Eye on the U

Dye, lawyer still waiting to hear back from NCAA

The criminal complaint filed by Hurricanes football player Dyron Dye against former NCAA investigator Rich Johanningmeier will not lead to charges being filed.

Spokesman Ed Griffith of the state attorney's office told The Miami Herald last week there was no evidence that a crime had been committed even though Dye said Johanningmeier "coerced him into providing favorable answers for [the NCAA's] investigation."

Darren Heitner, Dye's attorney, said he and his client are waiting with much anticipation to see what the NCAA plans to do with the 6-5, 261-pound's eligibility. He interviewed with the NCAA for a third time last month. 

"Right now there is no indication his eligibility is at risk," Heitner said. "That said, during his third interview they mentioned there was a potential 10.1 [unethical conduct] violation. We haven't heard from the NCAA since the conclusion of the third interview. We hope that if there is any negative consequence they make it public knowledge quickly."

Signing Day may extend past Wednesday for UM

Al Golden and his staff are scheduled to talk to reporters about their 2011 signing class at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. But Golden may not be able to talk about all of the players who end up inking with Miami.

In addition to several west coast recruits who will be announcing later in the day/night, Palm Beach Dwyer quarterback Jacoby Brissett could end up waiting a few days to make his decision known to the public. The 6-4, 200-pound U.S. Army All-American, who trimmed his list down to UM, Florida and Wisconsin on Monday, could wait until his basketball game on Senior Night Friday to announce where he's going.

"Right now, his mother and I are both trying to convince him to do it on Wednesday at school," Dwyer coach Jack Daniels said. "But I think he wants to wait until Friday. We'll see what happens."

National Signing Day is just the beginning of the signing period for football recruits. They have from Wednesday until April 1st to pick a school. UM could still end up hosting a few other potential recruits in the coming weeks.

> As it stands, the Hurricanes have 15 commitments. Junior college cornerback Byron Moore of Los Angeles Harbor Community College will announce at 11 p.m. tonight if he's going to UM or Tennessee. Moore finished his season with 42 tackles and seven interceptions and will head to his next school with three remaining seasons of eligibility left.

Moore will make his announcement on an internet radio show called The All-Star Approach.

> According to the Newark Star-Ledger, Rutgers has given former quarterback Tom Savage permission to transfer to either UM or Florida.

Savage, a freshman All-American in 2009, announced three weeks ago he was transferring after losing his starting job last season. He threw for 2,211 yards and 14 TDs and 7 INTs as a freshman. He played in only two games because of injuries and ended up on the bench last season.

> As I told you guys last week, former UM coach Randy Shannon will be on ESPNU on Wednesday as a special guest. Shannon, who was a candidate for the devensive coordinator position at UCLA, could end up looking for a job in TV in 2011 according to the Associated Press.

> Booker T. Washington defensive tackle Elkino Watson, who visited UM two weekends ago, said he will announce at 9 a.m. on Wednesday his choice between UM, USF, Florida and Louisville. He grew up a Canes fan, but didn't receive an offer from UM until a few weeks ago when Golden took over as coach.

I spoke to him at school for about 10 minutes Monday. Here is his interview:

ELKINO WATSON INTERVIEW 1-31-11

Art Kehoe press conference (audio/transcript)

Here is the audio and transcript from today's press conference with offensive line coach Art Kehoe. 

ART KEHOE PRESS CONFERENCE

Opening statement: "I can't tell you how great it is to be back. It's unbelievable. My wife Diona and Madison and Jake, they’re so jacked up about being back. Coming home, and coming back to Miami, it’s a great thing. I'm just pumped up. My friend told me, a good friend of mine said, `Just tell them that you had a long haggling contract dispute with coach (Al) Golden and we finally agreed to another 27-year contract.' All right? How does that sound?

"This whole deal came through, and I started talking to Coach Golden and we kept it quiet for a while. Miami is a wonderful thing. And he just kept talking about his vision, and he kept talking about his plan for the University of Miami. It didn’t matter whether it was off season, recruiting, the way they practice, the way they go about their business. He got me so pumped up. That’s the whole deal. Coach Golden is a leader and the staff, I kept reading about them, and kept looking them up on the website, is a bunch of terrific guys. They have what it takes and we're going to win. I love Miami, I love the University of Miami and I wanted to come back, but Al Golden's vision, Al Golden’s plan for what we’re going to do here at Miami has got me over the top. And I want to thank Kirby Hocutt and Paul DiMare and Bernie Kosar – the people that picked this guy -- because you’ve got a winner. It all starts at the top, and he has a great plan.

"And I was born and raised in Philadelphia and I saw Temple football. Temple is a great school. But to say it mildly, they’ve struggled in football. And what he accomplished there, is just amazing. You’re going to find out, I think the best way to put it, is to say that the only variable between the University of Miami going back to the top is time. I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but it is going to get done under Al Golden.

"I’m excited. Jed Fisch, and our whole offensive staff, I love these guys. I love what we’re going to do. I love the organization. Before we’ve even completed our recruiting for this year, we’re already, and I just got in so I couldn’t help very much. Coach Golden told me not to screw any of the guys up. Just don’t try to mess up any recruiting. I think it’s great what’s going on in every facet for next year, for recruiting over the long haul. We’ll already on a bunch of projects, the plan he has is great.

"That’s all we talked about. I kept telling Diona – I said, Dee, I gotta get back on board. And I didn’t know really whether I was going to get the job. So I kind of unleashed Hurricane nation. I went out and called every coach I worked for, every coach I coached with, every player I played with, every player that I coached. I called every alumni, board of trustee, every person that was close to me in this whole environment at the University of Miami. And I think he got the message because the next day he called me and said, `Whoa, Art, stop it. It's a blitzkrieg,'

"So we have a good relationship and like I said, I don’t know how else to explain it if you’re not involved with what we’re doing, whether it concerns recruiting, off the field weightlifting, our classroom, the competitive atmosphere we’re going to have. I don’t know what our schedule is for next year, but someone was saying it could be early on a little slice of Virginia Tech and Florida State and Ohio State and Kansas State. And I say let’s get it on baby, because we’ve got to get ready.

"Other than that, I just want to tell you from my heart and soul, to be back in Miami is a wonderful thing. My family, my son is now 6-year-old Jake, and he asked Diona the other day, ‘Mom, could he play basketball and football for the first time. He says, ‘Do they have football and basketball down there in Miami.’ And she said, ‘no jake, they don’t have it.’

"He’s all gunned up, Madison is all gunned up. and the Kehoe family is very, very grateful to a lot of people. I am so grateful to a lot of people I have to talk to. I have to write a lot of letters as soon as I can catch a breath here, gotta make a lot of phone calls. They’re switching me over from my old cell phone to my new cell phone, computer to another computer. Nowadays you get a new job and you’ve got to be ITT involved and I’m way, way behind right now.

"It’s been kind of interesting because I think I had 85 text messages and 69 voicemails and I’m trying to get to them but it’s hard. The Cane Nation came forward for for Art Kehoe and I appreciate it."

Q: Anybody remotely associated with this place knows what this place meant to you for 27 years. Does this place mean as much to you know. Did the five years away wither that feeling at all?

"I always consider myself like a soldier, like a sergeant, a guy that’s in the trenches. But then I always considered myself very lucky to be under the coaches and the players we had. So many good teams and players and coaches. You get spoiled. But it never left me and it will never leave me. It was tough to deal with but coming back – I see Bobby Revilla in the equipment room and Andreu Swasey in the weightroom and Scott in the training room, and you know there's still remnants of what was [left behind]. But Coach Golden has brought in a nice staff, whether it’s operations or the coaches themselves and I know we have good academic support.

"These guys that just.. we were talking about it. I’m playing catch-up; I just got in this week and we have the National Signing Day on Wednesday and a lot of these guys, I’m looking at quick shots of film on them and trying to play catch-up and put it together and make calls so.. if you haven’t met their parents; if you haven’t been with their coaches, you know, you’re a little bit behind. And they’ve done a good job of playing catch-up. And for me, I’m just listening and learning about some of their theories. They have some great ideas on recruiting, too. I just like what’s going on. We’re actively going to seek out, whether it’s having junior days, having walk-on days, it’s things that, Miami being such a good private school and it’s so expensive, you wouldn’t think that would be a good approach for walk-ons, but until you put it in front of them you never know what kind of package can be worked on financially or whether they can handle it themselves.

"And there’s people out there and he was doing this because he was at Temple and he fought like crazy to get it over the top and now you put it at a place like this, and he knows.. you know this guy is fiercely competitive. I read that both him and Mark D’Onofrio were captains of their team at Penn State and they talked about a couple games we played against each other and man, they were great those Penn State games, and just to know what that’s about. I was captain here with jim burt helped me out with this job, and clem barbarino and don bailey helped me out. There are so many people that helped me. you talk about what it meant to me. I don’t know how 27 years playing and coaching and being a graduate assistant, and winning as much as we did, that you could possibly ever get it out of your system. And trust me it never left."

Talk about the process of how this job came about?

“As soon as coach Stoutland – and he’s done a good job. Everybody I’ve talked to around here talks about what a great job Jeff has done acquiring talent and coaching these kids. Everybody, in all areas. Because I’m trying to find out about my O-linemen. Ana gave me like playing cards so I write notes on the back because we’re limited with our meeting time and stuff. I’m getting to meet everybody but anyway, I met him because I heard that coach Stoutland was leaving. We got in touch with each other early and we kept it a secret which is hard to do nowadays and I was glad. I check that Footballscoop and everything. Nowadays with the social networking, it’s hard to keep any secrets.

"The first time I met him, I talked to him on the phone for 45 minutes the first time and I just hung the phone up and I look at Deiona (wife) and I said, ‘Wow. This guy, he’s got it.’ He wanted to grasp the tradition. That’s what his big thing was, ‘Art, man, oh my goodness. Five national titles. You guys played for about 11 of them and you guys had so many good players and so many good coaches come through here.’ He said, I’m so jacked about it. We have to get this and this and this. He just kept talking. I just said, ‘D, I have to get back on board that thing. We got to do whatever it takes.’ And that’s what we did.

"It’s funny. I got this little gash on my face here the night before we met in Greenwood, Miss. Paul Williams was recruiting a kid out there. I’m sorry I’m not allowed to…I’m sorry. Anyway, there was a guy in Greenwood that we were recruiting and he went and met with me there. The night before, I was playing some tag with my son Jake and he picked up like a heavy bottle and threw it at me and the bottle hit my cheek here. So I spent about nine hours in the emergency ward. Then I had to drive about 2 1/2 hours and I had this big band-aid gash on my face. I said, ‘C’mon coach, let’s get in on.’ He looked at me right in the eyes and said, ‘You know, I remember playing against you up in Charlottesville when I was the D-coordinator and he said we had a bunch of good players, guys that went to the NFL and he said my guys told me that you’re O-line got after them. It was by far the most physical line they had.' And I said, well that’s a good thing. And then we started talking. It was relentless.

"We were having lunch and it was just constant talking about Miami. What they’ve done, what they’ve accomplished, what we can do. What’s the plan. How we’re going to get this done. Boom. He has it and he’s going to get it done. I believe this is going to happen. It’s just a matter of time. I don’t even know what’s out there on the practice field. It doesn’t matter. We’ve got a leader and he’s got the goods and we’re going to win. And we have a heckuva staff and we’re going to find a way to win. I know what’s out there is probably Florida tough and ready. The combination of what he’s going to do and what his plan is and the people he has behind him is going to get this done.”

Have you seen Seantrel Henderson yet?

"Yes."

Do you have a sense of how physical this line can be?

“I’ve talked to the strength coaches because they have such a tight relationship. Victor and Andreu and they think the world of this bunch. Coach Golden said when I first met him that the offensive line was the strength of the team. And I said, well that’s good. It’s nice to come into a cupboard. I haven’t met them all individually. We had a little sit-down and I tried to tell them how we’re going to go about our business. I don’t know that they know yet. Not just me, but there’s a new sheriff in town and you better get on board because I know this guy is going to put it down and they better be ready to bite the apple. And if you’re not, you’re going to be left behind. I just believe that and I know that. That’s why I’m here. I’m so pumped up about it. Guys I’m working with, this whole offensive staff is terrific, man. They have great resumes.

"One thing he kept talking about was the continuity of the staff and I said, ‘Look, I’ve read about all these guys on the Internet. I went on a website and I brought them all up and they’re such a talented array of guys. I said the beautiful thing about football is it’s a constant learning environment. I don’t want to think of myself as old because I think I’m young. I might be the oldest guy on this staff but I want to learn from all these guys because they have so much to bring to the table. Jedd’s been around Dom Capers and Billick and Shanahan and, of course, Pete Carroll. And Brennan, man, he’s a young guy he has a wealthy of knowledge and experience and how can you do anything but learn. George McDonald and Terry Richardson, they’re unbelievable. They have unbelievable ties here. They worked for good people all over. It’s a good situation and we’re having a lot of fun already so I can tell we’re going to grind and it’s going to be a lot of hours but we’re going to have fun and we’re going to find a way to win and we’re going to get it across to our kids.”

Did you watch Miami play much over the last few years?

“Every chance I got but it’s hard sometimes to see them. Like those Thursday night games on ESPN. Sometimes you’re at the end of you’re work week and usually you’re working on tip sheets and scouting reports and reminders and stuff. But I couldn’t help it. I had to get a little touch of the ‘Canes.”

How much has the game changed on the o-line since you were here or is everything the same?

“For me, I got really confused. I don’t want to sound like a dummy or anything. In five months I went from Ole Miss to Lambeth University, an NAIA school, and then a guy got sick at Louisiana Tech, Petey Perot, and I went to Lousiana Tech. And then I was in the UFL. Every system is different. It’s like going from French to Italian to Spanish. The verbage is different for formations, for motions, for shifts, for fronts, for blitzes. I would be confused and going, ‘No, that’s that other system.’ Heck, when I went to Lousiana Tech I was already at Lambeth, helping out there line coach for Hugh Freeze. When I got to Louisiana Tech they handed me a picture of all their O-linemen and thank god I had a good graduate assistant that did a great job for me because they’re all sitting right there and they just handed me a playbook and in the middle of two-a-days you got to start coaching them. It’s a great experience. It’s good.

"But that part of it causes you a some confusion getting in different systems. All these guys are from different systems. We’re going to use Jedd’s system I’m sure and coach Golden’s with their mix. I’m anxious to find out. As soon as this recruiting breaks, we’re going to go into deep, hard think tanks and try to get this all resolved. It only matters what you can teach your players. We’re all teachers. So no matter how involved you get with formations and personnel groupings, you want to be able to teach each other the system and learn from each other and incorporate that into your system of teaching. Heck when I got to the UFL with coach Green under Mike Kryzcek that was a tough, West Coast…we didn’t have the resources and we were putting together a nice playbook…you just have to find a way to simplify constantly, condense and reduce and get it across to them so they can play aggressively.

"When we were talking, Jedd and I, I think that might have gotten this thing over the hump when I talked to Jedd. People that helped me were like Rob Chudzinski, who knew Jedd, and Mike McDaniel, whose like a young guru. He was a running backs coach with me. He was with the Houston Texans and the Denver Broncos as a quality control guy. He graduated from Yale and we were in the same system together. Those guys all called Jedd and Jedd had working relationships. Tony Wise, who was my mentor, also had a good working relationship with Jedd. When they called him up, they said…Here’s what I know. I might not know all about football and recruiting or be the best at either one of those, but to me it’s all about trust. And someway in this short time with coach Golden and coach Fisch, we had to develop some trust. And it helps with a guy like Rob Chudzinski and McDaniel and Tony Wise call Jedd. We just hit it off right away. He said, you know Art I have been in some systems too. And I have a lot of knowledge but what I’ve learned as a young coordinator is that throwing it all in their ain’t the way to do it. The way to do it is get your staff working together and put in a concise gameplan in their and eliminate as you go down so you can focus against a bunch of different looks on a few plays rather than a lot of plays. I like the way he’s going to package it with formations and motions. Like tony Wise said, blocking is blocking and tackling is tackling. Some of the drills I learned from him I still use. A lot of the teaching methods I use to.”

Did you say you talked to Jeff Stoutland?

"I have talked to Jeff. He's super busy. Coach Saban is probably a little bit busy. He called me back. I called him and I've known Jeff for a long time and wanted to talk to him about you know. It's going to come down to me working with my own players and developing my own ideas. But I want to have as much input as I can have going into that and learn about these guys. Evidently, from what I'm listening to, he's done a terrific job recruiting and acquiring talent and they're young. They're kind of fun. Vic and Andrew are saying they're awesome to work with in the weight room. And that's a big part of it. We're trying to change the mentality. It's going to be Al Golden's mentality. It's going to be his vision and his plan. All of us have to be on board. Some of the players I know that were here before or that were here, but some that I know through recruiting or whatever, touched base with them during different meals during recruiting I kind of pulled them off to the side and I go 'Hey, get everybody in on this. Don't miss the boat, don't try and rock the boat. Just get on board, understand the schedule, be early, work hard, do all the Cane kingdom was about.' It's about team, competing, whether its the classroom, whether its the weight room, whether its the film room. I want to create that same type of environment that Coach Golden is talking about in my room. That offensive line better know it's all about competition. The depth chart is etched in sand. Just because you earn a job you better keep that job. I can't tell you how happy I am to be here and how excited I am because I know we're going to win. I know it. Let's get there and we'll see it happen."

How valuable is that you have the institutional knowledge of what it's like when you go into Tallahassee? How valuable do you think that part of is going to be to this new staff?

"I think it will be invaluable and I think that's part of the reason he brought me back. Just from the other guys that I played with, that I coached, that came back here and wanted to meet coach Golden, they all feel the same way. This isn't something like Art's got a good relationship with the guy, everything is hunky-dory. This is a lot of people talking to Al Golden and he's bringing the same message over and over. Is it inputed yet? There's no way. It's not there. You're dealing with 17, 18, 19, 20-year old guys. They're gonna have to figure it out. And they will. Because this is a great place. It has a tradition of winning. They know. Micheal Barrow, there's other people here, and the whole athletic department is going to contribute to this. To win, you have to win as a team. To win the recruiting battles, it takes the whole university. To win on the field, it's a lot more than just the guys on that field. It takes everybody in this building. That's the other good thing. The guys coming in here saying 'God, we're geeked. We're at Miami.' We're coming from Temple and we're going to Miami and 'Wow.' He wants to learn and he wants to bring the old back. He's already talked to Melvin Bratton, Alonzo Highsmith and Michael Irvin about coming back and talking to his team. And he understands how this was built. He's definitely a student of the game.

"The first thing he said to me when we sat down. He looked at me. He has those ice blue eyes man you know. I'm going 'Wooh.' He looked me right in the eye and said 'Art, I'm walking down the field and I see you working in your individual period. What am I going to see?' I thought that was a heck of a question. I told him, 'First of all your going to see a prepared bunch of guys. We're in our meeting, we're going to discuss what we're covering that day. We're going to cover it with film. We're going to know every place, the where the why and when on that football field. We're in whatever area we're in. So they're going to be hustling and I"m going to be hustling to that next drill. And they're going to be sweating when they get to team periods. And they're going to be working and we're going to consume ourselves with effort on the field and preparation.' I said, 'That's what you're going to get from me.' I know he expects that out of everybody. We probably got a lot of things to work at here. What I've been hearing, what I've been seeing, what I've been listening to -- I like."

Have u allowed yourself to daydream what will be like going back to FSU this fall after u never thought u’d go back there again?

"I haven’t gotten to that point. I've been thinking about a lot of stuff but -- you know what’s funny? When we were let go in 2005, that night, I never talked to Florida State guys. I’ve seen them in high schools my whole life, Coach Bowden. I respect them immensely. I think we played them 28 times during my tenure and we were 17-11. And they were the most dynamic crazy football games. The heat -- I remember -- it’s crazy, those games are crazy. We could sit here for days if we’re going to talk about Florida State and Miami.

"I remember one of my last games, it was double 90s in the Orange Bowl – we just pulled it out with a wide right, maybe, I’m not sure – and I’m leaving and I see all the equipment guys with a gigantic push cart of hundreds of pounds of ice. We have 15 guys literally on the floor of the training room with IV bags coming out of their neck, everywhere. They’re in total cramp, total exhaustion. I don’t want to compare it to war, but it looks like a battlefield.

"They were coming back with the ice, and they said ‘you think this is bad? Go over there. they’re spread out all around the locker room. Guys haven’t taken their pants and pads off yet and it’s 35 minutes after the game. I’ve already showered.

"I think we could play them on the beach down here in Key Biscayne and get a couple hundred thousand (fans) for the game."

"But I remember the night we were let go, Bobby Bowden and Odell [Hagans] and Coach Amato all called me at my house. They said, ‘Bro, we just want you to know it a'int going to be the same.’ Odell Hagans, everytime we played them on either field, sometime during the warmup he would find me…and he would point at me like, ‘It’s on baby, get ready. Yes, it’ll be beautiful, it’ll be awesome. And they’re recruiting good and that’s another thing about coach Golden. He said, ‘Hey Art, I don’t like guys that are just going to go, ‘Well, he’s going to Florida State or he’s going to Florida.’ I said, ‘You won’t have that problem with me, man. I’m going to fight to the end.’” I can tell these guys are good at that, too. They’re scrambling because they got into it late, but they’re doing fine."

Before you started talking to Al, in the last 5 years or so, did you think this was a real possibility u’d be back at UM or just fantasy?

"Never. I never thought it would happen -- you get to come home. That’s what he said when he called. It’s a funny thing. I live in Taylor, Miss. Which is about six miles from the {Ole Miss] campus. And you’re really like in Mars. I get no bars on my phone. So I’ve been trying to chase jobs, and my office is the Subway at Walmart up in Oxford. And he called me and said, ‘Are you ready to come back to the family?’ And I screamed, I screamed. And I said, ‘Are you serious?’ He said, ‘I’m dead serious.’ And I screamed out my window. It was raining, cold, about 27 degrees. And I’m thinking this is awesome. I told him, I’m going to go home, kiss the kids and my wife and pack up and I’m going to drive. I’ll see tomorrow about 5 o’clock."

You drove?

"Yeah, I wanted to bring my stuff so I wouldn’t have to make a trip back and waste any time. I did it on no sleep, too, which is fun. But it was worth it. I was excited. He made it fun.

"And I can tell already – the first staff meeting, there’s a lot of preparation, a lot of grinding going on, but he makes it fun, too. We’re going to be around each other for 14, 15, 16 hours a day. U’re going to get tired of each other. So we have to have some fun. That’s a big part of it."

A lot of coaches move around every three, four years, you fortunate to been at UM almost three decades. How tough was the instability last five years on you and your family?

"Actually, we’ve been staying. I was the one that was moving. Dee probably liked that actually. We’ve been in Taylor, Miss. And it’s been really tough. I miss them, man. You go away for 5 months or 6 months and u miss a lot of their lives. Right now we’re probably going to have to go another 7 or 8 or 9 months. I’ll try to sneak up there a couple of times. But I’m anxious to get us all back together. It’s a terrific thing to come back to Miami and bring all of our family home."

Do you see similar traits between Golden and some of the great coaches at UM in the past?

"That’s a great question. It’s a weird combination of maybe Howard and Jimmy. I see some of that in there. I see some Butch in there. We were fortunate all of those coaches were really good. But I see maybe Howard and Jimmy in him. Howard always used to tell us about ‘This is the vision. This is where we’re going to be.’ [laughs] and it happened man. And it happened at a place where nothing like that ever happened before. He talked about it all the time in that strong monotone, very deliberate, never get excited, you’re out on the field, you’re sweating and he’s just pounding on you. Then he calls everybody up and he’d start talking about these visions. You start to listen and it just seeps in there. He gets into your head. And Jimmy was a mind-game guy, too. With Howard, it was always about where we’re going to be and how we’re going to get there. And with Jimmy, it was always about what he put on the wall in the weight room – positive mental attitude plus effort equals performance. And he talked about it all the time. He took each section of that and broke it down to little lectures. I could see a lot of that stuff in Al Golden. I’m really really looking forward to working for him and these coaches because I think we have a good bunch."

