The Gator defense has improved to our liking. The front four, led by Carlos Dunlap, pressured Tim Tebow and Cam Newton all day. The secondary has also made strides. But what about the fellas in the middle? (more…)

Signing day is over and the smoke has cleared.  As such it’s time to start analyzing and ranking the recruiting classes of Florida’s big three football programs.
 
University of Miami
Grade: A -
 
Overview: Miami signed 32 recruits, two thirds of those from the State of Florida and a third overall from the South Florida area.  While the class is large it isn’t all that evenly distributed which cost the Hurricanes a higher grade.
 
THE GOOD

Miami addressed major roster weaknesses at the area of Linebacker, Quarterback and Wide Receiver.  They also landed three defensive linemen, two of whom have a chance to play early in Jeremy Lewis and number one rated defensive tackle Marcus Fortson.  Miami landed some of the top linebackers in the country in Arthur Brown, Sean Spence and Ramon Buchanon.  All three of those kids could contribute early (although Ramon might start out at S or needs to add weight for the OLB position).  This is easily the top linebacker class in the country and should spark immediate competition for playing time.
 
With Kyle Wright graduating and Randy Shannon giving Kirby Freeman the old heave ho, Redshirt Freshman Robert Marve looked to be the incumbent for the starting position.  Not only was he the best at his position, he was the ONLY legitimate quarterback on the roster.  The dangers of relying on a single quarterback in a college football season (not including walk-ons) is easily recognized.  Thankfully for Coach Shannon 2008 will bring in three quality true frosh signal callers.  Taylor Cook is a big (6′7″) strong quarterback from Texas and the only member of the group who won’t be available for spring practice.  Both Jacory Harris from Miami NW HS and Cannon Smith from Hargrave Military will have the advantage of participating in spring practice so look for one of those two players to gain the backup role behind Marve.
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A recent article in the Palm Beach Post offered some insight into the current and long-term struggles facing the University of Miami (at least their athletic department).  While none of the information here is new, it is presented in a manner that describes the inherent hurdles the school faces while trying to compete in major college athletics.  In the article, Jorge Milian, describes some of the challenges facing the schools next Athletic Director (AD).  Paul Dee, the current AD, has already announced his retirement effective on June 1, 2008.
 

According to Dee, UM’s athletic department budget is slightly more than $50 million.  That might seem like a lot but it’s not compared to schools like Ohio State or Texas, whose budgets run into nine figures.  In state, Florida is nearing the $100 million mark and Florida State is in the vicinity of $80 million.

Now to be honest, we all knew that Miami was not on the same footing as the larger Public schools like FSU and the Gators.  I question the athletic budget figures though.  Perhaps he is confusing revenue with the budget.  In an article back in CNNMoney, the University of Florida athletic budget for 2006 was described as $82.4 million.  Florida’s annual athletic REVENUE however was recently stated at $107.8 million by the Palm Beach Post and could be the cause for the confusion.  In fact CNNMoney recently described the University of Florida as “The most successful major sports program in the country” and then described Florida officials as “the shrewdest, best-organized, most enthusiastic, and (shudder) most charming bunch of unofficial sports executives you’d ever hope to meet.” (How Florida cashed in on college football - CNNMoney)
 
As previously reported here in our Dec 17, 2007 Around the Web segment the University of Miami actually raises more revenue than Florida State (49.2 million for UM versus 40.9 million for FSU).  However I’m guessing that Miami keeps it’s budget within its revenue while FSU is allowed to tap into the general University funds to pay for athletic endeavors (Note: At FSU the athletic department is part of the University Structure while at Florida it is a separate corporation and self-sufficient).  Thus the Seminoles have a monetary advantage over their ACC rival to the south.  And the reason that FSU and Miami are now both in the ACC is also explained: (more…)

Frank Haith entered this year on the hot seat. Many Hurricane fans were clamoring for his firing a year ago. To clarify when I say many I don’t mean there are a lot of Hurricane basketball fans, just the percentage of fans who actually follow basketball. Because, let’s face it: most Miami fans are probably still busy mourning the football program, and don’t even realize the success on the hardcourt yet. And if history shows us anything, they will not support this team unless they are contending for an ACC Championship late in the year. And even that is no guarantee!

