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Myth Busters: Lack of NFL Talent

Rellyrell said:
Does it matter? I’m not ****ting on ur ?, rather asking does it matter when I slide the timeline? The point was in 20 yrs we’ve had not 1 ACC crown despite the personnel. So let’s say for instance I slide the timeline from 2004-2014, the results would be even more damning, considering that was the era we produced the most NFL picks.

However, I’m a fair, reasonable, & equitable poster; so let’s slide the scale to fit 2015 - present:

1. Clemson - 55 total draft picks (28 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
2. Miami - 45 total draft picks (12 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
3. FSU - 42 total draft picks (22 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
4. Pitt - 29 total draft picks (7 w/in the 1st 3rd Rds)
5. UNC - 28 total draft picks (9 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
6. UL - 27 total draft picks (11 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
7. NCSt - 25 total draft picks (11 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
8. VT - 23 total draft picks (7 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
9. BC - 21 total draft picks (12 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
10. WF - 15 total draft picks (4 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
11. UVA - 12 total draft picks (3 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
12. GT - 11 total draft picks (2 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
13. Duke - 10 total draft picks (4 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)
14. Syracuse - 9 total draft picks (4 w/in the 1st 3 Rds)

So allow me to pause this graphic real quick; this is y I hate when add’l ?’s r ask when I present a detailed post, b/c now it opens up a new can of worms.

As u can see, we’re still Top 3 in the conference in either total draft picks & total quality picks; however, now a new glaring indictment has been shined on the myth of not having enough talent:

Looking at the Top 10 in this category, 6 comes from the old ACC Atlantic Division. That means our talent compared to the ACC Coastal has been far superior, yet here’s our record vs. The Coastal since 2015: 33-20 (.622)
•7-2 v. UVA
•7-2 v. VT
•6-2 v. Pitt
•6-3 v. Duke
•5-4 v. GT
•2-7 v. UNC

Recruiting Avg. rankings:
1. Clemson - 11th
2. Miami - 12th
3. FSU - 13th
4. UNC - 25th
T-5. UL - 39th
T-5. VT - 39th
7. NCSt - 42nd
8. Pitt - 48th
9. GT - 49th
10. UVA - 55th
11. Duke - 56th
12. Syracuse - 58th
13. BC - 62nd
14. WF - 65th

And jic, even if I were to remove the class rankings of 2023 & 2024 from this equation, our avg. class rank from 2015-2022 is 14th, which is still top 3 in the conference & would be by far #1 in the old ACC Coastal division.

So it doesn’t matter how U slide the scale, it doesn’t matter the era, the coach, the excuse of “not enough talent” is just that, an excuse & could easily be labeled as a myth.
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Yep, it still isn't a talent deficit, except the comments about weak qbs rings true to me.
 
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Rellyrell said:
This along w/ other future post are not meant to offend; but, for the next few months I will be resurrecting my series on “Myth Busters” surrounding various narratives used to justify/excuse the mediocrity surrounding The University of Miami circa 2004.

A little something about me: I HATE excuses, b/c
-they attempt to lessen the blame or seek to defend/justify
-(If you pledge any African-American Greek organization): Excuses are tools of incompetence used to build bridges to nowhere and monuments of nothingness.

Even though some excuses may have merit, more often than not it pacifies a status quo. With that being said, let’s dive into Myth Buster #2: We haven’t had ‘The Caliber of Talent.’

It may be true we haven’t had the caliber of talent to compete with the O$Us, Bamas, etc., U might be surprised that couldn’t be further from the truth in The ACC. Currently The []_[] sits at a paltry 95-74 (.562 winning %) in ACC Conference play since 2004.

Whether it’s been Coker, Shannon, Golden, Richt, Diaz, or now Mario there’s been this polarizing divide to justify inexcusable loses to certain programs (I’ll get to this in a moment). It’s Coker’s players fault, no it’s Shannon’s player’s fault! Wait, it’s DEFINITELY Golden’s player’s fault! Richt couldn’t recruit & it’s his player’s fault! No, no, no, IT’S LIPSY DIAZ’S player’s fault!!!!!

