas Aquinas. Long rumored to be a silent commit, he's 6ft, 165lbs. with a 4.46 40 and has offers from FSU, UF, OSU, Tenn. and more. He's a true shutdown corner who should get some playing time right away on special teams and can see limited action at CB next year. We'll link up video to him the second we get our hands on it.

Also, rumors are swirling that Miami Carol City Wr Allen Hurns called our coaches last night and committed. He went up to Friday Night Lights in Gainesville and dominated in that camp. He's injured this year, with a torn miniscus, but we do have film on him from last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tizZjTNkRJw

As always thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Virginia Breakdown

2009-11-10T01:49:00.003-05:00

I think it's easy to say this was our best game of the year. We'll get to special teams, but offensively and defensively we played very sound. Off to the grades.

Offense

Quarterback - B+: Jacory played well. He did have a really stupid interception. It's not so much the bad throws, that happens, and physically every QB makes them. While every QB makes dumb throws as well, it's not quite as bad as Jacory's. He seems to be forcing throws. Most of his interceptions are deep passes with double or even triple coverage. He has to get that corrected if we are to take the next step and truly be an elite team. AJ Highsmith got in and threw for a touchdown as well. Congratulations to AJ

RB - A-: Cooper had a big day, Berry also ran hard in between the hashmarks. Not much action/contribution from James and even less from Baby J, who is still recovering from an injury. Lee Chambers also ran well and deserves credit for running tough and with great vision.

OL - A-: Dominated a team they needed to dominate. Not much more can be said, but when you put up over 500+ yards, that's a clear indication that your Oline had it's way that day.

TE - B+: Graham had a beautiful catch for an early touchdown. The blocking from the group was even better, and they deserve a lot of praise for that.

WR - A: Hankerson had a big day, Byrd lead the corps with 3 for 56 yards, and Hankerson had a great touchdown catch to get us rolling. Great job by them.

Coaching - A: One of Whipple's more balanced games. He does throw a bit too much on first, but overall he's done great.

Defense:

Dline - A: Similar to the offense, when you hold the other team to 150 yards, you dominated. Allen Bailey was unblockable, and our younger players in Micanor Regis (interception) and Jeremy Lewis stepped up and had solid games.

LB - Nothing earth shattering, but Cookie had himself another solid game. If he keeps growing and getting better we should have a lot of depth and very little weaknesses next year in our linebacking corps.

DB - You didn't hear Shields, Harris, or DVD mentioned much. That's a good thing for DBs. Vaughn played well, as did Jared Campbell, who made two good plays to start off our defensive series.

Special Teams:

Punt/Kick Coverage - F: We almost had one blocked last week against Wake. Well, this week one was blocked, and to make things worse they blocked another one. Almost unheard of. Panunzio should be embarassed.

Return - B+: We returned a kick for a touchdown, although not by design. Collier deserves all the credit for breaking 3 tackles and reversing his field after we went for the punt block and failed.

Coaching - D: Like we said before, Panunzio should be embarassed.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes.

Big RB Commitment

2009-11-03T18:28:00.004-05:00

Eduardo Clements, RB out of Booker T. Washington in Miami, has been a silent commit for months. Many schools thought they had a shot at him, including FSU, Michigan, and Tenn. Today, he decided to make his commitment public, saying he was tiring of all the hoopla that comes with recruiting and that he's 100% committed to Miami and is as solid as solid can be. He has good speed, great cutting ability, and can catch the ball out of the backfield. Think of himas a more complete Cooper, who hits the whole better. Here is a link on him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uChpS2WlH8M

Wake Breakdown

2009-11-02T19:51:00.004-05:00

Another game, another flat effort. More of the same from this team, at least the past 4 games. Our team didn't quit, but I'm not sure it's quite the learning experience everyone has proclaimed it to be (I'm looking at you Don Bailey Jr.). This same game happened last year against Virginia. So do we have to learn every year, with the same core players, on how not to quit? If so, sign me up for consistent 8-4 seasons.

Jacory did have a "good" game statistically. But it doesn't take into account the "should have been" interceptions for touchdowns (2) and other dropped potential interceptions. Yes, we got a big fourth down conversion. What we don't discuss is how Hankerson dropped the big 3rd down on the play before, or how Jacory kept going deep despite us having receivers wide open on underneath crossing routes on the first down marker.

Kudos are in order to our defense for playing better and only allowing 7 points in the second half, and for our entire team for not quitting. But our coaching staff has shown an inability to adjust on the defensive side. Offensively, Navy came out and ran all over them. It dumbfounds us why we can't come out and do the same, but that has to fall on the coaching. When your offense doesn't execute and you can't run the ball effectively against an average team, at best, then at some point you have to question the brass. Here are our grades

Offense

QB - B-: Jacory threw for over 300 yards, with 3 TDs and 1 interception, but there were several dropped interceptions and on that final drive he kept forcing the ball deep. He consistently says he has to check down and take what's given to him, but he hasn't really done it yet.

RB - C-: Cooper ran for 27 yards and Berry had 26 yards. Our run game was non existent, totaling 26 yards in total (including sacks). A lot of the blame falls on our Offensive line, but a lot of it falls on our backs as well. Berry ran tough and strong, but Cooper still dances too much and he missed a whole lot of blocks in pass protection..

OL - D: Poor protection, missed assignments, poor run blocking. After play better last weekend, they came out and thoroughly unimpressed.

WR - B+: The only reason they aren't at an A is because of the sporadic drops here and here. We did a good job getting open and blocking downfield. They played very well.

TE - C: Not much action from them, Jimmy ran the wrong routes and Epps was a ghost for most of the game. They need to step up and help exploit the middle of the field better.

Coaching - C-: We didn't really attempt to run the ball consistently on a team that can be run on. Even a 1 dimensional Navy ran the ball on them.

Defense:

Dline - C-: The ran for over 100 yards and they threw for over 400. No pressure was generated at all from our front four, Allen Bailey aside. They need to play better, injuries or not. Even our backups should be able to handle the Wake Forest Oline.

Linebackers- C: Sharpton is horrific in every aspect of the game. He can't get off blocks, he's even worse in coverage, and is trying to be the team's best "worst tackler". He's good at reading a play, but pretty poor everywhere else. Mccarthy struggles in coverage as well, and although he had an off game, he's a great run stopper and reads the plays very well. Cookie played well enough for a young player learning a new position, but we need to see some more growth from our LBs

DB - C-: Vaughn played pretty average, but Randy Phillips was out of position all day. Jared Campbell had an interception hit him in the face and bounce 15 feet into the air into DVD's hands, which was fortunate, but he has to come up with that interception. Speaking of DVD, he had a good day, but Brandon Harris had one of his worst in a Miami uniform.

Coaching D: We played better the second half, but we still have glaring holes and gave up 500 + yards. That's a bad day no matter how you slice it.

Special Teams

Coverage- B+: We recovered a muffed punt and did a good job protecting against returns.

Return- B: We need to start breaking kicks, but there weren't any really "bad" returns. It's time to put in Thompkins for Mike James, or another speedster.

Coaching- B: See above.

2 Commitments Before The Breakdown

2009-11-01T18:14:00.003-05:00

Before us getting to the breakdown in the next 24 hours, we have news on 2 commitments.

The first commitment is RB Storm Johnson, out of Loganville Highschool in Georgia. He's a 6'1, 217 lbs. back with 4.5 speed in the 40. With us losing the often injured Baby J after this year, he can come in and contribute right away. He's working out with a college trainer and is set to come here in January, already having been cleared by the NCAA clearinghouse. We only started recruiting him about a month ago. After having been told to see him while our coaches were on the recruiting trail, we offered. A month later he seems to have found his home. His balance and toughness is unreal, as is his vision. Here's his film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18gyupH2W0E

The second commitment is Greg Dent, teammate of current TE commit Clive Walford. He lists offers from Miami, Rutgers, Georgia, and West Virginia amongst others. He's a 5'11, 180lbs athlete who can play both WR and CB, but will come in and be tried out at CB first. Here's his film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMkpfZRxAG0

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Part 2 of Screenshots and More

2009-10-28T19:55:00.007-04:00

First, we'd like to let everyone know that the Chick-fil-A bowl representatives will be at the Wake game. Seems like the right bowl game we can end up in, if we play well and win out (worst case scenario). Here's some information on the bowl:

The Chick-fil-A Bowl is the ninth-oldest bowl game in the country and hosts the longest-running rivalry series between the ACC and SEC. Now in its 42nd year, the Chick-fil-A Bowl has established itself as one of the nation’s elite bowl games with a string of 12 consecutive sellouts and has earned a reputation as one of the most competitive bowls in the nation. Ten of the last 17 games have been decided by a touchdown or less. The Chick-fil-A Bowl has disbursed more than $90 million in team payouts over its 41-year history and has increased team payout every year since 1996. The Bowl also leads all other bowl games in charitable and scholarship contributions, giving more than $1.2 million to organizations in need in 2008 alone.

Second, here's the overtime TD by Clemson. Sorry about the confusion in yesterday's screenshot. Again, thanks to Rusty on Grassy (Daniel). Props to his magnificence on the keyboards.

Personnel:

DE: Robinson

DT: Joseph

DT: Holmes

DE: Bailey

LB: Sharpton

LB: McCarthy

CB: Harris

CB: Van Dyke

CB: Shields

S: Phillips

S: Telemaque

Telemaque is on Ford. Ford is the inside guy at the top. McCarthy appears to be leaning back. I don't know if he is suppose to get deeper than Sharpton in coverage or spy on Spiller. Sharpton takes the underneath route. Either McCarthy isn't deep enough or Telemaque is playing too soft on Ford.

Clemson Screenshots

2009-10-27T18:45:00.010-04:00

Thanks to our friend Rusty for doing all the legwork. Not much we can add to what he has added, so we pretty much copy and pasted his work here. Props to him, and hopefully it helps show you how our players are missing assignments. At some point, coaches just can't have all the blame chucked on them because their players refuse to execute.

First Part: Clemson's First Touchdown

Personnel:

This TD is on Jared Campbell (go figure). Let's break this down.

DL: Vernon

DL: Holmes

DL: Joseph

DL: Wesley

LB: McCarthy

LB: Sharpton

LB: Buchanan

CB: Harris

CB: Van Dyke

S: Campbell

S: Phillips

McCarthy showing blitz at the top. Cookie showing blitz at the bottom.

Palmer, TE, goes in motion. Campbell moves with him, it's his man. We're in man coverage. Phillips has the TE at the top. Campbell goes after Spiller (and so does Sharpton), ignores Palmer

Clemson Breakdown

2009-10-26T18:04:00.004-04:00

We couldn't get around to a UCF breakdown, but in all honesty...there wasn't much to break down. We played sloppy, continued our inconsistent play on both sides of the ball (offense moreso this time) and it carried over into the Clemson game.

This kind of stuff happens when you come out unmotivated, playing with a lack of aggression and killer instinct over teams you are clearly better than. Some think it's playing down to your competition and I think it's true as well. Is it because we are still a young team? Is it because we have glaring holes on either side of the ball? Is it depth? Is it coaching?

Yes to all the above and the things we left out. We really do have a lot to pick apart, but the best way to sum it up is to say this. The team lost as a team. From the coaching to the backups. Tomorrow we'll post up a screenshot of a touchdown, which will show a breakdown of their first touchdown frame by frame and how we blew an assignment (courtesy of Rusty on Grassy, same person who makes all the youtubes).

Tonight, we'll give you our grades.

Offense

Quarterback

Jacory threw 3 interceptions. Never a reason for that. Just unexcusable. What killed us the most was the fact that he threw a pick 6. It was just one of the worst reads and forced passes I've ever seen. Credit to Jacory for bouncing back and hitting Travis on a nice throw, but the interceptions are momentum killers.

Score - 5

Runningback

A bright spot in the game. From blocking to the running between tackles, they played very, very well. Baby J, Coop, and Berry all did well.

Score - 9

Tight Ends -

Epps is injured, and we are waiting to see on how the MRI comes out for him. But both him and Jimmy played well. T. Johnson had a little miscommunication with Jacory on our third and goal play in overtime, but we don't know who that blame falls upon.

Score - 7

Offensive Line

They blocked well in the running game for the most part, except for that final drive in regulation. We can't really blame them though. Jason Fox said after that they were playing us in goalline formation, practically daring us to throw on them. That falls upon the coaching staff. Pipho even had a good game in pass protection, as did most of the O line.

Score - 7

Wide Receivers

They played phenomenally as well. It's not their fault Jacory played poorly, locked in on some receivers, and our coaches didn't keep them as involved (I remember reading a stat saying that we threw the ball 7 times after our initial score in the second half). Hankerson and Benjamin both came to play.

Score - 8 and 1/2

Coaching

Poor. Pathetic. Horrific. Why did we get so conservative when they clearly couldn't cover us one on one? Why do we run it three straight times with a 3 point lead and 5 minutes left in the game, despite them daring us to throw and being in goalline formation? Why didn't we throw a fade tou our countless 6'3, 6'4 WRs over their 5'9 CB? Why didn't we call for more deep pass patterns? How do we come out of a timeout with 12 men on the field? So many questions, and so many more that we are afraid we'll run out of bandwidth if we ask them all. This is easily Whipple's worst game in his short tenure with us. He went into a shell, got conservative and predictable, played not to lose and that put us in the coffin.

Score - 2

Defense

Defensive Line

Mixed results. Great in the run game. Prior to Spiller's big, he had 33 yards on 13 carries. Then again, they were on the field a whole lot, weren't they? They were very strong in run defense, but pass protection.... if Allen Bailey isn't doing it, no one is doing it. We just couldn't generate pressure with our front four and that's a big black eye for us.

Score - 7

Linebackers

McCarthy is what he always has been and will be. A stud in run defense, average in pass, but overall a linebacker that's hard to keep off of any team's starting roster. Sharpton, while playing better as of late, is still below average, and on a good day average. Spence was injured, and we are awaiting MRIs on him as well. The backups, Futch excluded due to his season ending knee injury, just dont have it down mentally yet. They have to get it done and cover the tight ends and running backs better

Score - 7

Defensive Backs

More mixed results. Brandon Harris and DVD played well. Shields played horrificly, like usual. Our safeties had some major blunders as well, as we will highlight for you tomorrow. Just a really up and down day, as was the game as a whole, for us.

Score - 7

Coaching

Did you think Whipple did bad? Then how do you feel about Lovett? He can't adjust and cover Rbs and TEs. He has never been able to adjust in his previous tenure as D-Coord. If he wasn't good enough to run Clemson's D 5 years ago, what makes him good enough for Miami ever? He started calling off the blitzes, gave a pedestrian freshman QB all day to throw on us and didn't do anything that can be considered wise.

Score - 2

Special Teams

Coverage - Aside from that one return, it was good. That return falls squarely on Uribe, who ruined a squib kick and proceeded to kick it directly to C.J. Spiller. No excuse and that's why Bosher replaced him from that point on.

Return - Solid, but could have used a bigger return game, especially in the punt game.

Coaching - 6. You have to make sure Uribe doesn't screw up like that.

Thanks for reading and as always, Go Canes!

Canes commit David Perry Highlight reel...

2009-10-23T22:54:00.001-04:00

Breaking News! Canes pick up a Big Commit!!!

2009-10-23T22:36:00.003-04:00

University High DL David Perry has officially committed to the Canes. The 6-foot-6 230 pounder said it was a "done deal". His only visit will be to the Canes.

Perry will be in attendance for tomorrow's game against Clemson. He will be sitting in the recruiting section.

Keep it coming Miami!!!

GO CANES!!!

Breaking News!!! It's Official...Williams commits

2009-10-19T22:53:00.003-04:00

It's official now. After some speculation that he called WVU coaches to let them know about his commitment to Miami, Coach Aubrey Hill received a phone call roughly around 8pm Monday night and it was Travis Williams on the other side. Williams said he was ready and pulled a trigger. Coach Shannon had expressed that if Williams was to commit he didn't want him taking any other visits. Williams agreed he didn't need to make any.

Great pick up by the Canes.

GO CANES!!!

Rumor Mill - Travis Williams Commits

2009-10-19T19:00:00.002-04:00

Rumors are that 6'2, 189lb linebacker out of Virginia Travis Williams was telling recruiting services that he was going to commit to Miami this week. Today more rumors swirl, this time saying he called West Virginia and told their coaches that he's comitting to Miami.

He's a 4 star linebacker who holds offers from LSU, FLorida, Virginia Tech, and Notre Dame...amongst others. No film on him yet through public domains, but from what I've seen he has the frame to put on weight and after a year or two in the program, especially if he redshirts, he should be able to come in and help out immediately.

We'll post film on all our recruits that are committed within the next few weeks, if available, and we'll have a post UCF game wrap up.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

UCF Game Preview

2009-10-14T20:13:00.003-04:00

Saturday should be an interesting night game for us. After all, we are 4-0 in night games this year. But it's a bit different than most night games. We are traveling up to Orlando and playing the UCF Knights. They have a small, on campus stadium of 45k that has been known to get loud (and have fantastic tailgating by all accounts). It's sure to be an emotional game for UCF, seeing as they are 0-19 against top 25 teams since becoming a Division 1 program, they'll be hungry. We are an instate school and one of the Big 3. Their fans are doing a whole lot of chirping and we are sure their team is posturing with some of this faux-pseudo confidence too. But hey, any given week any one team can beat any other team, so it should be a good test for us.