Brissett enjoys UM visit, will decide Monday

Lisa Brown has felt a lot like a phone operator of late. Everyone she knows and doesn't know has been trying to figure out where her son, Palm Beach Dwyer quarterback Jacoby Brissett, will be going to college.

Brown isn't sure where that will be just yet. But she knows her and her son will probably be making that decision on Monday night, before announcing it to the public on Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. at Dwyer High.

"Our plan is to cut the list down by tomorrow," Brown said Sunday evening. "We have to hammer a few things out so he can make the best decision possible. But I can tell you this: he had a really great time on his visit to Miami this weekend and they're definitely in it."

UM's coaches have tried hard over the last two months to recruit a talented quarterback since Miami Northwestern's Teddy Bridgewater de-committed and signed with Louisville following the coaching change. The Canes learned over the weekend they are out of the running for Orlando Lake Nona's Kevin Sousa, who informed UM coaches he's down to South Florida and Wake Forest. St. Thomas Aquinas' quarterback Jake Rudock told UM coaches earlier this week he was sticking with Iowa.

As for Brissett, Dwyer coach Jack Daniels said he called him Sunday morning to trim one of his four remaining schools from the list. So who is out? "He has it down to three schools," Daniels said. "He kind of wants to tell the school before I say anything else. I can guarantee Miami is one of the three schools still in it."

Florida, Wisconsin and Washington were the other schools still in the running for Brissett before his weekend visit to Coral Gables. The 6-4, 200-pound senior U.S. Army-All American visited Washington officially last weekend. Wisconsin is the only remaining school that has recruited him since Sept. 1 of his junior year. Florida, which already has highly-touted Jeff Driskel, "only started recruited him a few weeks before Miami did," according to Daniels.

"I don't try to get too involved," Daniels said. "But I know he has a pretty good opportunity at Miami and his mom is a huge Canes fan. That's definitely in their corner."

Daniels said Hurricanes coaches have put a full court press on Brissett over the last two weeks. Al Golden and several assistants went to see Brissett's high school basketball game on Monday. Golden sat next to Brissett's mother during the game.

"He's as close to Coach Fisch and Coach Golden as someone can get to anybody in a span of two weeks," Daniels said. "If he's really close to anybody, it's the coaches at Wisconsin because they've been recruiting him from Day 1. He really likes the offensive coordinator. The thing is the distance.

"We'll have to wait and see how he feels Monday. But the plan now is he'll inform the coaches of where he's going and make a formal announcement Wednesday morning. Honestly, it's kind of exciting. I'm on edge. We'll see what he ends up deciding soon."

A FEW MORE TIDBITS

> Daniels said UM, which hasn't spent a lot of time recruiting his players in the past, have already verbally offered 6-6, 280-pound left tackle Patrick Miller, who is part of Dwyer's 2012 class.

> Jacksonville Ed White offensive lineman Kaleb Johnson, who visited UM Jan. 21, will make his announcement at 9 a.m. Wednesday at his high school, according to his coach Terry Gilliam. Johnson (6-5, 280) met with UM coaches on Tuesday.

"Miami is still definitely in the picture," Gilliam said. "The others are North Carolina, Louisville and Rutgers. His mom decided he would let the school know before hand."

Does any school have an edge? "I don't know," Gilliam said. "But I do know he has a family member who works at North Carolina."

> Las Vegas Bishop Gorman defensive tackle Jalen Grimble, a 5-star recruit according to Scout.com who visited UM last weekend and was once a USC commitment, took his official visit to UCLA this weekend according to coach Tony Sanchez.

"He's going to announce at [5 p.m. EST] on National Signing Day," Sanchez said. "I'll find out more tonight when I talk to him at our banquet. But I can tell you Miami is still in it."

Canes land commitment from DE Dubose

Bryant "B.J." Dubose will remain a Hurricane. 

The 6-4, 230-pound defensive end/tight end and two-time All Broward First Team selection from Oakland Park Northeast High (whose nickname is the Hurricanes) committed to UM on Sunday -- although he was hoping to keep it a secret until National Signing Day.

"That was the plan," Dubose said of his commitment. "But you know how these websites are. They hear something and they call you nonstop."

So why did he pick the Canes? "It just felt like the place for me," Dubose said. "I felt most comfortable there."

Dubose, who visited UM this weekend, played in high school for former Canes running back Donnell Bennett. He's considered a three-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout.com. Dubose had 60 tackles, 11 sacks and an interception as a senior as he helped lead Northeast to the Class 6A regional final. As a junior, he had 55 tackles and 13 sacks.

"I'm just very proud of him as a person," Bennett said. "He's grown so much on and off the field. He's starting to get the gist of this growing up thing."

Bennett said Dubose still isn't a full academic qualifier for college, "but he's pretty close."

"I'm not sure what he needs -- the guidance counselors handle that," Bennett said.

Bennett said Dubose would have his National Signing Day event at school at noon on Wednesday.

> Orlando Lake Nona quarterback Kevin Sousa scratched the Canes off his list Saturday night according to his high school position coach Anthony Paradiso.

"He's probably going to make a decision between Wake Forest and South Florida in the next day or so," Paradiso said. "We called coach Fisch last night and shared that news with him. We were up at South Florida this past weekend. With Kevin being new to football and Wake Forest and USF having recruited him for awhile, he just feels more comfortable with those guys. They know him better and he knows them better."

At this point it appears UM will either land Dwyer's Jacoby Brissett (visiting UM today) or end up with a transfer or prep school quarterback.

> Dubose becomes UM's 15th commitment and fourth defensive end to join this class. UM is expected to land JUCO DB Byron Moore when he makes his announcement on Monday night. Moore is choosing between UM and Tennessee. The Hurricanes have at least 16 scholarships to offer in this class -- if not more. 

Anthony Chickillo will stay in Tampa to sign his LOI

National Signing Day is Wednesday, Feb. 2.  Future UM defensive end Anthony Chickillo was so excited at the prospect of signing his Letter of Intent that he wanted to do it in Miami instead of Tampa, where he lives and is a senior at Alonso High School.

But instead of doing it in Miami, Chickillo has decided to play it smart and do it during a 9 a.m. ceremony Wednesday at his high school. There were some NCAA compliance issues that had to do with possibly having his signing ceremony at Miami establishments owned or run by UM boosters.

"It's not worth getting in trouble over,'' said his mother, Joan, who is very excited at the prospect of having another Hurricane in the family. Anthony's father Tony was a UM star defensive lineman in the early 1980s. Anthony's late grandfather Nick was a two-way All-American lineman in the early 1950s.

And if you happened to catch Anthony in action this season -- including in the Under Armour All-American game earlier this month -- you know the caliber of athlete he is already. The kid has a motor that doesn't quit.

It should be fun to watch another Chickillo grow up in Coral Gables.

--SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN

 

 

UM's strength program under new Golden rules

Strength and conditioning coach Andreu Swasey has seen a lot of change at the University of Miami over the last 11 years. The Hurricanes have gone from being a national championship-caliber team under Butch Davis and Larry Coker to last season's 7-6 mess under Randy Shannon.

So what has Swasey seen in the early stages from his new boss, Al Golden? A lot of what he saw when he first got back to UM in 2000.

"Right now, I would compare him to Butch -- just on discipline, structure and what he's demanding," Swasey said. "The thing I know coach is stressing, that he wants, is mentally tough guys. He wants to find out when guys are going to crack and when they aren't going to crack."

Golden has asked Swasey to implement some new rules in the team's off-season workouts programs. Among the new additions and changes:

> The addition of "The Fifth Quarter."

"It's something at the end of the workout to target intensity," Swasey said. "It starts at five minutes, but can last longer. The kids love it. It's exciting. It's a post workout. It's high intensity. It could be forearm plate raises. It can be core [training] stuff. We could be outside flipping tires, doing a hammer hit, pushing sled, pulling sleds, doing a lot of different stuff. It's something that will challenge them after they're fatigued and tired. You just did a full workout, but now we're challenging you at the end of the workout."

> The addition of "Creative Excellence." After workouts, Swasey said, players are required to work on individual position drills by themselves or with their teammates. It's a mandatory 20 minutes -- at the very least.

"The first week they were throwing up right and left," Swasey said. "I think it's a great addition. He wants guys working on their craft each day, even if they worked out early and are dead tired. He wants them working on their actual individual position drills. The thing I love he said about it was, 'Painter's paint, singers sing, you're a football player you have to work on that too.' You have to lift weights, but at the end of the day you have to be a better football player. You have to go and work on your art after the weight room."

> Also a new Golden rule according to Swasey: Breakfast is mandatory.

Before Golden, Swasey said, there was no monitoring of what players ate before coming to him. And some, he said, would skip breakfast. "They have to come check in or we check on them to make sure they ate," Swasey said. "The good thing about that is they are getting 1200 to 1500 calories prior to starting. Some kids wouldn't eat until lunch before."

> Swasey said he loves the fact Golden has pushed the start of spring practice back to March 5th. Under Shannon, the team would start spring practice in mid-February. Swasey said adding a few more weeks in the weight room "will definitely help guys get bigger and stronger."

> Another new addition Swasey likes -- what players do in the weight room will actually count toward where they start out on the depth chart in spring ball.

"He told guys `You can start, can come out of spring ball a starter depending on how you rank in the weight room, your work ethic," Swasey said. "We want tough guys, guys that will fight, guys doing everything they're supposed to do, which makes you a champion."

Swasey said he feels blessed to still be with the program. When Shannon was fired, he wasn't sure if Golden would keep him on the staff. Swasey and Micheal Barrow are the only remaining holdovers from Shannon's staff.

"I think when I got back from the bowl game [is when I found out I was going to stay]," Swasey said. "He told me to write down somethings so we can get ready for spring, some ideas. He gave me some pointers on what he wanted to target and focus on. When I heard that, I was overly excited about it.

"But the bottomline is that we were 7-6. It is what it is. Whatever happened, can't happen anymore. Whatever's going on, we have to get better. I look at everything as a whole. No matter how we got to those six losses, we came up with them. The approach coach Golden has -- and that's what I love about him -- is that whatever we did last year wasn't good enough. That's a great approach. Right now, that's the approach we're pushing and have in the weight room."

Swasey said the team, which began lifting four days a week with him (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) for an hour and a half a week ago, will not do any strength tests until a week or two before the start of spring ball. But Golden has already been handed stat sheets with players weights, strength and speed numbers -- and he's expecting improvements.

"Right now we don't have a choice but to be better than 7-6," Swasey said. "I do believe we will be. One [reason] is because of Coach Golden's plan of attack and how he's doing it. Just the cohesiveness he's building. Two, I think he has a hell of a staff. We just have to keep working. Time will tell. But we're definitely ready to be a much better football team. We have to be a lot better than 7-6."

A COUPLE OTHER QUICK NUGGETS...

> Defensive end Olsen Pierre became the second early enrollee Friday. He will start classes Monday. Pierre (6-4, 240) was a three-star recruiting according to ESPN out of Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy. 

> UM had its first baseball practice of the spring Friday. I'll have some more news and notes from coach Jim Morris and several of his players. The Canes are ranked 18th in two preseason polls and were picked to finish third in the ACC Coastal Division.

Canes take LB Paul away from Arizona St.

"Welcome to The U" Gionni Paul.

With National Signing Day less than a week away, the Miami Hurricanes landed their 14th oral commitment Friday morning when the Lakeland Kathleen High School linebacker announced he was switching his future plans from Arizona State to Miami.

"I just did it this morning," Paul (6-0, 227) told CaneSport.com. "I called, talked to coach [Al] Golden and [Micheal] Barrow. They were so excited. They really made me happy, made me feel good, my parents feel good. It was a big decision. It was the best decision for me and my family.

"It just came down to Auburn, Louisville, Miami and Arizona State. It came down to the people. They're great, down to earth people. I love the way coach Golden conducts himself, his program. He's big on discipline. I love the players. There's nothing bad to say about Miami."

According to Canesport.com, Paul got an in-home visit from coach Al Golden on Thursday evening; Arizona State coaches came in for a visit afterward. But it was Golden & Co. that won out.

"Coach Golden came with Barrow," Paul said. "They told me they want me to come in and run the show. They didn't talk to me like recruiting. They talked to me more like from a life perspective."

Paul, who visited UM last weekend, said UM wants him either at middle linebacker or outside. "I'm shooting for nothing less than to play right away," he said. "My goal is to be Freshman Player of the Year in the ACC."

Paul started at safety as a high school freshman before moving to linebacker. Paul is He's rated the nation's No. 33 outside linebacker prospect by Rivals.com. He finished his senior season with 149 tackles, double digit sacks and four interceptions.

PODCAST: Will UM's recruiting efforts pay off on West Coast?

With a week to go before National Signing Day the Miami Hurricanes have 13 commitments and about a dozen more recruits they are still after. 

It's not humanly possible to chase down all the rumors and all the players coach Al Golden and his staff have gone after over the last five weeks. So, instead, I chased down two of the experts who work the recruiting circuit 24/7 for a living -- Scout.com's Mike Bakas and Brandon Huffman.

Bakas has covered Hurricanes recruiting for 10 years. In our conversation, he provided some good insight on new UM commitment Rashawn Scott, a 6-2, 200-pound receiver from Melbourne Central Catholic. We also talked about who Bakas thinks the Canes really have a shot at signing come Wednesday (yes, he believes UM will land Dwyer quarterback Jacoby Brissett) and a lot more. 

Huffman, the Regional Recruiting manager on the West Coast for Scout.com, will have JUCO defensive back Byron Moore on his show Monday night to announce his choice between UM and Tennessee. Huffman knows all about Brennan Carroll and Jethro Franklin and the work they did on the West Coast as recruiters. Huffman talks about that, which California 2011 recruits UM really has a shot at and which 2012 players the Canes have already given written offers to. You don't want to miss that.

EYE ON THE U: Recruiting Podcast 1/26/11

Fisch wants fresh start for QBs, cut down INTs

University of Miami offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch went on Joe Rose's radio show this morning on WQAM. Here is a transcript of most of their conversation:

> Fisch started by addressing the initial ESPN reports the Seahawks may have been interested in bringing him back as offensive coordinator: "No I wasn't close to going back. It was one of those deals the last couple weeks were obviously hectic and crazy. The reason I took the job at The U is because I wanted to come to The U. It wasn't about other options or other offers I was going to have in the National Football League whether to stay with Seattle in a coordinator role or with a couple other teams. It was an opportunity to come down here, to go with coach Golden.

"I think it just happened to be more of a set of circumstances that the logical maybe progression was to ask me to stay or not to stay or whether to have that conversation. But really, as soon as I met with, as I soon as spoke with Coach Golden, as soon as met with Coach Carroll a week prior to our playoff game against Chicago I was totally 100 percent committed to coming to The U and that never wavered."

> Fisch said the fact he didn't meet Golden before he was offered the job -- and spoke to him only a week prior -- isn't as strange as it sounds. Fisch said he hadn't met Pete Carroll before landing in Seattle to take the quarterbacks coaching job a year ago.

"With our profession in coaching, at least in the circumstances I've been in, sometimes you don't have time," Fisch said. "We were in the middle of a season We were in a playoff run. I sensed that not many teams expected us. We were 6-9 going into our last game of the season. So I think coach Golden felt pretty good about talking to me and flying me in to interview me and then we beat St. Louis to win the first game and then we're beating the world champions. So, I think he probably felt pretty good at that point -- that he'd be able to fly in after that game and then when we won that game he had to start moving a little quicker in terms of having to fill his staff. So he called me that Sunday and we had a long conversation. Throughout the week we were able to talk in the morning and then in the evening each day to make sure we were philosophically on the same page.

"I know he probably did a lot of research, talking to a lot of head coaches that I've worked with and players that I've coached. As well as I did my research, talking to a bunch of people that have crossed his path. And we thought it was a great marriage. And that's what it needs to be when it comes to this profession and the role I have for him."

> Fisch said he spent a couple days researching Golden before taking the job.

"The first thing I found out was he's extremely organized, extremely detailed and one of the top coaches in the nation," Fisch said. "And I heard that from three or four coaches that I respect at the highest level. They felt that what he did at Temple -- and I know what he did at Temple. I'm from New Jersey and I know the non-rich tradition of Temple football -- and from 1979 to until Al Golden got there they did not have a winning season and when he was able to get there and go 9-4 and 8-4 in back-to-back seasons, I knew there was something special with Al Golden and the staff he put together at Temple.

"And as I continued to do my research, Matt Hasselbeck, who was on my team, was on a team with Al at Boston College. He spoke extremely highly of him. Along with other guys I spoke with. Everybody felt the same way, organized, detailed, a great football coach, a great communicator and a great person. And he emphasized both family and football. I think those are the two most important things."

> Fisch said the key to his offense at UM will be getting the ball in his playmakers hands. The role of the quarterback, he says, is to be a point guard.

"They have to be the Magic Johnson, the John Stockton, a guy that distributes the football as well as anybody that we can ever hope for and he has to distribute it to the best playmakers he can possibly distribute it to," Fisch said.

> So how does he feel about the Canes' two current point guards, who along with two other backups helped the Hurricanes lead the country in interceptions? Fisch said he wants to give them each a clean slate

"I saw we threw 27 interceptions this past season and obviously that's not a number we're looking for," Fisch said. "We'd obviously like to cut that in half at the most. Sometimes, interceptions are a fluke. I know Tom Brady threw 325 passes without a pick. But I saw nine that could have been. Sometimes you wonder what happens if guys catch balls instead of dropping them. The other thing is we have to do a great job explaining whether its Jacory [Harris], Stephen [Morris] or whoever plays quarterback at The U that they have to know where everybody is on the field. There's no need to force a ball. First of all, punting is fine. Second of all, checking the ball down to our backs is a huge advantage for us. I would guess that our running backs against most linebackers in the nation, I'll take our matchup. So we have to encourage our guys to say it's not just about throw it to this and just throw it to that guy. We have to understand how to go through a progression and most importantly we have to know how to check the football down. And be smart. We understand winning and losing games comes from turnover ratio."

> Fisch, who has been out recruiting and speaking to some of UM's top quarterback targets, said when the dead period starts on Monday he will begin breaking down film to see where and how he can help Harris and Morris.

"I think the first thing for Jacory is we're at a clean slate right now," Fisch said. "I don't have any history with Jacory. As a matter of fact, the games I’ve seen Jacory play were really in 2009 and he had an outstanding year the games that I saw. I know he won a bunch of games without even throwing an interception. He had some real early success. That's kind of the last time I've seen him play.

"What he needs to know is I have all the confidence in him -- as well as Stephen. Because I don't know any better right now. I'm not going to stare at a sheet of paper and see what a statistic told me or a report told me about a guy. I want to see it in person. And what he has to understand -- and what they both do -- we're going to coach swagger, confidence, intelligence, knowledge of the game and passion. We're going to evaluate them on on all of it. And if he has what we’re looking for at the quarterback position, Jacory can have a great year, and Stephen the same way. They both have an opportunity to do something special. What I can't wait for is to be a part of that with them, to help them along, not hold anything back and not hold anything against them for what they’ve done in the past. And really start fresh and start new."

Kiper likes Hankerson, says Bailey has slipped

Mel Kiper, ESPN’s NFL Draft guru, spoke to reporters this morning via conference call. We got in a few questions about where several draft-eligible Canes stand in his mind:

> At the moment, Kiper feels cornerback Brandon Harris will be the only first round pick. He has him going to the Ravens with the 26th overall pick. “That’s a need area for the Ravens," Kiper said. "I think if Harris doesn’t go there, I think [he’ll be drafted] late in the first round. There’s a couple of other teams that certainly could look at cornerback – Chicago being one and Pittsburgh another."

> After Harris, Kiper has defensive lineman Allen Bailey going next. Bailey, who has received a lot of praise at the Senior Bowl this week for his 'Adonis body', has also been ripped this week by a few pundits. Kiper thinks Bailey will be a second round pick.

"You look at him as a 3-4 end, a 4-3 defensive tackle that I think he would fit the bill," Kiper said. "I think the ball location this year was a little lacking. There were times where it looked like he didn't have that awareness, getting in the backfield and making the play some other defensive ends had. Maybe, he felt that wasn't a position that could maximize his ability, that he feels comfortable at that spot when he was kicked out. I think inside maybe he'll feel comfortable as a 3-4 end. I think he can hold stout against the run and hold double teams. I think he's strong enough to do that. I just think his stock dropped from where it was. I thought he would be a first round pick potentially, now he's more of a second."

> If anybody has really shined or improved their stock, its receiver Leonard Hankerson. Kiper believes Hankerson is the best senior receiver in this draft class.

"Hankerson I've liked all year," Kiper said. "I've never put him in the first round. I've never had him in my Top 25. But as a senior receiver I thought he was the best out there. With his size, he runs good routes, I like the pacing of his routes. I think he's a little underrated in terms of the quickness out of his cuts. His hands are very good. He'd have a drop or two, which was very uncharacteristic -- it was more of a concentration issue, not a hands issue. He's not going to be a vertical stretch guy on a regular basis. But he runs well enough. I think he could come in and be a good complimentary good number two guy and be worthy of being a second or third round pick."

> Kiper on a few other Canes:

“In terms of the other players from Miami, offensive tackle Orlando Franklin has some versatility that he provides. I don’t think he played to the level of his talent in games that I saw. He’s going to have to define where he fits best into an NFL blocking scheme. He could be in that early Day 3 area, maybe late Day 2.

“For linebacker Colin McCarthy, probably Day 3 for him which isn’t bad. Day 3 starts with the fourth round.

“I think cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke Day 3 as well. [Kicker Matt] Bosher free agent.

“You also have [running back] Graig Cooper who needs another year to come completely back from that [knee] injury. He came on a little late the year. He was [projected as] a second-round pick before the injury. You might be able to get him on Day 3. Remember James Starks was a guy was a guy that had an injury and fell to the sixth round and has a heck of a finish to the season for the Packers. I think Cooper could be in the fifth, sixth, seventh round and be a nice pickup for somebody once he gets back to where he was a few years ago.”

Canes pull in WR recruit with knack for TDs

Rashawn Scott wasn't a player Hurricanes fans heard much about through the recruiting process. That's because until Monday, the 6-2 1/2, 195-pound senior receiver at Melbourne Central Catholic had been told he would have to wait for a scholarship offer.

Scott finally received it Monday and when UM receivers coach George McDonald visited him at school Tuesday, Scott told him he wanted to be a Hurricane.

So what kind of a receiver did the Hurricanes get? According to Scout, Rivals and ESPN, a mid-level talent all rated three stars by the so-called experts. But according to his coach, Mike Riazzi, Scott is the type of player who just has a knack for scoring touchdowns.

"Someone said to me 'What's Ray's gift?," Riazzi said. "I told them, 'When he catches the football, he becomes a running back. He's not like a wide receiver. It takes more than one guy to bring him down. He's got moves, he's fast. What he does after the catch is not teachable. He just knows how to score touchdowns.

"There are a lot of guys who don't have that knack and he's one of those guys that just knows how to get down there."

Scott scored 31 touchdowns as a senior at Melbourne Central Catholic, a Class 1A state school with a student population of 300 that has sent three other players to Division I schools (Navy, UCF, Georgia) in the last four years.

