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From SUNDAY BUZZ COLUMN by Barry Jackson
No, UM hasn’t landed everyone it wanted in this loaded Dade/Broward 2014 recruiting class. Elite running back Sony Michel picked Georgia. Premier receiver Ermon Lane chose Florida.
But to appreciate what UM has accomplished in building a 2014 class ranked fourth by ESPN and Rivals.com, consider everything working against Miami: The looming NCAA penalties. Nasty negative recruiting.
And Michel cited this: “What concerned me was Miami’s facilities,” Michel said, adding Georgia’s are nicer. “They should be more up to par. And the fan base is not too big, not what I would expect.”
Make no mistake: Weak attendance is a turnoff for some UM recruits, so much so that UM asked not to be given any Thursday night home games so the empty seats aren’t exposed to the nation. But UM’s facilities should not be a deterrent now; the new Schwartz Center is beautiful.
So how has UM overcome those obstacles to assemble terrific classes under Al Golden? We spoke to 10 of the 13 Dade/Broward Class of 2014 players orally committed to UM, plus several coaches. Six factors they cited:
### Players love the personal attention from Golden and his staff, easier now that the NCAA has relaxed rules regarding contact on social media.
Booker T. Washington’s Chad Thomas, rivals.com’s No. 11-rated defensive end, said Golden has sent him a quotation before practice most every morning the past two months.
“I know it’s just for me because he’ll say, ‘I know this one is appropriate for you this day,’” Thomas said. “He sends me quotes from NFL stars, like Ray Lewis, or people who made it in life. They’re not even dealing with football, just life. I don’t get that from other coaches. Coach Golden will make sure my day is going right. That’s how I know it’s a coach that cares about you.”
Miami Northwestern three-star defensive end Mike Smith said UM linebackers coach Micheal Barrow “sends me motivational speeches and letters on Facebook. He quotes a lot of scriptures from the Bible. That’s different from other schools.”
### Several players cite Golden’s honesty. “Coach Golden is different from all coaches,” Hialeah Champagnat four-star defensive tackle Travonte Valentine said. “He took me in his office, locked the door and said, ‘I’m going to be real with you.’”
Said three-star St. Thomas Aquinas center Nick Linder, brother of UM guard Brandon: “He’s not two-faced. He’ll talk to you like a friend. You know he has your back.”
Four-star Miami Central running back Joseph Yearby said Golden “says really how it is” and doesn’t “sell [players] a lie.” Yearby's teammate, four-star offensive tackle Trevor Darling, said Golden "is an easy guy to talk to. We talk about practice, life, how his family is." And Booker T. Washington defensive end Demetrius Jackson said he was drawn to Golden because “he’s a God-fearing man and so am I. That’s a connection we have. He’s a family man.”
### Golden interacts effectively with recruits’ parents. Miami Northwestern three-star cornerback Ryan Mayes said: “My mom and grandmother were very happy, and that was a big deal, because it is hard to satisfy women, especially those two. They liked the fact coach Golden is respectful and well mannered.”
### A skilled staff of recruiters, strengthened by the addition of personable offensive coordinator James Coley. “The staff is awesome – they’re great with the kids,” St. Thomas Aquinas coach Rocco Casullo said. “Al Golden spoke at our banquet and people were mesmerized.”
Miami Central and former Northwestern coach Roland Smith said this UM staff is “real good at building relationships. Coach Golden asked me to coach at his summer camps when I wasn’t coaching, and I so appreciate that.”
### UM’s small class size also was mentioned as a major lure. “I can’t focus in big classes,” Booker T’s Thomas said. “At Miami, I’m not going to be sitting with 100 people. It’s 30 people. The professor knows who you are.”
### Golden has embraced UM’s tradition, such as playing a Michael Irvin motivational speech while players were stretching before a recent practice.
Jackson said Golden shows recruits the program’s championship rings, its two Heisman Trophies and more. Golden tells them how many Hurricanes are in the NFL. So even though most recruits were 5 or 6 when UM last won a title, the program’s rich history still resonates.
Valentine “did my research” on the great UM teams in the 1980s and said “I can bring that back. After my [former] Florida and Louisville commitments, I said, ‘Man, let me stop making mistakes and come to Miami.’”
### FYI: UM has seven oral commitments among ESPN's top 171 players in the Class of 2014 --- led by Yearby at No. 21 --- and 11 in ESPN's top 300.
