2015 Miami Hurricanes Opponent Preview - Week 1 (Bethune-Cookman 9/5 at Sun Life Stadium)

Miami Hurricanes 2015 Opponent Preview

Week 1

Bethune-Cookman (September 5th at Sun Life Stadium)

The 2015 Miami Hurricanes Opponent Preview begins with the preview of the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, who come into Sun Life for the 2015 Season opener on September 5th at 6 p.m., on ESPNU. 

As for Bethune Cookman, who went 9-3 (6-2 in the MEAC) in 2014, has a new coach, but expect more of the same from the Wildcats in 2015. Yes, Brian Jenkins is gone, has he’s the new Head Coach over at Alabama State. Jenkins went 46-14 in his time in Daytona Beach, but now its Terry Sims’ job and he’s expected to build off the success Jenkins had there. Last year, Quentin Williams and Larry Brihm Jr. split time at quarterback and they’re expected to do the same this season. In 2014, Brihm was No. 1 in the league in passing efficiency and Williams was No.3.

An interesting note from a CANES perspective. Danny Dillard, a former back for the U, now in his second season at B-C, could be the Wildcats’ main rushing threat. In addition, Jawill Davis, who had nine receptions in the spring game, could key the passing game. Others to keep an eye out on here are WRs Michael Jones and Frank Brown, the latter we were looking at back in 2013.

Defensively, the Wildcats is going to basically be young, since they lost a lot of key personnel from 2014, which included former CANE DB Thomas Finnie, whom Al kicked off the team back in 2013. Another CANES side note here, DL David Perry is on their roster. 

What to expect from Bethune Cookman

Looking at them on tape (from last year's Florida Classic vs FAMU), they’ll run the spread on offense, but the thing they do best is find lanes to get yards in chunks.

They’ll give different looks on defense, but adapt to the situations of the game (time and score) like most teams do.

The video below is their Special Teams

In the end, too much CANES firepower here. Expect the starters to be out of the game by late in the 3rd quarter, and CANES cruise to an easy victory.

Up Next: at FAU (9/11 in Boca)

Thoughts on Beckham deal with City with no UM involvement (for now)

I've had a little over 24 hours to digest what this tentative deal means here. Here's my take:

Marcelo Claure comment to Doug Hanks of the Miami Herald yesterday: “Obviously we are in conversations with the University of Miami, but we figured we are running out of time,. “MLS has been very clear: if we are going to bring soccer to Miami, it needs to be now.”

Translation: Beckham and his people couldn't wait until after 9/1 when Julio Frenk takes over as new President of UM. However, the opening is still there if you want to join down the line. 

UM isn't in the deal "at this time". That's not to say they won't be down the line. There's 17 years left in that least at Sun Life and I find it hard to believe that UM couldn't find an out in that lease, which I'm sure they could have. When they talk about getting out of the Sun Life lease being costly, its to the tune of $50 Millon. Given UM's history of being tight-fisted with the money, I don't believe the BOT would have the stomach to pay Stephen Ross (Miami Dolphins Owner) that kind of jack to get out of that lease. 

Granted, the renovations at Sun Life will help in the short term, but you have to wonder if Frenk has the same thinking Donna did and eventually wanting out of Sun Life to join Beckham in Little Havana down the road. To expand to 40K (45K for big games like UF, FSU, ND, etc), could easily be done. What Cam Underwood (follow him on Twitter at @UnderwoodSports) said in his piece on State of the U (its a good read by the way) was absolutely correct and I agree with this totally. If UM ultimately decides down the line to join Beckham, they need to pony up the dollars needed to get those extra 15-20K seats in there.  Housing UM also would move Beckham’s 25,000-seat soccer stadium to about 40,000 seats, complicating the budget and design logistics.

According to Barry Jackson piece in Miami Herald on 7/18/15, his MLS source said that Beckham’s group would like UM to contribute toward construction costs, which Underwood mentions in that State of the U piece. Jackson's source said Beckham’s group has never made a specific financial request to UM or even given UM any specific proposal for a 40,000-seat stadium. There's still some time to get in for UM, but now, with Beckham's announcement yesterday, the ball is clearly in UM's court to get this done once Frenk officially takes over as UM president on 9/1. 