He scored four different ways as a senior -- as a quarterback (he started the first 3 games), a running back, a receiver and a safety. His final senior stats according to the team's website on MaxPreps: 545 passing yards (5 TDs, 1 INT), 1,008 yards rushing (on 96 carries, 12 TDs) and 1,072 yards receiving (45 rec., 11 TDs) and 59 tackles, 2 INTs and 2 fumble returns for touchdowns.

"He's a track kid and a basketball kid, too," Riazzi said. "He's got gifts. Coach McDonald believes he's a raw receiver. The things Ray does he can't teach. But he can teach him to be a receiver. But those other things? You can't teach that."

USF and West Virginia were his two other finalists according to Riazzi. But Scott also had offers from Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, UCF, Georgia Tech, FAU among a list of 20 schools.

Riazzi said UM didn't begin recruiting Scott until after Al Golden became coach.

"I'd been on the phone with coach Barrow for a few weeks and he said the Canes were going through some transition and said we needed to be patient," Riazzi said. "There was a phone call here, phone call there, 'Are you still interested?' Ray loved his other school's too. You build relationships over the eight month process. But it's hard to resist the Canes. Art Kehoe, Michael Barrow, what Coach Golden is building is amazing. I really enjoyed coach McDonald today. It was a good day and a tough day. But it's a day Ray won't forget. And neither will the Canes."

Scott becomes the second receiver commitment for UM in this class and the 13th commitment overall. The Hurricanes are still recruiting at least two other receivers: Patrick Onwausor and Devin Lucien.

> JACOBY BRISSETT UPDATE: The Palm Beach Post's high school writers have been following the situation with Dwyer U.S. Army All-American quarterback Jacoby Brissett closely for the last few days. Here is a link to their story from Tuesday night. UM is pushing hard to get Brissett to take his final visit to Coral Gables. The Gators apparently are making a push too.

Al Golden was supposed to be in Brissett's home tonight and at his basketball game.

Hurricanes basketball coach Frank Haith said Tuesday he's had conversations with UM's football recruits in the past about playing basketball and is open to letting them tryout for the team.

"I would be very open to it," Haith said. "Vince Young never did it. But I remember at Texas he used to come over to my office everyday and tell me he was going to play both and it never happened. I saw him play basketball and he was really good. He and TJ Ford had some battles in high school. He was a bad boy, but it never quite happened for him."

Do Canes have surprises on tap for Signing Day?

Nobody ever wants to ruin a good surprise. So, its hard to blame Anthony Chickillo when he says he doesn't "want to be THAT GUY!" either.

The Hurricanes' top recruit in the 2011 football class has been a busy worker bee for coach Al Golden since reaffirming his commitment over a weekend visit. His goal: recruit more monsters to Miami.

"I've be calling guys, texting them, sending them messages on Facebook," said Chickillo, the MVP of the Under Armour All-American Game.

"Recruiting is a tough job. I want to build a good class. My goal is to bring a sixth national championship team to Miami. I'm telling you there are going to be a couple surprises, guys who have committed but will announce later. I just don't want to spoil it for them."

Chickillo said he's spent a lot of time talking to quarterback targets Jake Rudock of St. Thomas Aquinas (who informed UM coaches he will stick with Iowa late Monday night) and Palm Beach Dwyer's Jacoby Brissett. "I have a feeling we're going to get one of those guys," Chickillo said. "I've talked to Jacoby a few times."

Others Chickillo said he feels UM has a real shot at: Booker T. Washington defensive tackle Elkino Watson, Junipero Serra (Calif.) safety Marqise Lee and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman defensive lineman Jalen Grimble.

UM, which has 12 players who have publicly said they're committed to the Canes, is likely to land Los Angeles Harbor City Community College's Byron Moore, whose friend from California (a fellow visitor to UM this weekend) told InsideTheU on Sunday he has picked the Canes over Tennessee. Moore hasn't come out and said it himself yet -- so don't officially count him as a commitment yet.

So, who could other potential silent commitments be? I guess we'll find out a week from Wednesday.

> Chickillo, by the way, said he is planning to have his National Signing Day event down here in South Florida, possibly at the Titanic restaurant near UM.

> As for Grimble, a 6-3, 255-pound five-star linemen and USC commitment, his visit to UM this weekend wasn't only a surprise to UM fans -- but his high school coach, too. Bishop Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said he "had no idea Miami was bringing him down."

"I talked to him today a little bit about the whole situation," Sanchez said. "Their coaches haven't contacted me at all. It seems like things with USC have changed a bit with him. Miami definitely has a shot. I don't believe he's going to visit USC this coming week. For me, his trip to Miami speaks for itself. But you'll have to ask him what he's going to do. I don't want to speak for him."

Sanchez said Grimble will probably make his final announcement on National Signing Day. Grimble's cousin, Xavier, was a freshman tight end at USC last season. He was the No. 1 high school tight end in the country last year according to Rivals. He didn't catch a pass this past season.

Could he eventually end up heading to UM, too? That's just pure speculation right now. UM national recruiting coordinator Brennan Carroll, however, did recruit Xavier Grimble to USC before being let-go by Lane Kiffin.

Sanchez said Jalen Grimble had a basketball game Monday night. He couldn't be reached for comment.

> Orlando Lake Nona quarterback Kevin Sousa will likely make his announcement by the wekend according to his position coach Anthony Paradiso. But first he will host the offensive coordinators from South Florida, Wake Forest and UM. Paradiso said UM offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch told him he would visit either Tuesday or Wednesday. Wake Forest's coaches come in on Wednesday.

"Kevin is going to ask a lot of questions, like how they can help him and get him better," Paradiso said. "I think his mind is made up about what he likes about certain schools. Every school has a little bit of something of what he wants in his future and what his goals are. He's excited about Coach Fisch and what he said.

"Ultimately, I know Miami would like to bring in two quarterbacks. They're goal is to take two. If they can get a real quality one or a transfer, they'll do that. The two kids they told me they've offered were Brissett and Sousa."

> South Broward running back Kevin Grooms didn't end up taking his official visit to Virginia Tech this past weekend according to coach Allen Held. Hokies coaches came down and tried to make a push for him to follow through, but Held said Grooms is fully committed to UM.

"Unless he did it without me knowing, I'm 99 percent sure he was here this weekend," Held said.

> Don't forget to watch former Canes Colin McCarthy, Allen Bailey, DeMarcus Van Dyke and Leonard Hankerson at the Senior Bowl this week.

> When the Hurricanes face Georgia Tech over the next four years, they can expect to face an angry and hungry Nick Menocal. The former Canes' commitment, who switched to Georgia Tech over the weekend, expressed his frustrations to ESPN about UM's new coaching staff.

"After coach Shannon got fired I was still very solid," Menocal told ESPN. "But last week I received a call from Coach [Micheal] Barrow and he told me that after re-evaluating my film they didn't think I would be a fit on the defensive side of the ball."

Menocal, a 6-2, 235-pound outside linebacker from Miami Belen, said that the Hurricanes wanted to honor his scholarship offer and move him to the offensive side of the ball, most likely as a fullback. At that point, though, Menocal began to reassess his standing with the program.

"I told them how I felt, I didn't feel like I was wanted to be honest," Menocal said. "None of the coaches ever came to my school or my house to speak to me.

"I went to Miami on an unofficial visit about the first weekend coach [Al] Golden was there and met with him, but there wasn't any real communication after that. No phone calls or anything, they pretty much abandoned me."

Canes recruiting: The Chase for a QB continues

With a little more than a week to go before National Signing Day, finding the Miami Hurricanes in the national recruiting rankings has become a little harder than usual.

UM, which had 12 publicly declared oral commitments as of Monday night, has the 47th-best class in the nation according to Rivals.com and the 52nd-best according to Scout.com. ESPN, which ranked the Hurricanes No. 1 in 2008, doesn't have UM anywhere near its Top 25.

But where the Hurricanes are ranked come Feb. 2 -- when those fax machines start churning -- isn't how new coach Al Golden and his staff should be judged. It should be whether or not the team fulfilled its biggest needs, starting with quarterback.

"We are all going to judge him, but it's really unfair to," ESPN's Jamie Newberg said. "You're asking Al Golden to do in four, five, six weeks what other teams have been trying to do for the last year to three years in building this class.

"Regardless of what they do from here on out, what they've done is make this class a lot better. But again, it's about filling needs -- and that primary need is the quarterback position. They really need to make sure they get a couple arms. I know they're doing their best."

The Hurricanes, who once had Miami Northwestern's Teddy Bridgewater all set to be their quarterback of the future under former coach Randy Shannon, have worked hard over the last month and a half to put themselves in position to land three of the nation's best signal callers.

At the top of that list is Jacoby Brissett, a 6-4, 220-pound U.S. Army All-American from West Palm Beach Dwyer, who will likely take his last official visit to UM this coming weekend and decide between UM, Wisconsin and Florida according to his coach.

“They hammered him and sold him on a few things. It piqued his interest," Dwyer coach Jack Daniels told The Palm Beach Post last week. "To me, it seems like Jacoby’s the No. 1 player they target.”

The other two quarterbacks UM has offered scholarships to: St. Thomas Aquinas' Jake Rudock (a long-time Iowa commitment) and Orlando Lake Nona's Kevin Sousa, who visited UM last weekend and is committed to Wake Forest.

Rudock, a two-year starter at Aquinas, is expected to announce on Tuesday he will stick with Iowa. Sousa, who only began playing football as a sophomore, will host several in-home visitors next week (UM, USF and Wake) and will likely make his mind up by Saturday according to his position coach Anthony Paradiso. Wake Forest will visit Wednesday night Paradiso said. UM offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch will come either Tuesday or Wednesday. 

"He likes the tradition, being close to home, the opportunity with the depth chart and the chance to be part of something special," Paradiso said of why Sousa (rated the 42nd best quarterback in the country by Scout.com) likes UM.

"He's excited about Jedd Fisch and what he said. They broke down all of his highlights on his visit, talked about how he could get better. [Fisch] was impressed how much better Kevin looked as the year went on."

If neither of those three end up choosing the Canes, other options include: Land O'Lakes' Steve Weatherford; Marcus McDade out of Hargrave Military Academy (Va.); and Dustin Paonessa, a 6-5, 220-pound left-handed quarterback out of Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy. But the Hurricanes could also opt to not take any quarterbacks and use those scholarships elsewhere.

There is also a possibility former high school All-American quarterback Tom Savage will transfer in from Rutgers. His father is currently appealing a decision by the school to deny Savage permission to speak to Miami. His father said he's hoping the final decision of a three-person panel at Rutgers handling the appeal (according to him) will be reached in the next 10 days.

All-American defensive end Anthony Chickillo, UM's top recruit who re-affirmed his commitment over a weekend visit, said he's been trying to help the Hurricanes recruit Brissett and Rudock and several other top uncommitted players.

Among the others Chickillo has been talking to on his phone, texting and messaging on Facebook: ESPN Top 150 safety Marqise Lee of Junipero Serra High in Gardena, Calif; Lee's high school teammate, George Farmer, the nation's No. 1 receiver, who is expected to remain committed to USC; Las Vegas Bishop Gorman defensive end Jalen Grimble (also committed to USC but strongly considering UM according to his coach); and Miami Booker T. Washington defensive tackle Elkino Watson, who has thrown UM into the mix with Florida and Louisville.

"My goal is to bring a sixth national championship to The U," Chickillo said. "I'm telling you right now there are going to be a couple surprises, guys who are committed but will announce later. I'm not going to spoil it for them."

How many available scholarships the Hurricanes have left remains unclear, but Golden told reporters after the Sun Bowl UM would sign at least 16 players, if not more. 

The remaining spots UM would like to address outside of quarterback: receiver, defensive line and cornerback.

Former Miami Central cornerback Thomas Finnie enrolled at UM last week and South Fort Myers cornerback Dallas Crawford, considered the 27th best at his position by Rivals.com, is locked in. Los Angeles Harbor College's Byron Moore, considered the top Junior College cornerback, will likely be the third cornerback the Canes bring in.

At receiver, where UM will have three seniors next season, St. Thomas Aquinas' Phillip Dorsett remains the only commitment. UM is hoping to sway 6-1, 190-pound Devin Lucien of Crespi Carmelita in Encino, Calif. (rated 44th best WR by Scout.com) and/or 6-2, 194-pound Patrick Onwuasor of Inglewood, Calif. Aquinas' Rashad Greene, a longtime Florida State commitment, isn't expected to switch to UM.

On the defensive, the Hurricanes are looking to get Watson and or Grimble. Both are likely signing day announcements. David Moala (6-0, 285) visited UM with his friends from Juniperro Serra (Gardena, Calif.), but still has yet to land a Canes offer.

UM could also end up adding Jacksonville Ed White's Kaleb Johnson (rated 47th best offensive guard by Scout.com); Lakeland (Fla.) Kathleen's Gionni Paul (rated 33rd best outside linebacker by Rivals) an Arizona State commitment  who visited UM over the weekend; and Winton Woods (Ohio) outside linebacker Antonio Poole, who doesn't have an offer from UM yet, but has UM in his final three with Kentucky and Purdue.

There is also one more recruiting weekend on tap. Oakland Park Northeast defensive end B.J. Dubose (6-4, 245) is among a little more than handful of visitors expected to check out UM. Louisville is Dubose's other finalist.

Which of the current commitments could make the most immediate impact?

"It's kind of hard to say who can make the big splash," Newberg said. "I think guys like Kevin Grooms (who didn't visit Virginia Tech this weekend) and Dallas Crawford can help out in other ways with special teams.

"I think Phillip Dorsett could be a guy that is a spark to the offense because he's dynamite with the ball. It's hard to say because you don't know how a kid is going to transition. I think they're all big time gets."

The recruit who will surprise fans most? "I think [Homestead defensive end] Ricardo Williams has a chance to be big time for them," Newberg said. "He's a kid on the edge, kind of flown under the radar screen a little.

"[Offensive tackle Taylor Gadbois] is starting to blow up, a big offensive linemen. Georgia just offered him."

Newberg thinks in the end UM could end up "somewhere between 20 and 30" in most national rankings.

Kehoe's return 'makes everything feel right again at UM'

Art Kehoe, who won five national championships as a UM assistant coach, was finally named the Hurricanes offensive line coach Monday -- about a week after rumors began to surface he might have a chance to return home.

Kehoe, 52, spent the past two seasons as the offensive line coach for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He played two seasons for UM as a junior-college transfer and served as an assistant UM coach for 25 years before he was fired Jan. 2, 2006, by former coach Larry Coker.

New coach Al Golden interviewed Kehoe last Thursday in Mississippi. Kehoe accepted the job Sunday and the announcement was formally made late Monday afternoon. 

"Everybody who has ever been coached by that guy has a pretty significant and everlasting bond with Coach Kehoe," said former Hurricane offensive lineman KC Jones, who is now a financial advisor who lives in West Palm Beach.

"He was a big reason I came to the University of Miami. His attitude and his passion is unmatched by any player or individual I've been around. You can't help but increase your tempo, your level of excitement just being around the guy. He's a guy that comes over and changes a program, the outlook, the excitement level of anybody involved."

Jones said he'll never forget what Kehoe told him when he was being recruited by UM, Oklahoma, Rice and Duke.

"I was pretty wide-eyed when I got to the University of Miami on my recruiting trip," said Jones, who from Midland, Texas. "I remember him asking me what other schools were recruiting me and when I listed the schools, he said, 'That's great. That sounds great. You can go to those other schools. But just know we're going to end up kicking your ass.

"The attitude he has is what the University of Miami is all about. He embodied that spirit. Bringing Coach Kehoe back makes everything feel right at the University of Miami again."

'Melancholy mood' for Johnson, Canes

RALEIGH -- There is still enough time for the Miami Hurricanes to turn things around and make the NCAA Tournament. But right now, these stinging losses -- like Sunday's 72-70 heartbreaker at N.C. State -- and a 12-game road losing streak in the ACC is weighing on the Canes.

"It's a melancholy mood right now," said center Reggie Johnson, who scored 20 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked five shots and turned his play up in the second half to help the Canes rally from a 17-point deficit and have a chance at winning late.

"Everybody is hanging their head right now. But we still have a season to play. We're not giving up hope. Guys got to keep fighting at the end of the day."

It was the second game in a row UM had a chance to tie on its final two possessions and failed to score. Durand Scott, who missed a pair of lay-ups in the final 10 seconds of a 55-53 loss to Florida State Wednesday, had the ball stolen away by N.C. State's Ryan Harrow on his way to the basket on UM's next-to-last possession with 20 seconds left.

Johnson then had the ball stripped from him by Tracy Smith near the basket with under three seconds to go. A scrum ensued for the ball and the remaining seconds ticked away. UM coach Frank Haith said the final play was drawn up for Malcolm Grant, who led UM with 23 points and made all five of his three point attempts.

Grant couldn't do much. He was defended well. "When I came off the screen I felt I wasn’t going to get a good shot off because I felt he was crowding me and his length was going to cause a problem," Grant said. "But I guess I should have just put it up on the rim. I got it to Reggie. But those guys did a good job of swiping the ball and knocking it out of his hands."

Haith said Grant should have gone to an open shooter. "It was a double screen and they covered it up," Haith said. "[Grant] just went to make a play. I thought he had Rion Brown in the corner, he just didn't get the ball to him."

The bottom line for UM here is that they need Johnson to play at a high level or they have little shot at competing in the ACC. While Grant and Scott are capable of carrying the load when they get hot, UM needs Johnson to at least keep the other team honest on defense. Sunday, they were down 17 in the second half when Johnson snapped out of his his funk. After starting 4 of 12 from the field and struggling on defense, he made his final five shots and UM actually took the lead on a Scott layup with 1:04 to go. The last two possesions after that, however, were bad. The Canes never got a shot up.

"I knew once I got going, the guys would feed off me," said Johnson, who scored 22 combined points in his three previous games. "That's a responsibility I put on myself. If I'm playing well, I think the guys tend to feed off me and just get going."

Johnson insists he's no longer feeling the effects of the bone spurs in his right foot (suffered the day after the Duke loss on Jan. 2). But the truth is he is still not playing hard enough every time he's on the floor and he knows it. "A lot more energy," Johnson said of his strong finish Sunday. "First half I felt I was flat coming out -- cold air in my lungs. I just had to get over all that, come out and play harder."

The Hurricanes aren't running out of air yet, but they're getting close. North Carolina (13-5, 3-1 ACC) visits Wednesday night. Then, it's a trip to Virginia Tech (12-5, 3-2). Unless the Canes turn it around quickly, I'm afraid this season could spiral the wrong way quickly. That's not good for Haith or anyone on his staff -- especially after what we saw this past football season.

I'm not saying anybody should or will be fired. Kirby Hocutt has always liked Haith and has repeatedly told me he's happy with the job Haith has done. But a shakeup of some sort is always possible. This team was expecting to contend for an NCAA berth. They have to start winning some of these close ones soon.

QUICK RECRUITING NUGGETS

> Los Angeles Harbor College defensive back Byron Moore is expected to become a ‘Canes commitment officially later this week after visiting UM this weekend. InsideTheU.com is calling it a done deal. Moore wants to make the announcement himself, but Patrick Onwuasor, who made the trip with Moore and several other players from California, told InsideTheU.com Moore has already committed.

> Defensive end Anthony Chickillo told our Susan Miller Degnan today he reaffirmed his commitment to UM. Coral Gables linebacker Denzel Perryman said last night he expected Chickillo to do so.

> Here is the link to an interview I did recently with Hurricane Sports Nation.com about Al Golden recently.

Perryman talks commitment; Menocal switches

Denzel Perryman got his first verbal scholarship offer when he was just a freshman at Coral Gables High -- and It came from his beloved Hurricanes, delivered by linebackers coach Micheal Barrow.

After waiting four years for an answer, the three-time All Dade First team middle linebacker finally told the Canes Saturday to count him in their next recruiting class. Perryman (5-11, 215) was so anxious to deliver the news he told UM coaches before his official visit this weekend was even over.

"My heart has always been here," said Perryman, who racked up 134 tackles and eight sacks in 10 games his senior season. "Basically, I didn't want to lose my scholarship or whatever. I knew I wanted to be here."

Perryman, considered one of the nation's top 20 inside linebackers by ESPN, said he probably would have committed to UM earlier in the process. But he said he just wanted to make sure Barrow was going to be on Al Golden's staff and that UM's new coach also wanted him here.

"When I heard Coach Shannon was fired I got real nervous," Perryman said. "Coach Barrow and I grew real close. The fact he stayed was a huge plus for me." 

Also a plus: the fact new defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio coached Perryman's older brother, Quintero Frierson at Rutgers.

"My brother played for him his freshman year, told me he was a great coach," Perryman said. "I never met him when he was coaching my brother. But I like what his plan is for the defense. I met him two weeks ago. He's a real good guy."

Perryman, one of nearly a dozen recruits at UM this weekend, became the 12th commitment for the Canes leading up to National Signing Day (Feb. 2). UM has at least three more available scholarships -- if not more.

Perryman said he expects UM's top recruit, defensive end Anthony Chickillo, to reaffirm his commitment to UM on Sunday. Chickillo, the MVP of the Under Armour All-American game, had been wavering since former coach Randy Shannon was fired.

"I think we both were just waiting to see how this new ataff was going to be," said Perryman, who is rooming with Chickillo on the visit to UM. "But now that we know what they are about, you feel good about The U."

Perryman said he and Chickillo have turned their focus to trying to get Miami Booker T. Washington defensive tackle Elkino Watson to commit to UM, too. Watson is a surprise visitor this weekend.

> Miami Belen linebacker Nick Menocal switched his commitment late tonight from UM to Georgia Tech. Menocal, who committed to the program when Shannon was still coach, had been asked by Golden to play offense. He felt he was a better fit at Georgia Tech.

He is the second former Shannon recruit Golden has parted ways with over the last two weeks. Cornerback Jeremy Davis was encouraged to look elsewhere.

Nelson's future unresolved; Perryman commits

RALEIGH, NC -- The future of Hurricanes freshman linebacker Kevin Nelson, who left the football team while they were practicing for the Sun Bowl, remains unresolved.

This week, Nelson met with UM coach Al Golden to talk about returning to the team. But according to a source at UM, the 6-foot, 210-pound linebacker from Gainesville was told by Golden he would have to wait until after National Signing Day to receive a final answer.

Nelson (6-0, 210) was considered the third-best inside linebacker in the country by ESPN last February. But he had some issues his freshman season and didn't play for the Hurricanes. According to UM spokesman Chris Freet, no football player had requested a transfer or release of scholarship as of Saturday morning.

> Saturday, the Hurricanes received a commitment from Coral Gables middle linebacker Denzel Perryman during his official visit according to Canesport and InsideTheU.com. We'll have more on Perryman later. 

UM hopes to end ACC road woes at NC State

Hurricanes point guard Malcolm Grant said he'd like to own a black Dodge Charger some day soon so he can stop bothering his teammates for a ride. But first, the 6-1, 180-pound junior from Brooklyn has to finally get his drivers license.

"I've taken [the test] once and failed really bad," Grant said Friday. "It's a really funny story. I ran into the cones when I was parking. The [instructor] asked me, 'How long have you been driving?' I said, 'Two weeks.' He said, 'That's the reason right there. You're not ready. You're not ready to drive.'

"He kind of hurt my feelings and I got out of the car real mad. But I can drive now. I just wasn't ready for the test the other day."

UM coach Frank Haith, who likes to give Grant a hard time about his driving, joked South Floridians should be happy Grant isn't on the road. "He has a tough time figuring out how to put his seatbelt on," Haith said. "So, there's no way he should get a license."

Haith doesn't want to see Grant behind the wheel, but he's definitely hoping he can start steering the Hurricanes' offense in the right direction beginning Sunday at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. against N.C. State (11-7, 1-3).

UM has lost 11 straight road games in the ACC and is coming off its first home loss of the season Wednesday night to rival Florida State -- a bitter defeat that saw the Hurricanes (12-6, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) blow a seven-point lead with over six minutes to play.