Last year, we beat UCF 20-14, but the score was not indicative of the game. UCF did a whole lot of nothing that entire game, scoring on a kickoff return and an interception return for a TD. Long gone is their fantastic kickoff returner and cornerback Joe Burnett, as is most of their secondary. They are very green and inexperienced on the secondary as a whole.

Their defense is by no means exceptional and although they do have some experience, they are by no means strong. They are ranked 51st, despite playing sub par competition at best. They are 95th against the pass and 15th against the run. Despite their high ranking on run defense, I expect us to run for over 125 yards on them. They have little depth and have padded their statistics against no name teams.

On offense they are ranked 100th. They are lead by Brett Hodges, who has completed 61.6% of his passes, but has thrown for 6 TDs and 6 ints. He does appear to be an accurate QB, just seems to struggle with some of his decision making.

Their rush offense is ranked 83rd. Brynn Harvey leads the way with a 4.2 yard per average carry and 536 yards rushing on the season with 6 TDs. He should be easy to bottle up behind a weak offensive line. I would expect 2-3 TFL and an average day at best for him.

Their passing offense is ranked 84th and is led by Rocky Ross and Kamar Aiken, with 17 and 11 catches respectively and are nothing to write home about, and between DVD and Harris, it should be easy to keep them from getting separation and allowing our defensive line a chance to get sacks and force poor throws.

When it's all said and done we expect UCF to hang around for the first quarter or so purely on emotion until Miami's superior speed, talent, and coaching allow us to pull away and coast for another victory.

Our Prediction:

Miami 35

UCF 16

Game Breakdown and Injuries

2009-10-12T02:54:00.004-04:00

QB

Jacory started off throwing 2 interceptions early in the game, but settled down. After playing about a half of football, AJ took over for him. He went 3 for 3, and had a beautiful throw to Streeter, but that was pretty much it. Not a lot to be happy about, but still a solid outing where we threw for over 250 yards.

Score 7 and 1/2

Oline

When you rush for 224 yards, you did your job up front in the trenches. We did give up a couple sacks, but that's not completely on the line. We rotated a lot more players in as well, so the experience factor counts for a lot as well.

Score 8 and 1/2

RB

No Coop, and Baby J got only one carry, but Berry and Chambers picked up the slack. Berry especially, by running for 162 yards on 14 carries. They also did a nice job in pass protection. All in all, with no real breakdowns or fumbles, you have to be satisfied with the performance.

Score 9

WR

A heavy rotation, and a new leading receiver (for this game at least) in Tommy Streeter who had 3 catches for 55 yards. Lots of new faces and redshirt freshman that played and got valuable experience. No major breakdowns, and good downfield blocking as well.

Score 8 and 1/2

TE

Not much production from them since the gameplan was run heavy, but Jimmy Graham did add on another TD catch. Even John Calhoun got some playing time, so this was just another position where we looked to give our backups some playing time.

Score 8

Dline

We did a good job of putting pressure on the QB, penetrating, and stoping the run. You really can't ask for much more, especially after being our 3-4 defensive lineman that get heavy playing time in the rotation.

Score 8 and 1/2.

Linebackers

Still missed a few tackles, but overall we played well. We need to see Spence keep improving and reaching last year's form. It would also be nice to see someone replace Sharpton. He still misses a few too many tackles and shoots the gaps wrong.

Score 7 and 1/2

Defensive Backs

We had a nice interception by Brandon and we held them to under 150 yards passing. Even Ray Ray got in with a big hit (that was flagged for a helmet to helmet, which is a bad call). Pretty much what you want to see out of your secondary, especially in a big game like this.

Score 9

Special Teams
We neutralized the return game of one of the better returners in the country, got good hang time and distance on our kicks, and even returned a punt for a touchdown, our first since Cooper did it in last year's home and season opener against Charleston Southern.

Score 9

Coaching

On a body bag game where we want to make sure we don't develop rust, put up points in a hurry, and get valuable experience to our backups, the gameplan was simple and done properly.

Score 8

Injuries

Rumors are going around that Forston, while injured, is lost for the year. This doesn't appear to be true.

Aldarius Johnson has a severe shoulder injury, and he might be gone for the year. Hopefully he can apply for a medical redshirt.

Josh Holmes also suffered a lower leg injury, and he won't play next week. He'll be evaluated on a weekly basis.

Jordan Futch is also gone for the year, rumors say torn ACL.

Finally Randy Phillips, Olivier Vernon, and Cooper should all be back next week for UCF.

As always thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Great Pictures from Northwestern vs Central!!!

2009-10-09T22:37:00.024-04:00

Courtesy of Joseph Casal Photography...

Brandon Gainer(left), Jeffrey Godfrey(right)

Jose Jose

Rashad Gaitor

Coach Shannon with Joe Rose

Canes from left to right: Javarris James, Kayne Farquharson, Sam Shields, Ray Ray Armstrong, Brandon McGee, Graig Cooper, Thearon Collier, Brandon Harris, Davon Johnson, DVD

Coaches: Aubrey Hill(left), Michael Barrow(Center), Clint Hurtt(Right)

Corvin Lamb(left), Teddy Bridgewater(Center), Michaelee Harris(Right)...Future Canes?

Ring of Honor News

2009-10-09T15:40:00.000-04:00

Rivals Northwestern, Central square off at FIU...we were there!!!

2009-10-09T09:38:00.007-04:00

So I was at the game, on the field, press pass and all. Now thats the way to watch a game! I could not believe the atmosphere surrounding the game the whole night. For those who were complaining that coach Shannon was not at the STA game and boo hoo, he decided to bring the whole entourage. Coach Hurtt, Hill, Barrow and Shannon were there. USF coach Jim Leavitt was there as well, along with a couple of his assistant coaches. What was really impressive was the amount of Canes that were there. Not just ex-Northwestern players, but guys like Ray Ray, Brandon McGee, Brandon Harris, Javarris James, Sam Shields, Travis Benjamin, Graig Cooper and a few more. Too many to name. A few NFL guys showed up as well. Vernon Carey was among them along with Jeff George.

It was nice to see our guys come out and support the local high school football movement, whether they played for the teams at one point or not. Their relationships extend outside the football field. That shows me the camaraderie these players have. I was very impressed and excited to see all these guys out there.

On to the game. We did not stick around for the whole game, but we did notice talent all over the field. Some players who stood out for boths teams were; for Central, QB Jeffrey Godfrey, RB Brandon Gainer and WR's Charles Gaines and Joshua Reese. For Northwestern; QB Teddy Bridgewater, RB Corvin Lamb, WR Michaelee Harris, DB Khambrel McGee, LB Rashad Gaitor, DT Todd Chandler and more. Central seemed to be in control of what was a very sloppy game. They started off quick taking a 14-2 lead into the half. But penalties caught up to them and the Bulls led by Teddy Bridgewater and Michaelee Harris came roaring back to score 20 unanswered points. Harris had 9 receptions for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sprinkle in a rushing touchdown from Corvin Lamb and that we all she wrote. The Bull defense led by DT Todd Chandler and LB Rashad Gaitor took over the rest of the way, keeping Godfrey and the Central offense out of the endzone. Final score 22-14. Player of the game according to ESPN 2 and deservingly so was Michaelee Harris.

Next week we will be covering another big game involving once again Northwestern as they take on Jahkari Gore and Columbus.

Pictures from last night's game will be up shortly. We have some great photo's so stay tuned for that.

Don't forget tomorrow at 7pm, our Canes take on FAMU at Landshark Stadium. Be sure to make it out and support the Canes. After the game the amazing FAMU band will be performing a 15 minute concert on the field. Stick around for that. Should be a great performance.

Thanks for reading....

GO CANES!!!

Is FAMU still a pushover?

2009-10-08T10:23:00.006-04:00

On Saturday night FAMU will be coming into Landshark with the proverbial "chip on their shoulder" mentality. And why not? Is anyone actual giving them any chance whatsoever? As "homer" as this may sound, I'm not! "But their 4-0!". Yes and they have the best returner in the country in Leroy Vann. Now, I don't mean to take anything away from him or the team, but FAMU is ranked #24 in the country in the FCS(Football Championship Subdivision) not the FBS(Football Bowl Subdivision). They are 4-0, but they are 4-0 against teams like Delaware State, Winston-Salem State, etc. The teams they have played have a combine record of 5-12 in the FCS! Leroy Vann is an exceptional football player and deserves the accolades he receives, but again, Delaware State? Now that does not mean the Canes should take them lightly. We don't want another Appalachian State scenario happening here. Regardless of who they have faced, FAMU has shown that they can put points on the board, averaging 33.5 points per game. Their offense is lead by Senior QB Curtis Pulley. He was there 3 years ago at the Orange Bowl where Miami took it to FAMU and beat them 51-10. But now they have a different mentality. FAMU is coming to Miami thinking they can win this game. I think the Canes need to take that to heart, come out focused and intense as they did against Oklahoma and the rest. The Canes cannot have a letdown and I truly believe they are aware of it. From the looks of it, considering the practice reports and what fans and people close to the players are noticing, it is apparent these guys are not looking ahead or passed FAMU. I fully expect the Canes to come out and dominate and put this game away quickly. As the cliche goes, one game at a time. That is all the players are concerned with. I think they learned their lesson after VT(they need that). The big picture is in sight, but in order to get there they need to focus on each game separately. Each game is just as important as the next.

We do expect to see a few of the younger guys get some burn in Saturday's game. Look for Brandon McGee to get extensive work at cornerback. LB's Jordan Futch, Ramon Buchanon and possibly Arthur Brown should play more extensively. Also look for Tommy Streeter to get some playing time as well. I know everyone wants to see him play more, as do I. Offensive Line is another position where I think you will see more guys rotating in and out. I know we are all wondering if we are going to see A.J. Highsmith play as well. At first it was said that if he didn't have to play he wouldnt, but recently it was stated that he might see some time if the Canes pull away early. Why leave Jacory in there and risk injury in a blowout. Injury-wise I do believe Lee Chambers comes back and gets some carries with Mike James staying at fullback for the injured Pat Hill. Olivier Vernon is also set to go. Marcus Forston I believe is doubtful. Injury report should be out either later today or early tomorrow. Stay Tuned for that...

Another side note, some recruits that will be at the game Saturday night: 2011 LB Denzel Perryman, 2010 Commit OL Shane McDermott, 2012 DB Amos Leggett. I will continue to try to compile more names, those are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

Thanks for reading...

GO CANES!!!

Breaking News!!! Canes land CB Davis

2009-10-06T23:03:00.003-04:00

CB Devont'a Davis has decided to be a Miami Hurricane. The 6'2" 180 lbs cornerback from Gainesville High School in Gainesville, FL just announced a short while ago apparently. We will have more as the story unfolds. Seems like this could lead to a dominoe effect and this might not be the last commitment we hear from this week. Stay tuned!!!

GO CANES!!!

UM vs Oklahoma Video Highlights...

2009-10-06T10:24:00.003-04:00

Courtesy of youtube and another one of Rusty's great collaborations...

Video from Saturday nights 21-20 win over Oklahoma:

CANES 21 - OKLAHOMA 20...

2009-10-05T12:39:00.007-04:00

Last weekend was a rude awakening for the Canes. Apparently they made sure they were wide awake for this one. The Miami Hurricanes showed why they should be recognized as one of the elite programs in the nation, once again. But don't tell that to any of the players. They don't want to hear it. Thats what got them in trouble last weekend in Blacksburg. I believe Jacory said all they were going to watch on tv was Spongebob. No ESPN, no nothing! But we'll say it. #11 in the country and back on the scene! Shhhhh...

On to the game. After throwing interceptions on consecutive possessions, Jacory seemed to be outmatched once again. The crowd was down, "oh man, here we go again" was all I heard around me. But not so fast! We seemed to be the only ones discouraged. After an early 10-0 deficit, we thought, that was it. But the offense kept fighting and the defense kept holding on. Finally with about 8 minutes left in the third quarter, Harris found TE Jimmy Graham down the middle for a touchdown. Score at the the half, 10-7 OK. That didn't last too long. On Oklahoma's first possession, Brandon Harris came on a corner blitz and sacked Landry Jones causing a fumble. Miami recovers. On the next play Jacory threads the needle between 4 defenders and finds the other TE Dedrick Epps for the go ahead touchdown. The Canes took over from there and never relinquished the lead. Later in the third quarter, Harris found a streaking Travis Benjamiin in the middle for another touchdown strike. Jacory showed the mark of a true competitor and champion coming back from a slow start. Not one ounce of fear or concern as he walked off the field after his second interception. As a matter of fact, he had a smirk on his face, basically showing that it did not phase him.
The defense hung tough, inspite of being on the field more than they wanted to be. Everything seemed to go wrong for the Canes as well, whether it was a roughing the kicker penalty that should have been called running into the kicker or phantom facemasking, etc.
Miami also showed signs of being able to close out games and seal the deal. After a field goal brought the Sooners to within one point at 21-20, all Miami needed to do was hold on to the ball for four minutes and change. That's exactly what they did. After a dump off pass to Aldarius Johnson for about a 12 yard gain, Miami went with their bread and butter the whole night. The man who set everything up for us on offense, Javarris James. An absolutely excellent display of power and speed from James helped seal the game and put away the Sooners, who led all of the FBS in rush defense. James finished the night with 15 carries, 150 yards.

On a side note, tonight was the coming out party for one Ray Ray Armstrong. The kid is good. He is nasty, physical, nasty, instinctive, oh and did I mention nasty? The hit he laid on Demarco Murray in the first half got the crowd riled up and that's when people knew he was for real. We look for big things from him throughout the rest of the year.

Some other notable standouts:
OL- Jason Fox, dominated the LOS, not allowing any sacks and opening holes for James and Coop the whole night.
TE's- Dedrick Epps and Jimmy Graham both had touchdown grabs and Epps made another a couple important catches for first downs, one coming in the last drive to keep the chains and clock moviing.
Defensive Front 7- Did a great job of putting pressure on Landry Jones and causing disruption. With the exception of a couple missed tackles and broken down plays, I believe they played real well.

Next up, FAMU. Focus on winning one game at a time and watching Spongebob, and going to school and the rest will take care of itself. Great Job by our Canes. Continue the support, don't let up now. We still have a lot of work to do.

Coming up, the latest news on the recruiting front. What are some commits and prospects saying about the big win Saturday night.

GO CANES!!!

Post Game Rant

2009-09-26T21:28:00.005-04:00

Actually...none of that. Since we are looking to open up this blog more to those of you that participate and post, go ahead and rant in the comment section. We'll have a game breakdown by Monday night and tell you just where, in our opinion, we went and crapped the bed. It would probably be easier to point out where we were successful (um..... our bus driver was pretty good from what I hear).

So here's your forum to go ahead and take advantage of your chance to rant and lament or loss.

Jacory Speaks About Vtech and Gtech Highlights

2009-09-23T16:34:00.001-04:00

Jacory's Vtech Interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfCtE-0l5qA&feature=player_embedded

Georgia Tech Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFTPKWegGKo&feature=channel

Game Breakdown

2009-09-18T16:03:00.003-04:00

You'll have to excuse the delay, we are still catching our breath from last night and recovering (the constant screaming, pounding, and making noise does take a game or two to get into).

A little late but here is our Game Breakdown. Again, an overall impressive performance and the score was nowhere near as close as the actual game was.

Offense:

1) Oline - Another great outing for our Oline. No sacks, all day to throw. Open lanes for our runnigbacks. Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech's all hyped DE, barely even made himself a presence in the game. Our lineman went downfield and a executed/initiated blocks down throughout the second level and very rarely did you see a lineman late on a pull, or miss a block.

Score: 9 and 1/2

2) Receivers - New week, new receivers step up. Benjamin, contrary to last week, was relatively quiet. Only saw some balls come his way during punt return. No matter. Hankerson got the party going on a deep completion down the middle of the field during our first drive. Byrd and Power Forward turned Tight End Jimmy Graham took over from there. Plenty of deep passes and crossing plays. Great blocking downfield as well by our wide receivers.

Score - 9 and 1/2

3) Quarterback - Jacory had a near flawless game as being 20-25. Perfect 7 for 7 in the second half. The only errors he had in this game was when he tried to force a deep pass to Byrd in the middle of the field early on in the game, while missing Jimmy Graham wide open on the side of the field on the same exact play.

Score - 9

4) Runningback - Cooper and James. James and Cooper. Name me a better 1-2 punch in CFB. Between the two they ran for over 165 yards. Wide open lanes for the, courtesy of the line, made their job easy. Throw in Pat Hill, who had a PHENOMENAL day blocking, and you really can't ask for much more from our backs.