One idea was suggested by Jackson in that same Herald piece on 7/18/15, and I tend to like this idea more and more here. He mentioned that the stadium could have 25K to start for MLS use, but ultimately when, not if, UM bolts Sun Life to return home to Little Havana, it'll expand to 40-45K. I have to believe this will be the likely scenario for UM's ultimate exit out of the Sun Life and return home to Little Havana. 

Another factor in play here is Adidas, which, btw, has the new jersey party this evening at LIV. You have to wonder does Adidas, which will have a big say on this matter, want UM to ultimately go back to Little Havana and move in with Beckham. 

Frenk has some friends in high places, namely Carlos Slim, the Mexican Billionaire, and one of the richest men in the world. You wonder if Slim will cut Ross a check to help UM out of the Sun Life lease. 

Here's what Blake said about the whole thing in the Herald: “It’s an exciting day for soccer fans in the South Florida area. I congratulate them on moving forward, With that said, we are in a contract with Sun Life Stadium and are excited to open our season there on Sept. 5, in many ways in a brand new stadium that will enhance our fan experience.”

He adds, when asked by Jackson, if UM will consider joining Beckham in Little Havana down the road: “I will always keep all  options open, My preference is for the University of Miami to have the best home for football and right now that is Sun Life Stadium.”

Translation: We're happy where we are now, but I won't close the door on possibly coming back to our roots in Little Havana, if Beckham and MLS gives us 40K over there, we'll seriously consider making this happen. 

In closing, there's still a lot of moving parts to this story, and we'll have to see how this plays out after Frenk takes office in the Ashe Building on 9/1. Its going to be very interesting to see what happens here with this whole Stadium situation. 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article27488947.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article27488947.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article27488947.html#storylink=cpyUM not being at the table. The private college has 17 years left in its lease with the Miami Dolphin at Sun Life Stadium, and breaking that deal would be costly. Housing UM also would move Beckham’s 25,000-seat soccer stadium to about 40,000 seats, complicating the budget and design logistics.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article27488947.html#storylink=cpy

My thoughts on proposed new Beckham/UM Joint Stadium

My take last February on this topic

Much has changed since then. 

1. There's a new President in Julio Frenk, who takes over on 9/1 from Donna. 
2. The Sun Life renovations
3. More urgency to get this done before Donna leaves on June 1. 
4. A few sites have been eliminated except for two: Marlins Park site, and the one by the airport. 

The one UM would favor the most is the site by Marlins Park. The question is would Beckham and MLS feel the same way? Mayor Carlos A Gimenez said "Time is running out." You know the urgency is there from the City/County to get this done. 

UM doesn't favor the Overtown or the Bertam Yacht site by the Airport, but they would consider it if the deal was right. 

On the Marlins Park site, there are two areas Beckham/MLS/UM are considering. 

• The first site is west of Marlins Park, on three city-owned parcels currently used as green space and parking lots and on six privately owned residential and office properties. Taken together, the land along Northwest 17th Avenue amounts to nearly 10 acres. However, according to Barry Jackson in the Herald in February 2014, a county official told him back then that this site would be unlikely. Fast forward to today, this area becomes more and more likely that if UM joins Beckham in the stadium, this would be the area they would go with here. 
• The second site, on 19 acres of county-owned land northeast of the ballpark on the shores of the Miami River, appears far less feasible. There’s a public-housing facility for the elderly on the property. No shot this site happens.

WHY THE SITE BY MARLINS PARK COULD WORK:

• In a word: parking. 
• If you remember the days of the OB, then you realize that renting out parking spaces on a temporary basis works. 
• There are four garages next to the ballpark already. 
• Mass Transit: The city also has a free-of-charge trolley line that loops in riders. This is key for those that would rely on Mass Transit, especially for day games from Broward and Palm Beach. Close to Campus as well. 

