Part 1 of the 12 part 2014 Miami Hurricane Opponent Video Series - @Louisville 9/1

 

2014 Louisville Cardinals Football Preview

Today, I return with the 2014 edition of the 12 part opponent video series. In part 1, I’m going to talk a little about the Louisville Cardinals, our opponent on Labor Day Night on ESPN at 8 p.m. from Papa John’s Stadium in Louisville, KY.

Lets first look at their Talent:

You would think that Louisville dominated in South Florida recruiting for years and for the most part, they did, however, when you deeper here, especially the last five years, they pull a recruiting class ranked in the middle of the road anywhere from the 30s through the 50s But from 2009-2014, their classes were ranked an average of No. 43, again at the middle of the road. You would think under former boss Charlie Strong that it would be a hindrance, but it clearly wasn’t. In the Big East and later in the American Conference, they were at the top in recruiting; however, now being in the ACC, while their talent is 44^th nationally, they always seem to get the most out of their personnel. However, going into this season, they had some losses on both sides of the ball. In 2014, they’ll return just 53 percent of key offensive production stats and 56 percent of key defensive production. Both numbers are well below average in the ACC, which, as a conference, has the least returning total production of any power conference.

Next, I want to talk about the Coaching:

When you look at it, the timing for Strong to bolt for Austin was perfect. He did what he could winning consistently in the BE/American and going to the ACC might have taken some of the good things he did in building the Cardinals into a National power. Now, re-enter, in this case, In Bobby Petrino. This guy is a proven winner everywhere he’s gone. Look at what this man did at Arkansas in a top notch conference like the SEC and the opponents he faced every year in LSU, Bama, Auburn, etc. However, at WKU, he slipped a bit, in 2014, many people will give him a pass, however, and that won’t be the case next year.

Now, to their 2014 Schedule:

Welcome to the ACC, Louisville. You only have the toughest schedule in the league, based on opposing talent and coaching. With six road games, which include 4 on the road in 5 weeks, they’ll understand very quickly that this isn’t the Big East/American conference anymore.

They get us (CANES) as stated earlier on Labor Day night on ESPN. We have back 75 percent of our offense, while they will be adjusting to a new coach (Petrino) and the experience on defense isn’t all there.

As for the rest of the schedule, expect the Cards to bounce back and blast Murray in Week 2 off a short week, before having some tough road games. They should win most of them though.

In week 3, they go to Charlottesville to face Virginia. Mike London and his guys have been stockpiling the talent there for a few years now, some in Charlottesville are questioning the game day coaching there. This is a big game early for London and his crew, knowing he’s on the hot seat up there (which I’ll go more into in Part 11 of the series), I’ll go with the Cavs over the Cardinals in that one. It’s early and I’ll stick with UVa.

In week 4, they go to Miami, not to play the CANES, but play across town vs. FIU. This is a game Louisville should win handily and to boot, it’s a payback game for the Cards as well.

In week 5 at Wake Forest, they are 72^nd nationally in talent and they have a new coach to boot. This is a game Louisville should win easily.

In this scenario, I have Louisville at 3-2 heading to the Carrier Dome to play Syracuse on a Friday Night in Week 6, in what could be a potential trap game. While the Orange will be decided underdogs at home, Scott Shafer had a great first year in 2013 leading the Orange. With a huge showdown in Death Valley the following week, this could be trouble, that said, in a tough game, the Cardinals find a way to win in the Dome.

In Week 7, the trip to Death Valley will be no fun for Petrino and Co., Clemson takes advantage of the fact that the Cards are finishing up a tough stretch of 4 games in 5 weeks, and Clemson should win handily in this one. 

In Week 8, with NC State coming to Papa John’s stadium, the question will be how they mentally off a tough stretch of games on the road are. Petrino will have them ready to play and the crowd on their side as a 12^th man, Louisville gets it done vs. the Wolfpack. 

After the bye in Week 9, in Week 10, they only host the defending National Champions in FSU. If Teddy Bridgewater had come back for his senior year, this is a blockbuster matchup. But with Bridgewater and some key pieces from the 2013 team gone, this is a game FSU wins going away.

After another Bye in Week 11, in week 12, Louisville makes the trip to Chestnut Hill to take on BC. While the Eagles surprised some folks last year, this year for them, is in rebuild mode. After smarting from a beat down loss to the Noles, two weeks earlier, the Cards should roll in this one. Louisville should be 6-4, heading to its final bye week.