Score - 9

5) Tight end - Jimmy Graham got his first TD catch. Major props to him. Epps also threw in 3 catches for 37 yards and his own touchdown, after faking a nice block and then rolling out into the end zone for the wide open catch. They also blocked very well, especially Richard Gordon.

Score - 9

6) Coaching - The playcalling was great, as great as the game before. If I recall correctly, there was a stretch where our offensive didn't even see a second down on a touchdown drive early in the game. That's awesome work. Receivers were wide open. Georgia Tech constantly seemed to blitz at the wrong time or the wrong side. All in all, beautiful work.

Score - 9 and 1/2

Defense:

1) Defensive line - They were our key to stopping the triple option, and they stepped up and showed why. Every other play it was either Bailey, Wesley, Moncur, Vernon, Forston, heck even Holme and Big Joe got in on it. Great game from them. They cut GT's rush attack to less than 100 yards in the entire game. That's as near a perfect game as you can ask from any defensive line in the country.

Score - 10

2) Linebackers - Still a few busts, misreads, but overall they were solid. Colin Mccarthy showed why we missed him so much last year and why he's so important to success this year. We need to see big stops and great coverage from them in the future, but last week they played very, very well.

Score - 8

3) Defensive backs - Our backs had to tackle well and get off their blocks, and they did. Gtech rarely got the corner on us, and their WR couldn't lay a hand on our backs like Shields, Harris (who had a great game) Vaughn or Randy. We still had some busts on deep plays, and that falls on Shields being so green, but we are seeing him improve little by little.

Score - 7 and 1/2

4) Coaching - We didn't just stop the option, we shut it down and sent it back to Navy. We'd like to see some of those deep pass plays picked off, and they did pick up a few runs here and there on the option, but overall we had a great gameplan and executed it extremely well.

Score - 8 and 1/2.

Special Teams:

1) Coverage - Bad specials teams coverage again, but this time after Uribe worked the kinks out he seemed to be doing a better job. This week it'll be huge because VT is solid on special teams all around, and they have some good return men.

Score - 5 and 1/2.

2) Return - We didn't have a lot of big returns, except for Mike James, but we are blocking well and hitting our holes nicely. Expect us to break one soon, although next week will be tough with Virginia Tech up to the task.

Score - 8

We'll have a breakdown this week on the keys to the Virginia Tech game as well as the location of where some Canes fans will be watching the game (right now it's at The Sports Exchange in Coral Gables).

Until next time, thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Domination! Revenge was Sweet...

2009-09-18T10:38:00.001-04:00

33-17 Final score! Defense was the name of the game. Important stat line; 39 carries, 95 yards, 2.4 ypc. That's what the Canes held Georgia Tech's triple option "attack" to. An amazing turn-around from last years 472 yards on the ground given up. Oh, and sprinkle in a 20-25 comp for 270 yards and 3 TD's from one Jacory Harris... Just about as efficient as can be. Jacory picked apart the GT defense with precision passing, whether it was a deep route or a short dink pass to convert a third down. Maybe a bit premature, but the "H" word is starting to creep up in the minds of some. My lips are sealed, but the kid is amazing.

My hats off to the dominating play in the trenches on both sides of the ball. GT Derrick Morgan could not even sniff Jacory all night as Fox and Pipho did a great job of containing him. Not only was the pass coverage great, but Miami also had a balanced running game. Graig Cooper had 17 car for 93yds and JJ had 14 car for 72yds and a score. Our defense was able to shut down reigning ACC POY Jonathan Dwyer to 5 car for 7yds before he exited with an apparent injury. At times it seemed like even before GT broke the huddle we were already in the backfield. Big step up from the Labor Day performance against FSU. Wow, it was good to see Vaughn Telemaque and Eric Moncur out there. Their return seemed to give Miami a much needed boost to the lineup.

An overall exceptional performance by the Miami Hurricanes. We must continue to build momentum as it will not get easier just yet. Next up, Virginia Tech. There has to be some confidence in the locker room, but coach Shannon and the rest of the staff has done a great job of keeping these kids grounding and focused. As the cliche goes, one game at a time.

We will have a complete breakdown along with notable stats from last nights game later on in the day. Thanks for tuning in!

GO CANES!!!
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Georgia Tech at Miami Breakdown

2009-09-16T16:29:00.002-04:00

Big game tomorrow. Sole spotlight on ESPN. Thursday night. Revenge game. Possible letdown. Home opener. It has all of that, and more. There are so many factors that affect this game that listing the things that WON'T affect them would probably be easier, but we'll try our best to do so.

Last year there were a few things that killed us, 3 in our opinion. 1) Missed assignments 2) Poor Tackling 3) Poor offense. Seems pretty easy, but as we looked at last year's game it was a little more in depth and we'll break it down like that for you.

Missed Assignments
Last year Coach Shannon said plenty of our players were ignoring/forgetting their assigments in an effort to make a big play. We have to stick to our assignments. We have to concentrate on stopping the fullback dive first and foremost. If we don't do that, then the game is going to be a repeat of last year's (at least offensively). If our players can stick to their assignments then we should be fine in containing the triple option. Reports out of camp the past week have said that we have been practicing with 3 balls. I hope that was enough, no excuses from our players this year.

Within this category we've also included the play of the defensive line. The tackles and ends MUST get off their blocks and penetrate the backfield. By doing this, they force the QB Nesbitt to not only take a step back, but for his pitchman to take a step back as well, while the fullback can be tackled in the backfield (if he's given the ball on the dive). It's imperative that our defensive tackles, especially Bailey and Marcus Forston (who dissappointed with his play versus FSU) beat their men off the blocks and wreack havoc in the backfield.
Poor Tackling

Obviously can never have it, but against this team especially. Their offense, although it's mostly a running game, is a big play offense. It's very important to try and limit the big plays and make them settle for field goals. It frustrates them, makes them force plays and pitches, and allows our team to capitalize on these errors.

Last year we had Anthony Reddick bouncing of players, which would be great, if he was on offense. He was outdone by Romeo Davis' handwarmer grabbing, which kind of slowed down the Georgia Tech back on his way to a touchdown.

This year, we have different players. Sam Shields will most likely get the startin nod over DVD (questionable with a concussion) and he's a good tackler, baving played as a gunner on special teams as well. Vaugh Telemaque should also be making his appearance as a starter, along with having Colin Mccarthy and Eric Moncur back, we should improve with our tackling.

Poor Offense

To show you just how bad our offense was last year, this is a drive by drive breakdown of it in the Georgia Tech game:

1st Quarter: 2 drives (1 punt, One 3 and out)

2nd Quarter: 5 drives (2 ints, Two 3 and out, 1 fg) And we all know that first pick by Marve on 3rd and 3, which wouldn't have been completed anyways so you can chalk up another 3 and out if you want).

3rd Quarter: 3 drives (1td, One 3 and out, 1 punt)

4th Quarter: 3 drives (2tds, One 4 and out)

We can't have 3 and outs and turnovers. We have to put points on the board early and quickly and get this team to have to play from behind. If we can go up big early it forces them to pass and as we all saw their passing game might be the worst in D-1A ball.

We'll have an update during the tailgate if we can get around to it, and hopefully during the game as well (attendance #s, atmosphere, weather, injuries, etc.) along with a breakdown of the game on Friday.

As always, thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Tailgating Info.

2009-09-15T17:46:00.002-04:00

Quick update, we'll be tailgating at lot W-22 and plan on being there by 4:45. If anyone owuld like to meet up and tailgate with us, talk Canes football, and have a few beers (assuming you are of age), please post on this blog entries comment section who you are, how big your group is, and any other possible information you'd like to leave so you can celebrate our home opener, and hopefully a win, with us.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Mid Week Update, Recruiting and More

2009-09-15T16:53:00.002-04:00

First we'll start with our recruiting news today. We have received a commitment (although it's been stated ot be at 80%, which is never good) out of a 3 star, 6ft, 5inches 260 lbs. Olineman Andrew Tallman. It was down to us and Virginia, and after the start of the season he has decided to commit to us, although he'll still visit Viginia and keep an open mind. He plays Tight End also, but look for him to be converted to an Offensive Tackle on the next level, ala Jason Fox. He has good hands and feet, but seems to overextend his arms a bit, which allows him to get beat. We'll keep an eye out for him.

Here's his video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_OJP2KwQGU

Also, tomorrow we'll have a breakdown of our keys to the game for Georgia Tech.

As we all know that, despite the loss, Clemson played them well last week. In short and not stealing tomorrow's blog's thunder, the key will be our d-tackles. They blow up the LOS, they push the QB and the option back while simultaneously killing the dive, which is the key component to stopping the triple option.

Injury Update

2009-09-10T14:46:00.002-04:00

Vaughn Telemaque and Ryan Hill are expected to be back for Georgia Tech. Tight End Richard Gordon has his arm in a sling. Aldarius Johnson has a groin injury, but the severity of it hasn't been released.

More news as we get it. Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Official Game Breakdown

2009-09-09T21:26:00.003-04:00

It's our first official installment ever of our game breakdown. Believe it or not we have last year's, although it's not on the net, and we can always post it so you can compare and contrast the gameplan, growth, and play of both team's players. Today, although lengthy, will be our breakdown of Monday night's game and we'll have one every Monday/Tuesday after the game, and Saturday/Sunday after the Thursday night game. It's broken down into three fields: Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. Instead of giving out grades, we'll scale it on 1-10. Enjoy:

Offense:

1) O line - Great job blocking. On that first driave that we scored deep to Benjamin Jacory had all day to throw. Beautiful work all the way around. Pipho did have that one blunder, but as a whole the unit was great.

Score:8

2) Receivers - Leonard Hankers, welcome to the U. What a great game by Hankerson. I almost want to pass the credit to Randy here. People ripped him for recruiting so many receivers, but with 2 starting receivers injured and nursing injuries (AJ has a groin pull), we didn't miss a beat. Hankerson stepped up. Benjamin stepped up. Collier stepped up. Who didn't step up is a better question.

Score: 9

3) Qb - Excellent. Aside from one bad throw, the INT to Greg Reid, Jacory was as fluid as any QB UM has had. He took the hits. He felt the pressure. He saw all types of coverages. He didn't care. Ice..... that's what runs in his veins. He broke tackles and eluded the rusher. I could go on and on about him, but I'm sure this blog has a bandwidth limit.

Score: 9

4) RB - That's the Baby J we expected huh? Baby J and Cooper did what they were brought here to do. Chambers provided some quality minutes and carries, as did Mike James with going out for some passes (a big 3rd down conversion in the wst half).

Score: 7 and 1/2

5) TE - Good. Epps had some big catches and RAC. Gordon and Graham also allowed him a chance to come off the field and rest up and not be overworked.

Score: 7

6) Coaching - Average. It seemed obvious that missing our 2 starting DEs, DVD being out (concussion), and our starting safety in Vaughn being out, we chose to rush four and make sure our Dline contained FSU's QB. We need to see a lot more penetration next week though.

Score: 9 and 1/2

Defense:

1) DT - Very Good. Stopped the run, put some pressure, gave up very litle yardage on the ground.

Score: 8

2) LB - This defense is light years better without Cook and Davis and with the addition of Colin, who was back from an injury. Spence had a bad game, and that's okay, but he has to get it together for next week. The is the unit that HAS TO dominate next week.

Score: 7 and 1/2

3) DB - Brandon Harris, 1st day draft pick. Anyone notice how FSU couldn't pass when DVD was in there? Sam Shields was taken advantage of, but assuming it was his first day at CB in actual game time, and Ryan Hill was injured, he played just well enough and he was a good tackler. Our safeties played well, and aside from Jo-Jo Nicholas'd dumb PI in the endzone, they were almost error free.

Score: 7 and 1/2.

4) DE - Good penetration and containment on the run. Andrew Smith deserves a lot of praise and played very, very well.

Score: 7.

5) Coaching - Adequate. We knew we couldn't let Ponder beat us with his feet, but couldn't generate too much of a pass rush all the while we suffered some injuries to a starting, 3 year CB.

Score: 7 and 1/2.

Special Teams:

- Returns - Graig Cooper was a monster. Such a big impact in the game and setting us up with great field position.

Score: 9 and 1/2.

- Coverage - Bosher needs to do a better job of putting more hangtime on it if he's going to kick it short. All reports are that he just had a bad day, so we'll hope he corrects it and improves.

Score: 5 and 1/2.

As always thanks for reading and Go Canes.

Something To Chew On

2009-09-08T16:28:00.002-04:00

We'll have a detailed breakdown of the game, both good and bad, coming by tomorrow after we rewatch the game, but we can sum up yesterday's game in one word "Wow".

For now, here's an HD link from Grassy's on Rusty98UM, detailing the final drive in full. Our complete breakdown will follow tomorrow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2j7OJkkmW8&hd=1

Prince Kent Update

2009-08-29T05:13:00.001-04:00

Rumors are current prep school commite Prince Kent is no longer being recruited by Miami. After his national exposure (and burn) as CB, on national TV in January, it's not a shock, despite the fact that he was set to be a safety. More news as we get it.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

End of the Week Update

2009-08-28T09:22:00.002-04:00

Canes practiced again in the early morning.

Reports are that AJ threw for 3 long TDs, two of them to Hankerson. Players seem impressed with AJ's work ethic and how quickly he's picking up the offense. It is said that he's a tireless worker and is always studying film.

It is also reported that Pipho is solidified in the RT starting position.

Of the other players who impressed in today's practice were Collier and Thompkins. We should expect Collier to be the primary receiver out of the slot, but for Thompkins to push him a lot. Not much has been mentioned of Davon Johnson this year, and it is rumored that he might redshirt.

We'll give you more news as the day progresses if any news pops up.

As always thanks for reading and Go Canes!

5:45am practice and some recruiting news...

2009-08-27T12:24:00.001-04:00

The Canes continue to practice early due to the nasty weather we sometimes get down here in the afternoon. Players say they enjoy the practice in the early morning because it gives them time during the rest of the day to recover and rest up any nicks they get. Leonard Hankerson practiced with a green non contact jersey on and Eric Moncur still seems to be taking it slow. Another player sideline with an apparent knee injury was Dyron Dye. Coach Shannon of course said he is just "very sore".

A little tidbit on Tuesday nights scrimmage; defense dominated most of it causing a total of four turnovers, one interception and three fumbles. The one bright spot on the offense was Lee Chambers. He was the only offensive player to score a td from the information we received.

In a little recruiting news, TE Alex Smith, a Cincinnati commt has stated he is very interested in visiting Miami and had scheduled a visit. Smith did not mention what day he would visit, but does mention that he is considering Miami hard because of there ability to put players and a lot of TE's in the NFL. We will see how that plays out.

More information later on, so stay tuned.

GO CANES!!!
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Update on the QB Transfer

2009-08-25T18:31:00.001-04:00

Have to keep most of what we've heard/read private for now since 1) We don't want to give out wrong info. and 2) We just aren't sure what the truth is.

Everything we've heard is that Highsmith was getting a bunch of reps in practice recently as the #2 QB. It is likely Cook saw the handwriting on the wall and asked for his release after discussing this with Coach Whipple. Right now Jake Byrnes and Matt Perellie are slated ot be our #3 and #4 QBs.

If we get any more information on this we'll let you know.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Breaking News!!!

2009-08-25T14:43:00.001-04:00

QB Cannon Smith has asked for his release from the team. He knew he was not going to be able to get on the field here at Miami. He says he already has some offers from different D-1 schools. We wish Cannon the best of luck and hopefully he can find a place that will give him an opportunity to start.

In more shocking news. Right after news was out that Smith had asked for his release, it also came out that projected #2 QB Taylor Cook had also asked for his release and it was granted. This came as a big surprise to everyone. There was rumblings that true freshman AJ Highsmith was recently getting most of the reps with the 2's. It appears Cook may have seen some writing on the wall and decided to take his game somewhere else.

This now leaves Miami with only 2 scholarship QB's, Jacory Harris and true freshman AJ Highsmith...

More news as we receive it later. Stay tuned

GO CANES!!!
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Mondays practice news....

2009-08-25T00:33:00.003-04:00

Today it was all about defense. The defense had a couple forced fumbles to go along with two interceptions and a couple sacks.
But the offense had a few nice plays of its own with Aldarius Johnson and Laron Byrd each scoring on pass plays and Javarris James and Graig Cooper on some nice runs. All in all it was a decent practice today. With some of the 1st teamers nicked up or taking the so-called "day off" some of our other guys lower on the depth chart were able to step up and make some plays. Some guys that stood out in today's practice were Jeremy Lewis putting pressure on the QB's. Tyler Horn seems to be coming along real well and seems like a suitable backup to AJ Trump. Horn got the majority of reps with the 1st teamers today as AJ is one of those guys with the day off.

In an injury update, FB Pat Hill was out of his boot and practicing with the team today. He should be fine.

Moncur continues to work on the side waiting on results from his groin injury.

Tuesday the Canes will hold their third scrimmage. Of course it will be closed to everyone, so we won't have any information until Thursday when they return to practice at the earliest.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow

GO CANES!!!

