forums

The interplay between this class and the Portal

View as article
Anyone have a link to the whole Thomas brown shrimp thing?
 
Advertisement
Awsi Dooger said:
It's fairly easy in this instance. Mark Richt and Jim Mora did it for me today on the ESPN signing day coverage.

Athletic ability is great. The "Legs Race" threads are terrific, and good evidence that our classes indeed have more NFL numbers potential than the annual ratings suggest. That has been an ongoing theme of the OP and other administrators on this site.

However, from a standpoint of winning huge in contemporary college football, athletic ability is not close to enough. Unless you look the part it doesn't matter if you jump the part. I have made that point repeatedly. I was stunned when I saw Clemson run onto the field before that 2015 game. It immediately looked like an entirely different makeup of human being. One wide-bodied wide-shouldered ultra-strong player after another. Meanwhile it was difficult not to laugh at our most recent Senior Day last November, when all the sloppy offensive linemen ran out to meet Coach Mark Richt. And these were starters, for the most part.

Ohio State is the same. They looked massive compared to USC in the 2017 Cotton Bowl, and the result played out that way. Darnold had little chance because USC was pushed around physically. It was a huge topic on USC boards, where I have dual citizenship, so to speak.

Then Alabama is a slightly higher level than either Clemson or Ohio State, from a body type and strength standpoint. Alabama may have been blown out on the scoreboard but the line of scrimmage belonged to the Crimson Tide, especially in the first half. I am not going to ignore that.

There were several related anecdotes today from Richt and Mora. When discussing Clemson, Richt mirrored my experience from 2015. He said prior to the 2017 ACC Championship Game he was jolted when he saw Clemson take the field. He said it was a big strong team full of men. He said it looked like an SEC team. That comment in particular jumped out at me. Richt clearly distinguished the SEC and ACC in terms of overall physical makeup. He wasn't freed up to be so forthright while still Canes head coach. Today the honesty was front and center.

Jim Mora made multiple remarks today about the West Coast being left behind in terms of overall roster makeup especially in the trenches. The anecdote that stood out was when Mora described **** Vermeil attending a UCLA practice and telling him, "You've got a nice looking team out there." More relayed that UCLA finished 9th in the country that year.

However, not much later **** Vermeil watched Alabama practice. He immediately called Mora: "Remember when I said you had a good looking team? Just don't schedule Alabama. That team is full of men."

Mark Richt laughed at that. "**** Vermeil told you not to schedule Alabama? Well, when I was at Miami I did schedule Alabama."

Everyone on the panel laughed, as Richt expressed relief that he had scheduled a game that another head coach will have to deal with.
Click to expand...

Quite honestly, you've said no lies. Athleticism is the start of the lump of clay so to speak. Alabama turned those boys into men in the S & C department, but the clay they were starting with was miles ahead of what Miami has.

Guess what; that margin only continued to widen this year when Alabama went crazy athlete on the whole country in their recruiting. Antonio Alfana has a higher SPARQ than all but two players Miami has landed in the past five years and he plays flipping Defensive Tackle! (And neither of those players is on this team; Braxton Berrios & Travis Homer)
 
******* dead at shrimp turning people ***. Savage stuff, D$.
 
If you count the transfers this is easily a top 10 class of incoming talent. Utility wise with the transfers being more mature it could be better than that.
 
Advertisement
rayray said:
to make the playoff we need to beat clemson. to beat clemson, this class has to be complimentary to a monster, top 5 level haul in 2020. but one thing that's encouraging about this staff (which is carried over from richt) is that the 3 star level prospects are mostly all bets on athleticism. in this class, cam williams, jakai clark and jalar holley are prob the only non 4 stars who you would call football players before athletes. we obviously have some reaches here -- peyton matocha, the OL are nobody's idea of an ideal haul at those positions -- but at least we seem to be identifying players with a lot of untapped potential. the days of alex gall and larry hope are behind us.
Click to expand...
100% but imo we’re gonna have to cycle out to 2021 to get right. But 2020+ portal is big. Mannys on it.🙌🏿
 
DMoney said:
I won't sugarcoat the class. We are ranked about where we should be. It was a nightmare season followed by a transition, which hurts you twice as bad with the early signing period.