Map A is from UM to the Marlins Park site: 

Map B is from West Palm Beach to the Marlins Park Site:

Map C is from Fort Lauderdale to the Marlins Park Site:

WHY THE SITE BY MARLINS PARK MIGHT NOT

• For the first site, Beckham and his crew would have to deal with the city, but much has changed between Feb 2014 and now, and if you remember how they treated UM and the way the Marlins deal went down to evict UM from that site, its been a big problem and still is and even now still rankles the UM faithful. 
• Although Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado said back then that no one has contacted him about that the site, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez just said on Joe Rose's show this morning, "It has to happen now.... We can't wait too long."
• For the second site, the issue here as it was back in February 2014 like it is now, is that Miami-Dade County would have to relocate the King High Towers housing complex which comprises two 14-story high-rises. According to Gregg Fortner, director of the county’s public housing and community development department, he said through a spokeswoman that there is “no possibility” of public-housing property being used for a soccer stadium. Pretty much that second site is dead in the water here. 
• Another issue is that the Marlins, an MLS soccer team, and UM would also have to deal with scheduling challenges, given that their seasons overlap — though MLS plays far fewer matches, UM plays 7-8 home games a year. The conflicts would be mainly in September, when the Marlins wind down and UM starts up.
• Lack of Mass Transit back to Broward and Palm Beach for Night Games.

BETRAM YACHT SITE BY MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Map A: From UM to this site

Map B: From West Palm Beach to this site

Map C: From Fort Lauderdale to this site

WHY THE BETRAM YACHT SITE BY MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT COULD WORK:

• Mass Transit: Tri-Rail (From Broward and Palm Beach) and MetroRail has direct service to Miami International Airport, which would be within walking distance of the site. Close to Campus as well. Easy access to the Airport/Hotels: If fans want to fly in, they could do that. You could have boaters/water taxis/ferries have an option along the waterway (think Tennessee and Washington).
• Easy access to Major roads: You have the 95, the 112, the Dolphin, the Palmetto very close by. 

WHY THE BETRAM YACHT SITE BY MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WON'T WORK:

• Parking: Lack of Parking in the area. One would have to go to a large mall then take a shuttle bus to the Stadium. How much stadium parking would be available for tailgating? Highly doubt that Miami Central Station would be sufficient for Gameday parking/tailgating, especially for big games such as FSU/ND, etc. 
• MIA Traffic: On a good day, traffic to and from the airport is high, but add 40K (45K for big games like ND or FSU), and that could be a big time issue. 
• Lack of Mass Transit back to Broward and Palm Beach after Night games: Where Tri-Rail and MetroRail has direct service to Miami International Airport, and would be within walking distance of the site, the problem becomes getting back to Broward and Palm Beach following night games. 

OVERTOWN by MIAMI WORLD CENTER SITE

Map A: From UM to Overtown (by Miami World Center)

Map B is from West Palm Beach to Overtown (by Miami World Center)

Map C is from Fort Lauderdale to Overtown (by Miami World Center)

WHY THE OVERTOWN (MIAMI WORLD CENTER AREA) SITE COULD WORK:

• Development of MIami World Center: Miami World Center's people just broke ground late last year on the Retail portion of the project. This is Phase 1, which will be done by the end of Next year. Would be a good landmark for fans to get to the stadium. 
• Close to major areas: Bayside, AAA, Port of Miami, etc. 
• Mass Transit: All Aboard Florida is coming for those CANES coming from the Orlando area, they would be able to come straight into Miami for the game (Starting in 2017). Stadium within walking distance.
• Tri-Rail coming from Broward and Palm Beach to MetroRail Transfer station. 
• MetroRail has direct service to the site and then walking distance from there. 
• Easy access to Major roads: You have the 95, 395, the Dolphin, Biscayne Blvd. very close by. 

