The Decline of South Florida

Jul 10, 2024 6 min read

Everybody knows I’m a South Florida homer. And with good reason. Miami has consistently ranked as the top city for producing NFL players, with Fort Lauderdale close behind. The region has produced 52 first rounders since 2000.

Even with the Canes struggling to recruit South Florida for much of the past two decades, our local recruits have significantly outperformed our national recruits. From 2000-2019, South Florida kids comprised 44% of Miami’s signees. But the South Florida kids represented 73% of our first rounders, 67% of our Day 2 picks and 60% of our total NFL draft picks.

Why did our national kids underperform? Budget and brand. We didn’t have the budget to win national bidding wars, and our brand was diminished by poor on-field performance. Because we couldn’t win national battles, we resorted to dumpster diving for SEC rejects, “blue-chip” kids plummeting down the rankings, and character concerns. This led to an inordinate amount of national busts. Despite all the hurdles in South Florida, we at least had the local angle and more brand awareness.

But things started changing in the new decade. For starters, the highly touted local crops from 2020-2022 have underperformed. Here are the Top 10 South Florida recruits (per 247 Composite) for those classes:

2020

1. DE Donnell Harris- Transferred from Texas A&M with 4 career tackles. Appears to be out of football.
2. WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint- 1,028 career yards over four seasons at Georgia. Undrafted.
3. LB Derek Wingo- Entering Year 5 at Florida, has yet to exceed 25 tackles in a season.
4. WR Xzavier Henderson- Transferred to Cincinnati. 782 yards and 3 TDs last year.
5. RB Jaylan Knighton- Transferred to SMU. 745 rushing yards and 7 TDs last year.
6. OT Marcus Dumervil- Transferred to Maryland. Played four games last year.
7. RB Donald Chaney- Transferred to Louisville. Career-high 478 yards last year.
8. WR Thaiu Jones-Bell- Four career catches at Alabama. Entered Portal but has not announced destination.
9. OT Issiah Walker- Signed with Florida, transferred to Miami and then went JUCO. Was NCJAA All-American and is now at Texas State.
10. WR Bryan Robinson- Transferred to Marshall. Four catches last year.

2021

1. DE Dallas Turner- First round pick of the Vikings.
2. DT Leonard Taylor- Undrafted. Six career sacks.
3. S James Williams- Seventh round pick of the Titans. 73 tackles as a junior.
4. LB Terrence Lewis- Signed with Maryland, transferred to UCF, now at JUCO. One career tackle.
5. WR JaCorey Brooks- Transferred to Louisville. Three catches for 30 yards last year at Alabama.
6. CB Jason Marshall- Entering his fourth year at Florida. Two career INTs.
7. DL Tyreak Sapp- Rotational player. 24 tackles, 4.5 TFLs and 2 sacks last year.
8. CB Corey Collier- Two career tackles. Now at Florida A&M.
9. OG Marcus Tate- Entering his fourth year as a starter for Clemson.
10. WR Romello Brinson- Transferred to SMU. 431 yards and 2 TDs last year.

2022

1. DL Shemar Stewart- 23 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks last year.
2. DE Marvin Jones, Jr.- Transferred to Florida State. Four tackles last year.
3. DE Kenyatta Jackson- Nine career tackles.
4. DE Nyjalik Kelly- Transferred to UCF. Four career sacks.
5. CB Earl Little- Transferred to Florida State. One career tackle.
6. OL Julian Armella- Has yet to break OL rotation. Played in six blowouts last year.
7. LB Wesley Bissainthe- Starter at LB. 44 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and 2 sacks last year.
8. CB Jacolby Spells- Rotational CB, injury has 2024 season in doubt.
9. CB Trevell Mullen- Transferred to James Madison, didn’t play any snaps.
10. WR Bugs Mortimer- Dealt with off-field issues, now at Western Michigan.

The NFL Draft reflects this downturn. From 2018-2023, there were an average of six South Florida kids picked on the first two days of the draft (2.66 first round, 3.333 second/third round). Last year, there was only one first rounder (Dallas Turner) and one Day 2 pick (Kam Kinchens), the latter of whom was the second-to-last pick of the third round. ESPN’s 2025 Mock Draft does not include any South Florida players in the first round.

The Class of 2025 falls in line with this trend. This year’s crop was as unimpressive as I can remember on the camp circuit. There is not a single local player is Top 75 on the Composite.