But as @Lance Roffers pointed out in his great series "College Football's Legs Race," this class is very athletic. The combine testing confirms that statement. What the class lacks is college-ready, instant impact guys.

That's where the Portal comes in. It was perfect timing- we needed age and we had room. The Portal provided the rest.

-Jason Blissett is 270-pound tailback that needs to add some DT weight. Jared Hunte is a high-flying basketball convert with an NFL body. Let them sit while Chigozie Nnoruka provides strength and experience at a grown-man position.

- Jahfari Harvey and Cam Williams have the length and twitch but weigh less than 240 lbs. Trevon Hill gives us an instant pass rusher while those two sit at the training table.

- Keontra Smith is an elite talent who would have been counted on to start right away. Bubba Bolden is another elite talent who is already in his twenties. Now, we don't have to rush Smith's development as he transitions from LB.

- We didn't sign a high school running back. Asa Martin provides a 215 lbs. physical runner to complement the track stars in the '18 class (CamRon, Lingard) and the '20 class (Don Chaney).

- Sam Brooks and Avery Huff are two of the most talented players in Florida. They have the production, speed and versatility. All they lack is weight. Although Shaq and Pickney didn't come from the Portal, their return gives Brooks and Huff time to grow into monsters.

- Peyton Matocha is a late bloomer who is transitioning from low-level, private school Texas football. Tate Martell takes some of the immediate pressure off him.

- Zion Nelson is already physical, long and explosive. The only drawback is that he weighs 240 pounds. Adam El-Gammal just finished his first year of football and needs to learn the game. Tommy Kennedy gives them both some time to grow.

- The WR room needed some age and maturity. Jeremiah Payton is a Clemson-level talent but he's still a teen. KJ Osborn is a driven worker who is striving for the NFL. He is exactly what the doctor ordered.

We signed some other really good pieces. Te'Cory Couch has everything you need at corner- long arms, quick feet, speed, ball skills and competitiveness. All he needs is weight. Christian Williams combines some of the best attributes of Michael Jackson and Sheldrick Redwine. I love how he makes plays in every phase of the game. Jalar Holley opened a lot of eyes as a senior, is young for his class and works hard. He could be the Kendrick Norton-type we've been looking for.

Offensively, Larry Hodges did everything at Jesuit. He lined up wide, blocked, returned kicks and ran the ball out of the backfield. He will fit like a glove in Enos's formation-heavy offense. Jakai Clark has been playing big-time Georgia football for years at an All-State level. His leadership will fit well at center once he gets in college shape. The punter, Louis Hedley, is already viral and will be a legend if he reclaims our place as Punter U.

All these guys have a chance. But the biggest reason for optimism is obvious. Six weeks ago, Jon Richt was our QB coach. Mark Richt was justifying a 30-year-old playbook. Thomas Brown was questioning whether eating shrimp turned men ***. We were headed to a slow death. Now we have new life.

Spring can't get here soon enough.
Click to expand...

I was excited as any when richt reitired but the hiring of manny diaz took everything away i hope im wrong but we really had a chance to make a splash and we chose the lazy way again
 
I appreciate all the hype and smoke blowing...however

Nebraska was 4-8
FSU was 5-7
Arkansas was 2-10
VT was 6-7
Purdue was 6-7

Somehow they can all recruit better than us with losing records...

But we can’t get local talent at 7-6 and a top 5 defense

Where are our recruiting dogs? I believe it was 6 top 100 kids from the tri-county area, and a bunch of kids from Dade who went to our rivals.

Manny has done a great job getting transfers, but not landing kids from our backyard is going to bite us in the ***.

That’s the only way we win anything worthwhile for the next decade.
 
Advertisement
RBhurricane87 said:
I appreciate all the hype and smoke blowing...however

Nebraska was 4-8
FSU was 5-7
Arkansas was 2-10
VT was 6-7
Purdue was 6-7

Somehow they can all recruit better than us with losing records...

But we can’t get local talent at 7-6 and a top 5 defense

Where are our recruiting dogs? I believe it was 6 top 100 kids from the tri-county area, and a bunch of kids from Dade who went to our rivals.

Manny has done a great job getting transfers, but not landing kids from our backyard is going to bite us in the ***.