It is too early in the season to suggest that UM will make any noise in the NCAA tournament but not too early to state that their local fanbase will probably be the last group to realize if this team is any good. Even in the heyday of Hamilton, only the games involving St Johns and UConn were sellouts even though Miami spent much of those years ranked. The basketball program is a shadow of what it was back in the late 90s. One thing going for the team is the lack of success in football might lead for some Cane fans to latch onto any scrap of success they can find.

KENTUCKY REELING

I am completely perplexed of the proclamations of doom and gloom I hear from people surrounding the Kentucky basketball program. Folks, I realize that Kentucky is in the SEC and southerners are not the savviest of basketball fans nationally but this ISN’T FOOTBALL!!! It doesn’t matter what you do to start the season, all the matters is how you FINISH THE SEASON!!! Sure, UK is 4-4 but the Wildcats entered the year with a dearth of experienced talent, a difficult schedule and are implementing a new system. This isn’t UNC which brought back virtually the entire team under the same coach and system for the past few years.

It is going to take time before we will know what form the Wildcats will take. A lot of people seem to be down on Billy Gillespie based on how the team is playing. Now I’m not going to suggest I’ve been overly impressed with Gillespie’s in-game strategy but why do people think there isn’t a method to his madness? I’ve watched Billy Donovan stubbornly force his team to execute a system they were clearly struggling in despite being down big in games. Many basketball fans (who have little knowledge of the nuances of basketball) don’t realize that coaching is more than just taking advantage of specific mismatches in an individual game. You might be able to overwhelm an opponent like FAU by forcing the ball to your big men due to a size advantage but when they play SEC foes and are the smaller team . . . you want a team that can execute the entire offense against various defensive looks.

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I wasn’t sure what to do after I first heard June Jones comments about Tim Tebow being a “system” quarterback. Should I be angry, or laughing?

For those who aren’t aware, June Jones is the head coach of Hawaii. On the Sunday ESPN BCS Bowl show he proclaimed that Colt Brennen should win the Heisman because Tim Tebow was a “system” quarterback. He stated that Colt Brennan could run the spread but Tebow couldn’t master the “Run and Shoot”. Therefore, Colt would be a big time NFL quarterback while Tebow wouldn’t succeed in the NFL.

This is both hilarious and disturbing on many levels. The fact is that according to NFL draftniks Brennan — a senior — looks more like a 3rd round draft pick. Meanwhile, Tebow would more than likely be picked ahead of Brennan if he went out this year as a true SOPHOMORE!

Brennan has a lot of baggage to take into the pros, and according to his myspace page, his three favorite pastimes are 1) Throwing touchdowns, 2) Throwing interceptions and 3) Sexually Molesting women in Colorado Dorm rooms. Sure, he throws the ball hard and accurately, but so does Graham Harrell of Texas Tech. And nobody is touting Harrell for Heisman (oh yeah, because he is forced to play against some big time defenses and thus has some off games).

Tebow is definitely a system quarterback; he plays in the spread, as does Dennis Dixon, Pat White, Chase Daniel and Andre Woodson. Some are run-oriented and some are pass-oriented, but all are “spread” offenses. Notice the wave of the future Juney (Brady does pretty good in the spread for the Patriots)? All of the top college quarterbacks except Matt Ryan and Brian Brohm (and UL DOES run some spread formations) play in a spread offense.

If you want to talk gimmicky offense . . . you are talking the high school oriented offensive system you see run at Hawaii. The Run and Shoot offense made famous by Mouse Davis and June Jones is nothing but a “junk” offense that at the higher levels lead to a severe amount of punishment for your quarterback (only 5 blockers on the line of scrimmage) and slot receivers (who are allowed to catch short passes and are then unloaded on by the defense, often causing incompletions, fumbles or injuries).

Let’s take a look at some of the famous Run and Shoot college quarterbacks and its translation to NFL success.

Andre Ware, David Klingler, Timmy Chang, Kliff Kingsbury, etc, all proved that slinging the ball around the field 50+ times a game leads to great statistics, but doesn’t mean anything at the next level. Brennan has all the physical tools to be successful in the league, but will need several years of adjustment before he can run a conventional offense. In the meantime, I hope whatever team takes him can make sure he doesn’t have too many drinks around the women’s dorms! By the way, as for accepting the Juner’s expertise on quarterback evaluations, just remember that June Jones’ most famous evaluation was as the offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons. That’s where he stated that Brett Favre would never amount to anything in the NFL and was a strong force in Favre being traded to Green Bay.