Weekend Wrap Up, Injuries, and More

2009-08-24T00:38:00.002-04:00

First, to wrap up the end of the week practices and weekend scrimmage. This week featured a lot of players being held out, which allowed a lot of our younger players, such as Lamar Miller and Mike James, to see time. Also, Jimmy Graham has seen some extended work at TE and is getting the playbook down, bit by bit. He's learning how to run with the football better, while improving on his blocking technique. We expect his contributions to help us out in a big way this year.

The weekend scrimmage featured a fast start by the offense, with a storng answer from the defense. The offense was carried by Lee Chambers, who ran extremely well and expects to contribute a lot more this season, especially after his good performance in the dissapointing loss to Cal in the Emerald Bowl.

Defensively, Ray Ray Armstong and Chavez Grant, who got some work at Safety, both recorded interceptions. Olivier Vernon also played well and is expected to contribute a lot this year.

Second, there are some more injuries. We mentioned last week how Ojomo was knocked out by a cheap shot to the jaw. The player who did it was a walk on from Norland, and has been reportedly kicked off the team. DE Eric MOncu went to Philadelphia last week to check into a supposed groin problem. Tests were done and we are still waiting on word, although Shannon said that he will ebgin conditioning this week. That should put his availability for the FSU game in question and probably puts his return at GTech.

Pat Hill, FB, is also injured and has his foot in a boost with an ankle sprain. Also, Trump seems to have tweaked his left knee and has it wrapped up. Lamar Mllerand a few othes were also held out with injuries.

We'll keep you up to date tomorrow with a practice update and recruiting news. Now that the season is officially 2 weeks away, we'll have our blog littered with as much information as possible.

As always thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Scrimmage news, TyCo picks Canes & injury update....

2009-08-19T00:05:00.004-04:00

Some promising news coming out of what was a very secretive scrimmage on Saturday. Leonard Hankerson continues to impress. First play of the scrimmage on the wet rainy field was a 70 yard touchdown pass from Jacory Harris to Hankerson. Seems like Hank took a short pass, shook off a defender and beat everyone to the end zone. Hankerson once again scored on a 20 yard pass play. Apparently he had a chance of scoring a third touchdown, but dropped the ball in the end zone. I wouldn't worry too much about the drop, but I don't think they will give him a long leash, considering how well all the other wideouts are performing. Other players to standout and score touchdowns were Tommy Streeter on a long pass from freshman A.J. Highsmith and a short scramble into the end zone by Taylor Cook. The rb's did not score today, but made some nice plays. Javarris James had the longest run of the scrimmage and Lamar Miller looked sharp with some nice runs as well.

Offense wasn't the only side making plays. The defense had 5 turnovers, 3 of the interception variety and 2 fumbles. Interceptions were made by Randy Phillips, Chavez Grant and Jared Campbell. Freshman DE Dyron Dye had one of the 2 fumbles created by the defense.

Other defensive players who stood out in Saturdays scrimmage were Jordan Futch, Sean Spence, Allen Bailey, Ryan Hill and Vaughn Telemaque.

In recruiting news, we had commented a bit ago about LB Tyrone Cornelius and his decision to make an announcement as to where he was deciding on playing his college ball, but that never happened. Cornelius had decided to weigh his options and really think it through. He finally made his decision and chose the Canes yesterday. He chose Miami over Georgia Tech, South Carolina and Tennessee. The Canes are recruiting Cornelius as an OLB, but at approximately 6'0 189 lbs, he could make the switch to S. We are very happy to have a player of his caliber on board. Welcome to the U TyCo!!!

I won't go into too much detail as the story is still a bit sketchy. Adewale Ojomo is in jeopardy of missing the entire season with a broken jaw. Ojomo suffered injury with what is rumored to be an off the field incident in the locker room. At first Coach Shannon mentioned that he was "horsing around" in the locker room, but it was no big deal. Of course, what else could we expect to hear from Shannon. It later came out that Ojomo might have been sucker punched and broke his jaw in 2 places. Rumor has it, that it was done by a relatively new walk-on. Ojomo had surgery today and has his jaw wired shut for 5 weeks. We wont go into more detail than that, because we do not have clear cut information and we do not want to speculate any further.

Other injury news...Graig Cooper is in a boot to protect what seems to be a slight ankle sprain. He is day to day and should be ready for the September 7th showdown with the Noles. Olivier Vernon also has a slight ankle sprain, but is already starting to practice again.

Only 19 days away till opening day ladies and gentlemen. We will continue to give you more info in the coming days. We will also be letting everyone know where we will be hosting a watch party for the FSU-Miami game for those who will not be making the trip to Tally this yr. Stay tuned, We can't wait!!!!

GO CANES!!!!!

First Week of Practice, Lots of News

2009-08-14T23:15:00.004-04:00

Hello to all, sorry for our absence but we had some medical issues come up and keep us from being able to post blog entries, but we have read a lot about practice.

First part of bussines is the Tight end. About 6 months ago we were worried that we didn't have enough depth. Right now, those fears seem to be placated, at least a bit.
Jimmy Graham has scored multiple touchdowns, made impressive catches, and is learning the playbook day by day. We think that if we keep his workload limited he could aptly spell Epps and provide more consistency than Gordon.

The QBs spot seems fine, with Harris, Cook and Smith rounding out the top 3 and Highsmith bringing in some extra depth and athleticism. Far cry from Kirby and Kyle, huh?

RBs have played very well. Both Lamar Miller and Mike James have impressed and broken free for long runs, especially Miller. Veterans on the team are impressed with just how fast he is and his vision.

The WRs are rotating and we are able to give some of our top targets a day off. Tommy Streeter has impressed, with several touchdown catches.Kendall Thompkins is also impressing (he's our sleeper to make a BIG impact this year) along with the other usual suspects i.e. Byrd, Johnson, Benjamin and Collier.

The offensive line is solidified and Brandon Washington seems to the #1 backup off of the bench. Also expect Harland Gunn to get some minutes of PT.

Defensively, the line has been stout this year. Everyone along the line has recorded sacks, with one day each member on the line recording a sack. It is going to be out strength on this team.

The linebackers have also practiced well. It looks like the starters may end up being a rotation of Mccarthy, Spence and Sharpton, although we hear Ramon Buchanan has been practicing extremely well and we expect him to supplant Sharpton for the starting rotation.

Amongst the DBs, Brandon Harris has been practicing very strong and should be our top CB going into the season. Freshman Brandon McGee has also had a few INTS and will definitely contribute this season.

Coming sometime in the next 2-3 days we'll discuss the special teams in depth, as well as providing daily practice updates (or to the best of our ability based on information available).

As always, thanks for reading and Go Canes! We'll be picking up our pace here as kickoff is 23 days away and hope to have a few events planned for our upcoming home tailgates. Have a great weekend everyone.

Practice starts Saturday...are we back on the map?

2009-08-06T10:29:00.003-04:00

With the anticipation of the start of practice, many Canes fans are anxious to see what the team is bringing to the table this year. Although I don't expect that we will see anything flashy for this Saturday's open practice (open only to season ticket holder's), we are looking forward to seeing new and fresh faces. As excited as the fans are to go out there and watch, I don't think anyone is more excited and ready to be out there than those players are. All reports indicate that they are more ready than ever to go out and show the college football world that Miami is back on the map!

Even though the Cane Nation has fallen on some hard times recently, we will stick together no matter what anyone on the outside says or predicts. Expectations are always high for us because we are and always will be THE U! Cane Nation will live on and The University of Miami will rise again!

Life just isn't the same without college football and college football is nothing without Miami!

GO CANES!!!

Stephen Morris commits! Do we have a transfer?

2009-08-03T11:36:00.001-04:00

Excuse us for the delay on this information. Recently the Canes received what is said to be their only QB commit this year. QB Stephen Morris out of Pace High School down in Miami pulled the trigger and committed. Morris is rated the #27 dual threat QB in the country but I think that will change as his season is set to start soon. He is a 3 star right now. Look for the 6'3 190lbs QB to earn his 4th star soon.

Darrell Givens, a one top highly recruited Miami prospect is now looking for a school again. In reality he is not considered a tansfer but if sure feels like. Givens a 4 star DB prospect was committed to Ohio State before switching his committment to Penn State. But that never happened either. Givens was denied acceptance into the school. Penn State asked Givens to go the JUCO route and to reapply and come back next year. He has decided that is not what he wants to do. He wants to play right away somewhere and apparently Miami is his top choice. After having us in his top 3 last year, Miami is now what seems to be his top choice along with UF as a close second. He has submitted his application to both schools and is awaiting a decision from the schools to see where he will mostly likely end up. Question I have is will Coach Shannon accept him in? Well with the shortage of quality CB's I think its a no brainer, who knows. We'll keep you posted on what happens with this one.

GO CANES!!!

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Some Recruiting News and Canesfest

2009-07-30T22:24:00.002-04:00

First, to recruiting. Allen Hurns, WR out of Carol City visited Miami today. Although he didn't commit as many speculated that he would, he did place us as his sole leader.

Canesfest was this past weekend at Landshark stadium. It was a very open and friendly environment allowing the players to walk around and mingle amongst the fans. The day included Randy Shannon addressing the fans, dunk tanks with the players, and an appearance by good 'ole Sebastian the Ibis.

One minor celebrity made an appearance in Bryce Brown, who came in support of his brother Arthur (although he wore his Tenn. shorts and key chain).

All the players made an apperance, but amongst the most impressive are the usual suspects i.e. Miami vice (Vaughn) Jacory (who is noticebaly bigger and the confidence drips off of him) and Bailey (he terrorizes villages in his spare time. He's that big!).

Remember fall practice is slated to begin, so we'll be bringing you updates with that. Also, since our first Saturday tailgate of the year isn't occurring until the Oklahoma game, we are planning a big event/tailgate with a few friends. We are in the process of trying to procure a pass for kegs and setting up a Beer Olympics type event.

We have plenty of more to come now, a few surprises on the blog as well, and activity will be picking up with breakdowns, predictions, starting lineup analysis, and so forth.

As always, thanks for reading and Go Canes!

A Little This... A Lot of That

2009-07-26T14:16:00.002-04:00

Been busy this week, with Canesfest and all. We'll have a Canesfest recap this week.

For now we'll discuss some recruiting.

Friday Night Lights was thsi weekend at UF. Carol City's (Miami) WR Allen Hurns was said to be the second best receiver there, after Chris Dunkley. Hurns is considered a strong Miami lean and Dunkley is considered a strong Florida lean.

Also, T. Glenn was kicked out for throwing up the U at the camp. Interesting to say the least, huh?

Additionally it seems as if Miami has offered Tevin Drake. If he accepts, that would mean Miami's class is all but wrapped up and we might try to find a spot for Gore to come in (maybe on Daniel Adderley's ship since he's no longer here). Here's a link to his game film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsRHPKstnbc&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allabouttheu.yuku.com%2Ftopic%2F4732%2Ft%2FMiami-offers-Florida-Rb-may-get-a-commit-soon.html&feature=player_embedded

One more piece of info, it seems as if 6'3 180lb Miami Monsignor Pace QB Stephen Morris has a UM offer and might be committing to us soon.

We'll keep you updated and we have a lot of breakdowns on positions and starting 2 deeps coming now within the next month, as well as practice reports.

As always thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Canes pick up 2 more commits!!!

2009-07-23T01:20:00.004-04:00

Tha Canes landed yet another 2 commits. South Lake Carroll DB Kacy Rodgers and Glades Central TE Clive Walford. Rodgers, who's father is the Defensive Line coach for the Miami Dolphins, has been the topic of much discussion. Apparently, he was turned away by Georgia and UF and then came to us. Basically there was no room for him a la Jakhari Gore. Either way he chose Miami in the end. I see a lot of potential in this kid. At 6'2 186 lbs, he has the prototypical body to become a big physical shutdown corner. He runs at about 4.45 right now and if he can maintain that speed, he has a great chance of becoming that shutdown corner he says he wants to be. Rodger's will be down in Miami in approximately 2-3 weeks to visit his father and the campus. He seems to be a solid 100% commit. Lets hope no other SEC school comes calling and it stays that way. Rodgers had offers from the likes of Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Oklahome State just to name a few. Welcome to the Cane family!

Our second commit is 6'6 225lbs TE Clive Walford out of Glade Central. Walford is relatively new to the game of football, but coming from the court to the field has been an easy transition for him. At 6'6 225 lbs and running a 4.6 forty, he could turn out to be a decent TE. Walford did leave football left football a few yrs back stating that he had lost the love for the game, but regained shortly after and is now 100% committed to the game. Hopefully that's not a problem down the road. At those measurable, he has great upside, but he is a bit raw and will need to work on his technique and overall football knowledge before he can begin making an impact on the field for the Canes. Walford had offers from West Virginia, Rutgers, USF, FIU, Indiana and Purdue. Welcome to the U!!

CANESFEST is this weekend July 25th at Land Shark Stadium from 12-2pm. We will be out there enjoying the first time the public gets to see the whole team together for the first time. Its a good time and something nice to experience, so head on down there.

Tune in as we will be letting everyone know what the plans are for those staying home on Labor Day and not heading up to Tally for the game. Coming soon!!!

GO CANES!!!

Buxton commits...Gore turned down?

2009-07-19T01:15:00.002-04:00

The Canes landed another commit today in Pahokee DB Raheam Buxton. Sources say that Buxton committed to coaches July 13th, but wanted to keep it secret until today. Although some may say he might be a reach, Buxton seems to have the skills to be a productive player in college. Buxton's stands at 6'0 180 lbs and projects at either safety or cornerback. What will determine that is his speed. If he can get that forty time down to a 4.5 he could very well be a solid corner. Buxton is an early entry as he will be graduating early and enrolling in the spring semester. He chose Miami over Southern Miss and Central Michigan. Buxton has a family connection to UM as well. Former RB James Jackson is Buxton's cousin, so that also was a slight factor in his decision.

In other news; I wont go to deep into it, but in a nutshell, Columbus Running Back and cousin of former Hurricane Frank Gore, Jakahri Gore was apparently turned down yesterday as he was ready to make his commitment to the Canes. Some stories speculate that he never really tried to commit and others say he was told to give the coaching staff a couple of days to see if they can make some room for him. Apparently they were full and were not taking anymore backs. I think its they believe they have bigger fish to fry and have some Running Backs rated higher than him and didn't want to "waste" the schollie on him. Others say he has had an offer since September 2008, when coaches were first allowed to offer Juniors. We will keep you posted to see what the outcome is with this.

GO CANES!!!

Allen Hurns top 2 and Tampa QB gets offer...

2009-07-17T02:59:00.002-04:00

6'2 175 lbs WR Allen Hurns now has Miami in his top 2 along with UCF. I think the leverage we have is that he is close buddies with a few guys on the team now, Jacory Harris, Sean Spence and Tommy Streeter. All seem to be telling him to get down here...More information on Hurns coming up.

Tampa Hillsborough QB Tarean Austin just received a Cane offer as well. Austin is believed to be a strong armed QB, standing 6'2 205LBS... Austin has been quoted as saying that the Canes are the team he has followed and rooted for since he was young. Also more info on him coming soon.

Thank you,

GO CANES!!!

Jeff Luc interview, Stephen Morris gets an offer and more...

2009-07-17T02:29:00.002-04:00

So i just recently finished watching the interview with LB Jeff Luc. What were my thoughts you asked? Glad you did. Kind of sounds like he has someone in mind already. When the interviewer asked him if FSU was the school to beat, he sort of ignored the question and did not hesitate and kept going with the interview. I have a feeling he enjoys it down here a lot and the only thing holding him back is the ol' lady. When he was asked what schools he has visited and are on his mind, first team he mentioned was Miami. All good things if you ask me, but who knows. Currently he says he is bench pressing 365lbs and squatting "whatever coach racks up for me". Luc, at 6'1 240lbs is a physical specimen...ok he is a freak! Adding Luc would be a tremendous addition. We'll see how this plays out...Interview courtesy of Rivals:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/video/recruiting-football/amp-one-on-one-with-jeff-luc-51705
:

In other news, Monsignor Pace High School QB Stephen Morris has received an offer from the Canes. I believe Coach Whipple gave him the news and let him know Coach Shannon would send him the offer as soon as he got back in town. Morris at 6'2 186lbs, has decent size for a QB. Ranked among the top dual-threat QB's in the nation, Morris has offers from the likes of Virginia, Purdue, UCF and UCONN. Morris has set up an unofficial visit for the 27th or 28th. He still has a few more visits left before he will decide (UCF and UF). Is this the QB Miami will get, as they have missed with a few already.

Late news out of Belle Glades is that TE Clive Walford will be coming in for an unofficial on Monday and clearly said there is a possibility that he will commit on the spot if he enjoys his visit. Previously he had UM and FIU in a close race, but now says Miami has the advantage. At 6'6 225lbs and 4.6 speed, Walford could be a good pickup for next yrs class. Walford still seems to be a bit raw, but with upside.

No Commitment Yet

2009-07-11T16:39:00.001-04:00

Seems as if Cornelius put off the commitment until later today, if not further. We are thinking he commits to home town G-tech, but it really does appear as if he is torn. We'll keep you updated and let you knwo what happens once he makes a decision.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

LB Cornelius committing tonight! Dunkley visits...