Grant, who scored 20 points, was the only UM player to score in double-digits and make a field goal (a three-pointer) over the final six minutes of the game.

Despite holding FSU to a season-low 19.2 percent shooting in the first half and leading by as many as 12 points, the Canes converted only six of their final 22 field goal attempts and shot 34 percent for the game. Sophomore guard Durand Scott missed two crucial lay-ups on UM's final two offensive possessions -- including one that would have tied the game with three seconds to play.

"Looking back at the film, maybe I should have looked back around to see who was open instead of going directly to the basket," Scott said. "That would have been my better choice. But in the heat of the moment, it's kind of hard to think about stopping knowing there is 10 seconds on the clock."

Grant took UM's final shot -- a three-pointer -- with two defenders in his face as the final second was ticking off the clock. It was partially blocked. Grant said Friday he was fouled attempting it. But referees didn't call it and ruled the shot was released after the game clock had expired.

"After the game, the day after I was still upset about it," Grant said. "But I just had to let it go man... Nobody is really panicking yet. We understand what our record was last year. But at the same time we know its a long season. We're ready to keep fighting."

N.C. State is coming off three consecutive losses to the top three teams in the league: Florida State, Boston College and Duke. But the Wolfpack, picked to finish fourth in the ACC in the preseason, are a dangerous team according to Haith.

Coach Sidney Lowe recruited the seventh best freshman class in the country last season according to ESPN, adding 6-8, 205-pound forward C.J. Leslie (11.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and guard Lorenzo Brown (8.9 ppg, 3.2 apg) to a team already featuring All-ACC forward Tracy Smith (15.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and swingman Scott Wood (10.9 ppg), one of the league's top three-point shooters.

"It's a very gifted team in terms of talent," Haith said. "They've lost a couple games here late. I'm sure they think its a home game they got to have to get back in the race. But we feel like its a road game we have to have. It should be an intense basketball game."

A big key for UM's struggling will be getting center Reggie Johnson more involved in the offense. UM's third leading scorer has been battling bone spurs in his right foot since the day after the Canes' loss at Duke on Jan. 2. Johnson has scored 22 points combined over his last three games and hasn't attempted more than six field goals in any of those games. He's averaged under 25 minutes during that span while also battling foul trouble.

"When we do see Reggie's number -- and that 42 is hard to miss -- we got to throw it to him," Haith said. "But he has to do his work early. People are looking to take him out. He's got to work a little harder. The other night he missed a couple shots, got frustrated, so he wasn't himself. That's part of his maturity. He can't let past plays affect his current play."

As much as UM's offense has struggled, turnovers really haven't been the problem. Since ACC play began, the Canes haven't had more than 12 in any of their first four games. Haith said the problem hasn't been shot selection either.

"If you really dissect it, we really got some good looks," Haith said. "Adrian Thomas from three-point range with nobody in front of him. That's a good shot. Everytime we got the ball inside to Reggie he missed a couple bunnies. Those are good shots for us.

"That's tell me we're doing okay offensively. We just have to make some shots. "

A FEW MORE BASKETBALL NUGGETS...

> Haith doesn't want to get fined for complaining about the officiating on Wednesday, but he was obviously upset with the discrepancy (UM went to the line 20 times, FSU went 30).

"Couple plays that could have gone either way," Haith said of the officiating Friday. "The play before Durand brought the ball up with 10 seconds, there was a lot of contact there. The referee didn't think it was enough to warrant the foul. Durand's next play though was tough to see. Malcolm's [last-second shot] there was some contact there. It's part of it. Late game, referees want to make sure they see it good before they make a call like that... I'm being politically correct of course."

> Although they aren't exactly as stingy as Florida State when it comes to clamping down on shooters, UM's defense has steadily improved this season at least in conference play. Last year, UM ranked last in three-point shooting defense (.386) and ninth in field goal defense (.440). Through four games against three of the top teams in the standings: UM ranks seventh in field goal defense (.429) and fifth against three-pointers (.318).

"We went into the year thinking we were going to be a primary zone defense. We worked on it a lot. But I think we're a pretty good man defense too," Haith said. "Against Boston College we played a lot of man, we mixed it in a lot. I think it's good to have the ability to do both. Our zone has man principles. It's very similar. We pressure the ball, have help side defense, we rotate. It's very similar other than we're stationary. We don't run all over the court."

> Haith said freshman forward Erik Swoope might be the toughest and grittiest guy on the team.

"This guy turned his ankle the day before. His ankle ballooned up. He finished practice. [Our trainer] said 'He better go get an x-ray because I think it's broken.' He comes back, finds out its not broken, says 'I'm playing.' He can hardly walk, gets treatment all day and he's playing," Haith said.

"He has that 'it' factor. I love him. I love what he stands for. I love what he's all about. You can win with guys like that. He's a little undersized. But he plays with a lot of grit."

> Haith said he's hopeful swing man DeQuan Jones (broken right hand) will return some point later on this season. Without Jones on Wednesday, Haith juggled his lineup a bit -- giving more time to his freshmen.

"We ended up sizing down, playing Adrian [Thomas] more at the three and moving Raphael [Akpejiori] in the post. That's what we have to do. Hopefully, Rion Brown will get more minutes too."

> Even though they're 1-3 in league play and likely need to win seven of their final 12 league games to have any shot at going to the NCAA Tournament, Malcolm Grant isn't worried.

"We're going to continue to do the same things we've been doing," Grant said. "We're going to turn it around. Nobody is panicking. We all still believe we're going to make the tournament, we're going to do it -- I know that for a fact."

Ayles enrolls, adds depth at tight end for UM

Blake Ayles, considered the nation's second-best tight end coming out of high school in 2008, enrolled at UM Friday afternoon -- ending about two weeks of speculation he would be transferring in from USC.

Ayles spent three years at USC as a backup where he caught 14 passes in three seasons. Last season, he had one catch in 10 games. Former USC tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Brennan Carroll was recently named to the same position at UM. Carroll recruited Ayles out of Orange (Ca.) Lutheran High.

Ayles (6-5, 245) joins a relatively young group at tight end at UM. Last season, UM's tight ends combined to catch 21 passes for 246 yards and one touchdown. Freshman Asante Cleveland led all tight ends with eight catches for 110 yards. Junior Chase Ford had seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.

> As of 3 p.m. Friday, there has been no official word regarding the Hurricanes' offensive line coaching position. We know former UM longtime assistant Art Kehoe interviewed with Golden Thursday in Mississippi. I've heard from several sources the interview went well. So what's the hold up? Nobody is sure. 

But I've also heard for some time now the Hurricanes are also interested in Pat Ruel, 60, who played at Coral Gables High and played two seasons at UM before embarking on a long coaching career at the college and pro level. Ruel coached with offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch in Seattle this past season and was an assistant at USC when Brennan Carroll was there as well. Ruel was recently replaced by Tom Cable as the offensive line coach of the Seahawks. Maybe Fisch and Carroll would prefer for Ruel to get the job instead.

Former Cane Hurlie Brown joins UM staff

Former Hurricanes defensive back Hurlie Brown, who played on two national championship teams in 1989 and 1991, was hired Thursday as a special assistant at the University of Miami. 

Brown coached the secondary at FIU from from 2001 through the 2006 season and spent the last few years at Louisiana-Lafayette coaching defensive backs there.

Brown replaces Tim "Ice" Harris Sr., the father of former Hurricanes cornerback Brandon Harris, who spent three years as a special assistant to former coach Randy Shannon. Harris Sr. left the program earlier this week according to UM and will likely be named the head coach at Miami Booker T. Washington High as early as next Monday.

Harris helped coordinate the football team's community relations projects and assisted in other day-to-day operations of the football program when he was at UM. He won state championships in football and track at Booker T. in and was named USA Today's Coach of the Year in 2007. He sent three players -- including his son -- to UM in 2008.

After his son declared he would enter the draft earlier this month, Harris Sr. said he would remain at UM but was looking to get back into coaching.

> In other news, Miami Central cornerback Thomas Finnie was accepted into UM on Thursday morning and is set to begin taking classes according to UM's sports information office. Finnie is the first of three possible early entrants to begin taking classes in the spring semester.

> Spoke with former longtime UM assistant Don Soldinger who is crossing his fingers for Art Kehoe to land the Canes' vacant offensive line job. As our Susan Miller Degnan is reporting, Kehoe is meeting with Golden today for the first time. 

"I think Art could really help 'em," Soldinger said. "He's been there for everything. He's a Miami guy. Always has been. It doesn't make sense what happened with both of us. We just dedicated ourselves to winning games at Miami."

Canes' D. Jones breaks hand, out indefinitely

The Miami Hurricanes just got a little thinner at small forward.

Junior swingman DeQuan Jones has been ruled out indefinitely after breaking his right hand during Saturday's 72-71 win over Boston College on Saturday. Jones (6-7, 219) has started in eight games and played in all 17 games for the Hurricanes (12-5, 1-2) this season, averaging 5.2 points and 2.5 rebounds.

Jones came to UM as a 5-star recruit according to Rivals and Scout.com, but hasn't lived up to the lofty expectations, starting 31 games and averaging 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds over his career.

The Hurricanes host Florida State (13-5, 3-1 ACC) at 9 p.m. at BankUnited Center. The game is being televised on SunSports. The Seminoles have won eight of the last nine meetings and lead the country in field goal percentage defense. 

Key for QB recruit will be relationship with Fisch

University of Miami coach Al Golden and his staff have been busy traveling the country, visiting high school recruits and hosting them over the past month. Now, after building the Canes' commitment list up to a dozen, UM's new coaching staff will try to close the deal on their first, express-style recruiting class by filling some key needs over the next two recruiting weekends.

At the top of the needs list: Quarterback.

The Hurricanes have offered two QBs scholarships thus far -- Palm Beach Dwyer's Jacoby Brissett and Orlando-area Lake Nona High's Kevin Sousa (6-4, 220). Brissett, a U.S. Army-All American, is considered a long shot. Sousa, however, a Wake Forest commitment, appears much more attainable. But in order for the Canes to sway him south, it will likely take a special effort from new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch, who spent his first day at his new job Wednesday after coming over from the Seattle Seahawks.

In one weekend (Sousa hasn't decided if he will visit this weekend or Jan. 28), Fisch will have to top what Wake Forest's Jim Grobe and quarterbacks coach Tom Elrod have built with Sousa since they started recruiting him last April. No easy task. But Sousa's position coach and mentor, Anthony Paradiso, said the Canes will get their shot at his QB, who was committed to Michigan before switching to the Demon Deacons last month.

"He was committed to Michigan [last June]. He had that big-time football commitment," Paradiso said. "Then things changed up there and he felt real comfortable with his visit to Wake Forest. It's been an ongoing evaluation process since. I always tell him 'You always have to keep your options open.' Right now he is committed with Wake Forest. Coach Grobe and Elrod were with him at school today and spent about five hours with him. He's really comfortable with that staff. He's built a great relationship.

"But I tell everybody if you have a great job and get offered another job that might be a little bit better you're going to consider it, doesn't mean you are going to take it. Hopefully on the Miami visit we're going to look at the staff, have a chance to meet the quarterbacks coach, coordinator, see what they're thinking. Coach Golden has spent a lot of time with him. He's a guy they've really targeted, emailing him, letting him know how they feel. It's not like they came in late. They were just hired. Coach Golden has been real receptive of the process. He doesn't want to push anything. He says coach whatever you need to make this happen, we'll be patient. He said 'I'm not just offering him coach. I want him to be my quarterback.'"

Sousa, who grew up playing soccer, didn't begin playing football until his sophomore year of high school. He finished his senior season at winless Lake Nona, a new school, with 1,001 rushing yards and six touchdowns along with 2,239 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. Although he is still relatively new to football, Paradiso believes Sousa has a college-football ready body and the raw skills a lot of coaches covet.

"He's athletic and as hungry a kid as you'll find," Paradiso said. "He plays basketball the same way he plays football, wanting to tear the rim off the basket. This year we didn't win any games, but it was our second season as a school. We have 700 to 800 high school students and were playing a Class 3A schedule and 6A teams in the Orlando area. We were close in a couple games, but just didn't have enough in the trenches. Sousa is the biggest, tallest kid on our team. The thing is you have all these kids putting up numbers with a supporting cast. Sousa for the last two years had to make things happen by himself. He's throwing to kids that are 5-7, 5-8. He'll finally realize what a pocket is, what pass protection is. when he gets to the next level.

"He has all the skills. It's finding the right school now for him."

> If Sousa ends up making to UM this weekend or next (we'll find out Thursday), UM will have a big recruiting weekend on tap this week with more than a handful of top-notch visitors from California as well as 5-star defensive end Anthony Chickillo.

Here is a short list of the some of the names scheduled to visit this weekend:

> DE Anthony Chickillo, Tampa Alonso (6-4, 235, 4.7)
> WR George Farmer, Gardena, Calif. Junipero Serra High (6-2, 210, 4.38)
> S Marquise Lee, Gardena, Calif. Junipero Serra High (6-1, 185, 4.62)
> MLB Denzel Perryman, Coral Gables (5-11, 220, 4.60)
> OT Antonio Richardson, Nashville Pearl Cohn (6-6, 310)
> DT Antwaun Woods, Woodland Hills, Calif. Taft (6-1, 310, 5.18)
> S Byron Moore, Los Angeles Harbor Wilmington JC (6-1, 205)
> DT Lonnie Gosha, Lake Butler Union County (6-3, 245)
> CB Rashad Wadood, Lakewood High Calif. (5-10, 181, 4.49)

Recruiting podcast 1/19/11

> Be sure to listen in on our first recruiting podcast of the new year. InsideTheU's David Lake was kind enough to join me for about 20 minutes previewing this coming weekend as well as recapping what the Canes have accomplished thus far on the recruiting trail. The last segment is with Anthony Parasido, Lake Nona's quarterbacks coach.

Fisch in the building; other Canes updates

He's in the building. According to University of Miami spokesman Chris Freet, new Hurricanes offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch arrived at his office Wednesday morning and could start recruiting as early as Wednesday night if he finishes his paperwork/recruiting exams with human resources.

ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter reported Tuesday afternoon that Fisch, who was the Seahawks’ quarterbacks coach when hired by UM last week, was a candidate to replace Jeremy Bates as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator. Later Tuesday, ESPN College Football reporter Bruce Feldman reported through a source close to Fisch that he was “100 percent committed to being UM’s offensive coordinator."

Got to love the world of coaching. I think we've all learned that at any moment anyone can bolt for another job. Remember how Jeff Stoutland was so happy UM had retained him? Where is he now? Money always talks.

> I've been told not to expect UM to hire an offensive line coach in the very near future (24-48 hours). With Al Golden out in California recruiting, he's made this recruiting weekend his top priority. Really, there is no major reason to hurry either. The Hurricanes made their more important hire -- offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach -- last week.

As for possible candidates: former USC offensive line coach Pat Ruel, a UM grad, would be a dream hire for the Canes. He's now available that Tom Cable was hired to replace him with the Seahawks. The question is money. Ruel made NFL dollars and Stoutland just left for more money at Alabama.

A lot of people think former offensive line coach Art Kehoe is a real possibility. I would be surprised if Golden is somehow able to pull that off.

> For those of you wondering about the available scholarship count -- figure its right around 16 for now. According to Freet nobody on scholarship has asked to leave the program yet. 

Are there possibilities? Yes. Freshmen linebackers Kevin Nelson and Travis Williams are two some wouldn't be surprised to see leave. 

> For those of you inquiring about early enrollees for spring football, three commitments have a chance to do it: Miami Central CB Thomas Finnie, Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy defensive end Olsen Pierre and Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy linebacker Antonio Kinard. They must be enrolled before Jan. 31 to practice this spring. All three are currently trying to get through admissions, etc. according to a source.

> Former USC tight end Blake Ayles has not enrolled at UM and there is no guarantee he will. Ayles, who caught 14 passes in three seasons with the Trojans, told the Los Angeles Times he planned to play for the Hurricanes. He would be eligible to play immediately if he ends up at Miami. But a source said that remains up in the air.

Could Fisch end up back in Seattle? (updated)

The Miami Hurricanes were more than happy to introduce Jedd Fisch as their new offensive coordinator last week. Now, they may end up having to look for his replacement.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday afternoon the Seahawks former quarterbacks coach is on a list of candidates to replace Jeremy Bates as Seattle’s offensive coordinator. Bates was let go Tuesday, just two days after the Seahawks were knocked off by the Bears in the playoffs.

Fisch said last week he would join UM's staff as soon as the Seahawks were eliminated from the playoffs.

UPDATED... UM spokeswoman LaTonya Sadler said she did not know if Fisch had already begun working at UM yet or when he was expected to. Citing a source close to Fisch, ESPN's Bruce Feldman reported on Twitter that Fisch was "100 percent committed to being UM's offensive coordinator."

We'll have to wait and see what happens.

 

CB Crawford becomes latest UM commitment

Another day, another one of the nation's top recruits has chosen to join Al Golden's team at the University of Miami. 

South Fort Myers playmaker Dallas Crawford, considered the eighth-best high school cornerback in the country by ESPN, committed to the Hurricanes on Tuesday -- just a couple days after taking an official visit to the Coral Gables campus. Crawford (5-10, 185) had originally planned on waiting until signing day to announce his decision, but felt that now was the best time according to InsideTheU.com. He had been a Michigan commitment prior to the firing of coach Rich Rodriguez.

A two-way starter at South Fort Myers, Crawford, is coming off a senior season in which he intercepted nine passes and had 76 tackles. As the team's starting quarterback, he accounted for over 2,800 yards and 40 touchdowns and led his team to the Class 3A state semifinals.

Ranked 142nd overall regardless of position, he is the third player on the ESPN Top 150 to commit to UM in its 2011 class. The others: Tampa Alonso defensive end Anthony Chickillo (No. 82) and South Broward running back Kevin Grooms (No. 83).

> UM also received an oral commitment from Hargrave Military Academy (Va.) linebacker Antonio Kinard (6-4, 215) late Monday night. Canesport.com reported Kinard, a 3-star linebacker considered the 32nd best prep school player in the country regardless of position according to Rivals, picked UM over Iowa and Clemson.

> Below are highlights from the Class 3A state semifinal between Miami Norland and South Fort Myers. Highlights feature RB Duke Johnson (2012 UM commitment), South Fort Myers WR Sammy Watkins (Clemson commitment) and Crawford (starting at 2:28 mark). It was an incredible game. I was there to see it in person.

> By the way, if you want to know if UM has landed a verbal commitment -- follow National Recruiting Coordinator Brennan Carroll on Twitter. He can't discuss names per NCAA rules. But everytime UM receives a commitment, he sends out a "Welcome to The U" tweet.

Grooms talks commitment to Canes

South Broward running back Kevin Grooms, one of the best all-around football players in the state, committed to the Hurricanes Monday morning during an in-home visit from coach Al Golden.

Grooms, considered the 83rd best recruit in the country regardless of position by ESPN, rushed for 1,363 yards and 20 TDs last season and returned six punts for TDs. He is considered the second-best recruit in UM's class by ESPN, right behind Tampa Alonso defensive end Anthony Chickillo, considered the 82nd best player in the country.

"It was just a great visit over the weekend and I feel like I'm the type of player that has to be at Miami and try to help Coach Golden bring that swagger back," said Grooms, who said he had not been recruited by UM at all until former offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland came to visit him at school three weeks ago.

"God works in mysterious ways. That's why you have to honor him. He made this possible. Once I went on the visit, saw the small classrooms, the great academic system -- that got me. Plus, I know there are a lot of players at UM that enter the draft. I'm excited. I can't wait to get there."

Grooms said Golden told him he would get the opportunity to play running back first. But if it doesn't work out, the 5-9, 170-pound athlete said he'll be more than happy to move to cornerback or receiver -- which he has played plenty of in the past. "They definitely want me on special teams," Grooms said. "Coach said they need a lot of help there and I'm ready to start delivering. I told him 'Give me the ball, I want it.' I can play anywhere. I played corner my junior year and was strictly running back this year. But I'll do what I have to do to get on the field."

Grooms was scheduled to visit Virginia Tech next weekend and Florida State on Jan. 28. But he said he will cancel those visits. "I'm not going to take any more visits. I feel like I don't want to waste anybody else's time. I've got my mind made up."

Now, all that's left to do is some more work in the classroom. Grooms said he has a 2.5 GPA and scored a 22 on the ACT. But he has to make up 4.5 credits -- something he said he is in the midst of doing during his senior year with online classes. "I'll be fine and ready to go," Grooms said. "I'm taking school seriously."

Grooms is the 10th oral commitment for UM and seventh since Golden replaced Randy Shannon as coach. The Hurricanes have hosted big recruiting weekends over the last two weeks and are scheduled to have their largest this coming weekend.

> For more on Grooms, check out this feature story I wrote on him over the summer.

Canes land commitment from kicker

The Miami Hurricanes have themselves a new kicker.

Matt Goudis, a former Michigan commitment and senior at West Hill Chaminade, Calif., told Canesport.com Sunday he has pledged to join the Hurricanes' 2011 class after visiting the campus this weekend.

Goudis (6-0, 165 pounds) is ranked the No. 12 kicker in the country by Rivals.com and the No. 5 kicker by Scout.com. Goudis made 12-of-16 field goals as a senior, including a long of 55 yards.

UM is losing All-ACC First Team specialist and senior Matt Bosher to graduation. Bosher handled the punting and kicking duties for the last three years. The Hurricanes received a commitment from Moorpark Community College's (Calif.) Dalton Botts before the Sun Bowl. Botts (6-3, 200) is expected to handle the punting duties.

Gadbois becomes UM's ninth commitment for the 2011 signing class. National Signing Day is Feb. 2.

> South Ft. Myers High School defensive back Dallas Crawford, who visited UM this weekend, told Canesport.com he's moved UM up to No. 1 on his list.

Asked how far in front the Canes are, Crawford said "I don't know till I go to North Carolina next week and Southern Cal the 28th."

Meet UM offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch

New University of Miami offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch spoke with reporters Friday afternoon. Here is what he had to say:

Opening statement: "I want to say how excited I am about joining The U. While it's been a crazy time here in Seattle preparing for the second round of the playoffs, the opportunity to join the U football program, coach [Al] Golden, is really exciting. I can't wait to be down there, but hopefully it won't come for a few more weeks as we're hoping to continue on our Super Bowl quest. It's a great moment for me, my family. My wife can't wait to get down there as well as my two kids."

Why did you decide to make the move to college now?
"That's a great question. The first reason is I realized how much I missed the game of college football, the pageantry that college football brings, the youth, excitement, energy of the players you have the opportunity to coach. The second reason was I wasn't planning on going back to college football this year. It wasn't something I was looking into at all. I was thrilled to death to be in the job I have, but when a program like the University of Miami calls and you have that opportunity, it was a dream come true. I grew up in northern New Jersey, my brother went to law school at the University of Miami. I couldn't believe it, was so thrilled to take it."

When will you be able to start recruiting?
"Depending how we move forward in Seattle. Assuming we win on Sunday [in Chicago], then I will continue in my role as the quarterbacks coach of the Seahawks and the program will recruit knowing that I will be there when the season ends. I hope the athletes Miami is recruiting, there will be some visibility because then we will be in the NFC Championship Game and from there the Super Bowl. Recruiting would be going on without me making the direct hit, hopefully the indirect hit of being part of a championship program [would be beneficial]."

Are you allowed to recruit while you are still coaching the Seahawks?
"From what I understand about the compliance, until I take the NCAA recruiting exam, which is administered at the university, there would be no contact with potential student-athletes."