### Please check Saturday's post for buzz from UM's Friday night scrimmage and first couple weeks of practice.
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com...l#storylink=cpy
No, UM hasn’t landed everyone it wanted in this loaded Dade/Broward 2014 recruiting class. Elite running back Sony Michel picked Georgia. Premier receiver Ermon Lane chose Florida.
But to appreciate what UM has accomplished in building a 2014 class ranked fourth by ESPN and Rivals.com, consider everything working against Miami: The looming NCAA penalties. Nasty negative recruiting.
And Michel cited this: “What concerned me was Miami’s facilities,” Michel said, adding Georgia’s are nicer. “They should be more up to par. And the fan base is not too big, not what I would expect.”
Make no mistake: Weak attendance is a turnoff for some UM recruits, so much so that UM asked not to be given any Thursday night home games so the empty seats aren’t exposed to the nation. But UM’s facilities should not be a deterrent now; the new Schwartz Center is beautiful.
So how has UM overcome those obstacles to assemble terrific classes under Al Golden? We spoke to 10 of the 13 Dade/Broward Class of 2014 players orally committed to UM, plus several coaches. Six factors they cited:
### Players love the personal attention from Golden and his staff, easier now that the NCAA has relaxed rules regarding contact on social media.
Booker T. Washington’s Chad Thomas, rivals.com’s No. 11-rated defensive end, said Golden has sent him a quotation before practice most every morning the past two months.
“I know it’s just for me because he’ll say, ‘I know this one is appropriate for you this day,’” Thomas said. “He sends me quotes from NFL stars, like Ray Lewis, or people who made it in life. They’re not even dealing with football, just life. I don’t get that from other coaches. Coach Golden will make sure my day is going right. That’s how I know it’s a coach that cares about you.”
Miami Northwestern three-star defensive end Mike Smith said UM linebackers coach Micheal Barrow “sends me motivational speeches and letters on Facebook. He quotes a lot of scriptures from the Bible. That’s different from other schools.”
### Several players cite Golden’s honesty. “Coach Golden is different from all coaches,” Hialeah Champagnat four-star defensive tackle Travonte Valentine said. “He took me in his office, locked the door and said, ‘I’m going to be real with you.’”
Said three-star St. Thomas Aquinas center Nick Linder, brother of UM guard Brandon: “He’s not two-faced. He’ll talk to you like a friend. You know he has your back.”
Four-star Miami Central running back Joseph Yearby said Golden “says really how it is” and doesn’t “sell [players] a lie.” Yearby's teammate, four-star offensive tackle Trevor Darling, said Golden "is an easy guy to talk to. We talk about practice, life, how his family is." And Booker T. Washington defensive end Demetrius Jackson said he was drawn to Golden because “he’s a God-fearing man and so am I. That’s a connection we have. He’s a family man.”
### Golden interacts effectively with recruits’ parents. Miami Northwestern three-star cornerback Ryan Mayes said: “My mom and grandmother were very happy, and that was a big deal, because it is hard to satisfy women, especially those two. They liked the fact coach Golden is respectful and well mannered.”
### A skilled staff of recruiters, strengthened by the addition of personable offensive coordinator James Coley. “The staff is awesome – they’re great with the kids,” St. Thomas Aquinas coach Rocco Casullo said. “Al Golden spoke at our banquet and people were mesmerized.”
Miami Central and former Northwestern coach Roland Smith said this UM staff is “real good at building relationships. Coach Golden asked me to coach at his summer camps when I wasn’t coaching, and I so appreciate that.”
### UM’s small class size also was mentioned as a major lure. “I can’t focus in big classes,” Booker T’s Thomas said. “At Miami, I’m not going to be sitting with 100 people. It’s 30 people. The professor knows who you are.”
### Golden has embraced UM’s tradition, such as playing a Michael Irvin motivational speech while players were stretching before a recent practice.
Jackson said Golden shows recruits the program’s championship rings, its two Heisman Trophies and more. Golden tells them how many Hurricanes are in the NFL. So even though most recruits were 5 or 6 when UM last won a title, the program’s rich history still resonates.
Valentine “did my research” on the great UM teams in the 1980s and said “I can bring that back. After my [former] Florida and Louisville commitments, I said, ‘Man, let me stop making mistakes and come to Miami.’”
### FYI: UM has seven oral commitments among ESPN's top 171 players in the Class of 2014 --- led by Yearby at No. 21 --- and 11 in ESPN's top 300.
### Please check Saturday's post for buzz from UM's Friday night scrimmage and first couple weeks of practice.
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com...l#storylink=cpy