2009-07-10T16:33:00.004-04:00

3 star LB Tyrone Cornelius of Stone Mountain (GA) Stephenson High School will be deciding as early as tonight if not sometime tomorrow where he will be attending college next yr. Cornelius will be choosing between Georgia Tech and our hometown Canes!

Stay tuned, as we will have a breakdown later tonight of Cornelius and his decision if he does commit this evening.

In other news WR Chris Dunkley of Pahokee High visited the Canes this past week on Wednesday. He didn't sound too excited about the way it went. I don't expect him to have us atop his list... Some say he is a Gator lock, but look for FSU AND UGA to make a push for the speedy wideout...

We will be back tonight...

GO CANES!!!

Early Look at 2011 Stars

2009-07-06T18:03:00.001-04:00

Something we gott off of Tharinger.com. Just thought we'd toss them out there for your general knowledge in case you'd like to catch any of these kid's games this year (and if so, let us know, we plan on attending as many as possible). Thanks for reading and as always, Go Canes!

2011 Top 50 College Football Recruits(Early Edition)
Update Compiled by ThaRinger.Com staff

#1. Teddy Bridgewater/ATH/6'3",175/Miami(FL)
- Bridgewater will play WR in college most likely if he doesn't go into pro baseball.
Early Schools:FSU,UF,Miami,UGA
Film

#2. Kasen Williams/WR/6'1",196/Sammamish(WA)
- The favorite WR of '10 QB recruit Jake Heaps. Can do it all. Ready to start the second he steps on campus.
Early Schools:Notre Dame,USC,Washington,Oregon,UCLA
Film

#3. Everett Golson/QB/6'0",170/Myrtle Beach(SC)
- Born to be a leader. Only question is his size.
Early Schools:UF,South Carolina,Clemson,VT,UNC,Ohio State,Tennessee
Film

#4. George Farmer/WR/6'2",192/Garden(CA)
- The size and speed(4.4) of an elite WR. Should be quite the battle between UCLA and USC for this amazing talent.
Early Schools: UCLA, USC
Film

#5. Aaron Green/RB/5'11",181/San Antonio(TX)
- Elusive, amazing burst, instinctive feet. Maybe the best player for '11 in Texas.
Early Schools:Texas Tech,Texas,USC,UGA,Nebraska,Oklahoma
Film

#6. Karlos Williams/ATH/6'0",185/Davenport(FL)
- Williams is an amazing talent w/ the mental tools that can make an athlete special. Most likely a DB in college.
Early Schools:FSU,LSU,UGA,UF
Film

#7. Braxton Miller/ATH/6'2",185/Huber Heights(OH)
- This extremely talented athlete can play a number of positions in college including QB. Looks like Ohio State all the way.
Early Schools:Ohio State,Illinois,Michigan,Michigan State
Film

#8. Jermauria Rasco/DE/6'3",230/Shreveport(LA)
- Amazing first step off the edge. Will be a force wherever he ends up.
Early Schools:LSU,UCLA,Texas,Texas A&M

#9. Kenny Hilliard/RB/6'0",210/Patterson(LA)
- Most years a no brainer #1 player in Louisiana. Dynamic feet and vision.
Early Schools:UF,LSU,Texas,Texas A&M,Tennessee

#10. Adonis Ameen Moore/RB/5'10",215/Denver(CO)
- Thick in between the tackles. Will break arm tackles w/ ease.
Early Schools:Colorado,USC,UCLA,Utah,Alabama

#11. C.J. Uzomah/ATH/6'5",210/Suwannee(GA)
Early Schools:UGA,LSU,Clemson,Auburn,Alabama

#12. Antoine Arnold/WR/6'3",175/Temecula(CA)
Early Schools:UCLA,USC,Oregon,Stanford

#13. Justin Worley/QB/6'4",180/Rock Hill(SC)
- MaxPreps Sophomore of the Year.
Early Schools:Clemson,South Carolina,UNC
Film

#14. Leroy Scott/DB/5'10",190/Houston(TX)
Early Schools:Texas,LSU,UCLA,USC

#15. Jay Rome/TE/6'6",225/Valdosta(GA)
Early Schools:FSU,UGA,UF,Clemson

#16. Savon Huggins/RB/6'0",190/Jersey City(NJ)
Early Schools:Rutgers,Oklahoma,UF

#17. Landon Turner/OL/6'5",335/Harrisonburg(VA)
- HUGE OL prospect that will make your ground game go.
Early Schools:Bama,UNC,UVA,VT

#18. DeAnthony Arnett/WR/6'0",170/Saginaw(MI)
Early Schools: Michigan, Michigan State,Iowa,Oregon,Penn State

#19. Christian Westerman/OL/6'5",285/Chandler(AZ)
Early Schools:ASU,Arizona,UCLA,USC,UF,Texas,Ohio State,Notre Dame

#20. Antonio Richardson/OL/6'6",315/Nashville(TN)
Early Schools:Tennessee,Bama,Michigan,Vandy

#21. Marcus Hutchins/OL/6'5",265/Desoto(TX)
Early Schools:Texas,UCLA,Texas A&M

#22. Viliami Moala/DT/6'3",300/Sacramento(CA)
Early Schools:USC,UCLA

#23. Harvey Langi/RB/6'1",205/South Jordon(UT)
Early Schools:Utah,UF,USC,BYU,Oregon
Film

#24. Jarvis Landry/WR/6'0",180/Convent(LA)
Early Schools:LSU,Texas,Auburn,Oklahoma
Film

#25. Deon Lee/DE/6'4",210/Defuniak Springs(FL)
- Under the radar STUD DE prospect from Florida. Will see his name all over the place in due time.
Early Schools:FSU,UF,USF,UCF,Miami
Film

#26. Demetrius Dean/WR/6'3",225/Fayetville(AR)
- HUGE WR prospect that will be going to Arkansas most likely w/ his teammate Brandon Allen.
Committed to Arkansas

#27. Malcolm Brown/RB/6'0",205/Cibolo(TX)
Early Schools:Texas,Oklahoma,UGA,TCU

#28. Garrett Gladd/OL/6'4",280/Sallisaw(OK)
Early Schools:Oklahoma State,Oklahoma,TCU,Kansas,Texas

#29. A.J. Johnson/LB/6'3",220/Gainesville(GA)
Early Schools:UGA,Tennessee,Alabama
Film

#30. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu/ATH/5'10",175/Chino(CA)
Early Schools:UCLA,USC,Arizona,Oregon,Cal

#31. Charon Peake/WR/6'3",185/Roebuck(SC)
Early Schools:Maryland,UGA,Clemson,FSU,UNC,South Carolina

#32. Jabriel Washington/ATH/6'1",165/Jackson(TN)
Early Schools:Tennessee,Ole Miss,Bama,UGA,LSU
Film

#33. LaMichael Fanning/OL/6'6",270/Hogansville(GA)
Early Schools:UGA,Bama,Clemson,UNC,Georgia Tech

#34. Artaves Gibson/RB/6'2",210/Memphis(TN)
Early Schools:Tennessee,Alabama,Auburn,Ole Miss

#35. Ryan Ena/ATH/6'5",240/Oceanside(CA)
Early Schools:UCLA,Stanford,ASU,USC

#36. Jalen Grimble/DE/6'3",250/Las Vegas(NV)
Early Schools:USC,Oklahoma,Colorado,UNLV,Oregon State,UCLA,Oregon,UF,LSU

#37. Davaris Daniels/WR/6'3",175/Vernon Hills(IL)
Early Schools:Illinois,Wisconsin,Notre Dame,UF,Ohio State
Film

#38. Shannon Brown/LB/6'3",225/Adel(GA)
Early Schools:UGA,Clemson,Ga.Tech,Alabama,FSU

#39. Dominique Terrell/ATH/5'11",175/Manassas(VA)
Early Schools:UVA,Va.Tech,WVU,UNC,South Carolina,NC State

#40. Angelo Mangiro/OL/6'4",295/Succasunna(NJ)
Early Schools:Rutgers,Maryland,Notre Dame,Michigan,Boston College,Uconn

#41. Denzel Perryman/LB/6'0",200/Coral Gables(FL)
Early Schools:UF,Miami,FSU,Rutgers

#42. Shaman Richardson/DT/6'0",265/Citra(FL)
Early Schools:UF,Miami,FSU,UGA,LSU

#43. Devrin Young/ATH/5'8",150/Knoxville(TN)
Early Schools:Tennessee,UCLA,Oregon,Michigan,Notre Dame
Film Film

#44. Terrell Chestnut/DB/6'0",165/Pottsgrove(PA)
Early Schools:Pitt,Penn State,Michigan,Boston College
Film

#45. Beau Fitte/LB/6'1",210/Port Sulphur(LA)
Early Schools:LSU,Bama,UNC,Ole Miss

#46. Mark Bridges/DB/6'0",193/Matthews(NC)
Early Schools:UNC,FSU,Clemson,Miami,Va.Tech, UCLA, Florida, Wake Forest, Oregon

#47. Javares McRoy/WR/5'9",170/Lakeland(FL)
Early Schools:UF,FSU,USF,WVU,Michigan
Film

#48. Arrington Jenkins/LB/6'2",215/Miami(FL)
Early Leaders:Miami

#49. Quandre Diggs/DB/5'9",175/Angleton(TX)
Early Schools:Texas,LSU,Oklahoma,Arizona

#50. Samuel Harvill/DT/6'1",250/Springdale(AR)
Early Schools:Arkansas,Auburn,Oklahoma
Film

Joe Wylie Granted Release

2009-07-01T23:05:00.002-04:00

As was rumored a few weeks ago and throughout the season, it seems as if it finally came to fruition. We told you about this a few weeks ago and it's finally cemented in. He's transfering to Tenn. State. We wish him the best of luck and hope he does well in his new home.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Canes Land Commitment

2009-07-01T14:54:00.002-04:00

We couldn't release this last night since we didn't want to get sued, but since it's public knowledge now we can tell you that canes have landed a Commitment from Gainesville resident, MLB Kevin Nelson. He's 6'1, 220lbs and runs a 4.65lb forty. He also had an offer from Florida. No public film, e.g. youtube, on him yet, but when we find it we'll link it up. The kid is a tackling machine at MLB and rumors are ciculating that Devonta' Davis CB out of Gainseville as well, his godbrother, is heaviliy interested in Miami as well.

As always thanks for reading and Go Canes!

2 Canes being held up by Clearinghouse!

2009-06-28T22:04:00.002-04:00

2 guys the Canes were really looking at to add depth to positions of need are now more than likely headed the JUCO route. OL Malcolm Bunche has been told now by the NCAA Clearinghouse that some classes he did real well on did now count towards his core GPA. Basically what this means is that his core GPA and SAT/ACT scores do not qualify him for entry into Miami. He is now making plans if he cannot get this resolved in time to attend Milford Prep. He said everyone at Miami has been amazing with this whole situation and he looks forward to re-entering Miami in January.

The other player having a hard time is S/CB Prince Kent. He is also looking at Prep school as an option.

June 30th is the date that Freshmen must report for the second Summer session.

We will keep you posted for any further information.

GO CANES!!!!

Video of Randy Shannon Football Camp

2009-06-28T17:29:00.002-04:00

Thought we pass along this link so yo ucan take a look at what normally occurs during these football camps. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

http://www.gridironstuds.com/blog/randy-shannon-football-camp-video/

Quick Recruiting News

2009-06-26T21:33:00.002-04:00

Alec Ogletree, safety but projected linebacker out of Georgia, has committed to the homestate Georgia Bulldogs. That's one less option for Miami's last 3-4 linebacker spots. We'll keep you posted.

As always thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Possible Commitments and an Offer

2009-06-25T21:09:00.002-04:00

First, rumors have been swirling the past 24 hours about Javarie Johnson, out of Washington D.C. He has been rumored to have Miami up to and wants to commit after attending the camp recently. He's a 6'4, 210 lb LB who might get moved up to DE. He's a great pickup for the Canes and we expect him to RS this year, especially if he does get moved to DE. No video on him yet, but when we do, like the others, we'll post them. Videos are going to be hard to get until October-Nov.

Also, Miami offered WR Allen Hurns in that same camp. He's a 6'2, 170 lb. wide receiver out of Carol City. If he does commit, I'd imagine that leaves 2 spots, at most, for Michaellee Harris, Ivan Mccartney, and Willis Wright (who is being recruited at safety)to battle for. We don't think Dunbar will end up signing here, nor do the coaches have him at the top of their list. Here's his video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tizZjTNkRJw&feature=PlayList&p=461436A0CCF4F006&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tizZjTNkRJw&feature=PlayList&p=265DEDD791E36D95&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=9

Recruiting News

2009-06-19T21:59:00.002-04:00

Michael Taylor, out of Atlanta, Ga. might be close to committing. He's 6'1, 205 lbs., outside linebacker that runs a 4.5 forty. He lists offers from such schools as Alabama, Georgia, Georgia Tech., Ole Miss, Tennessee, Virginia Tech., West Virginia, and others. Rumors are that Georgia has cooled on him recently and that he is a very heavy Miami lean. He adds to the list of impressive players we have been recruiting from Georgia. Seems as if the coaches on this staff have liked what they have seen there since recruiting Allen Bailey and others.

We'll link some film for him on a separate installment when we can get some that isn't proteccted by copyright.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Rumors About Joe Wylie

2009-06-15T19:04:00.002-04:00

Rumors have been on and off about him for the past 6-7 months or so and it seems as if today the rumor mill has begun again. This time they say taht he has transferred to Tenn.- Martin. We'll keep you up to date as we find out more.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

A Bit Late, But Another Commitment, Camp News and More

2009-06-13T01:51:00.003-04:00

Sorry for being late on this as we've been busy, as is our coaching staff this weekend.

First, to the commitment. His name is Maurice Hagens. He's here to be a fullback. 6-foot-1 Hagens weighed 238 pounds his junior season. He's close friends with Todd Chandler and is coming on board to help pave the way for our RBs. He has a veyr low center of gravity and has strong, thick, powerful legs that every FB needs.

Next is to the camp. We have a camp going on at the University of Miami campus this weekend and we have a bunch of big names. One of the names we are hearing that may commit is Sean Tapley, 3 star WR out of South Carolina committed to South Carolina. This is purely rumor mill and speculation, but he is VERY interested in Miami.

Also, Glenn Cook was drafted by the MLB. He hasn't played since HS, if we recall correctly. He went in the 46th round to the Cubs. Best of luck to him

We'll keep you updated with any information regarding commitments and the camps as the weekend progresses.

Thanks for reading and as always, Go Canes!

Belle Glades TE Lands Offer

2009-06-11T15:37:00.002-04:00

Clive Walford, 6-6, 225 lbs TE has landed a UM offer. We'll link a video the second we can find one. Right now his only offers besides Miami is FIU and Purdue, and FAU might be offering soon as well. Miami is his number 1. We can say his body is prototype for a TE on the next level, but he might grow into a tackle. We'll try to catch some of his games this year, possibly during the Much Bowl.

Miami Lands Commitment

2009-06-10T17:45:00.002-04:00

Running back Darion Hall out of Naples Lely HS has committed. He's 6'1, 205 lbs., and runs a 4.4. forty. He's a very underreated prospect and along with Wright is one of the best RBs in the southwest portion of the state. He's a very good pick up and that leaves us one more spot to fill up for RB this year. It's up for grabs between Gore, Clements, Gainer, and others and we'll see how UM coaches deem appropriate to receive that offer. Here's his film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1lbZhwCo9s

On The Recruiting Trail

2009-06-05T18:23:00.002-04:00

Two quick mentions of players we've offered.

First is Tyrone Cornileus. He's a 6'2, 195.lbs, with a 4.4 in the 40. He's a linebacker out of Stone Mountain, Georgia, not too far from Atlanta. He's visiting Miami this month for a camp and is looking to decide between Miami, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, UNC, BC and Michigan. He'll play the OLB spot for UM.

Second is QB Joe Brennan out of NJ. He's 6'4, 178 lbs and has offers from Miami, Pitt, Rutgers, and Wisconsin. We can't find his film on youtube, but from what we saw he's a tall kid with good mechanics, good footwork, and faster/more elusive than we expected.

We'll keep you up to date with them.

As always, thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Nationally Televised Games

2009-06-04T19:12:00.002-04:00

FSU Labor Day night as expected on ESPN 7:00PM

Georgia Tech at UM will be aired 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17 on ESPN.

And UM's Oct. 17 game at Central Florida will be aired at 7:30 p.m. by CBS College Sports.

Oklahoma and V-tech will be aired nationally as well, but the channel is undetermined. (V-tech most likely on ESPN, Oklahoma most likely ABC).