WHY THE OVERTOWN (MIAMI WORLD CENTER AREA) WON'T WORK:

• Parking: Lack of Parking in the area, like with the site by the Airport. Miami World Center has 3,000 spaces now, and 7,000+ when its all said and done. Also, parking by AAA would be an issue, especially when there are events that overlap (i.e., Heat games) The question is how many of those would be available for UM games, especially big games like FSU, and would tailgating be allowed in the parking garages if spaces are available? 
• Traffic: Think AAA for Heat games, but on a bigger scale. but add 40K (45K for big games like ND or FSU), and that could be a big time issue especially on Biscayne Blvd. 
• Lack of Mass Transit back to Broward and Palm Beach and in this case, points North (i.e, Orlando) after Night games: Where Tri-Rail and MetroRail has direct service to Miami International Airport, and would be within walking distance of the site, the problem becomes getting back to Broward and Palm Beach following night games. Another question would be would All Aboard Florida have Special trains going back to Orlando after night games? Organizers need to get that addressed. 

As Mayor Gimenez said this morning on Joe Rose's show, time is running out to get this done. 

Report Card for NSD 2015

I'm going to give a C- for the class overall

Offense
QB...D  We'll likely get one in Evan in the coming days or weeks. But we just let too many get away from us here (Lawson, who committed to VT, and Jackson, who committed to Louisville). Hopefully we keep Kaaya healthy, because if he goes down, ouch.

RB...C-  Glad we kept Walton and was the saving grace here at this positiion, but lost both Cronkrite and Scarlett to a rival up North in UF, who got them to flip from UM. That's just utterly inexcusable to let them both get away. Yearby and Gus (especially Gus) must step up with the departure of Duke.

WR..D...Finding PD's replacement was a disaster, outside of getting Cager. Letting Callaway from a pipeline school like BTW go to UF. Utterly embarrassing. Here we have back Berrios, Brady, Coley (who likely will fill PD's position), Jones, Kidd, Lewis. Those guys now have to step it up and produce in 2015. Likely starters here are Malcolm and Scott (if healthy, otherwise it'll be Coley at the other WR).

TE...C...Losing Clive is tough. The hope here is Jerome Washington can pay immediate dividends for us there.We'll have Dobard as the #1 TE in 2015.

OL...B....Brad got his guy there in Milo.We also brought in Gauthier, Jones, Loftus, Mahoney, and the big one being St. Louis.The likely starters here are: LT Darling, LG Linder, C KC (if healthy. if not, I can see Gall at this spot), RG Danny, RT Sunny. Having Knighton back and staying healthy only helps here. The depth here is very strong.

Defense
LB...F...Yes we ended up with Gordiner from NJ and Perry...however, you don't replace a guy like Denzel with just anyone.The guy that MUST step up as a leader of the D in 15 is Kirby, likely moves to the MIKE LB spot. Also you can Grace and Owens on the outside.

DT...D- Yes, we got Norton which was huge, but struck out on key guys like Green and Scott. We have Courtel back as well as Calvin, Michael, Moten, and Kamalu here, as well as D Jackson. We also got Fines here.

DE...B-...Geting MacIntosh was HUGE and add that Chad and Tyriq are here at those spots, we have some great ones in the making here.

CB/S...C+.. Getting Johnson here early was critical for us. Getting Redwine to flip to us and keeping him home was key. Jackson and Knowles will be good supporting players going forward here.We'll getting back a healthy RayShawn Jenkins. I want to see in the Spring where he is in his recovery. I really need to see Tracy really step up and be that shutdown corner we recruited him to be three years ago. Corn has come up big for us here and needs to stay healthy. I really need to see Deon Bush step up and have a big year in 15.

NSD Predictions for Uncommitted CANE targets

Well, we are on the eve of National Signing Day and this past weekend we took some major hits. The biggest one being last night when Florida flipped RB Jordan Scarlett, the one recruit we could not afford to lose.

Anyway, here's who I think some uncommitted targets that we're still after end up:

CB Rashad Fenton (Carol City) - We came in the game late, but too late, according to Fenton and his people. The contenders are Florida, South Carolina, and Louisville. 