The Cardinals come out of the bye in week 14 with another road game, this time, against a top-10 recruiter in Notre Dame in South Bend. If there’s a game Louisville could realistically steal, this game is it. However, at the end of the day, have to go with the Irish at home in a close one.
The final game of the 2014 regular season is against Kentucky at Papa John’s Stadium. Usually, this game had been played early in the year, but this year, they close with the Wildcats. Louisville is too strong for the ‘Cats, which is about another 2-3 years away from being really good. Cards win handily here to finish 7-5 in Petrino’s first season back in Louisville.

My prediction on the Game vs. CANES:

I like us to win this game and get Al that signature road win we’ve been missing in his tenure in Coral Gables.

In Part 2 of the 2014 series, I will talk about the FAMU Rattlers, our opponent in the Home Opener on Sept 6^th at Sun Life Stadium.

My take on the Six sites Beckham Group has identified for New Stadium

Last week, David Beckham and his group ID'ed 6 sites. Yesterday, Barry Jackson in the Herald pointed out that UM and the Beckham group had talks, that are in their infancy right now. The idea is to have 40K for a new stadium. Beckham wants a marquee tenant to join him in his stadium and what bigger marquee name is there than UM Football.

That said, these are the Sites that were mentioned last week in the Herald and what it could mean for UM Football:

PORT OF MIAMI - This has been the main area of the Beckham Group. 

WHY IT COULD WORK: 

• Beckham has some heavy hitters in play here, which include:
• Simon Fuller, who is Beckham’s longtime business partner
• Marcelo Claure, the Miami-based billionaire who heads a global wireless distributor. 
• They believe this site could work here. 
• This is owned by Miami-Dade county. so all that would have to be done here is sign a land deal once, instead of going through hoop after hoop. It’s very close to Biscayne Boulevard (via a Walking bridge), and has access to parking and the Metromover. 
• Not to mention the views of Downtown Miami is second to none. 
• They could build a mega-yacht marina that would have lots of restaurants and shops, which planners, have thought about for this site. 
• A landscaped pedestrian bridge to Dodge Island, and the location could become a gathering place, according to Carlos Gimenez in the Herald.

Close to UM Campus 

WHY IT MIGHT NOT:

• Currently proposed is an existing seaport master plan which promises commercial development. Included in that plan are:
• Offices
• Hotel 
• From a port perspective, Badly-needed revenue would be coming in. A lease for a stadium that could have MLS and UM, would not be able to match it. 
• Critics have said that the proposed pedestrian bridge would probably have a grade of some sort — making the walk to the stadium more of a hike — and be challenging in the summer heat and humidity and especially when UM begins their season in September.
• According to Beckham, he believes that a seaport location would not be able to compete with the Miami Heat for sports fans or concert bookings. However, if you listen to the some of the politicos in Miami-Dade, they have said that the issue of gridlock would happen when both the AAA and the new stadium, are hosting events (whether it be MLS or UM Football). 
• This would be the case when Heat open their season in November and UM has a game there as well. The big nightmare would be for the FSU game. 
• If you take what, the Chairperson of the Miami-Dade County Commission Rebeca Sosa says, then it carries a lot of weight. Her issue is the fact that she doesn't want tamp the growth of the Port. You have to remember as well, the tunnel that was forced on the taxpayers, only to have a stadium bring more cars in. This would be especially true for UM Football, and especially for the FSU game. She also wants the commissioners for the public's input (i.e. with a vote on any deal there). And she has suggested commissioners could ask for a public vote on any deal. Sosa said to a Spanish-language radio station two weeks ago: “I firmly believe the port is not an ideal location,  It’s going to bring more headaches.”
• Here's something to remember here: Even though that slice of land is owned by Miami-Dade, Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado points out that it once deeded a portion of the seaport to Miami-Dade. A restriction in the deed requires the land to be used for port purposes. Otherwise, it’s possible it could revert to the city. 
• Lack of Mass Transit back to Broward and Palm Beach for Night Games. 

To me, right there, there are a couple of non-starters right there for UM with this site. 

BY MARLINS PARK

There are two locations near Marlins Park that have been discussed here. 

• 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 Jackson in the Herald, a county official told him that this site would be unlikely. 
• 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 either

WHY THEY 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 THEY MIGHT NOT

• For the first site, Beckham and his crew would have to deal with the city, 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 even to this day and still rankles the UM faithful even today. 
• Although Regalado said that no one has contacted him about that the site, and added that he would only consider it “if we have a referendum, and only if we can sell the land at market rate.” (“ Ese perro nos mordió ya,” he added in Spanish — literally, “that dog bit us already,” or been there, done that.) - Translation, no chance the stadium goes here on this site at all. 
• For the second site, the issue here 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. 
• The main problem with both these sites is that would have to deal with the same issues that haunt the Marlins, whose ballpark has had problems attracting fans as well as businesses to the neighborhood. The idea for the park was to be the engine for redevelopment and that has not happened as of yet. 
• 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. 

