Hurricane's A Brewin: Why Miami Will Play For A National Title This Year.

Nestled in the beautiful city of Coral Gables, Florida a storm is starting to brew.

Head Coach Randy Shannon who has received plenty of criticism for the results of his first three years in Miami has managed to amass a plethora of talent for the Hurricanes. Not since the 2002 season has "The U" been able to boast a squad loaded with so many players we will probably end up seeing on Sundays.

Miami is currently ranked between 4 - 17 on most peoples pre season Top 25. While 4 (Sporting News) might be a little high, the Hurricanes should definitely begin the season ranked somewhere in the Top 12.

Miami's national following along with their schedule strength would pretty much guarantee a BCS Championship game appearance should they run the table. However, that will not be an easy task as the Hurricanes will encounter tough obstacles both early and late in the season.

The reason for such high expectations and optimism is the nucleus of talent that has been assembled over the last 3 plus years. Miami has the luxury of having great depth at several key positions.

The defensive line, running back stable and wide receiver position are arguably some of the nations best. The line backers/secondary are solid and the special teams is rated highly. The only true question marks entering the fall campaign are at quarter back and offensive line.

Those two positions just happen to possibly be the most crucial on the field.

At quarter back the Miami Hurricanes have a potential Heisman candidate in junior Jacory Harris. After watching him for two seasons I still don't know whether Jacory is great or mediocre. At times he has looked dominant in the pocket but he needs to cut back on the mistakes/interceptions. The kid is definitely a "cool customer" and has shown the ability to handle pressure and lead the Canes on comebacks/game winning drives. Harris has a bevy of weapons in his arsenal. Between wide receivers LaRon Byrd, Aldarius Johnson, Leonard Hankerson, Travis Benjamin and Tommy Streeter; Jacory will always have someone open on the field.

The biggest weakness the canes may have had entering this season was their offensive line. To help this situation out Shannon landed the nations top rated offensive linemen in Seantrel Henderson (No. 1 ranked OT and No. 2 overall prospect) along with St. Thomas Aquinas standouts Brandon Linder and Jermaine Barton and Palm Beach Central's Shane McDermott. If at least 2 of these players can contribute as freshmen they will give the Hurricanes much-needed depth at offensive line. Linder and Henderson are said by many publications to be ready to start right away.

With the talent on board, one then needs to examine the schedule. Miami opens up with what amounts to a warm up versus Florida A&M. then the Hurricanes head to Columbus, Ohio for the much anticipated match up versus highly ranked Ohio State. This game will instantly determine whether the canes are ready for a legitimate title run. If they are able to avenge the controversial 2003 Fiesta Bowl loss they would then be rewarded with road games versus Top 20 foes Pittsburgh and Clemson.

From there they get to return home for a showdown against rival Florida State. To say the Hurricanes have had difficult starts for the last couple seasons would be an understatement. However when the Hurricanes were college footballs preeminent powerhouse they consistently challenged the nations very best programs. That's just always been Miami's style.

The Hurricanes will then have supposedly winnable games versus Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland.

The schedule winds down with ACC grudge matches against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Before closing out with a home game against South Florida.

Miami has the talent, they have the depth; whether that will translate into on field success is yet to be determined. One thing is for sure this team might not be a year away as many pundits have proclaimed. If you ask any Hurricane player they will tell you that they're poised to make a run for the championship this season. Let's hope they prove it once the "real" season starts September 11th in Columbus.