Can you at least evaluate the QB's Miami is currently recruiting, watch film of them to figure out who you want?
"That will have to wait. Brennan Carroll who is the national recruiting coordinator has been evaluating some top-notch quarterbacks. He's looking at them and coach Golden is looking at them, George McDonald, the wide receivers coach, is looking at them. They know what direction we're going in on offense. What I appreciate most about coach Golden is, `You take care of your business, winning this week and beating the Chicago Bears, and whatever happens after that we'll revisit it.' Right now we're about winning, taking care of the Seahawks business."

Can you talk about your offensive philosophy?
"I know a lot of people use the term pro style offense. We'll be multiple and balanced. That's the key to a pro style offense. We'll use personnel groupings to our advantage. We're going to try to find our best matchups whether that be through the air, on the ground, getting the ball to our running backs in space, more of a downhill running attack, taking one-on-one matchups with our wide receivers. We're going to evaluate all of that. We'll be under center and shotgun, and we're going to attack. The one thing I really believe in is taking advantage of the defense with your personnel and being able to make explosive plays when the opportunity presents itself. If you take care of the football and make explosive plays you'll win a lot of football games."

What did you learn in your time as offensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota (2009)?
"You can never underestimate the value of experience. It was a phenomenal learning curve for me, both the good and bad. What you learn is what the players can handle, the 20 hour rule versus an NFL work week, how it really feels, what you can ask your players to do, really do a better job of evaluating your own talent. I think the key thing in college football vs. pro football - you better really know what you have. You better know what you can ask your guys to do. The thing about coming to the U is we have the ability and opportunity to have the best players in the country. To be able to figure out what they do best, put them in position to do that, will give us our best chance."

Having coached at the pro level, what do you think can you bring to a college team?
"I believe a lot. Pro football -- it's football all the time, and you're around the best of the best in terms of the athletes you're coaching and you get a great feel of what can be done and can't be done, what's too much and what's not too much. When you're around the pro athletes scheme is so important, the amount of time you can study film, get ideas, learn from different coaches in what people are doing to attack defenses. It's really good. To be able to take that experience and the resources you have in the NFL in terms of offensive line coaches, quarterback coaches, wide receiver coaches, coordinators - talking to those guys and asking those guy questions you build such great relationships that they never die. What I'm looking forward to is coming in and taking the experiences of what we did in the NFL, and we did a lot of good things in the nine years I coached in the NFL, and the things we did at Minnesota - we did some good things there - and put those together and put [forth] the best possible plan for the University of Miami to put the U offense back on top, which is where it belongs."

What is the history of your relationship with Al Golden?
"It's a very short history. It goes about five days. I never met coach Golden prior to our phone conversations. I will tell you I can't be more impressed. Obviously it's not an easy decision to make when you're in the middle of a playoff run with a very young team and a first-year head coach. The reason I left is two-fold: one, Al Golden, two the tradition at the U. The times I spoke to coach golden on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, every time that we talked prior to the offer and the acceptance of the position has been great conversation. We're on the same page not only philosophically but schematically. We bring a similar passion and energy to coaching. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work for him."

So you've never met coach Golden?
"No."

So how did the connection form between you and coach Golden?
"I never specifically asked him that question. I don't know the answer. The relationship, we'll build that over time. The relationship will thrive; I can tell that from the conversations we've had.

When did he first make contact with you?
"He made contact with me on Sunday evening, spoke with coach [Pete] Carroll and then he spoke with me. It was more of a brief introduction at first, talked about my history, the people I've coached, coached with, the philosophy I have. We moved forward from there."

Can you talk about working with Mike Shanahan, coach [Pete] Carroll and Brian Billick, coaches like that?
"Those coaches have won three national championships, have competed in five national championships, and they are coaches that have won three Super Bowls - it's about as good as it gets in that regard. Obviously each guy brings something else to the table. Each guy has a special quality. But all of them universally have the No. 1 quality of being great competitors. The No. 1 thing I've taken from those guys is the motivation to compete every time. I hope I can take all of their characteristics and mold them into the coach that I'll continue to be."

UM's quarterbacks have thrown a lot of interceptions the last couple of years. How do you work with quarterbacks to make better decisions?
"Interceptions are the craziest things. You watch Tom Brady, it's in the 330 range of throwing without an interceptions. You can watch ones tipped, dropped interceptions. Sometimes it just works out that way. Other times it works out that they weren't clear on the read. Sometimes it's experience in the offense. What we need to do is make sure with the quarterback that the first thing you teach them is where everybody is on the field. Until they realize where their receivers are they stick the ball in tight places when they don't need to. The other thing is you have to teach quarterbacks to take care of the football - punting is okay, it's okay to throw it away. When you don't, sometimes momentum swings. We have to teach our quarterbacks to be extremely disciplined. They have to have a great work ethic so they understand what we're asking them to do."

You never played football, even at the high school level. How unlikely is it for you to be where you are now at age 34?
"There's a lot of circumstances that go around a lot of things. The one thing I know is when you work extremely hard, if you give it everything you have usually good things happen. One thing I chose to do growing up is I was going to be a football coach and a football coach at the highest level. That opportunity presented itself every time I turned around."

Your offense struggled at Minnesota (2009). What went wrong?
"They were in their third year [under the same head coach], had run spread, had no experience with the quarterback under center, from an I formation. I tried to go and put in an offense thinking they had more experience in that type of system than they actually did. I might have been quick to assume they were able to get it right away. We just have to always continue to evaluate, how to get better and make sure that at Miami if there's something that I'm going to make sure I keep a close eye on, it's what our players can handle mentally and physically."

How familiar are you with the guys you're coaching with and will you have any input on the offensive line coach hiring?
"I know George McDonald, spent three weeks prior to him departing for Cleveland - he was at Minnesota when they hired me. I think highly of him. In terms of Brennan [Carroll]] - Brennan and I met a couple of times, have always had great conversations. I'm looking forward to meeting with everyone on the staff. Coach Golden and I have been speaking about the line coach and we'll continue to have that communication. Obviously it's a critical hire for the program, for me to make sure we're on the same page with)the philosophy of running the football and pass protection."

UM names Seahawks' Fisch offensive coordinator

His name began popping up a few days ago. Now we know Seahawks quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch has accepted the University of Miami's vacant offensive coordinator position.

"We are thrilled to announce Coach Fisch as our offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach," UM coach Al Golden said in a statement released by the school. "Through the process, it became abundantly clear that Coach Fisch wanted to be back in college, and more important, he had a passion to be at the University of Miami."

"On background, his credentials and skills are the right match for the pro style offense we will run. Jedd has learned from the best coaches in the game, both professionally and on the college level, and he has taken those experiences to develop his own unique approach. On the field, he is a thorough communicator and devoted to skill development at every position."

"I have to thank Pete Carroll and the Seahawks organization for allowing us to move on this hire during the NFL Playoffs. I can guarantee to you that there will be a lot of UM coaches watching the Seahawks with Coach Fisch and Kelly Jennings, as well as the Chicago Bears with Devin Hester and Greg Olsen on Sunday afternoon."

Fisch, 34, joined Pete Carroll's coaching staff last February after one season as the offensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota in 2009. Fisch's offensive rankings at Minnesota: 109th in total offense (last in the Big Ten), 100th in scoring (also last in the Big Ten), 75th in passing and 111th in rushing offense. 

Prior to his stint with the Gophers, Fisch coached receivers for one season with the Denver Broncos, spent four seasons as an offensive assistant (QB/receivers coach) with the Baltimore Ravens and three seasons with the Houston Texans (2001-03).

A University of Florida graduate, Fisch began coaching under Steve Spurrier as a graduate assistant in 1999-2000.

SOME CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

> Served as wide receivers coach for the Denver Broncos in 2008. The Broncos finished the season as the No. 2-ranked offense in the NFL. Denver was the No. 3 passing team in the league in 2008 as well.

> Tutored two Bronco wide receivers who finished in the top seven in the NFL in receiving yards during 2008. Brandon Marshall tallied 1,265 receiving yards on 104 receptions with six touchdowns. Meanwhile, Eddie Royal recorded 91 catches for 980 yards and five scores.

> Worked with quarterback Steve McNair during 2006 season, when McNair was named to the Pro Bowl and set a franchise record for completion percentage (.630, 295-of-468).

> Helped receivers Derrick Mason (68 receptions) and Mark Clayton (67 receptions) form one of just four tandems in the AFC that featured two players with 65 receptions or more.

Stoutland resigns, heads off to Alabama

University of Miami offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who served as the interim coach at the Sun Bowl, resigned Wednesday and is expected to join old Michigan State friends Nick Saban and Bobby Williams in the next 24-48 hours.

Stoutland, 48, is the second coach that new UM coach Al Golden retained from the previous staff which has decided to leave the program following the Sun Bowl. Wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill left for Florida right after the game.

Stoutland coached four years at UM under Randy Shannon. He leaves behind a talented unit -- perhaps the most talented on the team -- led by freshman All-American Seantrel Henderson and All-ACC First team guard Brandon Washington.

UM hired a receivers coach Tuesday, but still has to hire an offensive coordinator.

Stoutland will likely replace Alabama assistant coach Joe Pendry, 63, who is expected to relinquish his role as offensive line coach.

Stoutland addressed the idea of moving around to various jobs when he was named UM's interim coach.

"I'm not the type of person that moves around a lot," Stoutland said. "If you know in coaching, a lot of coaches will be there for a year or two and move to another job. They're trying to find the next job. I'm the type of person that likes a routine. I get into a routine, I like my routine. I just want to stay in that routine. I'm that way when it comes to my job. I would love to stay at the University of Miami. The University of Miami is a great place. My family loves it here."

UM picks WR coach; OC hire on hold

The Miami Hurricanes have hired a new wide receivers coach, but they're going to wait a little longer before hiring an offensive coordinator.

According to a source at UM, new coach Al Golden is in "a holding pattern" in selecting and announcing his offensive coordinator and will probably wait until the end of the week to make an announcement. The reason for the delay -- it is believed -- is because that coach is still involved in the NFL playoffs. According to the source at UM, Golden hasn't revealed who his top choice for offensive coordinator is and is keeping the information close to the vest. 

One potential candidate is Seahawks quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch, 34, who is considered a young, energetic and hungry coach. Fisch began his career as a grad assistant at Florida under Steve Spurrier. He is a former offensive coordinator/receivers coach at Minnesota, spent five years with the Ravens, one with the Broncos (where he coached Dolphins' receiver Brandon Marshall) and is now coaching under Pete Carroll, the father of Brennan Carroll, UM's new national recruiting coordinator. Read this interesting article on Fisch for his background. 

As for the guy who was hired at UM Tuesday: former Browns wide receivers coach George McDonald, who just completed his second season in Cleveland. McDonald previously spent nine seasons as an assistant on the collegiate level, including two seasons as the wide receivers coach at the University of Minnesota.

“George had a burning desire to be back in the college game and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Miami family,” Golden said in a statement released by UM. “I’ve seen his work on several levels and he is great teacher and technician. As the strongest brand in college football, we can’t understate the importance of the fact that he has recruited South Florida and the Northeast, while having roots in California.”

McDonald spent the last two seasons studying under Browns offensive coordinator Brian DaBoll, who was with the Patriots from 2000-06. Before beginning his coaching career, McDonald played receiver at Illinois (1995-98), where he finished with 59 career receptions and 589 yards.

> UM's former offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, meanwhile, could end up taking over for Randy Edsall at UConn. Edsall left for Maryland. According to the Hartford Courant, Whipple is the leading candidate for the Huskies job.

UM women crack Top 25 poll at No. 22

The University of Miami women's basketball team is back in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The Hurricanes, who have won 15 consecutive games, found themselves at No. 22 Monday afternoon following a pair of ACC road wins last week at Virginia and Virginia Tech. Last year, UM entered the poll at No. 25 for the first time since 2004 after knocking off then 13th-ranked Florida State. But they were only ranked a week after losing to then No. 8 Duke. 

The Hurricanes have been led by the three-headed monster of junior guards Shenise Johnson and Riquna Williams and sophomore forward Morgan Stroman. Williams and Johnson are the top two leading scorers in the ACC averaging 19.8 and 19.1 points per game. Stroman is averaging 14.5 points.

"I'm certainly happy that our players and staff have been recognized nationally for all their hard work," UM coach Katie Meier said in a press release from the school. "I have a lot of faith and belief in our team and I am confident we will keep practicing and preparing for the ACC schedule in order to reach our goals moving forward."

UM (16-1, 2-0 ACC) returns home this week to face Clemson Friday night and Boston College on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will be televised by FSN.

> When it comes to quality big men, UM's men's basketball has a rather large one in 6-10, 303-pound sophomore Reggie Johnson. But beyond Big Reg, the Canes have proven to be a bit thin. Saturday's 79-72 loss at Clemson was proof as the Tigers dominated UM on the inside with a gimpy Johnson battling bone spurs in his right foot.

UM coach Frank Haith said during Monday's ACC Teleconference he's hoping Johnson can make a quick recovery this week in time for Saturday's 6 p.m. tip-off against Boston College at BankUnited Center. Haith said Saturday Johnson didn't practice all of last week and had his foot in a walking boot.

> Latwan Anderson, a highly touted All-American cornerback from Glenville, Ohio who signed a track scholarship with the Hurricanes last year with the hopes of eventually playing football, will not be returning to the program.

Chris Freet, UM's Associate Athletic Director for Communication said Anderson, who left in December, is no longer a part of the Miami Athletics Department and will not be with UM during the spring semester.

"Latwan did not fulfill the requirements to be a student-athlete at the University of Miami," Freet said.

> Al Golden and the UM football team is expected to announce the hiring of the final two assistant coaches -- including offensive coordinator -- in the next 12 to 24 hours.

Courtside blog: Canes at Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Checking in from Littlejohn Colesium where your Hurricanes (11-4, 0-1) will look to end a 10-game road losing streak in the ACC (dating back to a win at Virginia on Feb. 26, 2008) tonight against Clemson (11-4, 0-1). For your viewing pleasure, the game will be on ESPNU. If you can't watch, follow my updates on Twitter or tune into WQAM (560 AM) back in Miami.

> UM has only won 11 games on the road since joining the ACC in 2004. But two of those wins came here at Clemson (2005, 2008).

> A huge key for UM of course will be if Reggie Johnson can avoid foul trouble. He picked up two quick fouls in the ACC opening loss at Duke last Sunday. Frank Haith talked a little bit about that during a press conference Thursday.

"Reggie had two fouls he just can't get," Haith said. "He had two where he was 35 feet away from the basket and he doesn't need to be out there trying to pressure the ball. He's not Gary Payton, he's going to steal the ball from anybody. Those plays, he has to take them out of his game. Because there's no question, when he's on the court, we're much better -- offensively and defensively. He does a lot of things for us. We got to keep him on the floor. He's got to work at it -- the bad fouls. He's going to fall into some fouls because he's a big guy. But the ones we don't need him to get are the ones that are just he doesn't have to, the reach in foul, the first and second fouls he didn't need to get either one of those fouls.

"It's all maturity, all experience. Jimmy Graham had a problem with fouling. A guy like Reggie, like Jimmy, who has a strong body, you don't play with your hands. You play with your back, your chest, your hips. That's how you play defense. And if he does that, he's fine. When you get into the flow of the game, sometimes its reactionary and it's going to take a little time with him in terms of maturity."

> Clemson should present Johnson with a stiff challenge in the post tonight. Forwards Devin Booker (6-8, 245) and Jerai Grant (6-8, 230) will give up some weight to Johnson, but they're athletic and very good at boxing out.

"They're not going to just let us throw the ball in there," Haith said. "We always say that terminology -- do your work early. He's got to really be on point and understand he has to work a lot harder. He may not get first shot post ups. He's going to have to continue to work because we're going to get the ball inside to him. He's a big part of our offense and we have to play through Reggie."

> Last year, the Canes started 2-7 in ACC play as they played six of their first nine conference games on the road. If UM is going to make the NCAA Tournament, they can afford another start like that. This year's ACC schedule has UM at home for five of its first nine. But winning on the road is important. And the Canes feel they're better equipped for that this year.

"It's obviously extremely hard to do," Haith said of winning on the road in the ACC. "I think Mike [Kryzezwski] at Duke and Roy [Williams] might be the only two teams in our league to have winning road records in the ACC. It's a very difficult thing to do in this league. We can't let one game make us or break us. I think that's the focus when you get into league play. No one game is gonna make our season. No one game is gonna kill our season. We're going to attack each game as an opportunity and experience to do well to get this team in postseason.

"This Clemson game is the next opportunity. I think you have to be tough to win on the road. I think you have to be focused. Execution is so important on the road. All those things are important, home and away. I want us to have a mentality of togetherness. When your on the road, you really have to be together. You can't be distracted. Clemson, I think is one of the great venues in our league in terms of home court advantages. They're right there with the Virginia Techs and the Dukes. So, it will be a great experience for our guys."

Al Golden's press conference transcript

Here is the audio and transcript from Al Golden's press conference Friday. It's 44 minutes long and covers a lot of recruiting, his Sun Bowl thoughts and much, much more: 

AL GOLDEN PRESS CONFERENCE (44 MINUTES)

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Opening statement: "Thank you for coming out today. We really appreciate it. And obviously we appreciate your coverage of Miami football. It’s been a crazy three weeks for us, clearly with the  dead periods, the bowl game, shortened contact week this week and then obviously going into another dead period. We’ve been able to get a lot accomplished in a short period of time. I’m excited about our new staff additions. I’m excited about the staff members that have stayed on to continue with us – Micheal Barrow and Jeff Stoutland.

"We’re moving forward and I hope to have the whole staff completed by Tuesday morning at the latest – which, of course, we’re going into another dead period Sunday. We’ll be in the office all next week. We’ll use that time to finish this recruiting class and then also evaluate the next class. With that, that would just give you a quick overview of where we’re at as a football program and then I’ll open it up to the many questions you have forthcoming."

How difficult has recruiting been in the sense, negative recruiting about Miami, how difficult to both sell and battle back from what people are saying?
"I don’t know what they’re saying but I can tell you what we’re selling -- an incredible product. We’re selling the team with the most national championships in the last 30 years, the most first-round picks in the last 18 years, the No. 1 university in the state of Florida, a top-50 university in the country; an intimate setting which most power Division I programs don’t have in a 15,000-person campus. We are very much blessed to have kind of an insulated campus, if you will, a beautiful, picturesque campus but yet have access to the world right outside our doors; have access to a world-class city. There’s no shortage in what we have to sell here. What we have to get back to is communicating and building trust in our relationships with the high school community and our peers in all the high schools in South Florida, and as I said the night I was hired, supplement that with not only some of our roots up in the Northeast but also with Brennan [Carroll] and Jethro [Franklin] in both Texas and California; and we’ll do that. But our primary recruiting base is going to be here.

"In terms of what people are saying about us, they’re always going to say -- that’s recruiting. We choose to be a staff that doesn’t negative recruit. And that should be a show of strength, a sign of strength, a sign that you really believe in your product and you believe in what you’re going to do with obviously the opportunity that we have here in Miami."

How tough is it to get back the trust? Can you do it instantly? Does it take a while?
"I think, No. 1, your reputation with the student-athletes precedes you. So no matter where you’ve been you have a resume. And your resume with the student-athletes is by far the most important thing for both parents and coaches. And we’ve hired a staff that believes in developing relationships with the student athletes, with treating them fairly, with communicating with them on a daily basis and that’s what we built  a program on. That’s what we’re obviously going to build this program [on], and that’s how we’re going to change the culture here."

"I feel I’m fortunate to be at Miami at this time, because this is not like taking over some of the programs where there’s a transition where it’s two or three or four wins or five wins. This is a program that obviously won seven games but really had a chance to win two others in south florida and Virginia, so we could be, obviously, with the right kids in the right places, moving forward in this recruiting class and getting the team on all the same page. This doesn’t need to take a couple years to get this thing going. We want to get working on this on Jan. 18th."

What were your impressions of the Sun bowl? Did you leave there thinking there was a lot of work to do?
"Here’s how I left there: I left here thinking that the things we need to do are fixable.  We need to be a smarter, tougher, more disciplined and better conditioned team, and I didn’t see that. I didn’t see a team that executed with a high football IQ. I see a lot of  talent. I see kids with want-to. I saw a team that didn’t quit to be quite honest with you. had a goal-line stand and then finished the game, which means there’s a lot of pride in there and we’ve got to get it out.

"I discussed at the site that I’m not going to apologize for how we played, but at the same time I do want everybody to know that transitions are very difficult. And certainly that was a difficult transition because it was one of Miami’s own and just because of the circumstances of which I took over and Jeff was the interim head coach. So there were a lot of things going on.  But if you have those kinds of penalties in the game – especially the personal fouls – and you turn the ball over, you don’t have a chance to win.We’re going to create value in that game by not burying it in 2010, but rather by showing it to our players as a kind of a paradigm if you will of what we need to do and what needs to be fixed, because talent alone is not going to get it done.

"But there is talent here, so from that standpoint I’m excited. But we’ve got to be a far more disciplined team, we’ve got to be a better conditioned team and we’ve got to get back to our roots here a little bit, which means we’ve got to get hungry. To be quite honest with you, we’ve got to get back to being hungry, and I think that’s what we’re doing right now in the recruiting trail.

"And again, this is my assessment: we’ve kind of become a clam in the recruiting trail, which means we open up and let all the food rush in. We’re going to go back to being an eagle. We’re going to go back to being hunters, and knowing that we have a good product and knowing that we have a tremendous legacy, and knowing that we have the most players in the NFL and knowing we have something that no one else, including anybody in this state, can sell And that is a program that has the opportunity to win a national title in football, produce NFL players and have both a campus and world-class city at its disposal, which is very unique. And it’s obviously something that kids are looking to do in this day. In this wired age, kids are looking to be connected. We have no shortage of positive responses out there I can tell you right now.

"What has been a little bit difficult, and it’s more of a psychological factor I believe, is that the kids that were committed and then decommitted and then looked – those kids are really struggling with the fact that they committed to a former staff and they can’t get by that. But all the kids that are either a commitment at Michigan or a Stanford kid or a kid that’s not committed or even some of the juniors that we’re getting responses from, the brand is strong, and we’re excited about that. You can understand how it’s like you see your prom date five years after the prom and you think it’s going to be the way it is. It’s never going to be that way again. Some of those kids, it was in their mind that it was going to be a certain way, and it’s changed. And if they could ever get by that, that there was a staff change and really defend their decision to be part of this university and be part of this alumni and be part of this community, they would come here. But that’s part of the negative recruiting that some of you alluded to. People keep saying you committed to this coach or that coach. Well, it’s over, it’s 2010, so we’ll get by it."

As far as BCS schools, you have a coach at FSU in second year and same thing at USF, does that present any sort of opportunities?
"Sure it does. I don’t think there’s any question it does. But just understand one thing. They can’t survive without South Florida. Those schools that you mentioned, I’m not going to mention them but they can’t survive without South Florida. We’re very fortunate where we’re located and the type of football that is played down here. We’re not going to get them all. There are probably going to be 100 kids from down here alone. So we’ve got to make sure we get the right15 to 20 kids every year that match our core values, that understand what this tradition is all about, that want to get an education. That’s the one thing that amazes me. As you go around the country, most people don’t understand how good Randy and his staff and the commitment they made, and Kirby and his staff and the commitment that they’ve made from an academic standpoint – a 100-percent graduation rate a year ago, No. 7 overall in the APR, so there are a lot of things in terms of a foundation that are in place that we can build upon and we will do that."

