2008 Miami Hurricanes Preview

The future looks bright for the Miami Hurricanes. The present? Not so much. Despite the school’s first losing season in a decade, second-year coach Randy Shannon managed to pull together a 33-man recruiting class that was ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPN.com. Coupled with the young talent already on the roster, the Hurricanes are shaping up to be a player in the conference and national championship races within a year or two.

Two Minute Drill

A Quick Look at the Hurricanes

There are so many unknowns surrounding the Hurricanes that it’s hard to see any outcome besides another rebuilding — and, maybe, losing — season before the program can regain its footing. The biggest question is at quarterback, where the three main candidates for the starting job do not have a single down of college experience among them. With inexperience also ruling among the team’s receivers, tailbacks Javarris James and Graig Cooper will be asked to carry the offense. If they can’t, Miami could have as much problem scoring as it did last season. The defense, under the direction of first-year coordinator Bill Young, has experience but lacks big-time playmakers. With a 33-man recruiting class that was ranked No. 1 by ESPN.com, more than one-third of Miami’s roster will be made up of true freshmen. That bodes well for the future, but not the 2008 season. That youth will be tested quickly with games at Florida and Texas A&M in September. Another tough season could push coach Randy Shannon closer to the hot seat. With only three years remaining on his contract and a new athletic director taking over at Miami, Shannon may begin to feel some heat if his team doesn’t show improvement. With a roster as green as grass, that may not be easy.

“This can be the foundation, the core of starting something really, really special,” Shannon says of the incoming recruiting class. “If you have this kind of depth in one class, that’s really huge for the success of where you want to go in the future. We’ve got stability, and now it’s preparing us for the next step of what we’re trying to get done.”

What Miami wants to get done is regain the national prominence it had not too long ago. A series of disappointing seasons was capped by last year’s 5–7 campaign that ended with six losses in the last seven games. Another difficult season appears to be on the horizon thanks to a lack of experience on both sides of the line and the absence of proven playmakers.

Nowhere is the inexperience more noticeable than at quarterback. The Hurricanes’ four scholarship quarterbacks have yet to play their first down of college football. On defense, Miami saw its two best players — defensive end Calais Campbell and safety Kenny Phillips — skip their final seasons to enter the NFL. In addition, the Canes will be working under their third defensive coordinator in three seasons.

Several of the incoming freshmen who participated in spring practice played well and gave hope that the future is in good hands.

Quarterbacks

Not since 1983 has Miami opened the season with a starting quarterback lacking a single down of college football experience. But that’s a certainty in 2008 with a trio of freshmen — Robert Marve, Jacory Harris and Cannon Smith — battling for the No. 1 job. Marve, who broke Tim Tebow’s state high school passing records as a senior at Tampa Plant, is the favorite to win the position. Marve, son of former NFL linebacker Eugene Marve, might have played a lot last season if not for a summer car accident that mangled his left (non-throwing) hand and forced him to redshirt. He showed no ill effects from the injury during spring practice and played better than Harris and Smith, who both enrolled in January. The tall, lanky Harris led Miami Northwestern to a 30–0 record over two seasons and did not appear overwhelmed during spring practice. Smith is likely slotted for the No. 3 job.

Running backs

Tailbacks Javarris James and Graig Cooper will be relied on to shoulder much of the offensive load with a freshman starting quarterback and little proven experience at receiver. James followed a strong freshman debut with a sophomore slump because of a neck injury that dogged him all season. While not as fast or explosive as his cousin Edgerrin, James is plenty capable when healthy. Cooper is explosive but appeared to wear down the more work he got. To overcome those durability issues, Cooper added nearly 15 pounds of muscle during the offseason. Shawnbrey McNeal, a two-time Texas state high school sprint champion, may be the fastest player on the roster and showed flashes in limited action.

Receivers

There are plenty of candidates for starting jobs, but it’s anyone’s guess who will secure those roles. Sam Shields, a speedy talent who has had trouble staying out of Shannon’s doghouse, is the only receiver on the roster who caught more than 11 passes last season. Khalil Jones is the team’s most experienced receiver, but he has only eight career receptions and has shown a penchant for dropping the ball. Leonard Hankerson got plenty of opportunities as a freshman but would have been better served by redshirting. There’s plenty of young talent coming in with seven receivers among the team’s recruiting class. Aldarius Johnson enrolled early and was impressing until dropping two passes in the Spring Game. The speedy Ryan Hill, who only had 19 receptions in his first two seasons, was moved to cornerback during the spring. The tight end trio of Chris Zellner, Richard Gordon and Dedrick Epps caught a combined 22 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Offensive linemen

The young quarterbacks will need to be protected, and they’ll have a couple of good bookend tackles in Jason Fox and Reggie Youngblood. Fox has started since the day he stepped on campus and has bulked up past 300 pounds without losing any of his agility or balance on the left side. Youngblood appears ready to match some of the expectations held for him coming out of high school. The best lineman on the roster may be left guard Orlando Franklin, who has the ability to physically overwhelm his opponents. The only thing keeping Franklin from being a star is experience. Xavier Shannon, the coach’s son, figures to be the center after transferring in from Florida International, where he started for three seasons. Joel Figueroa took hold of the right guard spot during spring practice.

Defensive linemen

More questions on this unit than a game of Jeopardy. Eric Moncur has been solid at left end when he’s healthy, but that hasn’t been often. He might not be big enough to be an every-down player. Allen Bailey grew too big at linebacker and was turned into a defensive end, where he dominated during spring practice. Bailey will likely share the right end spot with Courtney Harris, who has also been dogged by injuries. Coaches say the key to the line is heavyweight Antonio Dixon, a physical talent with weight and conditioning concerns. When Dixon is playing full speed, he’s a disruptive force. Joe Joseph and Dwayne Hendricks will battle for playing time inside, but all eyes will be on Marcus Forston, considered to be one of the top defensive line recruits in the nation.

Linebackers

Initially, the starting trio will likely consist of Colin McCarthy, Darryl Sharpton and Glenn Cook. But that’s not where the excitement is. Sean Spence and Arthur Brown, a pair of early enrollees, were the hit of spring practice and will play major roles immediately. Both could use some physical maturity, but their playmaking ability and natural skills assure them of serious playing time. McCarthy looks solid on the strong side and came up with some of the few big plays pulled off by the defense last season. Sharpton and Cook have tons of experience, although they haven’t proven to be difference-makers.

Defensive backs

Like at virtually every other position group on the roster, the secondary is looking for someone who can make the big play. The team’s cornerbacks and safeties weren’t awful, ranking 35th nationally in pass defense, but only 61st in passes intercepted. Most everybody is back with the exception of Phillips. With Phillips gone, a combination of Lovon Ponder, Anthony Reddick and Randy Phillips will share most of the duties at safety. Reddick hasn’t played much in three seasons because of knee injuries. Phillips was moved to safety from cornerback early last season and played well. Bruce Johnson is the team’s best one-on-one defender. Maturity has been an issue in the past, although Johnson may be overcoming that. DeMarcus Van Dyke started eight times as a true freshman and acquitted himself well. Chavez Grant usually starts as a nickel back and is solid.

Specialists 

The kicking game is as unsettled as anything else. Shannon would rather not use the same player to punt and placekick, but he may not have a choice. Punter Matt Bosher finished strong last season after a slow start and could add field goal duties to his responsibilities. Miami has not returned a kickoff or punt for a touchdown since Devin Hester left two years ago.

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