The good news for the Canes is that this local downturn has coincided with unexpected changes in our national recruiting. Simply put, we’re spending money like we’ve never spent before. We spent $8 million a year on an elite national recruiter in Mario Cristobal. And our official NIL collective (Canes Connection) has allowed us to win bag wars. We finally have the budget to recruit nationally. We don't have to bargain shop anymore.

This shows up in our newfound ability to win big-time battles. In the 10 years before Mario, we only signed eight Top 100 players from out of state: Raphael Kirby, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Kevin Olsen, Brad Kaaya, Jeff Thomas, DJ Johnson, Brevin Jordan and Jarren Williams. They ranked 78th nationally, on average.

In the 3.5 years since Mario has been here, we’ve already matched that number (8) with much higher quality- an average ranking of 48th nationally. This includes three five stars. We've landed blue-chippers from Hawaii, American Samoa, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama and Ohio. No state is off limits for Mario and this staff.

And the news isn’t all bad in South Florida. Mario flipped Mark Fletcher and Jordan Lyle from Ohio State, beat out Nick Saban for Damari Brown and has shut out Florida and FSU. The region has produced some major impact players in the last two classes, including #1 overall player Jeremiah Smith and Freshman All-American Rueben Bain. Some of the most productive college players entering the '25 season are local, including DEs Ashton Gillotte (Louisville), DE Patrick Payton (FSU), DE Elijah Roberts (SMU), WR Xavier Restrepo (Miami), CB Ricardo Hallman (Wisconsin) and Bain. The 2022 kids can still break out, and the 26-27 classes have a lot of hype.

But the bottom line is we are lucky the budget exploded when it did. There has never been a more important time to break through nationally.

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Mikesmith29150

Jul 10, 2024

Coach Macho said:
We have massive parenting and coaching issues in South Florida... and they're getting much worse.

1. Most high school programs down here are "enablers" to their stud players. They allow them to get away with what they want, which leads to less development, less accountability, poor work ethic, etc. They arrive at college with those bad habits.

2. There's not a lot of development going on down here. Kids aren't leaving high school "college ready"...mentally or physically. Their technique sucks, they can't read a defense/offense, DB's only know how to play one coverage, they dont know college terminology, etc.

Manny would take kids like this in a heartbeat...
And then he'd enable them some more.
That's why we got what we got.

Mario wants FOOTBALL PLAYERS. High character, high work ethic, knowledge of the game. And you gotta be willing to leave South Florida if you want a roster like that. Those kids aren't in abundance down here.

Which might explain why certain players the fans want the staff to target because they are talented, they don't because of character issues.

gogeta4

Jul 10, 2024

Coach Macho said:
We have massive parenting and coaching issues in South Florida... and they're getting much worse.

1. Most high school programs down here are "enablers" to their stud players. They allow them to get away with what they want, which leads to less development, less accountability, poor work ethic, etc. They arrive at college with those bad habits.

2. There's not a lot of development going on down here. Kids aren't leaving high school "college ready"...mentally or physically. Their technique sucks, they can't read a defense/offense, DB's only know how to play one coverage, they dont know college terminology, etc.

Manny would take kids like this in a heartbeat...
And then he'd enable them some more.
That's why we got what we got.

Mario wants FOOTBALL PLAYERS. High character, high work ethic, knowledge of the game. And you gotta be willing to leave South Florida if you want a roster like that. Those kids aren't in abundance down here.

To the Bolded:

Lot more OPTOMIST COACHES made it to the high school coaching staffs than before.

before they were kind of kept out...now you HAVE to put them on the staff to get the optomist kids to come to your school. Those guys dont know how to coach and simply out talent teams at the optomist level and try to do the same in high school hence the transfer portal in high school went up even higher down here.

Miami Northwestern ran the same defense essentially back all the way to like 02-04 era. lmaoo Im not kidding. Same d they are lining up and giving you that (its amazing Kam was so good at safety)
Miami Central essentially is just about the same. These guys arent trying to out scheme or coach up sh*t....Its buss em in the mouth football.

Thing is...South Florida dbs not knowing nothing yada yada will walk right into these same college programs ready to play and would take guys spots.

Its obvious the past 2 recruiting class Mario has a certain type of south florida recruit. Which is good...for example a guy like Daylen Russell i wouldnt have went after and He locked him up early, he went to STA and cherry picked something, he lives at Central. He wants leaders from the winning programs down here. Even are national recruits are coming from winning programs or Power Houses like Bishop Gorman

M
miamian01

Jul 10, 2024

Gentrification.