Do you have a plan for the weight room?
"I’ve evaluated that and I’m sticking with the current staff. I really feel good about Coach Swasey and what he has down there right now. Obviously he has been here for a long time and we’re excited about him. [Associate SID] Chris [Freet] had made me aware that there were some rumblings about changes down there and everything. And like everything else in this organization, I evaluated and I will continue to evaluate but I’m very excited about the staff that is down there and the commitment they have toward student-athletes. I’m also excited about the interaction that I see between the student-athletes and them, and that shows me something. And again our approach is going to be different. Coach Swasey gets his marching orders from the head coach. Our approach is going to be different. And as I said multiple times, we’re going to get back to butch davis, Jimmy Johnson, the off season is not going to be badminton."

You said it's been a whirlwind the past three weeks with recruiting, but how have you dealt with team issues here? Guys leaving early for the NFL and possible transfers?
"You’ve got to do it all at once. Our team is going to be back the following weekend. We’ll have a team meeting prior to the start of school, and I’ll have a chance to sit down with every one of them. I’ve spoken to many of them. Many of them have come in after the bowl game to sit down with me, which was great. Many others have phoned. Even some parents Ive been able to stay in touch with. It’s been a little awkward in terms of not being able to just sit down and have a week where I can meet every player on the team and give him the time I want to, but we’ll do that. We’ve made a commitment for a long time of being a staff that communicates and makes sure that every kid has no gray area in their life and that they know where they stand. I do that three times a year with every player no matter how long I’ve been coaching. I sit down with every player three times a year. We’ll continue to make that commitment. It has been a challenge. I’m not going to say it hasn’t."

Can you talk about Brandon Harris' decision to leave early?
"Brandon Harris irrespective of what anybody in here thinks of his decision, you cannot fault somebody that makes a man decision, that doesn’t have to makie a decision because he did something illegal with an agent or anything like that. You’re talking about a guy who sat down with his family, got the information, made a decision, prayed on it, woke up the next day and came and saw me. That should give you an idea what kind of person he is. Brandon has a chance to just be an internship shy. He has agreed to stay here and finish his coursework and work out and get ready for the NFL, which I think is a great idea, and he just has an internship left. He’s a fine young man. We’re going to miss him, but he’ll always be part of our family. I tell them all, you go to The U or to college to get an education and to get a job. Congratulations you got a job."

There were rumors about Sean Spence and Marcus Forston possibly transferring or leaving early. Can you address those concerns?
"I don’t deal in the rumor business and I mean that respectfully. I’ve talked to Marcus, and Sean has talked to Coach D’Onofrio. If that’s something they choose to do, we’ll certainly evaluate it and make sure they get the information they need. We’re not going to prvent anybody from exploring that or making that decision."

How many scholarships do you expect to have -- 15?
"I think it’s going to be a little more. I don’t have a definitive number. We’re working thru that. Brandon puts that number up one more. There’s going ot be probably more than that when it’s all said and done. Honestly, it’s not as cut and dry as you think.We haven’t had kids coming in saying they want to transfer. I want to make sure we put that to bed. We have a lot of kids right now in this program that are excited about the direction, the energy and the organization moving forward."

Ryan Hill made a comment after the Sun Bowl about the players here being little boys, says u’ve got to weed out certain guys. How do you feel about that comment?
"I have a lot of respect for Ryan Hill and I don’t like to comment on something I wasn’t a part of. That would be tough for me to comment on. I will say this to you: I’ll challenge anybody that’s either an outgoing senior or senior or an upperclassman to make sure we handle that in house first. So if you're not prepared to go up in front of your peers and talk about that – and he may have, so that’s why I’m answer ing it the way I’m answering it. Certainly Ryan is one of our better players. He may have been a leader – I only saw three practices and then the game. But if that is an issue, I’m going to get to the bottom of it. Certainly, there’s going to be a price to pay in terms of wearing that U and putting on that uniform again moving forward. There has to be a greater commitment on the part of everybody and as coaches we have to lead by example."

Did you try to convince [defensive coordinator Mark] D’Onofrio to come here or leave it up to him solely to turn down Temple?
"When it comes our families and business, we really draw the line there. We talked briefly about the temple job and gave him the information he would need to make the decision. And that’s it. I gave him a hug and said ‘I’m going. This is a great opportunity for me and my family.’ And I said, ‘Mark, you know I would love to have you down there, but if u

want to be a head coach here I understand that and that’s not going to change our relationship. A little bit surprised [he came to MIA] but honored. And I understand it. Last night I got home at 3:30 and I was in here at 6:30 with a meeting. We all feel like if u’re going to be that passionate and work that hard, then we want to be at a school that feels the same way. And for all of you people to come in here and ask me questions about recruiting, that gives me a good idea that I’m in the right place, that the expectations are high. You want to be around a place that the expectations and challenge is to win championships. I think that’s what Mark saw. He saw that if he could take his intellect, his scheme, recruit the kids in south Florida and cultivate the kids that are here, I think he believes he can have one of the best defenses in the country."

You wanted former players to get more involved. Have they? And how do you see former players being involved move forward?
"First of all, it’s been overwhelming already, the number of former players who have reached out or dropped by. But really what we need them to do – we’re going to have an alumni function this spring – is to come back and fill up these rooms and be a part of our family. Some of them we would love to have them talk to our current players to make sure they understand…it’s such a microwave generation where everything is instant and they see ray lewis, ed reed or andre Johnson on a little soundbite or 20 second clip, but they don’t really see the work ethic those guys have and had when they were here, how much Ed Reed studies film. I’m a football fan and a coach so I’ve talked to many peers who have coached here and have been around those guys. Some of their workouts are legendary. Michael Irvin’s workouts are legendary. People want to choose to focus on ‘The playmaker’ and all that. That guy worked hard to be the kind of player he was. We have to get back to that. So I want to make sure the former players talk to our current players and that there’s a connection. I would love to have them come out to practice so our players understand the tempo we need to get. It’s been great. Just to see guys like Tony Fitzpatrick, who I watched growing up. He came up and said coach we’re behind you and support you. Or Dan Sileo. Any of these guys that have reached out to support the program. It feels good and there’s a sense of family there."

Who is your recruiting coordinator now that Aubrey Hill is gone?
"During that first two weeks, Mark [D'Onofrio] was spearheading it because I was doing so many other things organizationally from a staffing standpoint and human resources. Mark was spearheading that even when Aubrey was here. But Terry Richardson will be our Florida recruiting coordinator and Brennan Carroll will be our national recruiting coordinator. So we’ll have two. We’re looking to focus all of our energy here in South Florida. If we go out of state, it’s going to be for the best of the best and Brennan had done that in a similar capacity at SC. Now we’re fortunate to have him here."

[UM national recruiting coordinator] Brennan Carroll talked about this yesterday. How do you feel about recruiting kids who’re already committed elsewhere?
"I’m not real excited about doing that, to be honest with u. I don’t want to be sitting here a year from now having to do that. But there’s obviously a shakeup in some programs. There’s probably one or two kids on the Maryland or Pitt lists that we’re looking at, there’s more on the Michigan list and a couple of more even on the Stanford list – we don’t know how that’s going to shake out. Many of them, if not all of them, have agreed to take visits. And there are a lot of kids around the country still that are taking visits. It’s been incredible. We have 45 visits scheduled this month. The last couple of years, I don’t even think they got out of the 30s in terms of total visits. So there’s been a great response. We’ve got to make sure we get the right ones. We’ve got to get to know them as people. I’ve been fortunate to have been thru this a couple of times, going to BC after that scandal, going to Virginia after George Welsh was replaced by Al Groh, taking over Temple. I understand that sometimes the bloggers and the fans and the websites, they worry about every single guy that goes somewhere else. I’ve learned A. to not pay attention to any of them and B. most importantly, make sure the ones you get can play for you. Don’t worry about the herd effect of just recruiting guys because they have an offer from an SEC team or one of the big three in the state of Florida. It’s far more important to get somebody who matches your values, that wants to get an education, wants to be a part of your program, comes from a good family and can help you in your system. From that standpoint, we have a lot of poise right now. We’re not trying to make anybody’s Rivals list or anything like that. We want to make sure the 15, 16, 17 guys we get can play for us and that we don’t have any mistakes when we wake up on Aug. 8 and we’re doing training camp."

When will you start spring practice?
“What I’m going to try to do is, does anybody know when spring break is? March 10? I was going to try to get in three practices that week and then break for spring break then go basically on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule. And then the spring game is going to be that Saturday which I think is around (April) 15, 16. Right in there. A little bit later. Moving forward I want to make sure both coordinators and staff have a chance to get their systems in place including special teams. And I also want to insure that we have a real good 7-, 8-week period here where the guys can lift, get stronger and then go out there and get back to doing circuits and everything the way the Miami Hurricanes used to do.”

How much is doing that going to help you know what you have?
“It’s important that the first time we install a play is not the first day of spring ball. We’ll start to get a couple of hours a week prior to that we have a chance to meet with the kids and develop them from a football standpoint. So we want to make sure we do that. I’m sure there will be some position changes, I’m sure there will be some depth changes as we implement our systems. My philosophy has always been that the person who prepares and practices the hardest starts the game and the person that plays the best, finishes the game. It’s always been that way. The first phase of building a team is the offseason program and that starts Jan. 19. From Jan. 19 to the first day of spring ball, they will be evaluated on a daily basis. Whoever performs the best in that off season program is going to be a starter going into the spring. It’s up to them to hold onto that job. That’s going to create a lot of competition right there and that’s the only standard that we have – you’lll be measured on performance as we all are.”

Are you solid on that spring game date?
“Chris says absolutely not. I think we’re going to have everything in place by next week in terms of our staff.  I’ll actually be in here for the next 6 or 7 days which will feel weird, but I’ll be able to get you all those dates."

How difficult or easy has it been to attract assistant coaches?
“It’s easy. It’s easy. Wonderful place to live, climate, the tradition and the same thing we’re feeling now as we go on the road,  you get a sense as a coach that you want to be a part of that as well. Again, from that standpoint, it’s not hard. We’ve got some work to do. But that’s why we’re here.  I wouldn’t have had this opportunity if everything was perfect. There’s things we can fix, there’s things that are fixable and that’s what drives me every day. The fact that I’m at a place that you don’t have to worry about anything else. You don’t have to worry any jobs, any anything on the outside other than chasing a championship. Which is great. That’s what drives coaches to pick up the phone and say, ‘Coach, whatever position you have available, I want to be a part of it.”

How much has the recent moves among NFL staffs impacted your search?
“It has. It has.”

Have their been names that might have seemed unlikely that now seem more likely because they’re available?
“Correct. Is that tentative enough. There’s guys under contract, there’s guys in the playoffs, there’s all kinds of guys and really, we’re just trying to do it the right way. We’re going to do everything here the right way and we’re not going to cut corners and putting rumors out there and all those other things."

Do you envision the offensive coordinator being the quarterbacks coach?
“I do. That’s safe to say.”

You talked about the former commits struggling with a new staff and not being able to get that. Do you commit to a staff or a program?
"Here’s what I do believe; I believe that one of the biggest mistakes student-athleties make in the recruiting process is identifying with only one of the three aspects that you’ll encounter, that you’re seeking in a college football program – either football, academic or social. If only one of those is present, you’re in a lot of trouble. For instance, if you’re a great studen-athlete and you pick a school solely because of a stadium or because they promised you a jersey number or they promised you to start right away, the first time you turn your knee and you go back to the dorm and you don’t have anything in common with that place and then you go to class and you really don’t like the school as you wlak arouund the facility or campus, that’s when things can go south quickly.That’s when you see all those stories of guys leaving campuses, returning home and those types of things. You better evaluate academically, socially and athletically because you’re only in that stadium seven times a year and the other 359 days you better like where you’re at, you better like the school that you’re going to. The way I’m answering your question is, that people are important, I really believe that, but I’m a conduit to something that’s bigger than all of us. That’s the University of Miami and our football program. We just believe we have a way of communicating and recruiting from a culture and organization standpoint that’s going to help us get back to that.”

Are you recruiting more junior college players because of getting into the recruiting process late?
“A couple. Most particularly on defense because of the depth issues there. I would say that we’re looking at more than we normally would.”

How do you see the quarterback situation?
“I see it as 2011 and both young men I’ve already spoken with and both know it’s performance based now. I’m not saying it wasn’t prior to that. All I’m saying is that everyday they’re going to compete. I think Jacory maybe arguably his best season was the year he was competing with Marve. I think he knows now there’s going to be a competition but that’s not just isolated to the quarterback position. There’s going to be competition at every position. Those jerseys and those numbers are owned by the University of Miami and the former players that built this program and they better understand when they put on those numbers, what that represents and they better be ready to compete every day. Certainly that applies to the quarterback position as well. I’m excited to have two guys who are experienced at the quarterback position. I’m scared to depth as I go to sleep every night that we just don’t have the depth at cornerback that you need to get through a season. That’s something obviously that we’re trying to fix in the recruiting process right now.”

Is Spencer Whipple not coming back?
“No, I have every intention that Spencer Whipple is coming back. I was focusing on the two that played in the game.  Certainly Spencer is coming back as far as I know and we’re looking to add two quarterbacks in this recruiting cycle.”

Has your family settled in South Florida yet?
“You mean I’m a father and a husband too? We hope that everybody will be down here by Friday the 14th which is wonderful that they’ll be able to start school here, that we’ll have everybody together. They’re excited.. My wife’s excited. Hopefully from that standpoint, I don’t have to worry about that aspect of it. I’ll worry about these 105 here but not my three at home.”

Have there been any surprises you've encountered with this job being in South Florida?
“The one thing I can tell you – I know you guys sometimes live in the doom-and-gloom part of it – but you go out in the road now, it’s exciting. I mean kids are excited about the University of Miami football program and the opportunity to come here when it is a transition whether that means you’re part of this class of the next class, you have a chance to be on the ground floor. Obviously, everybody knows what the ceiling is here. The ceiling is the best that you can be. That’s the ceiling here. There’s a lot of kids that are looking at it as an opportunity. I know the negative recruiting and sometimes you guys have to write about the negative things, but the positivity when you go out to those high schools about kids who want to have an opportunity to come in and play during a transition where there usually is a little bit of attrition, where maybe the numbers are down, there’s going to be great opportunities both in this class and the following class to stake your claim to a position that might have been four or five-deep four years ago or four years from now, once we get it back to where we want to get it.”

Is being more of a celebrity something you have to get used to?
"It's a little new. My Burger King stop at midnight last night was a little unique. But again, it speaks to the power of the brand and the power of this university. Really, how respected how the university and the football program is. I want to make one point perfectly clear to everybody. A bad year or a couple years that fell short of our expectations is not going to erase the last 30 years. It's not going to do it and we won't let it do it. And we've made commitment to make sure we get this place back to where it needs to be. Certainly, that's a little unique from that standpoint. I'm living right, so I don't have anything to worry about."

What happened in Burger King?
"Nothing. The guy recognized me and I was flipping fries before you knew it [Laughter]"

Have you had a chance to watch all the games on tape and is that something you plan to do?
"No. We're looking forward to doing that. I don't even know if we'll be able to do it this week to be quite honest. We're really recruiting two classes right now. But we'll be real aggressive in the spring with our junior days and evaluating those young people. We'll have five camp dates that we'll get out to you here. There will be a little different approach to our camp, which obviously we think will be a good feeder for us and a good public service so to speak for the high school kids and youth kids in South Florida. But I probably won't even get to looking at that until February 3rd, 4th in that range."

From a talent standpoint is there a position group that stood out to you during the bowl practices?
"Yes. Offensive line. I think the offensive line looks the way a Miami offensive line should look. Again, I don't think we're satisfied anywhere with our depth.That's a position I think looks good. The running back situation obviously looks good and there are some other positions that look good. But there's not the depth we need on the second and third team and we need to create that with competition. We'll do that with recruiting with how we place the athletes here in the spring moving forward.

Do you have a special teams coordinator already?
"Yes. We're going to announce all this. But I'm going to announce it right now. Micheal Barrow is going to be our special teams coordinator. I'll assist him with that. Micheal has done a great job. He's approached me about it. I know he's excited about it. So, I'll assist in that aspect of the game as well. Cuz that's always been something that's fun for me. I get a chance to touch everybody on the team because everybody is a part of special teams."

You mentioned quarterback, but do you see kicker/punter and specialists as needs in recruiting?
"Can you wait until after my wife moves in to bring all that up? My goodness. I can't speak to specific prospects. But you guys can put it together. We feel like we're going to have a really good punter joining us. We have place kickers on our team right now that are looking to compete. But I'm also looking to add a kicker or a kicker/punter or field goal guy to that mix and really create the competition there to find somebody that is going to help us win some games. It's going to be like every position. Whether you're a walk-on or scholarship player, it's immaterial to me when we go on the practice field. Whoever practices the best is going to start. They'll be competition. So to answer your question, I am looking for a scholarship punter and kicker. We have a commitment from a punter right now. And I'm looking to get a commitment from a kicker."

With the Heat, Dolphins, South Beach, do you have a sense of what football means in South Florida?
"I think you know. When you get this rolling and back to where we need to be, I think the evidence has shown it can be pretty special. Again, you guys sound like the recruiters sometimes from Gainesville or Tallahassee, but I'm going to remind you: ' What did you just say? I can go to a Heat game. I can go to a beach? I can go to South Beach? I can do all that?' Well, so can the student athletes. That's the greatest selling point of this place. We can have a self-contained campus that is on the doorstep of one of the greatest cities in American. And again, that's something we have that's special."

Do you consider the 30-for-30 film (The U) a sales film for recruiting?
"Which part? [Laughter] I think if I slice it up, it will be good. It's like anything else. If they did a documentary on what we were doing in college, too, it wouldn't be pretty all the time either. All you guys that are laughing right now, you know what I'm talking about. The reality of it is, they had a passion for each other. They had an us versus the world mentality. They worked really hard. That's one of the things that's legendary. All the scouts that used to come through here and all the coaches that used to be here said the same thing: it's an incredible practice. And we have to get back to doing that. And they created that. There was a bond there we have to get back that we don't really have. There was a unity there, a cohesion, a commonality that maybe is not present right now that we're going to work on fixing. We'll get back to that. We'll get back to that. Maybe not all of it. We got kids that are graduating now and doing a great job in the community, but there are a lot of those elements we want to get back to."

Recruits have opened up their options, taking visits, high school All-Star games make it tougher as a coach?
"No. We're not one of the teams that's hiding kids out. I think if you recruit at a certain level. I've recruited at all different levels. Virginia. Temple. Penn State. Boston College. I've recruited at all different levels. If you're at one of those next level programs and you're recruiting a kid hoping that somebody doesn't come in and scoop somebody up in the last couple weeks, your worried about that. But for us, really, we just want to make sure we get the right guy. We have great guys visiting. We have national kids visiting. If kids were maybe involved with a Michigan or something like that, or kids that made it at these All-Star games. That's not really a worry for us."

Will Mark D'Onofrio be the associate head coach at UM like he was at Temple?
"I haven't made a decision on the rest of that right now. But certainly, he's capable of doing that. I just want to make sure once this whole thing is finished here we'll be able to release that early next week."

What have you been looking at in terms of the offensive coordinator?
"Just like I've been saying: we want a pro style offense, so I'm looking for a quarterback that fits that. Again, just watching Stanford the other night we want to get back to that, that kind of quarterback here at Miami. Certainly we feel like we have two coming back that can do those type of things. We're looking for a coordinator that believes first and foremost being a tough, physical football team. I think if you get to know me and my philosophy evolves here, I don't believe you can do anything without being tough and disciplined. So, we have to start eliminating the things that cause you to lose before we can start to win -- the penalties, the sacks, the turnovers, those type of things. So, we want to be a physical football team, we want to be a dynamic, shock team, playaction team. And obviously we want a guy that can stand in there with the offensive line we have and throw a three-step in a drop back setting. Obviously, we're asking the quarterback to do a lot but we want to go back to having year after year after year guys that fit the pro system, that want to be pro system quarterbacks and come in here and learn that as an apprentice as they move forward. That was a staple here for decades and we have to get back to that."

What was your reaction to Andrew Luck's decision to stay in school?
"I don't really know. God bless the kid. I think he made the decision for all the right reasons and he and his family and his education. Whatever he wanted to do. Better to see that than when we see a bunch of kids leave early and not go in the first or second round, which is not advisable either. I wish there was a little bit better way to do this. I don't know if the basketball motto isn't a little bit better, which I think if you don't get picked up, you can go back in. I don't know precisely. Maybe you guys know it better. It's tough. A lot of the NFL teams really aren't done with all the evaluations. And we're asking the kids to decide in the middle of January which is a little bit tricky."

What is your feeling [about leaving early for the NFL Draft] -- first or second round?
"Oh yeah. And again, we just had one at Temple that left and we thought he would. He'll start off as a second rounder, Muhammed Wilkerson. He declared I believe. He's a second rounder to start. In the defensive line, you have a chance to move up with a good combine and everything. If your not a first or second rounder, it's not worth coming out."

Golden, UM steal local cornerback from Spurrier

It started with a visit from defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio on Monday, heated up when Steve Spurrier missed an in-home visit on Wednesday and ended in Al Golden's office Friday morning.

That's the short version of how Miami Central cornerback Thomas Finnie went from being a Gamecock to a Hurricane -- and the first local recruit Golden and his staff were able to sway away from another school since taking over for Randy Shannon. 

Finnie (5-10, 170, 4.4-speed) was a three-year starter for the Class 6A state champion Rockets and is considered the 39th best cornerback in the country by Rivals. He grew up dreaming of being a Miami Hurricane. But it wasn't until Friday that it became a reality.

"It's been a big week -- a lot has changed," said Finnie, an early enrollee who was all set to drive up to South Carolina Friday morning before UM got into his recruiting picture earlier this week. "I guess you can say it's pretty special. Everything is going to be good. I'm going to be a Miami Hurricane. I was always a Cane fan, grew up down here. Everybody likes to dream about UM and everything. Now, it's real."

Finnie received initial interest from the Hurricanes at the beginning of his senior season. But then, UM backed off. Finnie then committed to South Carolina and assumed the Hurricanes weren't interested. The plan for Finnie's family was to drive up to South Carolina this weekend. But little by little, Golden and his assistants got UM back into the picture, starting with a visit from D'Onofrio on Monday.

"They really showed themselves, really went after him the way they should recruit a kid," Finnie Sr. said. "Coach Golden told him everything we needed to hear in terms of us parents putting our child in his hands. They actually really showed the program to him and to me and my wife. He did a hell of a job.

"The recruiter from South Carolina did a good job. But we were suppose to meet with Steve Spurrier Wednesday and he never showed. The recruiter told us he had an emergency. But you could kind of see through that. That, he just wasn't going to come to that. That kind of took the air out of my son. When you get to meet the head coach, that means a lot to a kid, shows that you really want him. That took the air out of him. My wife wanted to meet him for him to know that 'I'm going to put my son in your hands.'

"But Golden went all out man. I'm talking about since yesterday and he had one day to do it. I told him my son is leaving in the morning. He asked for an opportunity to do it, to talk with us and everything. And he went at it. He was in Tampa with [Anthony] Chickillo. He said 'I'll come straight to your house when I leave there.' But I knew it was going to be at 2 or 3 in the morning. So we setup a meeting at 6 a.m. Everything he told my son starting yesterday, that made my son say he'll commit to UM."

Finnie, a former assistant coach at Miami Northwestern, said Golden and his staff really impressed him and just kept asking for an opportunity.

"The new coaching staff apologized for what happened, 'Saying we didn't have the opportunity to recruit, come after your son. Now, we're doing what we have to do to.' And I mean, in two days man, not even a whole day everything changed," Finnie Sr. said. "[Golden] really put pressure on us. He came at us. He was unreal. He was like: 'Sir I apologize for the old staff. We have a whole new staff. We evaluated your son, watched the state championship game and we were very impressed. We really like what we saw in him. And we want him, we want him bad. Whatever it is, I'm going to do everything I have to do to get him.'

