Shannon's Quality Recruiting Continues.......

By Kartik Krishnaiyer
Canes Rising Staff

The message boards have been full of gloom and doom the last several weeks. Portions of the Hurricane fan base has convinced itself that Randy Shannon is the wrong man for the job.

But this weekend amidst all the national bashing of Randy Shannon for his handling of the Robert Marve situation (with the ironic and notable exception of Lou Holtz, Miami hater and arch rival at Notre Dame who has defended Shannon's actions with regards to the matter on ESPN several times) Miami's recruiting class appears to be more diversified and potentially better than last year's highly touted class.

Miami ranked #1 according to ESPNU.com last season in Football recruiting. But last year's class was heavy on WRs and LBs an immediate need for Miami. This year's class is not only more diverse as far as positions, but has re-established Miami's ability to recruit successfully outside of South Florida.

Dyron Dye and Ray Ray Armstrong were huge gets for Miami over the weekend. Both can contribute quickly to the program but more importantly both hail from Sanford's Seminole H.S. which is right smack dab in the middle of Florida Gator country. Having spent a fair amount of time in Seminole County recently, it's remarkable Miami was able to secure a verbal commitment from these stars.

Bryce Brown the Miami commit RB, ranked #1 in the nation from Kansas was outstanding in San Antonio over the weekend at the Army All American game. Brown can contribute immediately: he could make a similar impact for Miami much like Percy Harvin did as a true freshman for Florida in 2006.

Devin Ebanks: UM Off The List?

Highly prized Forward prospect Devin Ebanks has finally been released from his letter of intent commitment to Indiana made under Kelvin Sampson. While it has been reported by the Palm Beach Post that Ebanks contacted Miami, according to Fox Sports.com he has narrowed his choices down to Texas, Rutgers and West Virginia. Perhaps the signing of DeQuan Jones by Miami has Ebanks looking for a school that can use a perimeter oriented forward for a season or two. Or perhpas he was scared off by Frank Haith's 100% graduation rating and wanted a coach who would take academics more seriously like Bob Huggins? One may never know.

Canes Rising Radio Seven: Recruiting Roundup

Kartik flies solo in this short episode recapping the potentially historic UM recruiting class. Having been in Texas, the epicenter of the College and High School Football universe on signing day gave Kartik a unique perspective on the class, especially incoming Miami QB Taylor Cook from the Houston area. Next week we'll preview Baseball and discuss if the Hurricanes have any chance at the NCAAs in Basketball.


Direct Download:

http://cdn3.libsyn.com/canesrising/canes_rising_7.mp3

Recruiting Roundup Podcast To be Released Tuesday Night

A podcast looking at the UM recruiting class will be released Tuesday Night via direct download and Itunes.

Taylor Cook, QB

From ESPN.com with info from Scouts, Inc. :

Hometown: Eagle Lake, TX
Rice High School
Position rank: QB # 9
Ht: 6'6" Wt: 210

Cook's recruitment is going to be heating up quite a bit if he continues to have another season like he did during his junior year. Rarely do you see a player with his imposing physical stature possess his athleticism and ability to beat you with his legs and his arm. He is a high school version of former Arkansas QB Matt Jones-- a legit dual-threat. Goes out of the shotgun a lot. Possesses great measurables. Has great feet for a big quarterback, not only mobile and a threat to run with the ball, but has good pocket awareness and creates a lot of second chances. He has very good arm strength, and although he is unorthodox in terms of his overall mechanics and ability to step up in the pocket and deliver the ball, he is still able to throw off of his back foot, he has great velocity on the ball, he can throw the deep out with good velocity and accuracy, and he can create on his own. There is no question of his arm strength and he can really fit the ball into tight spots when he has to. He is mobile in the pocket, he can move around to avoid hits, but he is also a tremendous threat to tuck the ball and run. When he is running in the open field, he is tough to bring down because he is so physical. He actually eliminates a lot of sacks even when he is in the pocket because defenders simply cannot bring him down and they fall off of him even though they make contact. He is impressive to watch accelerate because he has a second gear you don't expect to see in six-foot-six prospect. The real issue with Cook right now is that he is unpolished as a passer. Will spray the ball around if his feet aren't set and he tends to play street ball instead of being a little more patient in his reads. Most, if not all of his weaknesses are correctable and just need coaching and time in the film room. Overall, Cook has loads of physical tools and coaches will love the pressure he can put on defenses and to top it off, he could play a number of positions outside of QB if needed. Excellent prospect.

My Analysis
So, let me get this straight. This kid is highly recruited and they claim he has all of this ability and they claim he's a bit unpolishied.

If only they said that about Kyle Wright.

This just sounds like a taller version of Wright; and we all know what happened to him. Then again, Wright was recruited by Larry Coker.

This recruiting class has speed. A lot of it. And, most importantly, players from South Florida are staying home to play for Randy Shannon.

Let's hope that Randy Shannon is a better evaluator of QBs than Coker was. If so, and Cook is as good as everyone hypes him up to be, then he could very well be a starting QB his freshman year with a TON of threats.

Am I excited, sure am. No. 1 recruiting class according to ESPN.com. Doesn't get any better than that. Oh, wait, yes it does: A winning season -- one that includes a W over Florida State.

That's my say on it.