Fall Practice Dates

2009-06-02T19:56:00.001-04:00

We've gotten our hands on when Fall Practice Begins. For us, we report on August 6th, begin practice on August 7th. Here's the list for the resdt of the ACC.

aug. 7th

School First reporting date First practice
Boston College ............. Aug. 9 ................... Aug. 10
Clemson ...................... Aug. 3 ................... Aug. 4
Duke ........................... Aug. 5 ................... Aug. 6
Florida State ................. Aug. 6 ................... Aug. 7
Georgia Tech ................. Aug. 2 ................... Aug. 3
Maryland ...................... Aug. 9 ................... Aug. 10
Miami ........................... Aug. 7 ................... Aug. 8
North Carolina ............... Aug. 6 ................... Aug. 7
NC State ....................... Aug. 2 ................... Aug. 3
Virginia ......................... Aug. 6 ................... Aug. 7
Virginia Tech ................. Aug. 5 .................. Aug. 6
Wake Forest .................. Aug. 6 ................... Aug. 7

As always, thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Summer Canesfest

2009-05-26T15:37:00.001-04:00

The date is set for July 25th at Dolphin Stadium. We'll keep you updated as the day approaches.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-25T15:54:00.002-04:00

From all of us at The CanesWire. We'll have some articles up this week about recruiting, specifically the relationshp between Booker T. Washington and UM, or lack thereof, and just how many spots we have and whether or not they are being filled.

God Bless this country and God Bless UM.

John Wall, Penn State, And Commitments

2009-05-19T18:09:00.012-04:00

It's official. John Wall to Kentucky. It's a shame, he would have made us a virtual lock for for a Sweet 16 appereance. It does speak volumes that we are making his final 2, but moral victories don't count for much.

Must look forward to next year, where we here that Ft. Lauderdale prospect and possible overall #1 Brandon Knight has UM at the top of his list.

CBs who we've offered are looking to commit soon. First is Tony Grimes. Rumor is he has UM high on his list and is looking to commit soon. Second, Cliff Coleman is looking to commit to his school of choice at the end of spring (which is at the end of this month). We'll keep you posted.

Finally, it looks like we have signed an agreement with Penn State to play them in 2016-2-17.

News Regarding John Wall

2009-05-16T00:32:00.002-04:00

He's the #1 overall player in the country. He's 6-4/184 lbs. and sources are that it's between Kentucky and Miami.

Rumors are that Miami had an outside shot, but now has jumped to the #1 spot. We'll find out soon enough, but just something for everyone that's left (those who didn't dissappear during our hiatus) to keep an eye out and we'll release full details when his commitment to whichever school he choose goes public.

ACC News and Recruiting

2009-05-15T15:14:00.004-04:00

Plenty of things to discuss, so let's get right to it.

First bit of business, ACC news. Some rule changes have been made and agreed to and other ideas are being pushed forward as well. Teams no longer have to wear white uniforms in game. Similar as sto how USC wore their base red and UCLA wore their base baby blue uniforms during the game last year, ACC teams can agree, in writing, to do the same. That doesn't mean our stormtrooper unis are dissappearing, it might actually give us more of an opportunity to wear them.

Also, the tackle box will no longer be an estimation, but will be defined as 5 yards from the center. This will affect possible intentional gorunding calls and maybe make it easier to get rid of the ball.

FInally, as long as the offense has 5 players on the offensive line, they can line up in any way, shape, or form they want without having to meet the requirement of at least 7 on the LOS.

Onto the second part, the recruiting. Several offers have been extended this week.

First offer to discuss is Tony Grimes. He's a 6ft, 166lb. CB that runs a 4.5 in the 40 out of Hollywood Hills. He lists offers form the likes of Ole Miss, OSU, Michigan, etc. but this Miami offer does appear to be the first offer from the Big 3 in Florida. He seems a bit upset that the Miami offer came a little later, but it doesn't seem as if it's anything we can't overcome. I think Miami will come at him hard from here on it and he should be ours to lose. He does tend to grab a bit too much and did run a 4.7 in San Antonio not too long ago, but I'm sure he'll, at worst, be a solid 3rd CB for UM. Should he sign here that is. Here's his film link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APOn3OgJzcs&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fallabouttheu.com%2Ftopic%2F5447&feature=player_embedded

Second offer is to Tyrone (GA) Sandy Creek High School safety Isaiah Johnson. He's 6'2, 175 lbs. and runs a 4.5 40. He lists offers from Georgia Tech, Georgia, Ole Miss and now Miami. We don't know much about him and are trying to get our hands on his film so we can give our own opinons, but just studying his size we would like to see him put on anothe 15 lbs or so before stepping foot onto campus.

Third offer is someone we've been hearing about since we recruited A.J. Highsmith last year. He happened to be his teammate and the icebreaking seems to be done as A.J. has given him a lot of info about UM. His name is Shaun Lewis linebacker out of Texas, who is listing offers from Oklahoma, LSU, Texas and Texas A&M amongst others.
His statistics for his junior year are 135 tackles, 24 for a loss, and nine sacks. He's 6'1, 200 lbs. and runs a 4.5 40. We can't get any film on him yet, but his size, although a bit small, could allow him to play MLB. He was an absolute terror on the field last year.

Our fourth recruit is CB Terrence Mitchell 5'10, 165 lbs. out of Tampa Hillsborough. He has offers from all of the Big 3. Miami has as good a shot as any at landing him. His childhood friend and current UM commitment, Todd Chandler, should help keep us in there until the end. Here's his film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYMsaqa1fZk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqVzRySwJ_g

Finally, it seems as if Miami has offered Boyd Anderson H.S., Ft. Lauderdale cornerback Cliff Coleman. He's 5'10, 170 lbs., sporting offers from FSU, Ole Miss and has Miami high on his list. No film on him either.

Friendly Summer Ball Reminder

2009-05-13T15:45:00.002-04:00

Freshman report on campus June 30th. We just wanted to remind, or inform, those who are interested in it and we'll have updates as to who is on campus and who isn't.

Recruiting News

2009-05-12T19:46:00.005-04:00

First off, we'll start with Booker T. Washington Offensive Lineman Jose Jose. He has apparently given his verbal commitment to Tennessee's new gestapo coaching staff. How does this affect Miami. Virtually nill, in our opinion. He's an overweight player (severely) and that type of offensive lineman has gotten us in trouble in the past. Now, don't be fooled. He could very well turn out to be a great player, but he is a project at best, and is a risk to take. Here's a few pics to prove our point.

Some will say that this is just the latest of teams to join FSU and UF in breaking down the Miami wall, but right now neither of them have, and considering Jose Jose is not someone who are staff was on top of and recruiting hard, it's difficult to believe we feel any sting. There are also rumors that Tenn. is recruiting him as a Dtackle, which we are pretty much near done with in recruiting new targets.

The troubling part is that this further leads to the current supposed disintegration between UM and Booker T. Washington, which we will discuss at great length in our next update.

The second piece of news is that it is rumored that Miami has offered and received a verbal commitment from Jeremy Davis. He's a Fort Meyers product that is listed at 5'10, 165 lbs and plays WR. He is also the younger brother of former Cane Phillip Buchanon. There are rumors that he will play CB on the next level though. Here is his film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sst40sYn0hk&feature=related

Recruiting Update

2009-05-01T02:24:00.003-04:00

Here's just a rudimentary list of recruits who attended the open practice and Spring game. Starting next week we'll begin giving your more details as to just who each of these recruits are, whether we are targeting them (and who else is for that matter), their background, and the chances of them signing with us.

Cody Riggs (CB)
Keion Payne STA
Lamarcus Joyner
Jeff Luc (Open practice)
Louis Nix
Alec Ogletree
Ivan McCartney
Gideon Ajagbe
Jakhari Gore
Brandon Linder
Tony Grimes
Michael Thornton
Tyrone Cornelious

As always, thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Miami Offers Shawn Corker

2009-04-21T00:50:00.002-04:00

He's a 6'1, 180lbs WR for Cardinal Gibbons. He broke their receiving records last year and currently lists offers from Texas Tech, WVU, Auburn, Ole Miss, and others.

He uses his hands and body very well when going up and getting the ball. He knows how to position himself properly and can be a big time player for the Canes, if here were to sign that is. Here's his video, tell us what you all think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FHppUcFo3Y

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Canes Rumored To Get New Commitment

2009-04-17T19:16:00.003-04:00

Right out of UF's backyard. Tavadis Glenn.

He's listed as 6'5, 265 lbs, and runs the 40 in 4.0. He has offers from USC(east), Clemson, and Arkansas. He was being recruited by other big schools like UF, FSU, LSU, Tenn.

Once it's confirmed, we'll let you guys know. We can't get any youtube video on him just yet, but he is a Rivals 4 star DT who can play both ways.

This would be a big pickup and would help Miami solidify their recruiting for the DLine this year, while adding to the class with a big name and help attract other big time recruits.

We would expect Miami to start hitting the South Florida area really hard within the next few months and hopefully locks up some other big name targets. We'll be keeping you updated during the next few weeks with a list of targets for this year's recruiting class.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Review of the Spring Game

2009-04-16T19:20:00.002-04:00

First off it was a first rate event, real family friendly and we got to know some other UM fans that we have had limited contact with. We were sitting on the sideline behind the offense.

Allow us to go on a small tangent, Cookie was injured (Ramon Buchanon) and he had to go to the opposite sideline when he found out the offense was going to be on the near sideline. He didn't look happy about that at all but cracked a few jokes.

Javarris James was injured, but he must have spent the whole scrimmage posing for photographs and signing autographs. Now, onto the lineup:

First team Offense:

Jacory Harris, Coop, Patrick Hill, Thompkins, Byrd, Richard Gordon, Jason Fox, Orlando Franklin, A.J. Trump, Harland Gunn (Joel Figueroa in injured), Matt Pipho.

First team Defense: Olivier Vernon, Marcus Robinson, Josh Holmes, Joe Joseph, Daryl Sharpton, Futhc, Sean Spence, Brandon Harris, DVD, Randy Phillips, Telemaque.

We'll give you a quick overview here, for the sake of space on one blog entry and get to the important part, the players to watch:

First Half - Damien Berry had a very strong game and had a 50+ yard TD run. We attempted a short, 20 something yard FG which we missed, and a 40 + one that we hit. It appeared as if Jake Wieclaw was our kicker. Randy Phillips also had an interception off of a deflected pass. The pass was intended for Byrd, who went up to get it on a deep pass with Brandon Harris. Harris was able to get some contact on Byrd and the ball was deflected into the arms of Phillips who basically ran to the opposite side of the field, and then ran back to the original sideline for maybe a gain of 20 yards or so.

Second Half - John Calhoun scored from about a yard out on a pass from Cannon Smith and Mike James also scored.

Overall, the scoring system was a high scoring one, so the offense appeared to have dominated. Traditionally, the defense is always light years ahead. We're a bit hesitant to say the offense dominated, but they did show great improvement, fantastic route running, and impressive playcalling by Whipple as far as route design. Overall, the gameplan was vanilla, both on offense and defense.

Getting to the players to keep an eye out on.

Offense:

1) Damien Berry - Not necessarily thinking he contributes much out of the crowded backfield next year (unless injuries take a toll, knock on wood), but his performance was great in this game. He showed speed, tough inside running, ran over several backers and defensive backs (Joe Wylie comes to mind).

2) Kendall Thompkins - He put a move on Sam Shields that literally faked him out of his shoes and had him fall sideways while trying to reach back for Kendall. He runs very clean, crisp routes, and he can contribute in a big way out of the slot with Collier next year. I expect him to surprise a lot of people next year. You heard it here first.

3) Taylor Cook - His mechanics have improved IMMENSELY since coming out of highschool. It seems as if a year in a college program, lifting weights, and learning from Whipple (for a few months) has helped him become a better QB. You can literally see him progress through his reads, display a strong arm, and good knowledge of the game. I wish there was a way to give him another redshirt so he can take over for Jacory in a few years.

Honorable Mention - Mike James looks extremely quick, moreso than we expected. He's also just as big as he looked in his film

Defense:

1) Big Boom Marcus Forston - The guy has really grown into the position and I predict him to have a breakout year. He was actually running down the sideline step for step with Berry for a short while.

2) Miami Vice Vaughn Telemaque - 4 words: All over the place. He's good on coverage and excels as a tackler. Expect him and Randy Phillips to be the starters for the FSU game. He's kind of a mix between Sean and Reed. Just a smart player who is going to make some noise this year.

3) Spence - He'll take a big leap this year. Last year he broke down a bit, that's just because of him being a freshman and having to get his body used to taking the beating the college game delivers. He looks better and every bit as good if not better.

This weekend we'll link up some pictures and list some concerns regarding what we had hoped to see during the spring game. We'll also try to get to the open practice, though not much went on, and give you a list of the recruits at both events.

Thanks for reading, and Go Canes!

Link To Spring Game Highlights and Interviews

2009-04-14T20:02:00.004-04:00

First, the link to the Spring Game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGlRLLwKRI&feature=related

Link to Randy's postgame interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQfO5awpHIA

Link to Jacory's postgame interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnZM6wlnoE4&feature=related

From a fan's perspective:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0pbMyaCNr0&feature=related

Thursday we'll have a breakdown of the game with a list of players to watch for in the upcoming fall season.

This weekend we'll try to link up a few pictures to the game and we'll also address the open practice a few weeks prior to the Spring Game.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Apologies From Us At The Canes Wire

2009-04-13T17:26:00.002-04:00

We've been a little busy handling a variety of issues, both personal and website/blog related. We are trying to find ways to make the blog more user friendly and interactive as well.

Amidst our busy schedule the past month or so, we still made it to both the open practice at Traz Powell and the Spring Game at Lockhart. We'll try to link you to some pictures, both public ones taken by those not affiliated with us and ones that we took ourselves. We'll also have a breakdown of both practices and an update on recruiting to come in separate installments spread out within the next two weeks.

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas on how to make this more user friendly, interactive, fun, and inspiring please comment here and let us know (One of our main goals is to make the comment sections more reflective of a traditional message board).

As always, thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Canes Land Commitment

2009-03-09T23:25:00.004-04:00

We've landed another Oline for the upcoming class. 6'3, 265 lbs Shane Mcdermott from Wellington Palm Beach Central Highschool.

He played left tackle and center for his team in highschool and is set to be a center when he arrives at Miami. A short review of him is this: He's a mauler. He has a mean streak coming off the ball. He was sporting offer from West Virginia, Cincinnati, USF, Vanderbilt, and Stanford.

He says he's done with his trips and will be a Cane. We'll review for you the open practice at Traz Powell Stadium on Thursday. Thanks for being patient with us, we expect to be adding a lot more to the blog in the upcoming week.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Edit: Link to his film on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sab9Uy_XTKU&eurl=

MidWeek Update

2009-03-05T00:00:00.002-05:00

Sorry for our absence the past few weeks, been busy trying to catch up on the stuff we put on the back-burner during recruiting season. We are planning on attending the open practice and the Spring Game. We also know that canesport.com is having an after party, with countless former players in attendance.

We are reading up on some practice reports and as of right now Streeter has done very well.

Also, Mike James is impressing everyone for a player who should still be in highschool. Expect him to contribute some this year as well. Additionally, the ball is being thrown down the field more this year with Whipple at the helm. Long gone are the days of the bubble screen on 3rd/4th and short.

We'll start picking up the activity on the blog again in the upcoming days leading into the open practices and try to keep you up to date.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Canes get Dunbar!!!

2009-03-01T15:06:00.003-05:00

The Canes just added their third commit for the 2010 class in Quinton Dunbar. Dunbar is a WR out of Booker T. Washington down here in Miami. He measures in at 6'3 1/2, 175lbs. Dunbar also runs the 40 in the 4.4 range. A lot of people have Dunbar rated at the #1 receiver down here in Dade county and think that at that size he will be a great addition to the already big WR core we have at UM.

Rumors are that Dunbar will not take any visits and that Miami is the only school he will be entertaining.

National Underclassmen Combine!!!

2009-02-23T19:32:00.004-05:00

This weekend we attended the Schuman's National Underclassmen Combine at Ransom Evergaldes School. One of the nations best combines, the NUC offers an opportunity to players who have not yet been out on the national spotlight, and unfortunately the opportunity for some to have the light turned off. It also showcases the top talent around the nation: like Todd Chandler, Gideon Ajagbe, Tacoi Sumler, Torrian Wilson, John Ragoo, DeAndre Johnson and more. As was the case this passed weekend. To be completely honest with you, I personally attended the upcoming sophomore combine. I was able to take out there with me a great player and eventual Combine MVP, AJ Leggett. AJ has recently transferred to Booker T. Washington after having a great year as a freshman at South Miami. I am so happy he left there, because they were headed no where fast. AJ plays safety. He measures in at 5'11, 160lbs., running a 4.6 40. AJ was impressive the whole camp in 1-on-1 drills as well as 4-on-4 skills competition. The only time someone was able to catch a pass on him was when they asked him to play a cover 3 and stand about 12 yards away from the receiver. The receiver caught a 3 yard slant and that was it. If they had pads on you could tell AJ wanted to lay someone out. He is a big time ballhawk and he wants to lay you out if you have the ball. He knows how to use his hands very well and plays the bump real well also. Look for big things from this kid. In winning the overall MVP award at the camp, he has been invited to the Ultimate100 camp later this year. He will also be attending future camps as well, including the Nike Sparq Combine in March.