Prediction: South Carolina

ATH Marcus Lewis (Washington, DC Gonzaga) - Late last night, Lewis said he would delay his decision until early evening tomorrow because now FSU and Texas came into the game. That's not a good sign especially to have FSU in the mix. You know Jimbo will do anything to stick it to UM any way possible and this looks like a case of that here

Prediction: Florida State 

DT Kevin Scott (Los Angeles, CA Bishop Mora Salesian) - With Ole Miss out of it when they picked up Ross Donelly from TX last night. So it's between SC and us. This is one in play here, now that Rasheem Green is going to SC. This is one Golden, D, and Jethro personally have been on for a while. This is one we absolutely MUST have in this class. However, most of the indications believe Scott will end up staying on the West Coast. 

Prediction: SC

RB Dexter Williams (Winter Garden West Orange) - With Scarlett now at Florida, getting Williams in this class now becomes a MAJOR priority. With Louisville out of it, its really between Notre Dame (who has really made a push late), and us. I think in the end, Williams will not be in this class and we will have whiffed on the two prized backs in this class. 

Prediction: Notre Dame

WR Terrell Chatman (Baton Rouge, LA Central) - With Scarlett flipping to UF last night, this would be another devastating hit, if Chatman flips. Now, TCU is now the leader if he does flip, but the hat is making a push late to keep him home. I think he'll flip and we let another stud get away. 

Prediction: TCU

OT Tyree St. Louis (Bradenton IMG Academy) - Been committed since last year. Yes, he's still committed to us, but what's more concerning is that Florida has been making a strong play late in the game to get him to flip to UF. If I'm Kehoe, who has been on this kid during the process, I'm very livid that there's a chance this kid bolts for Gainesville, and those in the Hecht, it would be yet another hit if St. Louis bolts. In the end, I think we keep him.

Prediction: CANES

QB/ATH Torrance Gibson (American Heritage) - We made a push late to get him. An Ohio State commit for a while now. But realistically, if there's a flip to be made here, its going to be between LSU and Auburn. In the end, though, I can't see it happening

Prediction: Ohio State

QB Lamar Jackson (Boynton Beach) - A Louisville commit. Florida made a push here, as well as us, but in the end, look for him to stay put with commitment.

Prediction: Louisville

QB Evan Shirreffs (Jefferson, GA) - Consider the other schools that have recruited him (Georgetown, Brown, Columbia, and VMI), Coley has been recruiting this kid for a while now. In the end, look for him to end up in Coral Gables.

Prediction: CANES

WR Antonio Callaway (BTW) - Florida has been making a push late as well as FSU. But in the end, I think we'll end up with him

Prediction: CANES 

DT Kendrick Norton (Jacksonville Trinity Christian) - You figure with Scott likely not coming here, getting Norton becomes a MUST. We're the leaders to get him. Auburn is making a strong push in the end here. With Jethro recruiting him, there will be very glum faces in the Hecht Center if we were to strike out on Norton as well, with Green off the board and Scott likely off the board. Not getting another DT in this class would be completely devastating, especially when you consider after next season, it's going to be extremely thin there on the interior of the DL. Getting Norton is a MUST.

Prediction: CANES

DE Shelton Johnson (Delray Beach Atlantic) - Right now, FSU is the favorites for him. We're making a push here. But when you consider that when he was sick, the FSU coaches came down to visit him at home. That tells me a lot on where I think he'll end up and it sadly, won't be here.

Prediction: Florida State

DE Austrian Robinson (Pawling, NY Trinity Pawling School) - Maryland is the leader. Ole Miss is in the mix there. Jethro has been on this kid and made an OV here back on January 23rd and back on Friday, Jethro and D made an in-home visit to him. However, in the end, it won't be enough.

Prediction: Ole Miss

CB Sheldrick Redwine (Killian) - A Louisville commit. However, there's a good chance he flips here. Its been us and Auburn for that. I have to believe in the end, this is one to go our way.

Prediction: CANES

We'll see it all plays out tomorrow, but its realistically not looking very good right now. I want to see the interview on ESPNU with Al and look at the body language and the look on his face. That will be a tell tale sign of how this class rates. 