Novacane32000

Jul 10, 2024

Some possible simple explanations:

Demographics -Miami is getting pricey and lots of people are moving out. We just don't have as many kids down here as we used to.

Cyclical - This could be a cycle we are going through and the quality will pick back up

Fzac75

Jul 10, 2024

Tonytoetap88 said:
Tutu Atwell another 3 star in the NFL. Matter fact let's play a game dear someone on here to find me 5 nfl teams with nobody from Dade, Broward or Palm Beach. It's all kind of guys we never heard of that's from here that's in the NFL right now. Like Robby Choosen... since you claim history read about the 2024 draft and S/O @DMoney btw. It's not personal but South Florida been being disrespected lately.

Here are South Florida’s 2024 NFL draft prospects who could hear their names called this week

Nearly two dozen South Florida high school products from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties could get taken in the 2024 NFL draft.

www.sun-sentinel.com

Guy don’t know what to tell you. This is about recently and overall not handful. The rosters of NFL teams have players but if you look at those players how long ago did the MAJORITY of them play down here……

Nevermind you are correct all hail South Florida players year in year out they are the best overall never ever any downtime, anyone questioning the level of talent down here should be tarred and feathered and burned at the stake for their heresy!!!

MedleyCane

Jul 10, 2024

An issue to consider, especially in Miami-Dade, is demographics.
Plus, and this may be my inner old-man Al Bundy percolating from inside, but I think
the era I grew up in during the 1970s and early 1980s saw better coached teams.
My hs (HML), for example, had 8 assistant coaches on the varsity plus at least 3 assistants
on the JVs and before we even made to HML we had some very good coaches at the optimist
level, especially Hialeah, Palm Springs and Miami Lakes. Lots of well-coached teams in Dade and
significantly less number of high school programs which has diluted talent throughout the county.
After perennial powers like Northwestern, BTW, Central, Columbus, Homestead, and Killian/Southridge/Palmetto (whichever one of 3 is recruiting talent from the other two) and
American/Norland/Carol City (see Killian/Ridge/Palmetto), the rest of the programs are pretty
poor - no different from the low-quality hs football you would see in many parts of the northeast.
Back to demographics, in my era we had some very talented ballers from the inner-city, many of
African-Americans, Bahamas and west indies and they also had some very good old school coaches,
many who had played for perennial black schools during the segregation.
Also, we had the "white" kids and even many Cuban-American kids who cared about the sport.
Demographics are a big-deal. As I often noted in the recruiting threads, I have watched hs football
in the DC-Maryland-Baltimore metro grow these last 20 years. There was always good players in
the area, but the quantity has grown. Why? Lots of expanding suburbs with many immigrants from
west Africa and the islands. Many of them playing at strong private and public schools.
Anyways, my unsolicited .02.

Last edited: Jul 10, 2024

Suhrthing

Jul 10, 2024

DMoney said:
Everybody knows I’m a South Florida homer. And with good reason. Miami has consistently ranked as the top city for producing NFL players, with Fort Lauderdale close behind. The region has produced 52 first rounders since 2000.

Even with the Canes struggling to recruit South Florida for much of the past two decades, our local recruits have significantly outperformed our national recruits. From 2000-2019, South Florida kids comprised 44% of Miami’s signees. But the South Florida kids represented 73% of our first rounders, 67% of our Day 2 picks and 60% of our total NFL draft picks.

Why did our national kids underperform? Budget and brand. We didn’t have the budget to win national bidding wars, and our brand was diminished by poor on-field performance. Because we couldn’t win national battles, we resorted to dumpster diving for SEC rejects, “blue-chip” kids plummeting down the rankings, and character concerns. This led to an inordinate amount of national busts. Despite all the hurdles in South Florida, we at least had the local angle and more brand awareness.