Recruiting Roundup

We'll have a full recruiting roundup show on Canes Rising Radio to be released late Friday night.

Checking In From Houston

I'm operating on very little sleep this morning in Houston. I got about 4 hours sleep Tuesday night after analyzing Super Tuesday election returns for a Jacksonville talk radio station and last night didn't leave the press box at Reliant Stadium until 12:30am local time (1:30 am ET) following the epic US-Mexico draw in front of a noisy sellout club here in Houston. (and woke up about 6 am local time to prepare for my appearances all day long on CSRN discussing the game) I did pay $4.99 for Raycom/ ACC Select's telecast of Miami-FSU and while I didn't really get to focus on the game while in the press area trying to mingle and do my job, I saw enough to come to a simple conclusion:Frank Haith's time at Miami needs to end after this season. I am not sure if this is accurate but I'm going to throw it out there: I don't believe any ACC coach since 1994 has lost three consecutive seasons to Florida State at home. That alone should get someone fired.
I was told in the press area by a few writers that Miami has the consensus #1 class in the nation. I find that surprising considering the number of guys we lost leading up to signing day week but realize we closed fast the last few days, and will look more closely at the recruiting class tonight before I get on my flight home.

Brandon Harris a Cane

Photo from Scout.com

Sure it was expected but since the Hurricanes have had a recent history of losing highly sought recruits and commits this is very good news. The Booker T. Washington senior CB can immediately compete for a starting job considering the weakness of the current Canes DBs. Glenn Sharpe has (finally) graduated and Bruce Johnson has failed to fulfill his potential. I'm in Houston covering the US-Mexico soccer game at a sold out Reliant Stadium. I have ordered ACC select for tonight to watch Miami-FSU so I will have some thoughts on that later (I'll be able to keep that game on stream while I take in the soccer game from the pressbox) but will not post a signing day wrap until tomorrow.

C.J. Holton Ditiches FSU: Commits to Miami

CJ Holton, a four star safety from Crawfordville (A stone's throw from Tallahassee) has broken his commitment to FSU and will instead attend Miami. This is a welcome development from multiple standpoints. Miami's recruiting in the what I consider "traditional Florida" that being the area north of Ocala has really declined in the past three to five years. For years Miami was able to cherry pick some players out of the Panhandle and Big Bend area but recently Florida and FSU have shut the Canes out. Kelly Jennings and Ryan Hill are recent exceptions to the trend that has overturned much of Miami success in the region in the 1980 to 2000 time period. Hopefully Holton is a harbinger of things to come.

Arthur Brown Chooses Miami

Linebacker Arthur Brown from Wichita, a 5 star recruit considered by many to be the best at his position in the nation has chosen Miami over LSU, USC, Alabama and North Carolina. This is a big recruiting get for Randy Shannon, but I am more dubious than most about 5 star recruits. Previous Miami coaches Larry Coker and Denis Erickson had below average results from 5 star signings while Erickson and particularly Jimmy Johnson did better with guys further and further down the recruiting board. I think it is also significant that between the two major fan websites more than 3,000 Hurricane fans were online to witness Brown's announcement which is often times more than the number that attend a midweek non-league game for the Hurricanes Basketball team, which unlike the Football team is actually ranked in national polls. Miami is forever a Football school and everything else when it comes down to is an after thought. That having been said, stay tuned to this site and our soon to debut sister radio program for the latest from Basketball and Baseball at the "U." (shameless plug I know, but I could not resist)

Recruiting Roundup

Florida signed the near consensus #1 class in the nation and closed out signing day in royal fashion locking down Deonte Thompson, the highly sought WR from Belle Glade. All day it appeared Thompson was heading to Miami. Carlos Dunlap and Cameron Newton highlight the star studded class which is probably the deepest in Gator history.

Miami was able to steal Allen Bailey a top DE from Georgia away from the Gators a few days ago, but lost out on Thompson and his teammate WR Taurus McKinley who had committed to Miami long ago but signed with West Virginia. Not all was lost for the Canes though as the signing of Demarcus VanDyke and Damien Berry highlight a solid class that directly addressed the Canes needs. I have seen UM's class ranked anywhere from # 11 to # 15 in the nation, and it was the consensus #1 class in the ACC. (Keep in mind Miami's two best signings, Kayne Farqueson and Graig Cooper are not figured in some ratings since they already enrolled in school this January.)

Florida State closed strong today but lost Marvin Austin the highly touted Defensive Lineman at the last minute to Butch Davis' North Carolina team. With the signing of Austin, UNC jumped Ga Tech, Clemson and FSU in Rivals final recruiting rankings finishing 2nd, only behind Miami in the ACC. Regardless of what you think of Butch Davis as a coach and a human being he sure can recruit! FSU's class has been ranked anywhere between #18 and #24 by various recruiting services.

Check Here Thursday for a Signing Day Wrapup

Right now according to Rivals.com Florida's recruiting class is ranked first in the nation, Miami's 14th and Florida State's 39th. However in each of the past four years Bobby Bowden has scored a recruiting coup on signing day usually at the expense of Miami or Florida. This year it could be Deonte Thompson, the state's top WR who has long been pondering a decision between Miami and Florida but now appears to be strongly considering Florida State. Stay tuned!