Big News on the Football Front

By: Nathan Skinner
Canes Rising Staff

Rick Petri, a former Miami assistant during the Dennis Erickson era, has been hired by Randy Shannon as the new defensive line coach. Petri, who helped develop Hurricane greats Warren Sapp, Kevin Patrick, and Kenard Lang now will have the task of improving a unit that has lacked production in recent years. Petri comes over from the University of Kentucky, a competitive program in the historically tough SEC. Petri, who while at Kentucky, coached All-SEC honorees Myron Pryor and Jeremy Jarmon, will now get a chance to coach former prep stars Adewale Ojomo and Marcus Forston . According to reports, Petri is a well respected teacher, even though his dedication to recruiting is questionable. Petri, who may have been relieved of his duties at Kentucky due to his lack of recruiting prowess, was praised by Randy Shannon as bringing "A wealth of experience and has been very successful in developing some of the top defensive line talent in the country for years."

Why is this a good hire for Miami?
This is a good fit for the program due to the fact that talent is no longer an issue at Miami, especially on the defensive line. When Larry Coker was dismissed following the 2006 season, it was a well known fact that the 'Canes were lacking in elite talent, especially on the defensive line. That is no longer the case, due to the excellent recruiting done by former assistant Clint Hurtt. With that talent now in place, it is extremely important to have a coach that can develop these talented charges. Petri, with his experience developing talent, and his proven results at Miami, Kentucky, and Ole Miss will be able to do that. This move also allows young, unproven assistants Mike Barrow and Wesley McGriff to learn from a master of the craft. As noted earlier, Petri is not known as an energetic recruiter, but with the young guns on this staff, he doesn't have to be. This move, which adds an experienced, proven coach to the staff can be seen as more proof that Coach Shannon is now building a complete staff, instead of a team of recruiters with little actual teaching experience.


Look for this hire to be covered more in depth in our upcoming CanesRising National Signing Day podcast.


* Biographical information provided by UMiami Sports Information Office
** Photo provided by Kentucky Wildcats SIO (www.ukathletics.com)