The commonality? No matter who’s the coach, no matter the era, they all produced mediocre results b/c apparently, none had enough “talent” & it’s always the predecessor’s fault. So let’s examine this claim, & we’re focusing strictly on the ACC, b/c before we can consider how we compare to others, we must examine how we compare to our current peers.

Did you know:
-Since 2004: The University of Miami has more draft picks than any other school in this conference?
Here are the # of NFL draft picks as of 2024’s draft (pls note, this will not include SMU or Cal since they are new members nor will it include former ACC member Maryland)
1. Miami - 100
T-2. FSU - 96
T-2. Clemson - 96
4. VT -63
5. UNC - 62
6. NCST - 53
T-7. BC - 40*
T-7 UVA - 40
9. WF - 34
T-10. GT - 32
T-10. Pitt - 32*
12. UL - 27*
13. Duke - 12
14. Cuse - 11*

*BC joined the ACC in 2005, Syracuse & Pitt joined in 2013, & UL joined in 2014

OK that’s great intel, but if you have followed any of my post, you know I’m big on the ‘quality’ of NFL prospects a team may have. I’ve posted indisputable evidence that the upper echelons have rosters filled with Day 1 & 2 guys or Rds 1-3. Don’t worry I’ve diagnosed this, as well.

Did you know:
-Since 2004: The University of Miami has produced the 3rd most Top-3 round draft picks in the ACC? Here’s the list as of 2024:
1. FSU - 48
2. Clemson - 45
3. Miami - 37
4. UNC - 25
T-5. BC - 21
T-5. VT - 21
T-5. NCSt - 21
8. UVA - 13
T-9. GT - 11
T-9. UL - 11
11. Pitt - 8
12. WF - 7
13. Cuse - 5
14. Duke - 4

Now let’s address the next elephant in the room, recruiting. This has been a sore, & quite contentious topic. Would it surprise you that The []_[] since 2004 has the 2nd highest avg. recruiting class in the ACC? Would it surprise you that our classes has ranked, on avg., in the Top 15 in the Nation? Here are the rankings:
1. FSU (10th)
2. Miami (13th)
3. Clemson (15th)
4. UNC (25th)
5. VT (32nd)
6. UL (40th)
7. NCSt (42nd)
T-8. Pitt (46th)
T-8. UVA (46th)
10. GT (48th)
11. BC (56th)
T-12. Duke (58th)
T-12. Cuse (58th)
14. WF (65th)

So on paper, we’ve:
-Produced more NFL talent than any ACC team since joining
-Produced the 3rd most quality NFL talent than any ACC team since joining
-Have the 2nd highest avg. recruiting ranking since joining the ACC

So how it that:
•VT has 4 ACC crowns despite being ranked 4th, 5th, & 5th in these same categories
•GT has 1 ACC crown despite being ranked 10th, 9th, & 10th in these same categories
•WF has 1 ACC crown despite being ranked 9th, 12, & 14th in the same categories

While we can’t claim 1?

How are we:
3-3 v. BC
11-9 v. GT
4-3 v. NCSt.
3-2 v. UL
1-1 v. Syracuse
8-12 v. UNC

When on paper, our talent has been far superior?

So the ? is, is the “lack of talent” narrative a fact or a myth to excuse mediocrity? Based upon the information provided, I’ll allow the board to decide.
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All that + we're cursed.
 
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OrangeBowlMagic said:
I think we’re in a good spot, to be fair. Mario is a good football coach. He’s got his warts, no doubt. But he’s not incapable of building a good program. We actually have some financial support we haven’t in a long time. We’re recruiting very well. We’re getting good players at the most important positions on the field.