Smooth move Juney, you have a real eye for talent!

ARKANSAS IS GOING HOGWILD OVER NOTHING

It was time for Arkansas and Houston Nutt to part ways. That much is clear. The fan base was split and Athletic Director Frank Broyles, who had protected and stood by Nutt through his on and off the field transgressions, had retired. Ole Miss upgraded their program by hiring Nutt who will be a major improvement over Ed Orgeron and might actually have the Rebels bowl eligible after a short period of time.

Also, while you might have a better chance at winning a National Title at the University of Arkansas than at the University of Mississippi . . . it’s still not very likely at either place.

I found the Tommy Tuberville to Arkansas rumors to make very little sense. Tuberville would best fit in at a high level program in a lesser conference (Big 12, ACC, Big 10) where he would have an easier path to building an elite team.

Becoming a consistent top 10 caliber program at Arkansas would be even more difficult than at Auburn. Sure, it would have been a coaching upgrade for the Hogs but a downgrade for Tuberville who, while not having any national titles, has a very good resume as a coach. I know Tommy is one of the best coaches in the country but, unfortunately for him, that only puts him in the middle of the pack in the SEC (who has stockpiled a lot of coaching talent in the past half decade).

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The Orange Bowl: a place filled with the glorious memories of a historic football past. Some of the famous games played there include the AFL New York Jets victory over the NFL’s Baltimore Colts, the overtime playoff game between the Dolphins and Chargers (that many have deemed the greatest game ever played) and the unbelievable Boston College Hail Mary pass against the Miami Hurricanes that assured Doug Flutie of the Heisman Trophy. The Miami Hurricanes won 58 straight games at the Orange Bowl while the Miami Dolphins became the only team to ever achieve a perfect season while playing there in 1972.

Since the Dolphins moved to Joe Robbie Stadium, the Orange Bowl has been synonymous with the Miami Hurricanes. Numerous future NFL All-Pros and college stars played for the Hurricanes in that stadium. Now that the Hurricanes have decided to pick up and change venues (also to Joe Robbie Stadium/Dolphin Stadium) the reminiscing and fond farewells have begun. At least that might have been the case had it not been for one important factor. The 2007 Miami Hurricanes are stinking up the joint!

Randy Shannon came in and promised to instill a new attitude to the Canes. He took the player’s names off the jerseys, demanded players maintain a 2.5 GPS, decreed that players must wait two years before moving off-campus and instituted a zero tolerance policy on firearms. Everything about Shannon screamed change and discipline. It was as tackle Chris Barney stated during spring practice, “You do it right or you run.” All I can say is… holy crap! Based on what we’ve seen on the football field thus far this must be the team of marathon runners by now. They may not be able to win many football games but I’m thinking they could REALLY improve the Miami track team!

Shannon has managed to prove a couple of things so far this year. One of his confirmed discoveries is that decent quarterbacking is essential to a successful offense. By utilizing two mediocre quarterbacks behind an inferior offensive line combined with slow and unathletic wide receivers, Shannon has implemented a dead zone offense which shows no signs of life whatsoever. Pairing this with a cleverly conceived “Break but don’t bend” defense, the Hurricanes are on the verge of a losing season or, should they manage an upset in one of their remaining contests, a return trip to the Big Blue Rug of balmy Boise, Idaho. Outstanding, Coach Shannon!

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After watching Wake Forest defeat Florida State, it made me think back to their loss to Clemson and Miami’s loss to North Carolina. I began to ponder on something: some of the biggest losses that Florida teams have endured recently seem to be at the hands of teams from the Carolinas. Some of these include the 30-0 crushing and embarrassing home loss of FSU to Wake last year. There was also Florida’s 30-23 loss to South Carolina in 2005 which cost the Gators the SEC East title. The Miami Hurricanes of 2003 started the season 6-0 and were ranked 3rd in the nation before inexplicably suffering back to back losses against North Carolina and Clemson – this point essentially marked the beginning of the end for Head Coach Larry Coker.

Florida has an approximate population of 18 million and an area of 65,800 square miles. The Carolinas (North and South) has a combined population of 13 million and area of 88,600 square miles. There are 4 BCS conference schools in the State of Florida (UF, FSU, UM, USF) and 6 in the Carolinas (WFU, Duke, UNC, NCSU, Clemson, South Carolina). And recently the football between these two states has been quite ferocious. Using the BCS schools in each state I examined the head to head matchups in the past 3+ years (starting in 2004) to see if there is a noticeable decline in Florida football power or perhaps an improvement in the Carolina schools.