That’s the only way we win anything worthwhile for the next decade.
Click to expand...
Who from our backyard did we miss? Bogle? That kid is a joke that wanted the largest bag. You can't put that on Diaz. I have no doubt that Diaz is going to crush the 2020 class as long as the results on the field are respectable in year one.
 
Miami has to win, but I think to make that next step, we're going to have to see the moves like UGA and Alabama make, where they can "swoop in" somehow....and get a kid no one expected, like UGA did with Perkins. In Miami's case, it's going to be more like keeping kids like that home, and for some, that's going to mean learning to play the recruiting game the SEC way. Worst case, Miami can at least drive up the price for the kids they're coming in to poach from South Florida.
 
cyrez8 said:
Who from our backyard did we miss? Bogle? That kid is a joke that wanted the largest bag. You can't put that on Diaz. I have no doubt that Diaz is going to crush the 2020 class as long as the results on the field are respectable in year one.
Click to expand...

C’mon Cyrez8...you are better than that.

Who from our backyard did we miss? Are you kidding me? Who did we sign? How many players from Dade?

For starters, Ladson, Stephenson, not one but TWO legacy ballers, Brownlee, Maurice Smith, Lucas, Nunn, Bogle, Battle, Ingraham...do I need to go on? We offered and actively recruited each of those guys. No BS about we didn’t really want them.

I love me some Manny and he has beem very smart utilizing the Portal but to insinuate we lost nobody from our backyard during this recruting cycle is intellectually dishonest.
 
Gables Cane said:
C’mon Cyrez8...you are better than that.

Who from our backyard did we miss? Are you kidding me? Who did we sign? How many players from Dade?

For starters, Ladson, Stephenson, not one but TWO legacy ballers, Brownlee, Maurice Smith, Lucas, Nunn, Bogle, Battle, Ingraham...do I need to go on? We offered and actively recruited each of those guys. No BS about we didn’t really want them.

I love me some Manny and he has beem very smart utilizing the Portal but to insinuate we lost nobody from our backyard during this recruting cycle is intellectually dishonest.
Click to expand...

The one thing I will give credit to manny on is he had a backup plan for those misses, or he at least made up for them without taking two stars. In the golden years, we would miss top targets and end up battling buffalo for recruits to fill our class. Manny is not an elite recruiter and we don’t have one on our staff. If we can at least get the 15 range each year and then plug in a few transfers, then we will be winning the coastal each year.
 
Advertisement
ForeveCane55 said:
I was excited as any when richt reitired but the hiring of manny diaz took everything away i hope im wrong but we really had a chance to make a splash and we chose the lazy way again
Click to expand...

Just because the hire was easy or lazy, doesn't mean it was the wrong hire. Flake Shames is still the same bumbling ticket taker he was two months ago, but it looks like he just hired the right man for the job (through dumb luck).
 
Last edited:
Gables Cane said:
C’mon Cyrez8...you are better than that.

Who from our backyard did we miss? Are you kidding me? Who did we sign? How many players from Dade?

For starters, Ladson, Stephenson, not one but TWO legacy ballers, Brownlee, Maurice Smith, Lucas, Nunn, Bogle, Battle, Ingraham...do I need to go on? We offered and actively recruited each of those guys. No BS about we didn’t really want them.

I love me some Manny and he has beem very smart utilizing the Portal but to insinuate we lost nobody from our backyard during this recruting cycle is intellectually dishonest.
Click to expand...

neal
 
Artist Formerly Known As said:
I’m interested to see mannys recruiting strategy going forward.

He didn’t necessarily chase the biggest stars at LB, but usually gets his guys.

Wondering if he values raw athleticism and mentality over pure developed talent.
Click to expand...
Recruit athletes and turn them into football players. It worked for Butch Davis here.
 
Advertisement
skeeter said:
Tommy Kennedy worries me in that I hope he isn't being handed LT...Don't get me wrong, I agree that we took him, no brainer actually. But what if he just can't handle the speed and strength at this level? I hope he was brought in to compete.
Click to expand...
If he can't handle it he will be exposed by Garvin and company
 
cyrez8 said:
Who from our backyard did we miss? Bogle? That kid is a joke that wanted the largest bag. You can't put that on Diaz. I have no doubt that Diaz is going to crush the 2020 class as long as the results on the field are respectable in year one.
Click to expand...


I'll let you do that research.
 
Advertisement
Back
Top