But things started changing in the new decade. For starters, the highly touted local crops from 2020-2022 have underperformed. Here are the Top 10 South Florida recruits (per 247 Composite) for those classes:

2020

1. DE Donnell Harris- Transferred from Texas A&M with 4 career tackles. Appears to be out of football.
2. WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint- 1,028 career yards over four seasons at Georgia. Undrafted.
3. LB Derek Wingo- Entering Year 5 at Florida, has yet to exceed 25 tackles in a season.
4. WR Xzavier Henderson- Transferred to Cincinnati. 782 yards and 3 TDs last year.
5. RB Jaylan Knighton- Transferred to SMU. 745 rushing yards and 7 TDs last year.
6. OT Marcus Dumervil- Transferred to Maryland. Played four games last year.
7. RB Donald Chaney- Transferred to Louisville. Career-high 478 yards last year.
8. WR Thaiu Jones-Bell- Four career catches at Alabama. Entered Portal but has not announced destination.
9. OT Issiah Walker- Signed with Florida, transferred to Miami and then went JUCO. Was NCJAA All-American and is now at Texas State.
10. WR Bryan Robinson- Transferred to Marshall. Four catches last year.

2021

1. DE Dallas Turner- First round pick of the Vikings.
2. DT Leonard Taylor- Undrafted. Six career sacks.
3. S James Williams- Seventh round pick of the Titans. 73 tackles as a junior.
4. LB Terrence Lewis- Signed with Maryland, transferred to UCF, now at JUCO. One career tackle.
5. WR JaCorey Brooks- Transferred to Louisville. Three catches for 30 yards last year at Alabama.
6. CB Jason Marshall- Entering his fourth year at Florida. Two career INTs.
7. DL Tyreak Sapp- Rotational player. 24 tackles, 4.5 TFLs and 2 sacks last year.
8. CB Corey Collier- Two career tackles. Now at Florida A&M.
9. OG Marcus Tate- Entering his fourth year as a starter for Clemson.
10. WR Romello Brinson- Transferred to SMU. 431 yards and 2 TDs last year.

2022

1. DL Shemar Stewart- 23 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks last year.
2. DE Marvin Jones, Jr.- Transferred to Florida State. Four tackles last year.
3. DE Kenyatta Jackson- Nine career tackles.
4. DE Nyjalik Kelly- Transferred to UCF. Four career sacks.
5. CB Earl Little- Transferred to Florida State. One career tackle.
6. OL Julian Armella- Has yet to break OL rotation. Played in six blowouts last year.
7. LB Wesley Bissainthe- Starter at LB. 44 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and 2 sacks last year.
8. CB Jacolby Spells- Rotational CB, injury has 2024 season in doubt.
9. CB Trevell Mullen- Transferred to James Madison, didn’t play any snaps.
10. WR Bugs Mortimer- Dealt with off-field issues, now at Western Michigan.

The NFL Draft reflects this downturn. From 2018-2023, there were an average of six South Florida kids picked on the first two days of the draft (2.66 first round, 3.333 second/third round). Last year, there was only one first rounder (Dallas Turner) and one Day 2 pick (Kam Kinchens), the latter of whom was the second-to-last pick of the third round. ESPN’s 2025 Mock Draft does not include any South Florida players in the first round.

The Class of 2025 falls in line with this trend. This year’s crop was as unimpressive as I can remember on the camp circuit. There is not a single local player is Top 75 on the Composite.

The good news for the Canes is that this local downturn has coincided with unexpected changes in our national recruiting. Simply put, we’re spending money like we’ve never spent before. We spent $8 million a year on an elite national recruiter in Mario Cristobal. And our official NIL collective (Canes Connection) has allowed us to win bag wars. We finally have the budget to recruit nationally. We don't have to bargain shop anymore.

This shows up in our newfound ability to win big-time battles. In the 10 years before Mario, we only signed eight Top 100 players from out of state: Raphael Kirby, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Kevin Olsen, Brad Kaaya, Jeff Thomas, DJ Johnson, Brevin Jordan and Jarren Williams. They ranked 78th nationally, on average.

In the 3.5 years since Mario has been here, we’ve already matched that number (8) with much higher quality- an average ranking of 48th nationally. This includes three five stars. We've landed blue-chippers from Hawaii, American Samoa, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama and Ohio. No state is off limits for Mario and this staff.

And the news isn’t all bad in South Florida. Mario flipped Mark Fletcher and Jordan Lyle from Ohio State, beat out Nick Saban for Damari Brown and has shut out Florida and FSU. The region has produced some major impact players in the last two classes, including #1 overall player Jeremiah Smith and Freshman All-American Rueben Bain. Some of the most productive college players entering the '25 season are local, including DEs Ashton Gillotte (Louisville), DE Patrick Payton (FSU), DE Elijah Roberts (SMU), WR Xavier Restrepo (Miami), CB Ricardo Hallman (Wisconsin) and Bain. The 2022 kids can still break out, and the 26-27 classes have a lot of hype.