In this analysis I discovered the following. Currently the State of Florida enjoys a 21-14 (win-loss) advantage in direct competition. HOWEVER, if you remove Duke from the equation (one of the most consistent losers in all of Division 1 football) the current standings are 15-14 (Florida-Carolinas) in a virtual dead heat. What makes this so shocking is the background of these regions. Florida is a state known for big time college football and prep football talent. Florida colleges have 9 national titles and have dozens of former players littering NFL rosters. The Carolinas have exactly 1 National Title (Clemson in 1981) and a fraction of the NFL litany the Florida schools enjoy. But if anything, this dominance seems to be retreating as this regional rivalry heats up.

Individual school totals since 2004

- Univ of Florida 2-1 (with the South Carolina game remaining which will likely be the toughest remaining game on the Gators’ schedule this year)
- Univ of Miami 9-3 (1-1 so far this year in splitting with NC and Duke with NCSU remaining on the schedule)
- Florida State Univ 8-8 (1-2 so far this year Duke remaining on the slate)
- Univ of South Florida 2-2 (1-0 this year. Both wins were against UNC while losses were to South Carolina and NCSU) (more…)

Below are the rankings of Florida’s major college football teams as ranked by our team of panelists.  1st place = 5pts, 2nd place = 4pts, etc.
 
#1 UF (4-2, 14 pts) - Lost to LSU 24-28 on a late touchdown by the Tigers.  Florida had a 17-7 lead at the half but was outscored 21-7 in a second half dominated by LSU’s offense and 2 costly Gator turnovers.
 
Outlook: UF enters its bye week off of two consecutive late game losses.  The Gators will hope to get healthy and work on execution.  The remaining schedule is daunting(UK, UGA, SCAR, FSU) and winning the remaining SEC games would likely cause a rematch with LSU in the Georgia Dome.  While a National Title is all but out of reach, the SEC is still within this teams grasp.
 
#2 USF (6-0, 13 pts) - Beat FAU 34-23 despite 4 turnovers that helped FAU keep constant pressure on the Bulls until late in the 4th quarter. 
 
Outlook: Several tough games remaining including a number of key conference games (Cincinnati, Rutgers, Louisville, UConn).  Because of the youth of the program, an undefeated season might be necessary to play in the National Championship Game but could still win the Big East and make a BCS bowl with a loss.
 
#3 FSU (4-1, 9 pts) - Beat NCSU 27-10 in Xavier Lee’s first start of the year.  The Nole defense pressured Jay Evans all day long forcing three interceptions - one of which was returned for at TD.
 
Outlook: The Seminoles looked absolutely horrid to begin the year and although they still look terrible at times they have made enough positive plays to win games.  Perhaps this “best coaching staff in the country” can continue to win with smoke and mirrors but there are holes galore that will need to be patched.  The schedule is brutal starting with a trip to Wake this week followed by games against Miami, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Maryland before ending the year at Florida.
 
#4 Miami (4-2, 6 pts) - Lost to North Carolina 28-33 to former coach Butch Davis in Chapel Hill.  UNC took a huge lead (27-0) into halftime and held on against a furious comeback by the Canes.  Starting quarterback Kyle Wright threw 4 interceptions in the game but also had over 300 yards passing and 2 TDs including a 97 yard TD to Darnell Jenkins.
 
Outlook: UNC was one of the easy games on the schedule.  Miami now comes home to play a desperate Georgia Tech team that also fell short in a comeback versus Maryland last week.  Struggling like they did in North Carolina doesn’t bode well for Miami as the Yellow jackets have the most disruptive defense in the league.  On a positive note, the school announced they were cutting the cost of tickets.
 
#5 UCF (3-2, 3 pts) - Lost to East Carolina 38-52 despite leading 28-17 at the half.  The Golden Knights had 5 turnovers in the 3rd quarter alone, 3 of which were converted into scores.
 
Outlook: UCF is barely part of the Big 5 and could theoretically be replaced by FAU if they don’t do well.  They have a big statement game against USF coming up next week.  A win could make their season as the next best thing to enjoying great success is to deny your biggest rival that same success.  After USF the schedule moves into Conference USA play where UCF is 1-1.