10-2, while disappointing all things considered, is still a 10-2 season. We fielded the best offense in the history of the school. That’s not nothing. We didn’t win anything, because we’re not allowed to have nice things. We know this. But I think Mario is building a sustaining program here. I’m excited for the 2025 season. The schedule is actually very fun and the team should be pretty good again.
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Not to be a jerk and I always love your optimism but we wasted qB 1/1. That may never happen at Miami again. It may happen next year if CB has some lights come on… but I don’t expect that. It’s disappointing bc we had such potential and we were failed by a **** system and poor evaluation on the defensive side of the ball. Falls on Mc..
 
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Gocanes1990 said:
My two cents we never put together “complete teams”. I buy the overall roster construction. I agree our coaching sucks ***. I agree with the overall argument. Just a splash of nuance from your fellow Nike / Jordan enthusiast
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Yeah, there was a bunch of that. For instance Golden would field teams that had numerous NFL players all the simultaneously having the roster chock full of G5 level players. Which IMHO made us unlikely to compete with the elites but it doesn’t excuse not only the lack of conference chips but also a lack of division titles. We never ever did less with more, in fact we usually were doing the opposite, a clear indication of poor coaching.
 
Gransapo said:
When is this board going to get it through their collective thick head, that Mario is the only coach that could get the commitment and support from the powers that be to even possibly get Miami back to being Miami. We better hope Mario keeps building on this past year's success because if he doesn't work out, you can turn off the lights.
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Respectfully, u’re introducing something that’s a misnomer. Regardless if the program gave two fcks about the program yesterday vs. today, the point is proving the notion of us not having enough “talent” as the excuse for being & remaining mediocre is a myth.

Even w/o the support of the admin, as a program w/in the ACC, it’s been Clemson, FSU, & us leading the way in avg. recruiting class, total NFL draft picks, & total quality picks.

Clemson & FSU were not in our division from 2004-2022; yet, despite the NFL talent, we struggled mightily against the lowly Coastal teams. So again, respectfully, this is not a matter of “if the admin care/d or not”, but rather using statistics to debunk an oft-used myth to excuse mediocrity.
 
Oh. Because firing coaches has worked out so well for Miami.

Somehow when some of these hires actually have HC experience they carry conference titles but when they come here they forget how to coach.

Maybe it goes beyond incompetent coaching and more to the culture of South Florida.

Season after season we see talented players lose games to inferior opponents. Why? Well, it can’t be tied to one coaching staff.

What we see is the culture of entitlement inside the locker room. Outside the locker room. On the team. Outside of the team.

Every season the players, the coaches, the fans, the media, all get ahead of themselves. They eat up the hype. We win every single off season. We fantasize about being back before even winning the conference.

Sure, we can blame leadership. Go ahead and hire your favorite coach. Then watch as he scratches his head going “Why is it harder here?”
 
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TheEye said:
Oh. Because firing coaches has worked out so well for Miami.

Somehow when some of these hires actually have HC experience they carry conference titles but when they come here they forget how to coach.

Maybe it goes beyond incompetent coaching and more to the culture of South Florida.

Season after season we see talented players lose games to inferior opponents. Why? Well, it can’t be tied to one coaching staff.

What we see is the culture of entitlement inside the locker room. Outside the locker room. On the team. Outside of the team.

Every season the players, the coaches, the fans, the media, all get ahead of themselves. They eat up the hype. We win every single off season. We fantasize about being back before even winning the conference.

Sure, we can blame leadership. Go ahead and hire your favorite coach. Then watch as he scratches his head going “Why is it harder here?”
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Yeah but it's coaching....lol it's always been culture and entitlement ie. Breshard Smith didn't want to play RB for the home team **** no i stay home to put on for the home team, ya'll owe me. But went to Dallas SMU played the position he should always played at UM. Same for James Williams!!
 
Flynell7 said:
Coaching, I find it hard to believe we recruit nothing but underachievers/busts.
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I’ve been saying this same thing for years/ the chance of our coaches recruiting nothing but busts is nearly zero.

Coaching has been our biggest Achilles heel. We haven’t had a great coaching staff in years. It all starts with the head coach. Once you fix that, we’ll start seeing much better results.
 
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