But the bottom line is we are lucky the budget exploded when it did. There has never been a more important time to break through nationally.

Mope.

joseermonfils

Jul 10, 2024

I don’t care we don’t need a whole class of South Florida kids just give me the J. Smith, Bain, and Dallas Turner..give me the best south Florida kids and recruit nationally for the rest

k9cane

Jul 10, 2024

When Miami is Miami, they are a national program that happens to be in a great base/zone for local talent

But if you go back, the best UM teams were replete with players from all over the country. And if you start doing all-time positions lists, certain ones like QB and TE(are dominated by OOS players), while other positions like RB and WR(are dominated by S. Florida)

I've felt for awhile, Mario doesn't want some of the toxicity that comes with the local players, and has cast his net nationally. And you see how a Bishop Gorman into a bit of a feeder school. On the flipside, I can't remember the last time that Miami Northwestern seemed to be a non-factor for so long with the Hurricanes

But again, when Miami is elite -- it can recruit from all over. I did a list on Twitter awhile ago on OOS stand-outs, and it's impressive. I'd say if I did an all-time Miami team, at least a third would be players who were not from Florida

I still recall Jimmy Johnsons last class, they had the #1 player on offense from New Jersey (Bryan Fortay, I know I know), the #1 player defensively from Texas (Jessie Armstead) and guys like Darren Krein from Colorado (who was considered the best player from that state).

Don't be surprised if this is what Mario's classes will look like in the future

Zbrod95

Jul 10, 2024

k9cane said:
When Miami is Miami, they are a national program that happens to be in a great base/zone for local talent

But if you go back, the best UM teams were replete with players from all over the country. And if you start doing all-time positions lists, certain ones like QB and TE(are dominated by OOS players), while other positions like RB and WR(are dominated by S. Florida)

I've felt for awhile, Mario doesn't want some of the toxicity that comes with the local players, and has cast his net nationally. And you see how a Bishop Gorman into a bit of a feeder school. On the flipside, I can't remember the last time that Miami Northwestern seemed to be a non-factor for so long with the Hurricanes

But again, when Miami is elite -- it can recruit from all over. I did a list on Twitter awhile ago on OOS stand-outs, and it's impressive. I'd say if I did an all-time Miami team, at least a third would be players who were not from Florida

I still recall Jimmy Johnsons last class, they had the #1 player on offense from New Jersey (Bryan Fortay, I know I know), the #1 player defensively from Texas (Jessie Armstead) and guys like Darren Krein from Colorado (who was considered the best player from that state).

Don't be surprised if this is what Mario's classes will look like in the future

I rule your argument invalid sir. When I made this point years ago, the homers ruled it anecdotal so on that basis I don’t accept your thesis.

Good day sir.

k9cane

Jul 10, 2024

Here's a list/roster of standout Hurricanes that are from OOS. I put this together back in December. I basically went off the top of my head, so I know there are some omissions.....

QB - Vinny Testaverde (NY), Bernie Kosar (OH), Steve Walsh (MN), Gino Torretta (CA), Scott Covington (CA), Ken Dorsey (CA), Brock Berlin (LA), Brad Kaaya (CA), Malik Rosier (AL),

RB/FB- Stephen McGuire (NY), Keith Griffin (OH), Chuck Foreman(MD), Derrick Harris (TX), Nick Williams (MI), Graig Cooper (TN), Jarret Payton (ILL), Deejay Dallas (GA)

WR - Andre Brown (Ill), Reggie Wayne (LA), Braxton Berrios (NC), Kevin Williams (TX), Wesley Carroll (OH), Daryl Jones (TX), AC Tellison (TX), KJ Osborn (MI)

OL - Bryant McKinnie (NJ), Brett Romberg (CAN), Richard Mercier (CAN), Jason Fox (TX), Eric Winston (TX), Dennis Harrah (WV), Sherko Haji-Rausoli(CAN), Martin Bibla (PA) Gregg Rakozcy (NJ), Carlos Etheridge (NM), KC Jones (TX), Mike Sullivan (ILL), Seantrel Henderson(MN) Rod Holder (ILL)

TE- Glenn Dennison (PA), Rob Chudzinski (OH). Bubba Franks(TX), Jeremy Shockey (OK), Kellen Winslow II (CA), David Njoku (NJ), Greg Olsen (NJ), Chris Herndon (GA), Mondriel Fulcher(KS), Brevin Jordan (NV)