"He impressed me and my wife. He showed I want him. They always said he was a heck of a recruiter. He can go get 'em and he showed he could do it. He went after him. He didn't let me say no. We tried everything. We said when we give our word, we stand behind it. He said 'I understand that. But give me an opporunity.' And he went from there.

"He told us everything a coach should tell a parent as far as getting their kid. South Carolina did it too. But we only got a chance to talk to the recruiter. [UM's] defensive coordinator, Michael Barrow, quite a few of the coaches contacted us about him. They said they evaluated him and that he has an opportunity to come in and play right now. They put it on the table. When they do it like that, it's hard to say no. Plus, he's staying home."

Finnie said he hopes to come in and compete right away for a starting job. The Hurricanes have only five cornerbacks on their current roster for 2011: redshirt sophomore Brandon McGee, junior and former running back Lee Chambers and three redshirt freshmen. 

"There's no better place than home," Finnie said. "With Brandon Harris and all the cornerbacks left, there's a lot of opportunity. They got new coaches, a new playbook. The U is going to be back soon. And I want to be a part of it."

Meet Brennan Carroll, UM recruiting coordinator

Here is a transcript from Carroll's teleconference Thursday:

Do you see similarities between UM and USC and how do you think you will help Miami get back to where it needs to be?
"I think there's quite a few similarities. One, the great home recruiting bases. South Florida is very similar to Southern California -- great talent, great kids. I also believe both private schools bring huge benefits for recruiting, and for these kids to get a private education. It's almost $55,000 a year. It's the same at USC. It's a really and impressive education, world class, all that stuff. In terms of helping the program get better, hopefully, I'll be able to help in recruiting and coach the tight ends up, get this offense going."

When you look at the roster, what are the biggest areas, immediate needs that need to be met through recruiting in 2011?
"I really haven't gotten a long look at our depth chart. I haven't been able to evaluate our own guys. I know obviously we lost our big receiver, so that's going to be an area of need. We only have two quarterbacks on scholarship. So, obviously, we're going to have to go and get some depth there.

What is your background in recruiting? What did you do at USC?
"I did both. I did California recruiting, recruited Orange County, the city, North Carroll and also went out of state. I recruited Midwest, East Coast, New York, Arkansas, Michigan, a little bit of Florida. I've been kind of everywhere. Wherever the top guys have been, that's where I went."

Have you had a chance to watch any film on this team?
"I really have not. I got into Miami the 1st, flew out right after New Year's Eve. It's been non-stop recruiting. The coaches have done a good job keeping me up to date, kind of what our needs are for recruiting. And I just kind of just gone off that. That's the one thing I wish I could do and I will do next week when we have our dead period, really evaluate our team. I just don't have the time. I can't do it right now. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I'll be all over it. I'm really excited to get into that."

On coming into recruiting game late with new staff...
"It's always tough. When you have a new staff, there's always questions, concerns. Most of these guys have been getting recruited for 12 months by other staffs. We've been at it for a week -- a week or two. Obviously, it's difficult. But we're trying to bring a new energy, a new passion to Miami and hopefully some of these guys feel that."

Recruits have been changing minds on coming to UM. Do you ignore it and move on? What do you do?
"I haven't stayed up to date on who is supposed to come in and who is all that right now. Some of these guys were scheduled before we were hired. We just want to get all the guys that want to be Hurricanes. If a kid doesn't want to be a Miami Hurricane, he's not the kid for us, to be recruited. So, we'll find a way to get there."

How do you know Coach Golden and what was the decision making progress to come to UM?
"I knew him just a little bit, through the coaching circles. My decision process was: it was Miami. How could I turn it down? Tight end U. Tight ends coach. I had to come check it out. It wasn't very hard. The only thing I had to really make sure was that it was good for my family and that the kids could make the transition. I talked it over with the wife. She was great about it. We're in a new area now. But you're in Miami."

How do you plan to restore UM tradition at tight end?
"We've got to work with the guys we have here, get those guys coached up, to maximize their potential. And then obviously we're going to go out and recruit, and find some prospects to keep going in the future."

With quarterbacks, you watch the Top 100 guys, most of them are committed somewhere. How tough is it to get on a top quarterback at this point?
"There's a ton of kids. The rankings are great, they're great to look at, especially if at the end you have one of the top classes. But really, there's a lot of great quarterbacks out there that aren't always on everybody's radar. We've identified a couple of them. We still think we can get guys we think are great quarterbacks. It doesn't always have to be who everybody thinks is the best. We just have to get the best for our system, the best fit for what we're trying to do and guys who want to be winners and great leaders, great kids and guys who love Miami."

Miami hasn't signed many JUCO players in the past. Seems like you guys are going after a good number now. What is the benefit of getting a JC player versus a high school kid?
"Well, obviously, the JC guys have played against guys that are older than high school. They've played against 19, 20, 21 year olds, so they've played at a higher level of competition. They've played in college technically. So, if there's a need we're trying to fill -- obviously, Harris, our corner, is going into the league, going to the combine and tear it up there. So, there's a possibility we may have to go get a junior college guy to replace a starter we may lost to that spot. At USC and Miami they have very strict relations on getting JUCO kids in. So, there's a lot of kids we won't even be able to touch in recruiting because of the rules and such. We're trying to work it out, we're trying to find any means we can to make this team better as fast as we can."

The state has become a lot more competitive with UCF, USF on the rise. How tough does it make it to recruit in state?
"I haven't been here long enough to really get into what the kids are feeling about those schools. But I think it really goes back to how much talent there is down there. You can really have different programs and they can all be successful. They can all go to bowl games. If I'm not wrong, four out of five won their bowl games. That just goes to show you how much talent the state has."

What is the biggest lesson you've learned regarding football from your dad?
"Just be a great competitor. Just find a way to compete, whether it be in coaching or recruiting. Just find a way to get better. Usually things will work out as long as you compete."

Getting into recruiting so late, are you guys selling your vision or are you finding your dealing with negative recruiting?
“Our core is just to talk about us. Our motto is, it’s all about the U. That’s what we stand for. You can go down that route of negative recruiting but it just reflects on your overall program. It’s hard to find negative things about Miami University. With a great education, private school, top school in Florida in terms of education, great location Miami, South Beach, Coral Gables all that and we always have a great talent pool to recruit from. So we don’t find anything to talk about because we have all positives to talk about. We don’t have to cover anything up. We’ll let everybody see what we got.”

Do you find that people still use negative recruiting?
“Oh yeah. Sure they do. I think they need to and when they do, it’s a backwards way of respecting us because they know they just can’t talk about their program..."

You guys are going after a lot of players that are committed to other schools?
“That we can’t really consider kids committed to other programs. -- that term holds so little value nowadays anyway. We’re going to recruit everybody. We’re a new staff. Just because somebody says something to somebody  they’re going to do this or go to that school or whatever that doesn’t deter us at all initially, Some of these kids are truly committed and want to go to whatever school they want to go to. That’s just how it’s going to be. We wish them well. It goes back to we want guys that want to be at Miami. That’s what it’s all about. There’s some kids who always wanted to be at Miami and for some reason didn’t get recruited….if we can find those guys who have been to other schools but always wanted to be at the U, we’ll try to find a way to get them here.”

Some local coaches felt that relations with the previous staff had deteriorated. Has that been a focus of your efforts to mend those relationships?
“I can’t really comment too much about the last staff because I don’t know too much about them. The only coaches I’m familiar with are coach Barrow and coach Stoutland, but our goals are always going to be to get to every school in Florida and let every coach know that Miami is the top school in Florida and we’re going to be recruiting their kids, we’re going to do our research, do a very good job at it and involve them in the process and let the coaches know what we’re all about.”

What was so enticing about this job for you?
“The chance to win national championships. When we were at USC, our goal was to win all our games and whatever happens, happens. We can do that here. We have a great recruiting base, with everything the university has to offer, we really don’t have an excuse why we shouldn’t be competing with the top teams in the country real soon. The chance to win, that’s really why we do things. We want to win for our program and win for our kids and get our kids degrees and all that. They’ve done a great job with graduation rates here, they’re through the roof right now which is a testament to the previous staff and the academic facilities. You put all that with a chance to win, play on a huge stage, that’s what I’m all about. That’s what I want to be involved with.”

Can you talk about the parellels of when you father took over USC and taking over this program?
“I agree. I feel coach Golden and coach Carroll got started at the same time in recruiting, it was late and were trying to make a push and make a splash. They felt like they needed a ton of guys and they really had a ton of talent. Coach Carroll inherited Troy Polamalu and Carson Palmer. Just talking to coaches, there’s a ton of talent in this program. There’s a great offensive line, a great defensive line. That’s the core of everything so in terms of recruiting there’s a lot of similarities. They’re both city schools. USC is south of downtown and Miami is a little south of the city and South Beach. That’s one of the things that attracted me to it.”

But the stages of the programs, USC was a sleeping giant waiting to get awoke again and Miami seems to be in the same situation?
“If we get anywhere near what we did at USC, I think we’re doing pretty good. Miami went to a bowl game this past year so they’re doing a little better than USC when that change was made. But we’ll see. Hopefully we can get going right away. USC’s first year, coach’s first year there at USC went 6-5, went to a bowl game. I think we can do better than that, but we’ll see. There’s a lot of work to do and a lot of hours to put in. Hopefully, we’ll get a lot better and there will be a lot of similarities. Hopefully.”

Will you get a chance to see the playoff game this weekend?
“I hope so. Somehow I have to work it out that I’m on a home visit and that family likes to watch the Seahawks. That would be great. I wish those guys all the best. They have a tough task ahead of him.”

What did your dad tell you about taking this job?
“He was fired up. He was excited for me to come down here and get started. We’ve always been talking about if I left USC what could be my value and what could I get done..."

Were you out of football last year?
“I was out of ball and working on some family projects. When the shot came up, everything I was trying to do on the side fell off. I said let’s go do this. This is what I always felt comfortable doing. When you start coaching football, there’s not many opportunities to do something else. When this opportunity came up, I couldn’t even think twice about it.”

Richardson: 1,000-yard back at UM is possible

When it comes to coaching 1,000-yard running backs, Terry Richardson knows what he's doing. As the running backs coach at UConn the last 12 years, Richardson had six running backs eclipse the 1,000-yard mark -- including one, Colts running back Donald Brown, run for an NCAA-leading 2,083 yards in 2008.

Richardson, who met with reporters Thursday afternoon inside the Edgerrin James room, believes the Hurricanes have more than enough talent to have a 1,000-yard back too. UM hasn't had one since Willis McGahee ran for a school record 1,753 yards in 2002. But with Richardson -- a former local star tailback at Oakland Park Northeast High and Syracuse -- now in charge of the 'Canes backfield, it's almost inevitable Lamar Miller, Mike James or Storm Johnson will be the next UM running back to run for more than 1,000.

"Normally in the past, I've worked with three guys -- three tailbacks, two fullbacks and worked with those five guys," Richardson said Thursday. "If there's a big separation between No. 1 and 2, obviously No. 1 gets the majority of the carries. If it's even where that No. 2 guy is better than a tired, winded No. 1, the playing time will be split in half. That No. 3 guy could be a special teams guy, third down, short yardage guy. At the most, we've played three backs in the past. But the majority of the time there's two - it's a main guy and a spell guy."

This past season, UM had six backs split carries, with senior Damien Berry (899 yards, 5 TDs on 190 att.), Miller (646 yards, 6 TDs, 108 att.) and James (398 yards, 3 TDs, 70 att.) getting the bulk of the work. With Berry leaving, it is expected that freshmen Eduardo Clements and Johnson will step up and compete for playing time. Richardson, who arrived in South Florida Monday night, said he's already called each of them and spoken to them about what he expects moving forward. He said he doesn't expect to have any problems because his philosophy is simple: "the best guys will play."

"I've never had an issue with that," Richardson said of players complaining over playing time. "We're always honest and up front with guys. Guys always knew where they stood. If they wanted more carries -- either study harder or work harder or beat the guy out in front of you. That's the way it has to be. We're not in the business to stroke egos. The best guys are going to play. We'd do ourselves an injustice if we don't put the best guys out on the field. I had a kid that was talented and a kid that was a crafty veteran the year we had two 1,000 yards rushers. The situation called for both. The biggest thing was we were committed to running the football. We ran it a lot, split the load in half and that was the result."

Richardson, who told me Monday he knew very little about UM's running backs when he first got the job, said he had some time to watch film of the guys he will be working with.

"There's no doubt the talent is there. We just have to refine it, get it channeled in the right direction -- that's my goal," Richardson said. "The biggest thing I bring to the table is my ability to motivate my players and hold them accountable for the job that they have to do. I bring a professional mentality, a professional state of mind to the position. My knowledge of blocking schemes and how to attack a defense, how to run the football when the defense doesn't want you to run the football. I think that's my biggest strength.

"And I think I project to my players. The biggest thing I tell my guys is it's a 50/50 deal. Take the knowledge I'm providing for and put it with your talents and ability and we get 100 percent. That's how I approach it."

A FEW MORE TIDBITS...

> With the Canes loaded at running back, one might assume UM would go without a running back in this class. But Richardson said that might not necessarily be the case. "To me you never pass up a good player," Richardson said. "If there's a good player you can get that's interested, why not take him? Even thought there are good backs in the program. He'll come in as a freshman, hit the weight room a little bit, learn the system. But why not?"

> As for the fullback position, where senior Pat Hill will be leaving, Richardson said he has no idea what the Canes will do right now. "To me they're in the program," Richardson said. "They're on scholarship. We got to use them and they have to earn their scholarship."

> UM could be moving closer to picking up a quarterback commitment for their 2011 class. Canesport.com reported this morning Hargrave (VA) Military Academy QB Marcus McDade is getting a visit today from defensive backs coach Paul Williams. McDade (6-3, 200) setup an official visit to UM this weekend and could get an offer if qualifies academically.

McDade threw for 2,400 yards with 35 touchdowns and two interceptions in his senior year of high school.

> Coach Al Golden will meet with the media Friday at 1 p.m. It's expected that he will announce the rest of UM's assistant coaches -- offensive coordinator, receivers coach, special teams coordinator -- at that point. 

CB Brandon Harris leaving Canes to enter draft

University of Miami junior cornerback Brandon Harris has decided to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

"I have decided I will declare for the draft this year in 2011," said Harris, 20, who started 13 games this season and had 44 tackles, a team-leading 10 pass breakups and 1 interception. ‘‘It's been a very long season. It has been very draining."

Harris, projected by Scout.Inc as the 32nd best overall prospect (currently the last pick in the first round), said the NFL draft advisory board told him "some good things and what I wanted to hear. I'd rather not get into the particulars, but I felt I was in a good position at that point.

"It was definitely a long process and you want to make sure you feel comfortable with what you're doing because this is a decision that will affect the rest of your life.

"After talking to my family and talking to my mom and my dad and my brother, we just felt like as a family, we weighed the pros and cons of staying and leaving. I just decided it was in my best interest to take this great opportunity I have in front of me and pursue my career at the next level.

"The overriding factor was being able to live out my dream. I've always wanted to play in the National Football League since I was a child. To be this close in the process, it was just something I couldn't turn down.

"I met with Coach [Al] Golden and his staff [Monday] afternoon and after speaking with them, everything else was history. That was it. I came to the conclusion it was a good decision. To see how supportive he and his staff were, they told me they'd continue to be there for me throughout the process.

"He's a very nice guy. We both handled it like men, and handled it like professionals. He's been in this kind of situation before and it was not a huge surprise for him."

Harris said he also consulted with former UM coach Randy Shannon and told him "how much the decision meant to me. He knew it was a huge decision for me. He never tried to sway me one or the other because that's not the type of guy he is."

Harris, the Miami Herald's Athlete of the Year in Miami-Dade when he was a junior and senior at Miami Booker T. Washington High, said he was "excited but also nervous. I'm spending a lot of time with my teammates and they're very excited for me. I'm nervous to be leaving them because I love them and know them so well."

> Harris father, Tim Sr., was told Monday by Al Golden he can remain on staff as a community liason. The former USA Today High School Coach of the Year woul eventually like to get back into coaching, though.

"I'm going to stay here for now," Harris Sr. said. "But the goal for me eventually is to be in a position to coach. I'm going to try to wait my turn. But I like to develop young people and I can't get that out of my blood."

- SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN
AND MANNY NAVARRO

New DL coach Jethro Franklin speaks

Just had a chance to listen to (and speak to) new UM defensive line coach Jethro Franklin on a teleconference while he was en route to a small town outside Bakersfield, Calif., to do some recruiting.

Here's what he had to say, with the questions he was asked: "My name is Jethro Franklin. I’m starting my 21st year coaching the defensive line, so I’m awfully fired up. I have a passion for what I do." 
 
How much have you seen of the kids you’re going to have and impressions?
"I was able to observe a couple days during their bowl prep and I was satisfied with what I saw. Guys were really ambitious about wanting to get better and that’s the whole thing. Coach is doing a good job with them and guys were working hard and doing a nice job."
 
Obviously recruiting is a big part of the job. What are some of the areas you’ve recruited in the past and has coach golden talked about where you might be in charge of as far as a certain area?
"Right now we’re just getting ourselves together.  Shoot, I’m on the road right now heading down to a little town right outside of Bakersfield, Calif,. going to look at a kid.

"We are just getting it together. Obviously I’ve recruited the West Coast so I’ve got a lot of ties out here. I recruited Virginia while I was at Temple.  I recruited Texas a little bit, a little bit of Dallas, a little bit of Houston. We haven’t gotten into the specifics of who has what area. Right now we’re just going with what we have and know. I know this area so I’m kind of out here looking at guys and doing the best we can to ensure that guys want to come to the University of Miami. But I’m sure that once we get everyone on board that will be all handed out to us."
 
You’ve worked with Coach Carroll and Coach Golden in past. Can you talk about the way they recruit and their philosophy?
"I’ll talk about it a little bit. I won’t go too much into detail with it. Coach Golden obviously has a reputation of being a great recruiter and that’s evident in how well he’s organized and how well he goes after the target people... Coach Carroll in the same way. There are a lot of similarities there. He does a nice job, the same as Coach Golden, of targeting guys and doing an awesome job, of number one, evaluation. Both Coach Golden and Coach Carroll do an awesome job of evaluating talentfirst, getting as much information as we can on the prospect, digging down as deep as we can to find out anything in their history and all that good stuff. And obviously both guys have an eye for talent, so they’re both very, very similar in that way."
 
What were your impressions of the Sun Bowl game?
"I don’t want to comment on that a whole heck of a lot. Obviously we’ve got some work to do and that’s why we’re here. The guys played hard and it was just one of those situations. It’s kind of hard on the kids and the coaches as well. It’s kind of an awkward situation. It’s kind of hard to comment on that. We know that we have a job to do and everyone has to improve – offense, defense, special teams. We’re going to roll our sleeves up and we’re going to get to work."
 
Your personality, coaching style?  What do you expect out of your players in practice and preparation?
 “It’s kind of hard to talk about yourself. I just like to have fun, and fun comes in winning obviously in our profession.  We know that in order for that to happen you have to have a tremendous amount of preparation. And also in order for that to happen, there are going to be some hard lessons learned in the process. So, you know, the whole goal is to win. I like to have fun, and again, fun is in winning. And we’re going to do what we have to do on the field to ensure that that happens. We’re going to practice hard, we’re going to finish things. We’re going to do a lot of little things. We’re going to make sure we cross the Ts and dot the Is and so when they play on game day it’ll hopefully be, uh, the game will be slowed down in a sense because of how fast we practice and how well we did things throughout the week of practice. And that’s kind of our expectations of the guys. As long as they come and give a good day’s work, they work hard, they finish, they take their coaching, they study the game, they study themselves, then what more can we ask for? If they do those things and do everything that we ask them in terms of contributing to winning, because that’s all we’re going to ask them to do, then we’ll have fine."

What is the difference between coaching in college and the NFL?
"Well, I would say it’s a different level from college to the NFL but the teaching is pretty much the same, to be honest with you. You're dealing obviously with a different pool of talent, you’re dealing with guys, obviously, who were elite at the college level and now you have them at the professional level but the teaching is pretty much the same. Getting them to play hard is never going to change. Getting them to finish plays is never going to change. Getting them to use proper techniques is never going to change. A big part is of it is communicating. The biggest difference now is obviously in the NFL you have the elite player as opposed to a guy who is an incoming freshman and doesn’t have it figured out yet or dealing with a walk-on or a player who has a potential of being a scholarship guy and getting him developed. But there’s still developmental stages at both levels.
You’re just dealing with a little different athlete.”

What do you tell kids you're recruiting about the University of Miami and their opportunities at the school?
"First and foremost, the University of Miami speaks for itself. You have a brand that is recognizable anywhere in the world so that in itself is very, very positive. Obviously, with the history and tradition of the university and all the great players that played there, that sells itself. My philosophy about recruiting is that it’s about relationships and trying to get close to people as much as I possibly can, developing a great relationship. Couple that with everything I stated earlier, that’s kind of how I go at it.”

How difficult is it to get started in recruiting this late in the process?
"The difficult part is all the rules we had to adhere to with the one phone call and all that. We’re starting a period with unlimited calls. The main thing is with the brand with the ‘U’ and all the history and tradition. Obviously it’s a marvelous place to be. But again, building those relationships is the biggest challenge. We’re doing everything we can, I’m doing everything we can to do that. I’ve been here before so I feel real confident about getting that done.”

What is your take about the defensive line depth?
"I won’t comment a whole lot on that, either. The main thing is we’re constantly trying to develop [depth], there’s no question about it. We all know we’re only as good as our weakest link. That’s why our job as coaches it to develop players and to develop them to the point where we have to make tough decisions on who is going to be the starters because they’re all that good. Hopefully we get to that point. So our depth is going to be crucial, no doubt about it, as we get going here. Our philosophy at Temple and most places I’ve been as a D-line coach is to play as many guys as you can to keep guys fresh. Obviously, the development of our depth is going to be crucial for us to implement that plan.”

Do you think there’s enough depth at defensive tackle or will you have to address that in recruiting?
"Oh yeah, you’re never [going to] go a year without recruiting defensive linemen. I mean they’re premier guys and you have to make sure you have a nice supply on hand in there and ready to get better. That’s always going to be…You have to make sure you recruit those guys that are difference makers.”

For D'onofrio, "it's all about player development"

The South Florida media got to meet and spend a half hour with new UM defensive coordinator Mark D'onofrio Monday. If there is really one thing you can say about D'onofrio it's that he's hungry -- and wants his players to play that way. 

The former Penn State middle linebacker, now 41, had the opportunity to become a head coach at Temple and passed on it to follow his former Nittany Lion co-captain and close friend Al Golden to UM.

Making brash decisions is nothing new for D'onofrio. He had a chance to become the defensive coordinator at Virginia and instead decided to go with Golden to Temple to try and make the nation's 120th ranked defense better. He and Golden started out with only 53 scholarship players in 2006 and eventually made Temple relevant.

His defense his final year improved to 17th nationally in total yardage and 16th in scoring defense -- allowing only 19 points a game. Temple ranked in the Top 25 in 12 defensive categories in 2010 -- including 45th in run defense, much better than UM. Six players from his defenses in 2008 and 2009 who were two star recruits or worse are now in the NFL. He expects to have three more in the league off this last defense.

"It’s all about player development," D'onofrio said Monday. "Whoever we have here we’ll coach and we’ll coach them to be the best they can be. And I’m proud of that, because I think we’ll get our guys to play hard. I think they’ll play disciplined. I think they’ll tackle well. that will be at the core of who we will be. And we’ll put them in the right position to make plays.

"That’s finding the right guys who love the game, who want to learn, who want to work and teaching them the fundamentals. Teaching them how to get off blocks and tackle and learn how to prepare and learn situational football and all those things. I’m confident that now, stepping up and being able to recruit at a higher level will only pay off for us really as we try to go from where, you know, there’s a top-25 defense here and try to move higher."