Other players that looked very good also were Billy Rolle Jr., son of coach Billy Rolle (Northwestern and Killian). He was lined up as a safety and played pretty well. He is a big boy at about 5'10 180lbs. He will probably grow into that body and becomes a backer. Another kid was Julian Hamilton out of St. Thomas Aquinas. Measured in at about 6'4-6'5, not sure about the weight, but he looked solid for a freshman. He played DL/OL and dominated camp with speed and power. The best RB out of the group was a kid named Gary Holmes out of Seminole Ridge High School. 5'6 about 150 I would say. Ran a 4.45 40. I need to get the names of a couple other kids that were there, can't remember now. There was another good OL, a Byron Leftwich looking QB and a kid they were calling mini Antonio Gates playing of course TE. He looked real good as well. I will get back to you on those kids.

In the junior combine, the overall MVP was LB Gideon Ajagbe, best OL was John Ragoo, but a person who was there said that Torrian Wilson played lights out. Best DL was of course Todd Chandler.

I will have more info on the combine tonight or tomorrow. If any of you know of a kid who needs help getting his name out there and is a good ballplayer, email us. We can definitely help with the recruiting process and training. For more info email us, we can definitely help. thecaneswire@gmail.com

Thank you and GO CANES!!!

Weekend in Pictures

2009-02-22T15:06:00.002-05:00

We split the time this weekend between the baseball game on Friday night and the National Underclassmen Combine on Saturday. We'll have a detailed write up of the combine tomorrow, but we'll drop a few pictures today.

We plan on addressing the baseball team. Opening night at Alex Rodriguez park. We have a few pictures that are included toward the bottom of this blog. The night began with former Cane Aubrey Huff being inducted into the Hall of Fame by Jim Morris and former Cane and World Series Champion Pat Burrell. Congrats to Aubrey on joining a prestigious group. Also, congrats are in order for Ryan Jackson joining the prestigious Iron Arrow Society. So far, here are our impressions of the baseball team.

Friday night Chris Hernandez took the mound. He seemed a bit rusty, hitting a batter and wlking a batter in back to back innings, but he only allowed 1 run on 3 hits and 7 strike outs. This team lost 70% of it's homerun production from last year and we had 3-4 attempted steals, considering that we are now having to come into our own as a small ball team. Our relief pitcher Wulf is a monster, and to quote myself "he pitches as if he's upset with the ball and wants it as far away from him as possible as quicly as possible". We won 6-1, the highlight being Grandal with a 2 run homer late in the game.

Saturday was a double header, with us w inning the first one 4-2 and dropping the second one 5-4. The second game we made 3 errors in 2 plays and deserved to lose.

Today's game is at 13-3 right now, in our favor, so yo ucan pretty much lock it up. Here are the pictures we'v promised.

National Underclassmen Combine:

Opening Night:

Spring Practice Update

2009-02-20T23:46:00.002-05:00

Two practices are open to the public. The first one is the scrimmage on March 12th at Traz Powell. The second is the Spring Game on March 28th, at Dolphin Stadium. Here is a list of the practices.

Tues., Feb. 24 3:30 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 25 3:30 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 27 3:30 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 28 10 a.m.
Tues., Mar. 3 3:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 4 3:30 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 6 3:30 p.m.
Sat. Mar. 7 10 a.m.
Tues., Mar. 10 3:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 11 3:30 p.m.
Thurs., Mar. 12 6:30 p.m. (Traz Powell Stadium, open to public)
Tues., Mar. 24 3:30 p.m.
Wed. Mar. 25 3:30 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 27 3:30 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 28 BankUnited CanesFest (9 a.m.)

The Season Has Begun...

2009-02-20T01:23:00.002-05:00

for baseball, that is. We'll be at the game Friday night, on campus at 7 p.m. versus Rutgers. We'll try to be on campus earlier and talk to a few friends about what's going on with the football program, but right now we can only pass along what we've read. That is about the offense in general.

Whipple's offense has impressed. Not just impressed as in "oh that's a nice car", but as in "oh look, there goes a Shelby Mustang". People are literally so impressed with the offense that they have their noses in the playbooks and can't wait to see our receivers and backs in action.

Cooper is expected to go back to punt and kickoff return, as long as Chambers and Baby J stay healthy. If not, look for one of our 2 (maybe 3) freshman backs to go to returns or help share the load so Cooper can stay there. Cooper is also expected to be used out of the backfield more often, ala Reggie Bush, wish should create mismatches. Of course, this is all contingent on Baby J and Chambers remaining healthy, but we really expect Chambers to have a breakout season this year, his junior year.

Will try to get you more info soon, but we are still watching film on games for last season. Next week we will have a list of expectations for our players and a possible analysis of any spring practice information we can get.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Update on MLB

2009-02-18T17:26:00.001-05:00

It seems as if Arthur Brown has made the move to MLB officially, as we expected him to and he did toward the end of last season. Also, Chris Barney has graduated and has chosen not to return to the team and provide us with depth on the O-line. I do know last year, before he was injured, he was pushing a few starters and would have given us solid depth and received plenty of playing time in the rotation. A shame, but hopefully Jermaine Johnson can provide depth at tackle and Brandon Washington can step in with Gunn and solidify our line. Our offense is going to live or die on our line, so we'll keep an eye on that.

Quick Injury Update.....

2009-02-17T17:35:00.003-05:00

Rumors have come out that guard Joel Figueroa underwent surgery for an injury. Don't know what exactly he injured, but we do know it's upper body, either his arm or shoulder from what we've heard. Obviously it's never good to have a starter go down with an injury, but Harland Gunn and others will be able to step up and get some reps with the first team during Spring practices. Figs' play was up and down last year, so here's hoping that he recovers quickly and improves. He is still young and has plenty of room for improvement.

Also, Orlando Franklin will be getting a shot at the tackle spot. With Fox on the left hand side, it's a good thing for Franklin to get some reps at the right spot, maybe getting him familiar with the position making a possible transition to Left Tackle next year (after Fox leaves) easier.

We are still looking at film of last year's games and potential 2010 recruits. The reason we are taking so much time trying to look at film for next year's recruits so soon is because it seems as if Shannon is following the Texas method and locking down recruits early, so those who are on the fence know what class they have coming in and it pushes them to not only want to join them, but open up their eyes and see that scholarships are limited.

We hope to soon have a list of target players to fill our needs for next year, as well as a list of breakout players for 2009, surprise stars, impact freshman, and so forth.

As always, thanks for reading and Go Canes!

Shields makes the move to CB...2010 Recruiting tidbit!!!

2009-02-15T03:25:00.004-05:00

After a subpar career so far at Miami playing wide receiver, Sam Shields has made the switch to cornerback. With the lack of depth at the position, it's a good thing they made this decision early. This will help Shields learn the position thoroughly throughout the spring and summer. Shields has never been redshirted, so if worse comes to worse he can be redshirted if he does not learn the position well enough. Shields shined this year as the flier on special teams, but did make some costly errors this past season. This could be a good move for Sam. With his 4.3 speed and apparent decent tackling technique, he could be a viable option and will add depth at the corner position. This could possibly give him a better opportunity at playing at the next level in the NFL. I think Sam is a great athlete. He has had disciplinary problems in the past, but I think he "gets" it now. He came on strong at the end of the season and showed vast improvement on special teams and he also came up with some big catches as well. I honestly thought they would give him a shot again to redeem himself sorta speak at WR, but if this is the best move for him then so be it. Any where he can help the team I'm all for it.

Spring football is coming soon my fellow Canes and we are working on putting together an event of sorts for the spring game on March 28th. I believe it will be at Dolphin Stadium. Not 100% sure, but regardless we will work on putting something exciting together. If anyone has suggestions, please let us know. Thank you...

Recruiting tidbit: You have to see the tape on this kid Jeff Luc, LB out of Treasure Coast High School. The nastiest hitter I have seen in a long time. The MLB we need here. He has showed a lot of interest in us already. He has listed an offer from us as well. Another kid is Ivan McCartney, WR. McCartney reminds a lot of people of Chad Johnson, who happens to be seconds with him. He is very high on the Hurricanes but has yet to receive an offer. I am very sure he will be receiveing one very soon. More 2010 recruiting info as the days and weeks come. We will be heading out to various Combines and workouts, checking out some of the top talent in the tri-county area. Here are videos of Luc and I will continure looking for video of McCartney:

Jeff Luc, LB, 6'1, 235lbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwnVTnCD9I0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-dT2TCrcMY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmWTAR5hHSE

GO CANES!!!

Canes make Lovett DC Plus 2009 Schedule...

2009-02-12T12:22:00.006-05:00

First, the 2009 schedule. Mark them down in your outlook/blackberry:

Sept. 7 at Florida State (ESPN)

Sept. 17 Georgia Tech (ESPN)

Sept. 26 at Virginia Tech

Oct. 3 Oklahoma

Oct. 10 Florida A&M

Oct. 17 at Central Florida

Oct. 24 Clemson

Oct. 31 at Wake Forest

Nov. 7 Virginia

Nov. 14 at North Carolina

Nov. 21 Duke

Nov. 28 at South Florida

It is official. That is one ugly mug!!! Ok, ok, now the serious stuff. The Canes have finalized the deal with John Lovett to be the new Defensive Coordinator. Lovett has spend 18 years as a defensive coordinator at various institutions. Coach Shannon had stated previously that if he did not find a suitable candidate for the position he would do it himself. It seems as though he has found him in Lovett.

It is believed that coach Lovett has a great knowledge of ACC football. He has spent a good amount of time in the conference, with stints at Clemson and most recently, North Carolina. Coaches that have worked with him in the past, have nothing but positive things to say. Of course I wouldn't expect them to say anything negative anyways. Some of the things they have said are that he is a great recruiter in the Southeast as well as the Northeast, and a proven talent evaluator. Also coaches have mentioned that he is aggressive as a DC and works particularly well with the secondary, something we desperately need to improve on. He has had stints with Mississippi under coach Tubberville for four years, then followed Tubberville to Auburn for three years as DC. Other stints as defensive coordinator include stops at Clemson and Maine.

He spent the last two years at UNC under coach Butch Davis as special teams coach and assisting the defense under corrdinators Chuch Pagano and Everett Withers. He helped with gameplanning extensively.

I know there is people who are a bit skeptical about the hire and don't know if this is the "homerun" hire we were all looking for but I don't think this is a significant dropoff from coach Young. I believe coach Lovett brings some different to the table and something we've all been wanting as well; someone with knowledge in the secondary. No one seems to be too happy with coach McGriff. Maybe he could learn a thing or two from Lovett. So I am definitely looking forward to seeing what will play out. I'm good with the hire. Not overly ecstatic, but good.

Once again here is his bio off the UNC athletic website:

Lovett was part of a defensive staff that improved more than 60 positions from the previous year in the NCAA's total defense statistical rankings. In addition, kick returner Brandon Tate established the ACC career mark for kickoff return yards and returned a punt for a touchdown. UNC kicker Connor Barth had his best season in 2007, connecting on 19 of 22 field goals and setting the school career mark for field goals.
Prior to coming to Carolina, Lovett was the defensive coordinator at Bowling Green from 2005-06. In addition to coordinating the defense at Bowling Green, Lovett coached linebackers in 2005 and defensive backs in 2006. In his first year at BGSU, Lovett's defense ranked 20th in the country in turnover margin.
The defensive coordinator at Clemson from 2002-04, Lovett helped develop one of the ACC's top defenses and defensive backs Justin Miller and Brian Mance earned All-America honors. In 2004, Clemson was 11th in the nation in pass defense efficiency (103.4) and 26th in total defense (327.3). In 2003, his defense allowed just 19.2 points per game as Clemson finished the year with nine wins and a top 25 national ranking.
Lovett was the defensive coordinator at Auburn from 1999-2001 and helped lead the Tigers to bowl games each of his last two years. In 2001, Auburn earned a berth in the Peach Bowl opposite North Carolina.
Lovett coached the secondary all four years he was at Ole Miss (1995-98), including the 1997 season when the Rebels had an 8-4 overall record, including a victory in the Motor City Bowl.
Prior to coming to Mississippi in 1995, Lovett worked as defensive coordinator at the University of Maine for two stints. He first went to Orono in 1985 and severed as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach from 1985-88. He also served as defensive coordinator for the Black Bears in 1994. The 1987 team won the conference championship and qualified for the Division I-AA playoffs.
Lovett began his career in coaching at Saint Joseph's Region High School in Montvale, N.J., in 1976. He started his college career in 1978 at Union College in New York, where he worked until 1982. Lovett spent the 1983 season in the Ivy League at Brown, and then moved back to New York to work under Joe Walton as the New York Jets' defensive quality control coach in 1984. In 1989, he joined head coach Tim Murphy at the University of Cincinnati, where he remained until 1992. In 1993, he coached at UNLV as the secondary coach.
Lovett graduated from C.W. Post College in December of 1973. He came to the school as a walk-on, but quickly earned a scholarship and served as the team's co-captain as a senior in 1973. He played for Dom Amile, who is now the Director of Football Operations for the Indianapolis Colts. At the completion of his career, he enrolled in graduate school at the University of Denver and he earned his Master's Degree in 1975. The next year he entered the coaching profession.
The Lovett FileDate and Place of Birth: Born December 1, 1950Family: Wife, CarolEducation: C.W. Post College, 1973; C.W. Post College, master's, 1975Playing Experience: 1970-73, C.W. Post CollegeCoaching Experience: 1976-77, St. Joseph's Regional High School, N.J.; 1978-82, Union College, N.Y. (assistant coach); 1983, Brown (assistant coach); 1984, New York Jets (defensive quality control coach), 1985-88, Maine (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 1989-92, Cincinnati (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 1993, UNLV (assistant coach/secondary); 1994, Maine (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 1995-98, Mississippi (assistant coach/secondary); 1999-2001, Auburn (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 2002-04, Clemson (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 2005-06, Bowling Green, (assistant coach/defensive coordinator/linebackers/defensive backs); 2007-present, North Carolina (assistant coach/special teams coordinator/defensive assistant)

Bryce Brown Declaring March 12th.

2009-02-10T14:57:00.002-05:00

He has said on his handler's, Brian Butler's, site that he will be declaring on March 12th. He will take one of his remaining two official visits left to Tenn. on one of the upcoming weekends.

We are still checking out film on last year's games and next years recruits. Next year is a STACKED year for UM. It's very important that UM not only cleans up and gets great talent, but builds depth. Right now I'd say we are 60% of were we need to be depth wise, and that's a direct reflection upon Coker.

Also, we are trying to get some information regarding the spring practices.

Lastly, the ACC is set to release the schedule for football on 2/12, so we'll have that for you the second it's released.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes!

DC Hire Looking Like Lovett

2009-02-09T14:24:00.002-05:00

Right now, all the rumors seem to be confirming Lovett as DC. We mentioned his name a possibility a few days ago, and it seems to be the hire Randy has made. Personally, we aren't overwhelmed with the decision, but we must look at it positively. First, he has both college and pro experience. Secondly, he has been a defensive coordinator before. Third, from what I've heard he has been the one who gameplanned for DC, not Everett Withers. Finally, he does have intimate knowledge of UNC and their gameplans. Here is his bio from the UNC site:

John Lovett Bio:

John Lovett enters his second season as North Carolina's special teams coordinator and defensive assistant. Lovett comes to Carolina with 18 years of experience as a defensive coordinator, including stops at Clemson, Auburn and Mississippi.

Prior to coming to Carolina, Lovett was the defensive coordinator at Bowling Green from 2005-06. In addition to coordinating the defense at Bowling Green, Lovett coached linebackers in 2005 and defensive backs in 2006. In his first year at BGSU, Lovett's defense ranked 20th in the country in turnover margin.

The defensive coordinator at Clemson from 2002-04, Lovett helped develop one of the ACC's top defenses and defensive backs Justin Miller and Brian Mance earned All-America honors. In 2004, Clemson was 11th in the nation in pass defense efficiency (103.4) and 26th in total defense (327.3). In 2003, his defense allowed just 19.2 points per game as Clemson finished the year with nine wins and a top 25 national ranking.

Lovett was the defensive coordinator at Auburn from 1999-2001 and helped lead the Tigers to bowl games each of his last two years. In 2001, Auburn earned a berth in the Peach Bowl opposite North Carolina.

Lovett coached the secondary all four years he was at Ole Miss (1995-98), including the 1997 season when the Rebels had an 8-4 overall record, including a victory in the Motor City Bowl.

Prior to coming to Mississippi in 1995, Lovett worked as defensive coordinator at the University of Maine for two stints. He first went to Orono in 1985 and severed as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach from 1985-88. He also served as defensive coordinator for the Black Bears in 1994. The 1987 team won the conference championship and qualified for the Division I-AA playoffs.