NEAR SCHOOL BOARD

Now, something of note here: The School Board owns a nearly two-acre parcel north of its downtown headquarters, which it uses as a parking lot, as well as several other small parcels nearby. This could be beneficial here. 

WHY IT COULD WORK: 

• It’s downtown
• There are a couple of Metromover stops in that area

• Close to 395. Those that drive from Broward and Palm Beach could get to this place easily
• Map A: West Palm Beach to this site

• Map B: Fort Lauderdale to this site

• Possible spots for Tailgating. 

WHY IT MIGHT NOT

• That parking-lot parcel the School board owns by itself won't cut it for a stadium. Beckham and his ground would have to gobble up a couple of privately owned properties — that would take too long for Beckham’s contract option to be exercised. Also, it would be too long for UM as well, if Beckham really wants UM as he says. 
• Who knows if the School Board even wants to talk with Beckham’s group and/or UM officials. They weren't too happy with the snub two weeks to Beckham's big announcement. As School board Chairwoman Perla Tabares Hantman said at a School Board meeting the next day. “I think they totally disrespected the board, And if we don’t demand respect, we’ll never get it.” 

That to me says, this site is pretty DOA. 

WYNWOOD

This is an interesting area to watch here. Beckham's group have identified about 12 acres on Northwest 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue that once comprised the Wynwood Foreign Trade Zone, a boondoggle economic development project that never got off the ground. However, with Beckham and the possibility of adding UM Football, there's some possibilities here. 

WHY IT COULD WORK:

• Two properties that have a single private owner, New York entrepreneur Moishe Mana.
• one 8 1/2 acres
• the other about 3 acres 
• On these sites, you have warehouses. 
• These warehouses served as TV and film production studios. 
• Miami-Dade County owns an additional acre or so of adjacent land.
• What it means is that any deal cuts out Miami-Dade. That would make Beckham, his group, and UM look like heroes from a political point of view. 
• Close to Campus (20 minutes)

• Easy to get to from Broward and Palm Beach
• Map A: West Palm Beach to this site:

• Map B: Fort Lauderdale to this site:

WHY IT MIGHT NOT:

• The site is not near any public transit and that's a big deal for Beckham, who said that he wants a site close to Mass Transit. Too long a walk. Nearest station on Metrorail is Santa Clara. 
• From Broward and Palm Beach, you would have to take Tri-Rail to Opa-Locka and then a bus from Opa-Locka Tri-Rail to NW 20th Street and NW 5th Place and walk 8 minutes to the site. 
• No service back to Broward and Palm Beach late Saturday Night. 
• For Beckham's group, they would have to pay more to get a lot of private land at the market rate.
• Once that's done, they would have to build a garage for parking. 
• Beckham's group will go with one or the other, but not both.  

What it means for UM, there are positives and negatives to this site. Though, if Beckham wants Mass Transit close by, then this is a no-go. This is a site to watch here. 

BY MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (East of Miami Central Station)

Former Miami Mayor and current County Commissioner Xavier Suarez asked Beckham’s group a while back to take a look at an 8 1/2-acre site belonging to the DOT and other private owners east of the Miami Intermodal Center (Miami Central Station), which is Miami International Airport’s car-rental and mass-transit hub.

WHY IT COULD WORK:

• It’s a central location with a neighboring Metrorail stop.
• Easy to get to by Mass Transit from Broward and Palm Beach (Noon and 3:30 pm kickoffs)
• Quick drive from UM to the site (20 minutes)
• Easy drive from Broward and Palm Beach. 

WHY IT MIGHT NOT:

• Suarez went with John Alschuler, the New York developer working for Beckham’s group, to the site. They both came to the conclusion that without the closure of a portion of NW 37th Avenue in that area, that stadium would not fit.
• Beckham and his group would have to fork over $80 million, just for a parking garage. According to Suarez, that would be in addition to buying the private property.
• Long trip from UM via Metrorail to Miami Central Station. 
• No mass transit back to Broward and Palm Beach from here after Night games. 

On this site, it could work for UM, but not for Beckham and his group. As close as this site is, at the end of the day, its a no go for this site. 

The way I see it. Of these sites, the best one with the most realistic shot for both Beckham and UM is the Wynwood site. Your takes. 

