Last week, the Miami Hurricanes added their eighth commitment for the class of 2009 when they snagged Mike James, a big, strong running back from Davenport, Florida.

James is rated a four-star prospect and the 18th overall running back by Rivals.com, but doubts still linger among pundits and Hurricanes’ fans.

All indications so far from the Miami coaching staff lean towards the fact that Miami was looking to add two running backs for their class of 2009, and they would stop after they signed two. The signing of James now fills Miami's quota as they also have top prospect Bryce Brown already in the fold.

The two running backs Miami has signed are both good players. In fact, Bryce Brown is one of the top three running backs in the entire class. But the frustration that is beginning to show in Miami fans is due to what the Canes are missing out on because they won't sign more backs.

Both Lamar Miller and Jaamal Berry are ranked by Rivals.com as top 10 running backs with Berry ranked fourth and Miller ranked ninth respectively. Both players possess something that Brown and James do not, and that is game-breaking speed.

Berry has been clocked as low as 4.4, while Miller has been timed at 4.32, speeds that only the rare running back possesses.

The real head-scratcher is that both of these players grew up and go to high school in Miami's backyard.

Miller goes to Miami Killian High School, a place that routinely sends their best players to Coral Gables. He has always maintained all along that Miami was way out in front in the battle to win his services. He grew up loving the Hurricanes, and dreamed of playing for them.

But although he does have an offer, the Hurricanes don't seem to be showing him enough interest for him to feel comfortable committing.

Berry goes to Palmetto High School, another school right on the doorstep of the Coral Gables campus. When asked, Berry said that the Hurricanes would be up among the favorites IF they offered him a scholarship.

Yes, you heard that right, the fourth best running back in the entire country plays less than 20 minutes from the U, and they can't even offer him a scholarship.

The consensus seems to be that Miami is looking for bigger backs. Both James and Brown weigh about 215 pounds and run strong between the tackles, and Berry and Miller are both around 180 pounds and are more elusive.

The logic is understandable. Bigger backs are less prone to injury and can take more of the punishment a running back in the ACC should expect. But there are exceptions to that line of thinking.

Warrick Dunn, Reggie Bush, and Darren Sproles all come to mind as smaller, more fragile running backs who have not only succeeded in college but excelled.

These aberrations all have one thing in common that made them so successful...speed. The ability to run past tacklers is just as important as the ability to run over them.

Berry and/or Miller would give Miami a lot of options for the 2010 season (assuming that's when they would start to rise on the depth chart).

Maybe Miami is right and smaller running backs are going the way of the dinosaur. But there can't be much harm in taking a flier on one of those players and see if they can become a stud.

Graig Cooper was less than 200 pounds when he signed with Miami. He had a good but not great freshman year, and now he weighs right around 200 pounds and claims that he hasn't lost any of his speed or elusiveness.

If Cooper can do it, why can't Miller or Berry?

This diatribe is not meant to insult the abilities of Mike James at all. Having only seen his highlight clips he looks more elusive than some might think for a guy his size, but it is clear he won't be out running defenders in the ACC.

Something is wrong with the way Miami is recruiting, but who will fix it?