Preview of CANES 2014 Regular season finale vs Pitt

Take on last night's loss to FSU

My take on last night's loss to FSU with a report card. One of the toughest losses I've seen from us since 1999 vs Penn State at home.

CANES vs FSU preview

Latest recruiting news 2/1/14

We did get David Njoku out of NJ last night. Its a nice pickup for us here. He'll bring a lot to the table and we're going to put him at TE. 

It seems that QB Malik Rozier from Mobile (AL) Faith Christian visited us two weeks ago officially and will be a Hurricane come NSD on Wednesday. That was insurance in case Kaaya bolted, which he didn't, though he was very close to bolting to Boise. We have four QBs on the roster (Williams, Olsen, Kaaya, and Rozier). 

At the WR spot, having Brandon Berrios from NC really helps. Him enrolling early and on campus, is a boost to us here. This is a kid that will have an immediate impact for us here. The same can be said for Darrell Langham, who's the tallest WR we have right now. 

It looks like barring any last minute snafu, we will also sign Tyre Brady from Homestead South Dade. There's a possibility according to David Lake of ITU, that Trayone Gray might not qualify. If his grades are good, he'll be here. 

We did lose Lockley to Marshall. However, we also have Chris Herndon from Norcross (GA) in the fold with Njoku's addition last night. We're good there. 

On the OL, having both McDermott and Darling on campus already really helps here. With the addition of Gibbons and Nick Linder, they will have their 'ships soon. Its a formality on Wednesday, when they will be officially CANES. 

On the DL, We have Chad in the fold, as my source told me a few weeks ago would happen, though Bama and FSU made runs at him late, in the end, we'll likely hold them off. New development in the Travonte Valentine front. It seems, according to Lake, that Anthony Moten is making a very strong push to get Valentine here. Make no mistake, getting Valentine is a MUST and you can see we're pulling out all the stops necessary to get him. The question is will it be enough come Wednesday Morning? All hands on deck inside the Football offices at the Hecht/Schwartz Center. 

According to Jamie Newberg, Demetrius Jackson will take an official to Texas, if he hasn't already. At the end of the day though, look for Jackson to be a CANE. 

It's going to be more important to get Valentine in this class because just yesterday, Michael Wyche de-committed because of an ACC rule, per Barry Jackson in the Herald. Losing Wyche hurts, but losing Valentine would be devastating, in addition to Wyche.

At LB, we have Young and Owens on campus already. Its a lock to have Mike Smith from MNW on Wednesday and he will play right away. We had to hold off Louisville and Arkansas for him. As for McCray out of Pompano Beach Ely, Bama and LSU are players for him as well. McCray hasn't tipped his hand as of yet, but look for him to be a CANE come Wednesday. 

In the Secondary, it was a coup to get the best player in NJ in Kiy Hester. According to Dieter Kurtenbach, it seems that Marques Gayot will be a CANE come Wednesday as well. That's big right there because it adds more depth to the secondary. 

Latest recruiting news 1/30/14

Per Caneinsider this morning: Valentine has officially cancelled the OV for tomorrow, This confirms what Ryan Bartow said yesterday. So on Wednesday, its expected that Valentine will commit to LSU. As I said yesterday, this is a HUGE LOSS and Al's rep as a closer just took a big time hit with it.

To me, its yet another example of why still having D'Onofrio on this staff is killing us in recruiting. This really hurts because its in a NEED AREA: DL. Heads need to roll inside the football offices of the Hecht/Schwartz Center(s) for this one. 

A loss like this of a stud DT is going to take another 3-5 years to recover from. Anyone that thinks losing Valentine is no big deal needs to have their heads examined. This is a stud, a gamechanger in South Florida that's about to get away. Valentine going elsewhere sends a message to this staff, but D specifically: "I don't want to play in your defensive scheme." Bottom line, this loss hurts big time. DTs like Valentine don't come around every day. That's a once every 5-10 year type of player. 

We had the heavy hitters, but in the end, it seems that it wasn't enough. When Al flirted with Penn State, Valentine de-committed and the damage was done.

On another front, I was just told a few minutes ago by another reliable source that Brad Kaaya was likely gone. However, his source was incorrect. Kaaya put the rumors to bed with this tweet a few minutes ago: "I will be signing the National Letter of Intent issued to me by the University of Miami on National Signing Day February 5th" . It seems that while Boise State made a late push for him, his tweet puts that possibility of him bolting to Boise to bed for good.

However, Kaaya's teammate, Brayden Lenius has cancelled his trip to Coral Gables tomorrow and will be going up to Seattle instead to visit UW. That trip was set up by Kaaya as he didn't want to leave him at the altar sorta speak.

We will not lose Kaaya after all. 

Latest recruiting news 1/23/14

Here's the latest recruiting news from The U:

An article from Bleacher Report, per Peter Ariz of CanesInsight.com on our chances to land top recruits still on our radar.

1. Travonte Valentine - DT Hialeah Champagnat - We're sending the heavy hitters on Defense here (D, Franklin, Williams, and Hurlie). Tomorrow will be an important day because that's when Valentine will be in Baton Rouge on an OV. If he comes back to Miami without saying he's going to LSU, our chances go up on NSD to land him. This, for The U, is the #1 priority to land this kid. Not landing this kid means this class is mediocre at best. Landing this kid, makes this class great. Valentine is a MUST GET here. Chances of getting him: 55%. 
2. Gavin Bryant - LB Jackson (AL) - A Tennessee commit here. We're going to get him to listen as Al and Company will pursue him, but at the end of the day, look for him to remain at Tennessee. Chances of him: Just about 0%. 
3. J.C. Jackson - ATH Immokalee - Right now, we are in the lead for him. However, look for this to be settled on NSD. Jackson's dad, Chris, told Luke Stampini, that the Gators and Muschamp made a visit. Something very interesting, FSU hasn't made a move yet, according to Mr. Jackson. He already visited us back on Dec 13, and was in Gainesville last week on an OV. Chances of landing him: 40%
4. Treon Harris - ATH BTW - As I said last week, Auburn is a player here as well as UF. Harris' Brother (Brandon - Former CANE), said to Safid Deen last week in the Herald that he's "open to listening to [the 'Canes], but they’re trying to make up a lot of ground in a short time." . Though he's currently committed to FSU, Auburn, I believe is going to make a very strong play for him, as I was told on by a source very close to BTW and Ice. Don't be shocked if he ends up at Auburn in the end. Chances of getting him: 15%
5. Brayden Lenius - WR West Hills (CA) Chaminade - He's visited Washington State already, and will visit the Twin Cities tomorrow for an OV there at Minnesota. We get the last shot with a visit from him next weekend. This is a teammate of Brad Kaaya, who has committed to us for a while now. This looks like a package deal here. If we get Kaaya, as expected, then Lenius will come here as well. Chance of getting him: 90%

Here's the link to the article from Bleacher Report.