Eye on the U

Hot time in MIami: Gators at Canes in football: noon on Sept. 7 on ESPN.

University of Miami tailgaters might want to get to sleep early on Friday, Sept. 6th. That's because the highly anticipated Florida Gators at Miami Hurricanes football game was announced for a noon kickoff at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7 on ESPN -- upsetting fans who would rather have a night game.

A night game would certainly be a great draw and the event to party around at Sun Life. UM would get heavy-duty exposure. And let's face it, night games are always more fun (unless you're on deadline or savor getting broiled outside).

Turns out that ABC has NASCAR from Richmond, Va., that night and ESPN is broadcasting the Notre Dame-Michigan football game in prime time. A game has not yet been announced for the prime-time ESPN2 slot.

"We requested and lobbied ESPN for an evening slot for the game vs #BeatUF.'' tweeted UM athletic director Blake James. "Unfortunately, they were unable to accomodate.'' 

 I just got off the phone with ESPN spokesman Mike Humes, whom I asked about the noon start.

"Essentially, we looked at all the options and this was the best available window for the game,'' Humes said. "We average probably around three million viewers for that time slot. So it wasn’t like, 'Let’s put the worst game on at noon.' The noon window does really well with fans.

"We view this as a great matchup. Scheduling games is like putting together differrent puzzles with different time zones and commitments, and this was the best window.''

 UM AD James also tweeted this: "espn/abc wanted to take game national 3:30 slot is regional coverage."

Humes said the 3:30 p.m. ABC game is Oregon at Virginia.

In other Canes football news, the Aug. 30 season opener at Sun Life Stadium against FAU will kick off at 8 p.m. Aug. 30 -- a Friday -- and will be aired by ESPNU.

SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN 

New Canes recruit Artie Burns "has explosion like Travis Benjamin, can take over games like Darnell Jenkins," coach says

First-year Miami Northwestern High coach Stephen Field feels like he's got a good handle on talent. 

Artie Burns takes some instruction from coach Stephen Field before taking the stage Monday and picking the Canes.

As an assistant at Miami Central, Deerfield Beach, Belle Glades Central and Boyd Anderson, Field coached some of the most talented high school players to come out of South Florida in the past decade.

He feels like he's got another in Northwestern defensive back Artie Burns, a 6-1, 183-pound senior who committed to the University of Miami on Monday. Burns, an elite track and field athlete who is rated the 69th best prospect in the country regardless of position by ESPN in the Class of 2013, posted the fastest 110 meter hurdles time in the country last year (13.35) and the second fastest 300-meter hurdles time (36.06).

So what kind of athlete are the Hurricanes getting? A mix of explosiveness and intelligence according to Field.

"He's one of the best football players I've been around," said Field, who spent two years as a defensive grad assistant at UM (2006-07) before becoming the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Hampton University for three years. "He can explode like Travis Benjamin when I had him at Glades Central, and take over a game kind of like Darnell Jenkins did when I had him at Miami Central. He's a guy you can put all over the field and be successful."

Burns, a former Alabama commitment, is the first defensive back Miami has secured for the 2013 class. He has the ability to play cornerback or safety, but the Hurricanes are hoping to pair him with highly-touted incoming freshman Tracy Howard on the outside.

One reason Burns said he committed to the Hurricanes early in the process was because he wants to now become a recruiter for the team. "I want to tell the top recruits in South Florida to stay home," Burns said.

He said he plans to run track and play football at Miami.

What does Burns have to improve on before getting to Miami?

"Probably keeping his composure a little bit in certain situations," Field said. "He's so physical, gets so passionate, he can lose his composure every now and then. But he's a special player. Miami got a good one."

If he signs with UM on National Signing Day, Burns will be the first player from Miami Northwestern to go to UM since the infamous eight from Northwestern's 2007 National Championship team signed with the Canes. Northwestern has produced 16 players that have signed with FBS schools since then.

> UM coach Al Golden was asked Monday about the new allegations the team has faced since the latest Yahoo! report was released: "I'm not allowed to comment [on specific names], but we just got what we think is one of the best players in South Florida.

"At the end of the day anybody will tell you, you can have all the facilities in the world, but if you don't have a culture where kids feel loved and respected and like they're being developed on and off the field on a daily basis that's going to resonate with the recruits. They are going to know that. They are going to find that out. And I think what they're finding out at the University of Miami is that in addition to being a great institution and obviously a great football legacy that those things are happening. And that there is synergy there and we are making progress and certainly that is helping with us recruiting."

> Field said former Hurricanes Brett Perriman and Vernon Carey have joined his staff at Northwestern as assistants. Carey, who donated big bucks for a brand new weight room at the school, is a co-coach on the offensive line. Perriman will coach receivers. Defensive coordinator Luther Campbell, a big UM supporter in the past, has remained on staff as a carryover.

Al Golden: "There will be a time to defend this and I look forward to that.''

Just spoke one-on-one to University of Miami football coach Al Golden at the ACC Kickoff in Greensboro.

He defended his integrity relating to the newest Yahoo! Sports report and was, again, adamant about his clean record and good reputation. He was very calm and friendly and self-assured. He does not seem like a man who is in any way upset or scared about allegations.

MY STORY BELOW

          GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Speaking several hours before his scheduled roundtable with reporters at the ACC Kickoff, University of Miami football coach Al Golden told The Miami Herald on Monday morning that his “good name’’ is still intact.

     He refused to comment on the specifics of the Yahoo! Sports report released Friday that contends Golden “had direct knowledge’’ of former UM equipment manager Sean “Pee Wee” Allen’s “improper involvement with Miami recruits,’’ according to Yahoo!

     His reaction when he read the story? “Disappointment obviously. It’s your name. It’s your integrity. But as I’ve found being around the other coaches and the ACC commissioner, I think my integrity and reputation over the last 18 years speaks for itself.’’

     He said UM linebackers coach Micheal Barrow, also implicated in the Yahoo! report, is still an assistant coach, but wouldn’t talk further about Barrow.

      Golden adamantly defended his integrity Friday in a written statement released shortly afterward, denying any wrongdoing.

     “I stand on what I said on Friday. That encapsulates how I feel. I stand on my record of compliance with the NCAA. And there will be a time to defend this and I look forward to that. But I’m not allowed to comment on the story at this time.”

        Last year, shortly after UM fall football camp opened in Coral Gables, Yahoo! Sports hit the sports world with allegations that former UM booster Nevin Shapiro, now serving a 20-year prison sentence for a $930 million Ponzi scheme, provided “thousands of impermissible benefits’’ to at least 72 UM athletes from 2002 through 2010.

        Golden, who was about to begin his first season with the Hurricanes, said he had no idea of the related NCAA investigation of UM. He spent most of last season pledging to bring the Canes back and overcome any obstacles through hard work and doing the right things.

       He said Monday he still pledges to move forward and is doing so with plenty of young talent.

       Golden’s interview Monday ended minutes before the NCAA announced its severe sanctions for Penn State – where Golden played and served as an assistant coach.

        He said his “thoughts and prayers are with the victims first and foremost,’’ and didn’t want to talk about Joe Paterno – other than saying he was disappointed in the whole situation.

             In other UM-related news, Golden said offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson will not be suspended, though he did show up late for a summer session and was punished internally.

  An addendum to story: Golden said Henderson is in the best shape of his life, and is now under 340 pounds. He said Henderson told him he weighed 400 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso.

   Also, running back Danny Dillard is in the final stages of being reviewed by the NCAA Clearinghouse regarding his academics. Said Golden: Danny is expected to be with us at training camp.''

SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN