Miami Football Recruiting: Top Positional Needs for 2011
There has been a lot of changes since the last game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Miami Hurricanes.
Miami has reorganized their coaching staff starting with the firing of head coach, Randy Shannon.
They hired a longshot in ex-Temple coach, Al Golden. Granted, he turned around one of the worst college football programs, but has not coached at this level of competition.
Only time will truly tell how great Golden can be.
Enough about the history, lets move on to the future, here is a list of each position and what is needed to be addressed before the football season begins.
Quarterback
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One of the biggest problems Miami will face is choosing between senior Jacory Harris and sophomore Stephen Morris.
Both have their own positives.
Harris has the experience Morris doesn't have. He also knows the offense a little more, though the offense will change a little bit with a new offensive co-coordinator and head coach.
Morris on the other hand is the more athletic of the two. His passes zip in a lot faster and he can scramble much better then Harris.
The negatives for both quarterbacks are that they struggled last year with interceptions.
For Harris it seemed more of a confidence issue than anything else. With Morris, it was more of a inexperience issue. Either way, it needs to be resolved.
In my opinion, spring ball will determine who starts and who sits. As far as I am concerned, Morris would be my starter.
The Hurricanes do not have a commitment for a quarterback for the 2011 class, but there have been plenty of rumors regarding transfers.
Tate Forcier, ex-Michigan quarterback, has left school and has listed Miami as one of his transfer choices.
Rutgers quarterback, Tom Savage, is also leaving school and wanting to transfer to Miami, among other schools. Problem is Rutgers is not allowing him to talk to Florida, Florida State, Miami, and the Big East Schools. Rumor has it that Coach Golden is going to appeal it.
Running Back
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You figure with the loss of two great running backs, Graig Cooper and Damien Berry, that Miami would have recruited the heck out of this class, truth is, it was not needed.
Miami did not get a running back commit for the 2011 class, simply because they reloaded last year with the emergence of freshman Lamar Miller and junior Mike James.
Both players will be coming back, including future running back star, Storm Johnson.
This will definitely be the strength of the Hurricanes offense next year.
Wide Receiver
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This is going to be the largest question mark for the Hurricanes next year. Miami will have huge shoes to fill as senior Leonard Hankerson graduates.
Last season Miami had so many drops from all the receivers it makes me wonder why they are not going after more receivers.
Travis Benjamin will be the go-to guy, although his route-running skills need to be addressed.
Aldarius Johnson was to be the next receiving star, but he was consistently in Randy Shannon's doghouse.
As far as Laron Byrd, he has yet to live up to the expectation of the No. 47 jersey he wears, although I believe he will make the biggest impact at the receiver position.
The 2011 class insists of 3-star recruit, Philip Dorsett, who has great hands and route- running skills, but apparently lacks quickness and running after the catch, and 3-star recruit Rashawn Scott, who has great speed and lateral movement
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Tight End
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In the past, Miami has been Tight End U, with players such as Kellen Winslow Jr., Jeremy Shockey, Bubba Franks, and the most recent surprise, Jimmy Graham.
Last year, junior-college transfer Chase Ford was to be the next big thing, but with a few drops he slid a little bit and freshman Asante Cleveland, stepped up and filled the void quite nicely.
With both Ford and Cleveland coming back, Miami did not pursue anyone from the class of 2011.
Jordan Futch will also be on the depth chart at tight end, as he was moved from linebacker late last year.
Offensive Linemen
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Two years ago I was horrified by how bad the offensive linemen played, but last year they proved that they weren't as bad as the previous class.
Granted this year, they will have to fill in a for key loss in Orlando Franklin.
Although the offensive line is pretty much set with starters Ben Jones, Harland Gunn, Tyler Horn, Brandon Washington, and Seantrell Henderson, they need more depth.
Another decision that kind of leaves me baffled is not going after more offensive linemen.
Currently Miami has one offensive tackle in 3-star recruit, Taylor Gadbois.
From what I can tell on the current roster, they need a backup center and two backup tackles.
Defensive Linemen
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The Hurricane defensive line should be pretty impressive this year. Granted they lost all-world Allen Bailey to the NFL, they still have a lot of players with tons of experience.
Marcus Robinson, Micanor Regis, Olivier Vernon, and Marcus Forston will start on the line. They have depth as well with Adewale Ojomo, Luther Robinson, and Andrew Smith.
To add fuel to the fire, the Hurricanes added three more ends from the 2011 class, landing two 3-star recruits, Ricardo Williams and Olsen Pierre.
Miami also put the nail in the coffin with their only 5-star recruit, landing Under Armour MVP for the Red Team, Anthony Chickillo.
Chickillo is a beast at defensive end and will definitely improve the depth on the line.
This is Miami's strongest position on the defensive side.
Linebackers
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Here is another position in which they have a great starting lineup but lack any real depth.
With the loss of senior Colin McCarthy, sophomore Melvin Cain will have big shoes to fill. Last year Cain did show up in a couple games and held his ground very well. Some are saying Cain might be the next best linebacker from Miami.
Sean Spence and Ramon Buchanon are the outside linebackers and have shown they are a force to be reckoned with. I wouldn't be surprised if Spence is a preseason All-American.
Beyond that, it's hit or miss. Jordan Futch is getting moved from linebacker to tight end to help Ford and Cleveland.
So Miami went out and got a great 4-star recruit this year in, Denzel Perryman. His motor is non-stop and he has speed and strength to dominate the middle.
Miami also received a commitment from 3-star recruit Antonio Kenard.
Cornerback
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This is definitely the biggest concern for the Hurricanes this year. Miami lost one of the best in the country last year in Brandon Harris, who left early for the NFL.
Miami also lost Demarcus Van Dyke and Ryan Hill who both were seniors.
Miami is still left with Brandon McGee, but that is it.
So for the 2011 class, Miami went out and got three cornerbacks to commit to Miami; 3-star recruits Dallas Crawford and Thomas Finnie and 4-star recruit Kevin Groomes.
All three will be fighting for the spot vacated by Harris. Just based on ability alone, I see it going to Groomes or Crawford.
This will be interesting to watch throughout spring practice.
Safeties
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This is an area which is also pretty set for the Hurricanes.
Vaughn Telemaque is a terrific free safety and JoJo Nichols and Ray Ray Armstrong will be taking turns at strong safety.
All three have loads of experience and should be able to do a tremendous job, as long as they correct basic tackling mistakes they had a year ago.
Depth at either position is a question mark at this point, but generally all three will rotate,
Miami did not pursue a safety fin the 2011 class.
Special Teams
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The biggest loss of any position might be on the special teams. Kicker/punter, Matt Bosher has been a key part of the Hurricanes for the last four years.
He was not only the kicker and punter last year, he was also a tremendous tackler, for a kicker that is.
Bosher will be sorely missed. He was a great athlete that was not afraid to tackle and always seemed to be in great position on special teams.
For the 2011 recruiting class, Miami got kicker, Matt Goudis and punter, Dalton Botts.
Since special teams, makes or breaks field position, this is going to be very interesting seeing who is going to be kicking for the Hurricanes.
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