Lovett began his career in coaching at Saint Joseph's Region High School in Montvale, N.J., in 1976. He started his college career in 1978 at Union College in New York, where he worked until 1982. Lovett spent the 1983 season in the Ivy League at Brown, and then moved back to New York to work under Joe Walton as the New York Jets' defensive quality control coach in 1984. In 1989, he joined head coach Tim Murphy at the University of Cincinnati, where he remained until 1992. In 1993, he coached at UNLV as the secondary coach.

Lovett graduated from C.W. Post College in December of 1973. He came to the school as a walk-on, but quickly earned a scholarship and served as the team's co-captain as a senior in 1973. He played for Dom Amile, who is now the Director of Football Operations for the Indianapolis Colts. At the completion of his career, he enrolled in graduate school at the University of Denver and he earned his Master's Degree in 1975. The next year he entered the coaching profession.

The Lovett File
Date and Place of Birth: Born December 1, 1950
Family: Wife, Carol
Education: C.W. Post College, 1973; C.W. Post College, master's, 1975
Playing Experience: 1970-73, C.W. Post College
Coaching Experience: 1976-77, St. Joseph's Regional High School, N.J.; 1978-82, Union College, N.Y. (assistant coach); 1983, Brown (assistant coach); 1984, New York Jets (defensive quality control coach), 1985-88, Maine (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 1989-92, Cincinnati (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 1993, UNLV (assistant coach/secondary); 1994, Maine (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 1995-98, Mississippi (assistant coach/secondary); 1999-2001, Auburn (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 2002-04, Clemson (assistant coach/defensive coordinator); 2005-06, Bowling Green, (assistant coach/defensive coordinator/linebackers/defensive backs); 2007-present, North Carolina (assistant coach/special teams coordinator/defensive assistant)

Video of the 2009 Class...Enjoy!!!

2009-02-09T02:56:00.003-05:00

Some guys are missing but we will try to get video on them as well...this is a compilation...

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4448621/11923627

GO CANES!!!

Not An Off Weekend For Us

2009-02-08T18:41:00.004-05:00

We are doing our best to get to you any information regarding players, recruits still left on board (Bryce Brown and Daniel Campbell), and Defensive Coordinator. While we just have rumors to work off of right now, none of them are confirmed by anyone.

Some say that the defensive coordinator is expected to be hired within the next 72 hours or so, but as of right now I think it's best just to be patient and see exactly what Randy is doing. I do know he flew to NY over the weekend, but that's about it.

Regarding Bryce, we think he's still several weeks away from inking with anyone and will take some official visits.

Daniel Campbell still has his grades issues and we think if he gets his grades in order he signs with us, and adds another body to an already solid OL class.

We hope to bring you some more information tomorrow or Tuesday. Also, we are busy looking at film for all of our games last season, with notations, and will have a list of expectations and players leading up to spring practice, which begins later this month (I think Feb. 24th, but I'm not sure, I'm going off of the top of my head).

Also, don't forget the Spring Game is March 28th. It looks to be at either Lockhart Stadium or Dolphin Stadium and will begin at 10 a.m. We will be tailgating there bright and early, about 8ish, and will try to speak to some of the players and recruits after the game and of course, we'll have plenty of pictures.

Thanks for reading and as always Go Canes.

Pictures From National Signing Day

2009-02-06T19:00:00.007-05:00

Randy addressing the crowd.

Don Bailey Jr...... being Don Bailey Jr.

Randy mingling with fans.

Jacory and Jermaine Johnson. Both are bigger than expected right now.

Mike James and Brandon Washington.

From Left to Right: Sean Spence, Olivier Vernon, Brandon Mcgee, Curtis Porter.

The podium where the press was addressed.

Clint Hurtt talking with those present.

From Left to Right: Olivier Vernon, Brandon Mcgee, Curtis Porter.

Mcgee and Porter being addressed by the support staff.

Quick DC Update

2009-02-06T15:48:00.003-05:00

Rumors are floating around that the next DC will be hired by mid Wed. or Thursday of next week. Right now, we are trying to see what information we can release as to who it is, but there are at least 4 names on that list.

First name is john Lovett. He is the UNC dbs coach and has experience as a coordinator while he was at Auburn during Miami's championship run.

Second is Georgia's Willie Martinez, which we've mentioned before as a possibility.

Third is TCU's DC Dick Bumpas

And last is Cincinnati's DC Joe Tresey.

Tomorrow we'll breakdown each of these candidates, right now we are going to see what other information we can find about the DC, the remaining two signees (Bryce Brown and Daniel Campbell), and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible.

*** Just found out that a solid candidate might be Chuck Pagano, but it still seems as rumor right now. I'll get back to you guys later once I am able to confirm some of these rumors.***

Thanks for reading and Go Canes.

Recruiting Class Grades by Position...

2009-02-05T18:40:00.004-05:00

Now that it is all but over, with the exception of Bryce Brown, we have come up with a report card of sorts. Here are the grades position by position for this years recruiting class:

Quarterback

After coach Shannon let Marve loose after the end of the year, I figured we would go after a couple guys. Apparently coach Shannon was content with what he has now, as am I. Not only did I consider Jacory the better fit for our program, but I am also very comfortable with Taylor Cook as our backup. There is just something about the kid I like. We did end up landing one quarterback. A.J. Highsmith committed early on in the process and was never consider anything less than a Cane lock. The downside is that A.J., who is the son of former UM great Alonzo Highsmith, is not considered to remain a quarterback for long. Everyone has predicted him to make the switch to cornerback. Although I fully expect him to compete at the beginning at the quarterback position, I do think he will eventually make the move over to cornerback. I like him at QB. I say give the kid a fair shot. The upside I see in his switch besides the lack of depth would be that he could run the scout offense when we do face schools like Georgia Tech.

GRADE: B

Runningback

Did we clean house or what? Even with Bryce not signing yet, we have two legit playmakers at the position. Mike James and Lamar Miller are two excellent runningback prospects, each having their own style of running. James being the more powerful back and Miller being the more breakaway type back. I saw James yesterday a the signing day festivies on campus and wow, the kid is a man physically already. Considerably bigger than all the backs we have now. He looks like he could be plugged into the lineup right now and be more physically imposing than anyone else. I look for both to get considerable time this year. James has been enrolled since January and will seem to have an advantage on any other back coming in June. With Javarris always being nicked up and Coop not looking like that everyday back, I see these guys along with Lee Chambers to step up and make some noise. Plus I do believe we sign Bryce Brown soon, Rivals #1 player in America. That could possibly make this RB one of the best ever.

GRADE: A (A+ with Bryce)

Wide Receivers

As I expected, Miami did not receive one wide receiver recruit in this class. The two guys they were going after hard, Reuben Randle and Andre DeBose were interested at one time, but dropped Miami as time got closer to NSD. I am not too surprised but I figure they might pull something out of their magic hat on this one. The one receiver I do believe we wiffed on was Jheranie Boyd, #4 WR by rivals. He was rumored to be dying to get an offer from us but never received one. Keep an eye out on this kid, his film looks impressive. Bad thing was he ended up signing with UNC. Here's his film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3u0y0nzJkE Good thing is next year the cupboard is full of good receivers again down here in Dade and Broward.

GRADE: INCOMPLETE

Tight Ends

I actually though we did well at this position. We lost out at the end with Sheldon Richardson when he chose to stick with Missouri yesterday, but we did get a bit of a surprise when Billy Sanders, who was committed to us, then decommitted to UCLA, chose to come back and stick with us at the end. Stephen Plein was our other recruit who signed the LOI yesterday as well. Plein being the better blocker of the two , could possibly end up playing offensive line. He is up to 250lbs already, but he does have decent hands. Sanders fits into the mold of a Jeremy Shockey. Very good pass catcher with good feet and decent speed. I think what helped with Sanders was the opportunity to play early with the injury to senior starting TE Dedrick Epps. Look for him to make his presence known in the pass catching game. Cory White is another so-called TE signing. Coaches consider him an OL prospect, as do we. Cory has already said he would like to play OL and at 6'6, 250lbs, he is on the right track. We will save him for the OL assessment.

GRADE: B+

Offensive Line

If you look at the list, you first think to yourself, hey, we didn't do too bad. We could've done way better. I am not saying we did bad, but the fact is that we fell short with a couple of kids that

"should've" chosen Miami. Guys we fell short with: Peter White, went to Maryland, thought we had a real good chance with him. Andrew Tiller, signed with Syracuse. Syracuse? I know his JUCO coach is now a coach at Syracuse, but you can't compare. Another one that slipped our fingers... Quinton Washington. Now I do believe we got on him a little too late, but he was another one that was rumored to be favoring us. Committed to Michigan. This one guy, we had no business of being a finalist for, would've been a great get. Marcus Hall out of Glenville, a breeding ground and pipeline for Ohio State football. Who would have thought. With a coach like Ted Ginn Sr., how does the thought of playing at Miami even cross his mind? Who cares. It was close, but no cigar. He chose OSU. But forget about the kids we missed on, lets talk the big boys we did get. Jermaine Johnson, a prep school kid and South Florida native, was committed to Auburn coming out of high school, but did not qualify. After a few years at Hargrave Academy, only playing one of the years, he chose the Canes. He looks huge at 6'6, 309lbs. I saw him yesterday as well, and looks a lot bigger and more developed than I pictured. Another kid I am excited about is Delaware native Malcolm Bunche. Great footwork and knows how to finish off blocks. Jared Wheeler out of American Heritage was another good kid. From what I got out of press conference announcing coach Whipple as our OC, coach Whipple likes to pull with his offensive line. Wheeler from the tapes is a helluva puller and looks to be the man for that role. Brandon Washington committed to us last yr out of Miami Northwestern, but did not qualify. He played one year up in New York at Milford prep, got his grades up and was an early enrollee this year at Miami. We have high expectations for B-Wash and think he could compete for a starting spot on the line this year. Now I can mention Cory White. White has expressed interest in playing tight end as well as offensive line. He played on the line all year at his high school. He said that in this past year, he grew from 6'4, 225lbs., to 6'6, 250lbs. At that rate, he could be a force to be reckoned with at the tackle position. Do I hear Eric Winston? only time will tell. The future could be bright on the line.

GRADE: B+ (Almost A-...almost)

Defensive Line

I think we did an excellent job solidifying the defensive end position with the addition of Olivier Vernon (already enrolled) and Dyron Dye, out of Sanford Seminole, gator country baby!!! I am not sure how much playing time thses kids will get, but I am sure they will get every opportunity to showcase their skills and beat someone out. Look for Vernon to get the upper edge because he is already enrolled and will perform in Spring drills. The guys that might see more time are the tackles. Luther Robinson, who was wavering a bit and was receiving a hard late push by UF, made the right choice and chose the Canes. Curtis Porter (already enrolled) was the other DT signed by Miami. Both look to challenge for a spot on the depth chart, due to the loss of a few guys from the interior of that line. I think our strong point was our line and this class just added some depth and talent to the position.

GRADE: A-

Linebackers

I don't think we are as deep as we want to be at the linebacker position. Shayon Green out of Tifton, GA, is rated as defensive end, but I do believe he stays at linebacker for the time being for added depth. Big strong kid already at 6'2, 225lbs., Green could see some time on special teams. Next year we definitely need to address the position again. Green was the only linebacker taken in this class. Linebackers we were finalists for, but fell short were; Tana Patrick (Alabama), Greg King (Tennessee) and Sam Barrington (South Florida).

GRADE: C

Defensive Backs

Along with runningback, I would say, defensive back was a strong suit in this recruiting class. With the exception of losing Kayvon Webster in a switcharoo yesterday and maybe a couple other kids who had us in their top 3, we did a decent job. Our prize recruit came out of the DB spot, with 5 star STUD Ray Ray Armstrong. Ray Ray was rated the #1 athlete by rivals and will play safety at the U. Armstong will come in and right away be in the mix for a starting spot at the position, even with the stockpile of safeties we have now. Jamal Reid is another signee. Reid came in rated #17 athlete and could possibly end playing both ways a bit. He is a great receiver as well. Prince Kent is a big kid at 6'3, 195lbs. Kent could fill in and mature into a great safety and possibly an outside linebacker. I think, for now, he redshirts though. The player no one talks about and is possibly one of the best pure corners in the nation is Brandon McGee. He could end up being the best player in this class once it's said and done. The most important thing a cornerback needs are hips. By that we mean he has to be able to turn his hips at a very quick rate in order to properly cover a receiver. We think he has this. Also, because of his speed and quickness, look for him to be a factor in the kicking game as well.

GRADE: A

That rounds up this years recruiting class. We are obviously still awaiting the decision of Bryce Brown. Although the waiting game is tiresome, no one can deny they want him here.

Look for our next installment as we will get into the DC discussion. Some formidable names are surfacing now and we have the scoop on them. Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading and GO CANES!!!

Live Update From Campus

2009-02-04T18:39:00.001-05:00

We are here covering the third annual recruiting day festivities.

First impressions thus far is awe. Brandon washington and Mike James are very, very big and look physically ready to step in and contribute next year.

Coach Shannon spoke about the importance of building depthand getting our players prepared physically and mentally.

Additionally, we were privy to some extra film on the players. After the film the players were all asked player specific questions about why they chose Miami etc. All these players seem to have a genuine love for our Canes.

Coach Hurtt was asked about Bryce Brown, but due to NCAA rules he can't comment on current, unsigned recruits.

Aldarius Johnson, DVD, and Baby J were walking around greeting the 200 people or so while we were eating and meeting the recruits who were available.

The recruits sat in two tables, separated by offense and defense. The offense had Jacory with them and the table included Brandon Washington, Mike James, and Jermaine Johnson.

The defense had Sean Spence with them and included Olivier Vernon, Brandon Mcgee, and Curtis Porter.

We have pictures with them all, as well as some of the other coaches.

A long day, too long for us to go to the encore and watch our men's basketball take on Wake in half an hour. We are happy with the class we signed, although we do wish we would have offered Hosely (signed with V-tech), it would have helped, especially with Webster decommitting, but we can't look at this class and be dissapointed.

Sorry, forgot to mention this previously, but Mccaskil doesn't have an offer from UM. Forgot to ask the coaches about him earlier in the evening but I will jump online when I get home and see what information I can find on him.

Thanks for reading and as always Go Canes!!!!

Recruiting Update #1

2009-02-04T10:24:00.007-05:00

Around town right now, and en route to the first of many parties, but here is a list of the confirmed signatures.

Stephen Plein
Prince Kent
Jamal Reid
AJ Highsmith
Mike James
Brandon Washington
Jermaine Johnson
Curtis Porter
Oliver Vernon
Brandon McGee
Ray Ray Armonstrong
Dyron Dye
Malcolm Bunche
Luther Robinson
Cory White
Shayon Green
Jared Wheeler
Lamar Miller

Quick bit of extra info.... Lamar Miller signed at 10, he was wearing a vest and UM tie. This kid will be the stud of the class, we said it here first.

Rumor is Tiller followed his HS coach to syracuse. We really could have used another body on the line.

Thanks to our reader for mentioning Sanders.

As far as other non-UM recruiting news...Gulliver LB Frankie Telfort to USC, #2 LB Jelani Jenkins to UF.

Thanks for reading and Go Canes.

12 Hours Before Mayhem

2009-02-03T20:36:00.004-05:00

Quick, to the point info for now with an update for a schedule we are trying to stick to tomorrow.

First, Peter White has committed to Maryland. It's a shame, but rumors are he called Coach Fridge and he's sealed and delivered to them.

Also, Quinton Washington threw us a curve ball and picked Michigan over us and South Carolina. We sure didn't see that coming.

Quick break from recruiting.... it looks like Robert Marve is going to try and walk on with UF this year, so that should be interesting to see. I wonder how many classes he'll miss and drinking parties he won't.

Now onto Sam Barrington, this kid looked like he was going to sign with us, but we wish him luck in his endeavors at USF.

Tomorrow's day starts early, we should have our first big news at 9 am and will be updating it every hour or so via our blackberry while we are traveling from watch party to watch party until we end up at the official one on campus at 6pm. Please keep refreshing the blog, information should be flowing freely (as will the beer where we will be).

Thanks for reading and Go Canes.

Is it U or I? LB-Barrington chooses tonight...

2009-02-03T18:20:00.005-05:00

As we all await the decision from Sam Barrington tonight at 8:30pm, just want to give a quick rundown on him. Barrington, a Jacksonville native, will be choosing between USF, Illinois and Miami. He has said that he thinks they are all good programs, but I will point out that he did emphasize that Miami was the best program out of the three. It is rumored that he reserved a spot at the Eclipse Night Club in Jacksonville. If this kid wants to announce at a night club, seems to me like Miami might be the place for him. But he won't do the usual hat picking thing. He said it will do something different, unique.

At 6'3, 220lbs., Barrington has the makings of becoming a big physically imposing linebacker, a position we are still lacking depth at. At that size he could be ready to see action immediately. His last official visit was down here in Miami the two weekends ago, but he did receive an in-home visit from coach Ron Zook later that week. In my opinion, it will come down to Illinois and Miami, with Miami having the edge. Stay tuned as we will bring you more coverage on his commitment tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-jFGd-Mi4Q

Thanks for reading...

GO CANES!!!!