K- Michael Badgley (NJ), Dane Prewitt (AL)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DL - Calais Campbell (CO), Darren Krein (CO), Greg Mark (NJ), Danny Stubbs (NJ), Rusty Meaderis (MO), Damione Lewis (TX), Cortez Kenned(ARK), Russell Maryland (ILL), Jaelen Phillips (CA), Jamaal Green (NJ), Allen Bailey (GA), Shane Curry (OH), Mark Caeser(NJ), Pat Riley (LA)

LB- DJ Williams (CA), Jessie Armstead (TX), Corwin Francis (TX), Jay Brophy(OH), Chris Campbell (TX)

DB- Ed Reed (LA), Tremain Mack (TX), Charles Pharms (TX), Terris Harris (TN), Casey Greer(TN), Corn Elder (TN), Vaughn Telemaque (CA) , Marcus Maxey (TX), James Lewis (NJ), Marcus Wimberly (TN),
CJ Richardson (TX), Bubba Bolden (NV), Mike Jackson (AL)

P- Jeff Feagles (AZ), Lou Hedley (AUS), Todd Sievers (IOWA)

brock

Jul 10, 2024

k9cane said:
Here's a list/roster of standout Hurricanes that are from OOS. I put this together back in December. I basically went off the top of my head, so I know there are some omissions.....

QB - Vinny Testaverde (NY), Bernie Kosar (OH), Steve Walsh (MN), Gino Torretta (CA), Scott Covington (CA), Ken Dorsey (CA), Brock Berlin (LA), Brad Kaaya (CA), Malik Rosier (AL),

RB/FB- Stephen McGuire (NY), Keith Griffin (OH), Chuck Foreman(MD), Derrick Harris (TX), Nick Williams (MI), Graig Cooper (TN), Jarret Payton (ILL), Deejay Dallas (GA)

WR - Andre Brown (Ill), Reggie Wayne (LA), Braxton Berrios (NC), Kevin Williams (TX), Wesley Carroll (OH), Daryl Jones (TX), AC Tellison (TX), KJ Osborn (MI)

OL - Bryant McKinnie (NJ), Brett Romberg (CAN), Richard Mercier (CAN), Jason Fox (TX), Eric Winston (TX), Dennis Harrah (WV), Sherko Haji-Rausoli(CAN), Martin Bibla (PA) Gregg Rakozcy (NJ), Carlos Etheridge (NM), KC Jones (TX), Mike Sullivan (ILL), Seantrel Henderson(MN) Rod Holder (ILL)

TE- Glenn Dennison (PA), Rob Chudzinski (OH). Bubba Franks(TX), Jeremy Shockey (OK), Kellen Winslow II (CA), David Njoku (NJ), Greg Olsen (NJ), Chris Herndon (GA), Mondriel Fulcher(KS), Brevin Jordan (NV)

K- Michael Badgley (NJ), Dane Prewitt (AL)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DL - Calais Campbell (CO), Darren Krein (CO), Greg Mark (NJ), Danny Stubbs (NJ), Rusty Meaderis (MO), Damione Lewis (TX), Cortez Kenned(ARK), Russell Maryland (ILL), Jaelen Phillips (CA), Jamaal Green (NJ), Allen Bailey (GA), Shane Curry (OH), Mark Caeser(NJ), Pat Riley (LA)

LB- DJ Williams (CA), Jessie Armstead (TX), Corwin Francis (TX), Jay Brophy(OH), Chris Campbell (TX)

DB- Ed Reed (LA), Tremain Mack (TX), Charles Pharms (TX), Terris Harris (TN), Casey Greer(TN), Corn Elder (TN), Vaughn Telemaque (CA) , Marcus Maxey (TX), James Lewis (NJ), Marcus Wimberly (TN),
CJ Richardson (TX), Bubba Bolden (NV), Mike Jackson (AL)

P- Jeff Feagles (AZ), Lou Hedley (AUS), Todd Sievers (IOWA)

Gus Edward’s, while not as productive at Miami he still went on to be very productive in the nfl and graduated from Miami

gogeta4

Jul 10, 2024

k9cane said:
When Miami is Miami, they are a national program that happens to be in a great base/zone for local talent

But if you go back, the best UM teams were replete with players from all over the country. And if you start doing all-time positions lists, certain ones like QB and TE(are dominated by OOS players), while other positions like RB and WR(are dominated by S. Florida)