Recruiting News 1/22/15

Another indictment on Al and the defensive staff from H.S. coaches in South Florida. This comes from Ryan Barlow on Joe Rose's show yesterday.

Bartow's Comments on Al and the state of CANES recruiting in South Florida to Joe Rose 1/21/15

That's not a good sign, especially with FSU doing very well down here and now UF, with Randy on their staff, they will do very well in the coming years.

If we don't get our act together soon, the 2016 class is in serious jeopardy.

Mario is getting who he wants to Bama, Strong is getting some recruits to Texas. Brewster is getting kids to FSU. Richt is getting kids to UGa. We didn't offer any of the kids that are going to UGa. That's a HUGE problem.

Bartow says that facilities are important and winning and being on TV. Urban winning a title in Columbus, they'll be coming here more and they already have Bosa coming in the '16 class.

Hearing Bartow's comments yesterday on Joe Rose's show, those in the Hecht Center think they can ride this out and it will go away. I have news for them, it won't. This is going to be something a New President at UM will have to tackle early on in his/her presidency, and that's addressing the football program and determining Blake's and Al's future. Right now, we are taking a huge beating and if we don't finish strong, the calls for Al's ouster will only get louder and louder if they aren't that already.

Its not looking good inside the Hecht football offices right now.

However, from StateoftheU.com back on Monday and my takes:

• Booker T. Washington CB Davante Davis visited campus, but in all likelihood will end up elsewhere. He's currently committed to Texas, but like Tim Irvin before him, Davis may be considering a flip to Auburn. I want to add that he will visit Gainesville tomorrow for his OV. However, I think he'll stay with his commitment to Texas here.
• A late riser on the recruiting trail, DT Kevin Scott (Los Angeles, CA) was visited by Al Golden on the first day of the contact period, was given a scholarship offer, and scheduled an official visit to Miami for next weekend. The 6'5" 280lb Scott is being hotly pursued by several teams. Like most kids from LA, USC is thought to be the leader. A strong visit to Coral Gables may change that. We'll have to see when he comes to campus tomorrow for the OV. Considering that we need DTs in this class, getting Scott is critical.
• WR commit Lawrence Cager visited Alabama this weekend and enjoyed it, but left still committed to Miami. Cager will be coming to Coral Gables for a visit tomorrow. With Gosier now decommitted, keeping Cager in this class is a MUST.
• There's talk that WR commit Terrell Chatman may be close to flipping from Miami. He's my personal favorite WR in this class, so I hope that those rumors are unsubstantiated. Chatman is scheduled to visit Coral Gables on January 30th.  This kid is committed to us, and will visit us for the last visit. He's in Tempe for his OV to Arizona State tomorrow. He visited TCU last week.
• After the decommitment of Dwayne Lawson, Miami has been looking for a QB in this class. And, after doing some searching, may have found one. Coming for a visit next weekend will be Evan Sherriffs (Jefferson, GA), a 6'6" 195lb player with great height and good developmental skills. As I said previously "don't be surprised if a lower ranked/unknown player from outside FL is the take for this class." Should Sherriffs, whose only current offers are Columbia and Virginia Military Institute, earn an offer and commit, that would most definitely be the case. But, before you go all doom and gloom, watch Sherriffs' highlights. You'll see some things you'll like. I suspect this kid will commit to us possibly as soon as his visit ends tomorrow.
• WR target Daylon Charlot (Patterson, LA) visited Alabama. Widely considered a heavy lean to the Tide, Charlot left uncommitted. He did, however, drop this cryptic tweet during his visit: "Seems like everything is coming together" Take it for what its worth, however, in the end, I believe Bama will end up getting him. That's really an LSU-Bama battle there.
• Former RB commit Dexter Williams visited Notre Dame and greatly enjoyed his visit ($). Williams says he is still high on both Louisville and Miami, in addition to Notre Dame. If he wants to play with friend Jalen Julius, the pick will be Louisville. If he wants to be close to home, the pick will be Miami. If he wants to go with the late charging school, the pick will be Notre Dame. In short, I have no idea which way Williams is going as of this moment. But, with a renewed sense that Jordan Scarlett will be in this class, Miami's pursuit of Williams isn't as important as it was a few days ago. With Scarlett now firmly in the fold, My gut tells me that in the end, it'll be Louisville that wins this battle holding off Notre Dame.
• DE Arden Key is on campus for his OV today. He is scheduled to make an announcement on February 2nd. But, in my mind, his recruitment will go until NSD. He visited us on Monday and is schedule to visit South Carolina tomorrow and Auburn next Friday for his final visit. That's really a UGa vs South Carolina battle there. In the end, my gut tells me that Key will end up with the Bulldogs.
• Targets LB John Houston and DT Rasheem Green, both 5-star players and teammates from Junipero Serra HS in Gardena, CA, visited Southern Cal this weekend. Each player brought multiple family members with them (Houston was said to have brought his grandparents along for the visit) and were on campus with 9 USC commits. I think that Houston is 100% USC, while Green is still in play for Miami. With Houston, SC is the favorite to get him and he has no other visits scheduled. I agree with StateoftheU on this, Houston likely ends up at SC. As for Green, that's a three-team race between us, SC, and Arizona State, whom he visits tomorrow for his last OV. In the end though, I think Green stays on the West Coast and ends up at SC.
• DL target Austrian Robinson enjoyed his visit and moved the Canes up his leader board. Even with that positive move, Maryland still leads. In the end, I see Robinson signing with the Terrapins come National Signing day. Robinson visited us last week, and is in Oxford for his OV to Ole Miss tomorrow and in Columbus next Friday for his final OV before NSD. I'm going to disagree and I believe Urban is going to make that late push in the end and land this kid.  
• DE target Russel Ude isn't likely to end up in this class. He's committed to Cal and will visit the Golden Bears next weekend. That visit should effectively end his recruitment. I'm going to disagree here. This might be a candidate for a flip here. He visits us tomorrow and visited Oregon last weekend. If we make a strong impression tomorrow on this end, we might be able to flip him to us.