Florida’s Big Five - USF, UF, UCF, UM, FSU
 
Perhaps someday they will have a poll that ranks the college teams just inside the state of Florida.  Until then we will give our midseason review of the state’s programs.  Whether this year is a fluke or a portending of a future Florida landscape is still a question.  For now we will focus on what is and prognosticate on that basis alone.
 
Rankings: C=Coaches, AP=Associated Press, H=Harris
 
SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS #6(AP), #9(C), #10(H)
 
Record - 4-0
 
Significant wins - Auburn, West Virginia
 
Outlook:  The Bulls have accomplished so much, so fast that they have gone from being the hunters to the hunted overnight.  As the last remaining legitimate NC hope of the Big East, South Florida will have to learn to play with that target in a hurry.  The defense is top notch and Grothe is a true playmaker in the Tim Tebow mode.  The depth is questionable but the schedule is favorable.  A four game stretch with in-state rival UCF, at Rutgers, at UConn and against Cincinatti will be key.  If they survive that stretch the only challenge will be a visit from high-scoring Louisville which last year shredded the bulls for 41 points.
 
South Florida is having a historic run and I don’t want to temper all the unbridled enthusiasm but this team will probably end up with at least 2 losses.  To me 10-2 is still an incredible accomplishment and could be the foundation for long term success.  However one cannot dismiss the fact that South Florida was the recipient of 5 turnovers in its game with Auburn and another 6 against WVU.  Turnovers are the biggest momentum changing plays in football.  Some of this credit should go to an agressive ball hawking defense but there will be times in the future against a quality opponent where South Florida will not benefit from a huge turnover margin.
 
FLORIDA GATORS #9(AP), #7(C), #8(H)
 
Record - 4-1
 
Significant wins - Tennessee
 
Outlook:  After losing to Auburn, Florida will try and rebound against perhaps the best team in the nation on the road.  So far youth has been the word of the day.  Rarely does a top ranked team have so many true freshman see the field in crucial moments.  The offense is led by two true sophomores and the receiving corps is one of the youngest in the nation.  The Gators have speed to burn but when you aren’t sure of your assignments or spend time thinking you lose your advantage.  Florida has spent much of this year reacting rather than attacking.  Until players become comfortable with their position expect more of the same.  Four of their next five games are against teams ranked in the top 12. (more…)

In an attempt to renew their recruiting momentum the University of Miami landed another big recruit this week. Last week Will Hill (S) the top defensive prospect in the nation according to ESPN committed to UF during the Miami-Texas A&M Thursday night game. Randy Shannon and staff did not wait long to get the UM brand back into the news. Their latest verbal commitment is from Andrew Smith, a defensive end out of Coconut Creek, Florida. Now if you are scratching your heads about who that might be let me shed some light for you.

Andrew Smith is a 6′3″, 223 pound defensive end from Monarch High School who chose his childhood favorite Hurricanes over other scholarship offers from Iowa, Indiana, Florida Atlantic and Troy. I know what you must be thinking, “Huh??? Are you kidding me? I thought the Canes were having a great year in recruiting?” Yes, it’s true. I had to do quite a bit of searching to find anything on this kid. And in the process I also learned that he was also recruited by such Midwestern powerhouses as Central Michigan AND Akron. In fact there are 18 uncommitted defensive ends in the state of Florida rated higher than Smith, 6 in the South Florida area alone! (Miami, Hialeah, WPB, etc)

So why exactly did Shannon decide to offer Mr. Smith? Well I can think of several reasons.

1) Smith has just “blown up” and is under the recruiting radar at this point.

Since this kid is in Shannon’s backyard I find it unlikely that Randy hadn’t heard of the kid (or his staff didn’t know). If he was a sure “gem” then Shannon has offered a lot of other kids before Smith since Andrew stated he was hoping for an offer from UM to take.

2) UM is looking to generate a relationship and make inroads in this area or with this H.S. football program. Perhaps hoping to land another highly ranked recruit at the same school who is an underclassman.

To be honest I can’t find a lot of top prep talent coming out of either Coconut Creek OR Monarch High School. Now there may be some super tailback or linebacker or whatever who Miami has their eyes on and is willing to burn a scholly (hey, you always need bodies for special teams right?) to get close to.

3) Miami’s recruiting clout is starting to drop. (more…)