Here's the link to the article: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/09/3920167/david-beckham-investors-have-identified.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/09/3920167/david-beckham-investors-have-identified.html#storylink=cpy

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CANES recruiting class of 2014

Instead of who we didn't get, here's the list of who we got, with Videos of each:

Joseph Yearby - RB (Miami Central)



KC McDermott - OT (PBC)


Chad Thomas - DE (BTW)


Brad Kaaya - QB (West Hills [CA] Chaminade)


Trevor Darling - OT (Miami Central)


Trent Harris - DE (Winter Park)


Anthony Moten - DT (STA)


Kiy Hester - S (Wayne [NJ] DePaul Catholic)


Darrion Owens - LB (Orange Park Oakleaf)


Darrell Langham - WR (Lantana Santaluces)


Braxton Berrios - WR (Raleigh [NC] Leesville Road)


Travone Gray - WR (Carol City)


Nick Linder - OT (STA)

Tyre Brady - WR (Homestead South Dade)


Calvin Heurtelou - DT (Scottsdale CC)


Christopher Herndon - TE (Norcross [GA])


Demetrius Jackson - DE (BTW)


Michael Wyche - DT (East Los Angeles [CA] CC)


David Njoku - ATH (Cedar Grove [NJ])


Ryan Mayes - S (MNW)


Marques Gayot - S (Lake Worth Park Vista)


Mike Smith - DE (MNW)


Malik Rosier - QB (Mobile [AL] Faith Academy)


Terry McCray - LB (Pompano Beach Ely)


Juwon Young - LB (Albany [GA])


Courtel Jenkins - DT (Wayne [NJ] DePaul Catholic)

National Signing Day schedule Updates

Wednesday, Feb. 5 (National Signing Day)

Morning

J.C. Jackson has committed to Florida this morning.


Damian Prince has announced on ESPNU that he has committed to Maryland. 

Travonte Valentine has committed to LSU. 

Struck out on both JC and Valentine. Losing Valentine was HUGE because it was in a need position too: DT. In the end, we just couldn't overcome the rumors of Al threatening to leave for Penn State and him having the meetings the same Saturday as the Army caused Valentine to decommit that day. It wasn't enough in the end and Valentine is off to Baton Rouge as a result. 

Afternoon 

Myles Autry committed on ESPNU to Georgia Tech. 

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. 

My take on Travonte Valentine cancelling OV to Miami on Friday

NSD is 6 days away. However, according to Ryan Bartow this afternoon, Travonte Valentine has cancelled his OV to Coral Gables on Friday. Its expected now that when he makes that announcement on NSD, it will be LSU that he goes to.

We sent the heavy hitters on this one (Al, D, Jethro, Hurlie, Williams). The tide really turned when Valentine de-committed at the US Army game because of Golden having one foot out the door to Happy Valley and he met that Saturday with PSU officials in Miami. On that Sunday, when Golden gave Penn State a 4 p.m. deadline, PSU brass balked, and once Munchak was fired by Tennessee, everything changed dramatically, and in the end, PSU said no. Hence, the statement from Al that night that he was staying. However, the damage was already done with Valentine. 

On that Monday, in the interview with Joe Rose, he wasn't going to discuss PSU at all. When he defended D, to me and I've been a big supporter of Al through all this, it told me that kids weren't going to come here and play in D's failed scheme. 

How it relates to Valentine, Al and Hurlie went up to Palm Bay to meet with Valentine's mom yesterday or this morning. D and Jethro, according to Bartow, were at the Champagnat Hoops game last night meeting with Valentine's coach Mark Tunsil. 

Here's what it all tells me, once Al had one foot out the door, Valentine decided to walk and open up his recruitment. This is also a message to Al from the kids in the area, who are very smart, they don't want to play for D and with Valentine likely going to LSU, and the hat (Miles) is coming in tonight to meet with Valentine's mom, to likely seal the deal, is a major indictment on Al, D'Onofrio and the entire staff and why D needs to go yesterday. Al keeping D, to me, is scaring away top defensive recruits who have made it clear (See Bethel), they don't want to play for D and his system. 

This is a MAJOR loss, and those that say it isn't, is just fooling themselves. This was a player we could NOT afford to let get away and in a need area too. The fact that he's likely going to get away to me, speaks volumes about the ineptitude of this staff and Al's rep being a closer taking a big time hit here. The kids are starting to see through Al's sell job. This loss is clearly on Al because a) he had one foot out the door to Penn State, and B) having D still around. Also, this loss is also on Hurlie because this was his responsibility. 

Al and the staff better have someone in mind on the interior of the DL between now and 2/5, because losing Valentine is a MAJOR LOSS. To me, this sets us back at least 3-5 years. Valentine is that type of player that comes around once every 5-10 years.