I didn't add Richard MacIntosh from Cardinal Gibbons because he's committed to us firmly and he visits us tomorrow.

Recruiting news 1/21/15

There are 13 days left for recruiting before NSD on February 4th. I came across something this morning from SFBayCane on Canestime about a kid named Adrienne Talon LB from Flanagan. 

According to him, we decided to pass on this kid without hesitation. This guy now has an offer from TCU, whom he visited on January 16th, and will visit Temple next weekend for the final visit before NSD. 

Once again, it seems to me that Al and D have no clue about recruiting in South Florida. They both have the Penn State mentality under Paterno. 

The question he's asking and I'm sure many of us are as well is: "Why then does he prefer larger, slower linebackers??" 

We know the D has failed and failed miserably on Al's watch. 

Visits this week are: 

• Lawrence Cager WR Towson (MD) Calvert Hall College - Committed to us on 1/3 at the Army Game. The other serious contender for him is Bama. Prediction: CANE
• Shelton Johnson DE Delray Atlantic - Besides us, there are two other serious contenders in the mix here in FSU (which is the favorite to get him, and whom he visits next weekend for the final visit before NSD), Michigan (whom he visited last week), and Virginia Tech (out of the running). Prediction: FSU
• Michael Jackson CB Birmingham (AL) Spain Park - Committed to us back in October. Clemson is a long shot to possibly flip him, but I don't see that happening. Prediction: Sticks with CANE commitment
• Kevin Scott DT Los Angeles (CA) Bishop Mora Salesian - Besides us, the other four contenders for him are Purdue (visited them last week), San Diego State, USC (the odds on favorite to land him), and Ole Miss (who gets the last visit before NSD). Prediction: Scott stays out West to go to SC.  

For the visits, especially with Johnson and Scott, we need to make an impression on both, but especially Scott, if we don't land Rasheem Green from California on the DL.