D'onofrio wasn't in El Paso with Golden when the Hurricanes took a beating of Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl. He was with his parents and two sons up in Jupiter watching the game on TV. But what he saw between commercials turned his stomach as much as it did yours.

"Well, I’ll preface it with I know any transition is hard, and obviously this was a hard transition here," D'onofrio said trying to be nice. "Anytime there are coaches that are going out and players staying on, I think that’s a tough situation. I haven’t been in that one, but I can imagine it being tough. I think the things that stood out to me are really at the core of who we want to be defensively. If you had a pyramid built up of what our goals would be on defense, I think at the very core, it’s going to be that we’re going to play really, really hard. we’re going to finish. We’re going to be physical. We’re going to knock back piles. All 11 guys better be in the frame when we freeze it. that’s where it starts and that has nothing to do with talent. That has nothing to do with talent. We want to play harder than they played the other day.

"I think we want to be disciplined. We can’t have penalties. Obviously a lot of penalties in that game led to touchdowns. Right there we have to eliminate that. and we have to tackle well. we have to tackle better than they tackled in the game. again, those are things that you can talk about. Those can be your philosophy, but if you don’t have a plan to execute those, you’re really not going to be able to get it done. and those are things we work on everyday, those are things we teach, those are things that al makes a big emphasis on as far as penalties go. tackling. We tackle everyday. We tackle every single day. at the end of the day you can’t play defense if you don’t tackle well.

"I think sometimes people get caught up in schemes and all these other things, but at their core they have to be fundamentally sound. So I think that’s where we’re going to start. We’re going to start with that foundation, clean that up with what I saw the other day needs to be cleaned up based on how the season ended and then get into the execution phases of stopping the run and third-down defense and red zone and all those things that we feel we do a good job of teaching."

A FEW MORE TIDBITS

> Being a Penn State grad, you might believe D'onofrio's heart won't be in coaching The U. But he knows the program well and respects it. "Before I was a college football player and before I was a college football coach I was a fan," D'onofrio said. "I know the history here. I know the players. I was just talking with Micheal Barrow and he was talking about a recruit. I said this guy kind of reminds me of Bill Hawkins, No. 54. He looked at me said 'Yeah, Ok.' I don't know how many guys from Penn State know what number Bill Hawkins was, but I'm one of them."

> D'onofrio said he watched four bowl practices and a few UM games on tape to study the Canes defense. He feels he has a good grasp of what's missing and what is needed in terms of personnel. He said the top needs at the moment are linebacker and cornerback.

"It's really not about the players. It's about playing with passion, playing with energy, playing with discipline, tackling well, playing like you love the game, not faking it out there," D'onofrio said. "Showing passion, enthusiasm and that you really love the fact to wear that Miami jersey and be a part of this tradition. Guys need to respect that. And I think at the end of the day, they need to appreciate that and what they have here and respect that."

> D'onofrio said he likes the defensive staff that has been put together. "Paul Williams has been our secondary coach and been with us for five years at Temple and really instrumental in the success we've had there. There's no question he and I are on the same page. We work really well together and have a good feel for one another as far as game planning goes, adjustments and all those kind of things. I'm definitely fired up to have him," he said.

"Jethro Franklin, our defensive line coach, was only with us for one year. We were fortunate enough to get him last year from USC. He got caught in that whole Pete Carroll change and what not and he was available. I got his resume and said 'I'm going to call this guy up. He probably doesn't want to come.' Sure enough he did. I'm going to give this guy a shot. We were getting all kinds of resumes. Here was a guy with eight years of NFL experience, two years at SC, Fresno, played in the NFL, has an unbelievable resume. Gave him a call. He interviewed. Hired him. And now we're glad he's here.

"And obviously Mike has been tremendous. Mike is a year younger than I am. Mike was playing in that '91 game. He was the middle linebacker on the other side. You want to talk about a guy that bleeds UM. He's excited. We're here right now and we're excited to have him. But he's really bright, a football guy, he's passionate, works really, really hard. Does a great job in recruiting. I think we have a great staff -- guys I'm really excited to be working with. Again two of them I worked with. Adding Mike will make it a smooth transition. Plus, he's a UM guy, so that will be great."

> D'onofrio said he hasn't spoken with cornerback Brandon Harris about his future. Harris could opt to leave early and is currently projected as a borderline first round pick. "I tried not to get involved in that," D'onofrio said. "It’s one of those things where I just casually said hello to some of the players while this whole thing was going on. I didn’t think it was fair to the outgoing staff and those guys involved to really be a distraction. Obviously, those guys got home just the day after the game and will be home on break right now. I’ll be catching up with all the defensive guys here over the next week, trying to get in touch with all of them and talk and do all those things.”

> What's his philosophy on blitzing? "I don’t think you could ever blitz as much as the fans and you guys want," D'onofrio said. "Everybody says, ‘Why don’t you blitz? Why don’t you blitz?. A lot of it depends on personnel, first and foremost. You have to first have the guys that can be able to cover. And you have to be able to have the guys who can get them on the ground if something does pop when you’re aggressive, but we mix it up. I mean, we will pressure a bunch. We’ll mix up coverages. We’ve played a lot of zone coverage , we’ve played man coverage, we’ve had the flexibility to get in and out of an odd front. We’ll drop eight at times or we’ll max pressure and we’ll bring seven.

"I think you just have to mix it up and you have to find spots where it’s the right thing to do. But I don’t think you can be blitz happy. I think one of the things we pride ourselves on is that at the end of the day, scoring defense is the no. 1 statistic. At the end of the day. I mean you don’t want to give up points, so however you do that, whether somebody decides they’re going to blitz 70 times a game or maybe it’s, you know, a third of the game. whatever you can do to get the points down at the end of the day and not give up big plays and do those kinds of things is the way you have to play. But obviously, personnel will dictate that."

New UM RB coach happy to coming home

After 12 years at UConn where he coached some of the best running backs in the Big East Conference, Terry Richardson is coming back home to help the Hurricanes and he couldn't be happier about it.

The 39-year old former Syracuse star tailback was named UM's new running backs coach Monday afternoon, 21 years after he left Oakland Park Northeast High as one of Broward County's premier rushers.

"I'm just as excited as my family is if not more," Richardson said Monday about two hours before boarding a plane bound for South Florida. "I know the Canes have been down a little bit. I'm excited about the opportunity to try and get them back to the top. Coach Golden wants to restore the program to it's winning ways. I'm excited about the opportunity."

In 2010, UConn’s rushing offense was ranked 31st in the nation at 179.92 yards per game. Richardson's star pupil, Jordan Todman, amassed 1,695 yards on the ground and was named the Big East's Offensive Player of the Year. He isn't the only talented back Richardson has coached.

In 2009, Richardson worked with two 1,000-yard rushers in Todman and All-BIG EAST Conference second-team pick Andre Dixon. UConn was just one of three NCAA FBS schools to boast a pair of 1,000-yard rushers. In 2008, running back Donald Brown became the nation’s leading rusher and his school's first, first-round draft pick in 2009 when he was selected by the Indianapolis Colts.

As for the next group of backs he'll coach, Richardson said he has no idea what he'll be getting but he's heard great things. "I just knew of [Graig] Cooper. I saw him run, recruited him some," Richardson said. "But I know they've got some really good young kids. Mike James, Lamar Miller, Storm [Johnson]. The biggest thing I'm going to do is that I'm going to coach them all the same and work them all the same. And I'm going to make sure they protect the football."

A 1994 graduate of Syracuse, Richardson was one of the few players to wear the fabled uniform number 44 for the Orangemet. The coveted jersey is awarded only to exceptional Orange rushers, including Jim Brown and 1961 Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis. Richardson was Syracuse’s leading rusher as a senior in 1993.

Richardson signed a free agent contract with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals in 1994 and also spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles (1995), Kansas City Chiefs (1996) and Pittsburgh Steelers (1996-97). He spent the 1998 season at Northeast High as offensive coordinator and running backs coach, his first stint in coaching.

Richardson, whose mother passed away in 2009 from cancer, said he has two older brothers and his 74-year old father he's looking forward to seeing when he gets home. Then, he'll be off recruiting.

When he was at UConn, Richardson recruited Key West through Daytona as well as the Houston area. Over the last few years, he concentrated solely on Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County.

"I've never been a recruiting coordinator so if coach decides to give me some of that responsibility It would be something new," Richardson said. "But being from down there and recruiting down there, I've never burned any bridges. So, I feel I could be a great asset for the Canes."

A FEW MORE TIDBITS

> According to UM, strength and conditioning coach Andrew Swasey and special assistant Tim "Ice" Harris were told Monday they by Al Golden that they do not have to look for new jobs. Special teams and tight ends coach Joe Pannunzio and running backs coach Mike Cassano will not be back.

UM said it doesn't expect to announce the hiring of two its remaining assistant vacancies until Golden meets with reporters on Friday. The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson reported Sunday that John McNulty was among a trio of candidates for the vacant offensive coordinator spot. We'll see who emerges.

Eight Canes headed to NFL combine

Some news and notes including NFL Draft info provided by UM's sports info office:

> Eight former Hurricanes -- defensive end Allen Bailey, kicker/punter Matt Bosher, running back Damien Berry, running back Graig Cooper, receiver Leonard Hankerson, offensive tackle Orlando Franklin, linebacker Colin McCarthy and cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke -- have been invited to represent UM at the 2011 NFL Combine from Feb. 23 through March 1 in Indianapolis, Ind.

According to Scouts.Inc, Bailey heads the class of draft prospects and is currently projected as a first round selection -- going as high as the top 15. He currently ranks 27th. Orlando Franklin is listed as the top offensive guard in the draft and the 49th overall prospect (2nd round).

McCarthy is the 88th best prospect and the ninth-rated outside linebacker. Hankerson and Cooper come in as the 145th and 148th best prospects, although ESPN experts disagree on Hankerson. Mel Kiper has Hankerson rated as the top senior wide receiver and someone he expects to be selected behind juniors that may come out early at the position.

> Offensive lineman Joel Figueroa, who played in only three games this season and who has battled shoulder problems throughout his career, is applying for a sixth year of NCAA eligibility.

> Junior cornerback Brandon Harris, who said he would decide whether or not he is leaving school early for the NFL, is rated as the 32nd best prospect, right on the first round bubble, by Scouts.Inc. He is considered the fourth best junior cornerback by Kiper.

> Senior cornerback Ryan Hill, fullback Pat Hill and defensive tackle Josh Holmes have not been chosen for the NFL Combine, but could still receive an invite at a later date.

> UM has tentatively scheduled its 2011 Pro Day workouts for March 10 at the Greentree Practice Fields.

> I spoke with national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming last night who told me the Hurricanes are looking two sign two quarterbacks in their 2011 class out of these four: Stanford commitment Kevin Hogan (6-4, 200, Washington, D.C. area), North Carolina commitment Marquise Williams (6-3, 218, Charlotte Mallard Creek), Iowa commitment Jake Rudock (6-3, 190, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.) and Palm Beach Dwyer High's Jacoby Brissett (6-5, 225).

> New UM defensive coordinator Mark D'onofrio will meet reporters at UM today after 1 p.m. Stay tuned from updates. I'll be there.

Golden, UM have talent to build around in '11

Things might be down in Coral Gables as Al Golden takes over the program. But it's not unsalvageable. 

The Miami Hurricanes have holes to fill and quality depth to add through recruiting (linebacker, cornerback, quarterback and receiver). But there is enough talent around at the moment -- assuming we see some better coaching and play calling -- that can have the Canes winning and competing in the ACC relatively soon.

For me, it all starts with the offensive coordinator and a commitment to running the football. If there is one real strength UM is bringing back next season, it is experienced talent on the offensive line and NFL-caliber talent in the backfield. Leading rusher Damien Berry and his tough, bruising running style is heading out the door. But with speedy redshirt freshman Lamar Miller, sophomore Mike James, Storm Johnson and Eduardo Clements expected back along with bulldozers Seantrel Henderson and Brandon Linder up front on the offensive line, the Hurricanes should and can become a team that consistently runs the football to setup the pass.

In Friday's 33-17 loss to Notre Dame, the Hurricanes ran the ball only 24 times for 103 yards. A 27-3 deficit by halftime obviously forced UM to pretty much abandon the run. But this goes well beyond one bowl game. In UM's seven wins this past season, the Canes ran an average of 42 times for nearly 196 yards and a total of 13 touchdowns. In the Canes' six losses, UM ran an average of 33 times for nearly 170 yards and six touchdowns. Nine carries and 26 yards may not seem like a lot. But it is the commitment to running first instead of throwing the ball that is the difference -- especially since the Canes led all FBS schools with 27 interceptions thrown. 

With leading receiver Leonard Hankerson gone and Stephen Morris expected to take over as starting quarterback heading into his sophomore year, it only makes sense for the Hurricanes to take this run-first approach. While the Hurricanes do have some untapped talent at receiver (it's time to see more from LaRon Byrd, Travis Benjamin, Aldarius Johnson, Kendall Thompkins and Tommy Streeter) and a budding young star at tight end in freshman Asante Cleveland, its going to take Morris (82-153, 1,240 yards, 7 TDs, 9 INTs) and his receivers some time to get adjusted to the playbook of UM's new and yet unnamed offensive coordinator. Feeding the ball to Miller, James, Johnson and Clements at least 42 times a game will only make that transition easier and take some pressure off a defense in 2010 that constantly had to keep coming back onto the field after turnovers.

Speaking of the defense, that is really where Golden has to restock the shelves with talent (we'll talk about linebacker shortly) and get a lot more production. Love him or hate him, leading tackler Colin McCarthy is gone and the linebacker spot is in dire need of not only help, but an upgrade in starting talent and depth. Sean Spence, the most consistent playmaker at linebacker for UM the past three years, needs major assistance heading into his senior year to help a UM run defense which ranked 81st nationally and gave up an average of 173 yards a game on the ground and 20 touchdowns on the season.

Who will Spence get that help from? Ramon Buchanan, who started 10 games on the outside, has had his moments (54 tackles, fifth most on the team). But he needs to take his level of play up a notch or two. Freshman backup middle linebacker Kelvin Cain (12 tackles) had a monster game at Duke in his only start of the season. And as of now, he's third leading tackler at linebacker returning for next season. That's scary. Scarier? The depth. All of it is young and unproven. Kevin Nelson, who was redshirted this season, was said to have the most upside of all the young players UM recruited. He and Cain should fight for playing time at middle linebacker. At outside linebacker, with senior-to-be Jordan Futch moving over to tight end (and maybe even fullback), the guys expected to provide depth are freshmen Tyrone Cornelius (a standout on special teams), James Gaines, and junior-to-be C.J. Holton (12 career tackles). 

Aside from better tackling and improving the run defense, the Canes will have to continue to produce sacks (they finished 10th nationally) and tackles for loss (led country with 8.85 per game) without future first round pick Allen Bailey at defensive end. Bailey may not have made as much noise as Hurricanes fans wanted, but he still led the team in sacks for the second year in a row (7) and ranked third in tackles for loss (11).

The good news for UM? Veteran help returns. For starters, we began to see better play from redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Marcus Forston (a 5-star recruit at Miami Northwestern) as the season went on. He had six tackles in the bowl game including three in the backfield for loss and finished second on the team behind Spence in TFLs. Forston and junior defensive tackle Micanor Regis (42 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 sacks) will be among a ground of veteran defensive linemen, which will also feature defensive ends Olivier Vernon (39 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 6 sacks, 4 QBH), a sophomore, junior Marcus Robinson (19 tackles, 5 TFL, 2.5 sacks in 10 games), junior Andrew Smith (12 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 sacks) and senior-to-be Adewale Ojomo (38 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 5 sacks).

The pass defense, which ranked second nationally, are where the bigger question marks lie. Sophomore safeties Ray Ray Armstrong, the team's third leading tackler with 79 tackles and 3 INTs, and Vaughn Telemaque, who finished fourth with 58 tackles and 3 INTs, are the veteran returnees. But it is unknown if junior cornerback Brandon Harris (44 tackles, team-leading 10 pass breakups) will be back. Ryan Hill, who had a stellar senior season despite a few bad moments in the Sun Bowl (51 tackles, 8 PBUs), along with Demarcus Van Dyke are gone, leaving UM potentially without its top three cornerbacks from the 2010 season. Sophomore Brandon McGee (15 tackles, 2 PBU in 10 games), former running back Lee Chambers and a cast of redshirt freshmen and potentially true freshmen are what the Hurricanes will have at cornerback next season should Harris decide to enter the NFL Draft early.  

Special teams? Not only will the Hurricanes likely have new coordinator, but also a new kicker, punter and a need for improvement on kickoff and punt returns as well as kick and punt coverage. After their big day at Ohio State where they returned a kickoff and a punt return for a touchdown, UM's return unit went into hibernation. Take away his 79-yard punt return at Ohio State for a touchdown, junior Travis Benjamin had 22 punt returns for a total of 27 yards the rest of the season. When it came to kickoff returns, UM ranked 102nd nationally with an average return of 19.96 yards on 44 returns. Matt Bosher ranked 16th nationally in punting with an average of 44 yards a kick and he made 13 of 17 his field goal attempts. UM's punt return defense ranked 56th and the kickoff coverage unit ranked 69th. 

For Canes, time to pull the weeds out

ON A SOUTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT HEADED HOME TO SOUTH FLORIDA -- After Notre Dame was done taking the Canes to school Friday afternoon at the Sun Bowl, I spent about 20 minutes behind the stadium watching UM close its chapter on the 2010 season.

One by one, as players and assistant coaches trickled out from the locker room, all I saw were somber, defeated and disappointed faces. This unceremonious finish wasn't the way guys like Damien Berry, Leonard Hankerson and Ryan Hill figured their careers would end after Randy Shannon took over four years ago.

Hankerson tried to hide his disappointment. But he couldn't. In the middle of talking about all the great times he had at UM with his "brothers" and his "family" he broke down, covering his face with a towel so we couldn't see him weep. Berry, who led the Hurricanes in rushing this season, started to tear up as he said good-bye to a few equipment workers and friends who came to watch him play. Hill, who along with the rest of UM's secondary had a rough afternoon trying to chase down Michael Floyd, didn't hide the chip on his shoulder. Now that he knew his ride in Coral Gables was over, he cut loose when I asked him if he thought the next coach could do what Shannon couldn't.

"I think [he'll turn it around], but it will definitely take some time. I don't know how much time," Hill said before unleashing a little displeasure. "But I think the first thing he has to do is weed out the guys who he doesn't think will be beneficial to the program. We have a lot of guys that have to do a lot of maturing, that act like little boys. There are points like this in November, late in the season that it hurts you. We have a lot of growing to do in this program."

I couldn't have said it better myself. What Hill said summed up exactly what we failed to see during Shannon's tenure -- real, sound, player development. For all the praise Shannon got for being a great recruiter (I'll touch on that later), disciplinarian and bringing the school's APR scores up, two things he failed miserably at were hiring the right personnel to make his football team better on the field, and being a well-liked, charismatic ambassador of the program. Like it or not, the last two are probably the most important when it comes to winning and being a successful coach -- with recruiting right in there as well.

If there we one constant under Shannon, really, it was coaching instability. In Shannon's four seasons, UM had two offensive coordinators, two recruiting coordinators, two running backs coaches, two receivers coaches, three defensive line coaches and three defensive coordinators. And then you wondered why guys never seemed to take a step forward. It's kind of hard for players to develop when they have start over with a guy who has new ideas constantly. It's even harder when many of those assistants weren't very good to begin with.

Shannon's personality -- as you well know -- wasn't sparkly either. For as much as his players may have loved him and still do, he never really won the fans or the media over, opting instead to be abrasive and at times combative when he really didn't need to be. Instead of letting people see the good side of his program that might bring people closer to liking it -- like the personality of his players (he shut down Twitter and cut off access to interviews), assistants and even how fired up he would get in the locker room (go back and watch those clips from Hurricane Gameday) -- he shut everybody out, closed the door for privacy. All we saw instead was that stern, disinterested look on the sideline from Shannon and a team that went 28-22 under his rule and did nothing but make people angry and frustrated on most Saturdays.

You want to talk about brand? That's not an image of a successful program, one you can sell to boosters, trustees and more importantly -- the people who buy tickets on Saturdays and the top high school recruits who might have been interested in coming to the program.

I said I was going to get into recruiting: Shannon was hardly great at that. To me, he did what was expected. He got many of the top players locally who wanted to come to UM and a few top-notch pieces from other places (Seantrel Henderson, Storm Johnson to name a few). But he still missed the boat on a lot of good players who wanted to come to Miami and didn't fill key needs (look at linebacker and cornerback). Coming out of high school, you didn't hear a lot about guys like Pittsburgh defensive end Jabaal Sheard (Hollywood Hills) and West Virginia safety Robert Sands (Carol City). But you will in April during the NFL Draft. Both were in his backyard for the taking and now both will go on the first day of the draft. There are plenty of other examples -- UCF quarterback Jeffrey Godfrey (Maimi Central) is a big one.

I got the sense toward the end of his tenure, Shannon and his staff got a little complacent when it came to recruiting -- thinking they could go in at the last minute and swoop up local guys they wanted. Sound familiar? Ask local coaches like Miami Central's Telly Lockette, who just led the Rockets to the Class 6A state title with a roster loaded with nearly two dozen D-I recruits, and he'll tell you the Hurricanes didn't begin recruiting a single one of his players until Shannon was fired. Southrdige coach Patrick Burrows, who has two legit defensive backs headed to BCS programs, said he sent his top two players down to UM in his truck nearly every day during spring practice when they were juniors.

"They just kept coming back telling me 'Coach, they're just not interested in us,'" Burrows said two weeks ago.

The point here isn't to bash Shannon as his era comes to an end and his players begin walking out the door. There really is no need to pile on here. The point here is to learn from four years worth of mistakes.

There is no reason a talented player like Sam Shields should go through his career at UM as a mediocre player at best only to go to the NFL and start for the Green Bay Packers (where he's learned the basics of playing the cornerback position with flash cards). There is no reason a player like Leonard Hankerson should have to go work with former Dolphins receiver Mark Duper to learn how to become a better receiver. There is no reason a player like Jacory Harris, in his third year at UM, should still be looking like a freshman in his third bowl game.

I'm not saying players don't deserve some blame themselves for underperforming. But how can a football team continue to make the same mistakes game after game after game? How come the Canes looked progressively worse at the end of each and of Shannon's four seasons? UM ranked 114th in penalties this season, led the nation in interceptions thrown and probably was first in missed tackles (nobody counts those).

If you didn't think so before, I hope you know now that Al Golden has a heck of a job in front of him. Not only does he need to mend and solidify the fence that fell down locally in recruiting, he needs to hire a top-notch staff that is going to start making the players here a lot better and put them in situations to be successful. He needs to bring fans back to Sun Life Stadium and a sense of excitement back to the program.

Do you realize that if the Gators win their bowl game today, the Hurricanes will be the only in-state FBS program that didn't win its bowl game? Do you realize Miami's 7-6 record was tied with FIU for the second-worst among the FBS state schools (FAU finished 4-8)? The Golden Panthers won their bowl game. And right now I'm not sure UM could beat the Golden Panthers. UCF, meanwhile, not only won its bowl game, but is going to finish in the Top 25. The Canes lost to USF. And those Seminoles up at Florida State, they won 10 games in Jimbo Fisher's first season and seem primed to start ruling the state again. Sure, the Gators are down. But they've got a new head coach and Charlie Weis is supposed to be the team's next offensive coordinator.

It's time to start realizing how big a hole the Canes are really in.

It's time to start pulling out those weeds in Coral Gables.

It's time to start moving forward.

Good luck, Coach Golden. You've got a nation full of Canes who are praying you get the job done.