I've felt for awhile, Mario doesn't want some of the toxicity that comes with the local players, and has cast his net nationally. And you see how a Bishop Gorman into a bit of a feeder school. On the flipside, I can't remember the last time that Miami Northwestern seemed to be a non-factor for so long with the Hurricanes

But again, when Miami is elite -- it can recruit from all over. I did a list on Twitter awhile ago on OOS stand-outs, and it's impressive. I'd say if I did an all-time Miami team, at least a third would be players who were not from Florida

I still recall Jimmy Johnsons last class, they had the #1 player on offense from New Jersey (Bryan Fortay, I know I know), the #1 player defensively from Texas (Jessie Armstead) and guys like Darren Krein from Colorado (who was considered the best player from that state).

Don't be surprised if this is what Mario's classes will look like in the future

On the bolded i would be recruiting this kid...

pacusmc

Jul 10, 2024

Fzac75 said:
Guy don’t know what to tell you. This is about recently and overall not handful. The rosters of NFL teams have players but if you look at those players how long ago did the MAJORITY of them play down here……

Nevermind you are correct all hail South Florida players year in year out they are the best overall never ever any downtime, anyone questioning the level of talent down here should be tarred and feathered and burned at the stake for their heresy!!!

I think the reason people are kind of swaying their opinion is because the sofla five stars don’t seem to be panning out at the rate that people want or drafted where they were expected.
Then when dudes like Hollywood Brown and tutu make it to the NFL, people want to make the automatic assumption that the south Florida three star is a five star somewhere else.

I don’t know anything about talent evaluation. But there’s a reason that the cliché “hard work beats talent when talent don’t work hard” ends up being true.

If you’re constantly surrounded by all these elite players getting offers and you’re not, you’re gonna feel some type away and want to outwork them. For every seven on seven kid that’s elite, I guarantee you there are players that can be just as good as them. They’re just not discovered or developed yet.
As a soccer coach once told me “not all the kernels pop at the same time”

I’ve said that if you are talented, someone will find you. But the NFL draft shows every year there are players at every position that get drafted highly that went to a smaller school because they weren’t highly recruited. Maybe if a player like Cooper Kupp lived in South Florida he would’ve been highly recruited. Maybe.
But Restrepo lead the ACC in yards, and I’m pretty sure he was a three star and people still questioned the take.

k9cane

Jul 10, 2024

gogeta4 said:
On the bolded i would be recruiting this kid...

What about that Russell kid?

Tonytoetap88

Jul 10, 2024

gogeta4 said:
On the bolded i would be recruiting this kid...

They probably monitoring his Senior year. This could help with Calvin Russell next year. Plus with us dropping Waden Charles we need the height. Horton, Brown (if he stay for 25), Robinson the only 6'2+ WRs.

Jul 10, 2024

Hey @DMoney, what do you think the reason for the dip is?

gogeta4

Jul 10, 2024

k9cane said:
What about that Russell kid?

should make russell a priority in both sports next szn. Basketball n Football

My qb will likely be slinging them the ball this year at MNW.

Russell, Card, Flowers (cb) are kids we should be on from MNW.

I like Card more than Josh Moore who the Gators beat us out for but i get it as Moore frame is ELITE at 6'4 205.

I
ilovelamp

Jul 10, 2024

Don't believe it's been mentioned but shifting demographics might have something to do with it. With the incoming wealth migration from NY, CA etc to the area it's become very expensive to raise a family in this. area. Even before the last few years young families in Miami had been heading north to Broward and I wonder if that trend is accelerating more north or out of state.

kyle_schick

Jul 10, 2024

SoFla football is not what it used to be.

It's too simple.

You see it in these kids highlight tapes. It's just go routes from the WRs and free blitzes from the defensive players.

Football IQ is not a part of the game in SoFla.

You see all these kids get drafted and play in the NFL from random G5, FCS, and D2 programs.

They were evaluated properly, and developed properly.

Miami Northwestern just hired Teddy Bridgewater and released a video of him playing QB for a series. In the video, he demonstrated how to go through reads and hit the checkdowns in order to move down the field at will. It was as if this is forbidden knowledge in SoFla.

Until our recruiting and coaching staff learns how to identify potential, they're gonna keep targeting guys from SoFla who don't have P5 abilities.

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The Decline of South Florida

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