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Al Golden Camp Observations (June 1st)

Al Golden Camp Observations (June 1st)

Peter Ariz
Peter Ariz

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He is on all 8... there are a few clips in his highlights I believe the 3rd or 4th video shows him on punt and they fake it on a direct snap to him and he runs it back 65 yards for a touch down. there is also one of him blowing a kid up on kick off allowing a huge gain on his side. They have him on the outside for field goal so there wasnt much big highlights but you are correct I should put one or two in for him to show versatility.
 
shysdad said:
that is funny you say that. We went for a visit with BC and the coaches said he was the same size and build as KPL...at 4 years younger than KPL. They took him in and showed us film of KPL and said we want you to come here and do exactly what we have KPL doing. Oh and they wear the same number... they also gave Shy number 24 at the Al Golden camp not sure if that was on purpose but Shy was saying its a sign I belong here
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Thats Awesome! yeah i soon as i started watching the film the similarities hit me instantly. I see shy as a 4 star LB and that is what KPL was as well. i didnt even notice the number until later and i wondered if that was someone he idols a little bit. I know who he has the ability to be great and will be great. his instincts and acceleration at the point of attack is what sets him apart and that he can see the play before it happens thats a great sign. he could be a 3 star RB as well if he wanted too.
 
He was a back up last year...this year he will be the main running back..he averages 5.3 yards for 3 years on 113 carries he is looking forward to more time this year....but he likes linebacker better he likes hunting quarter backs and running backs in the back field
 
Mr.Brewer...Shyheim reminds me of current Cane Darrion Owens. Also, take note of Owens' special teams play:

[video=youtube;UYkPn5aiz-A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYkPn5aiz-A[/video]
 
Thank you I am sure Shy will be honored to be compared to him when he sees this this afternoon.
 
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Best of luck to you guys. Solid film. Stay persistent.
 
Pretty dope that we have a prospect here and talking to us.
 
Kevin said:
Pretty dope that we have a prospect here and talking to us.
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Good lord, could you imagine if that became a trend?

I'd like to discuss Gibson's comments about playing in a Spread offense only with him...see where his head is at.
 
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It's great that a Prospect and his father came in here and really squashed the Camps don't mean shizz crowd. Shy & his father are exactly what these camps are for, hopefully Shy will continue to stay in contact with the staff and vise versa to earn a scholly from Miami. Shy's highlights look really solid and he would be a great addition to the team imho.

Keep the nose in the books and working on what Barrow (my favorite CANES LB when I was in High School) says you need to and the sky is the limit. Good Luck and God Bless!!
 
AsylumGodfather said:
It's great that a Prospect and his father came in here and really squashed the Camps don't mean shizz crowd. Shy & his father are exactly what these camps are for, hopefully Shy will continue to stay in contact with the staff and vise versa to earn a scholly from Miami. Shy's highlights look really solid and he would be a great addition to the team imho.

Keep the nose in the books and working on what Barrow (my favorite CANES LB when I was in High School) says you need to and the sky is the limit. Good Luck and God Bless!!
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exactly the point i made earlier in the thread. these camps are for kids to get exposure and to get tips from college coaches. obviously even the best most well known prospects benefit from coaching pointers but its a tradeoff for them. for kids that need exposure this is a godsend.
 
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Yes thats exactly the way I feel about the camps. Kids up here in the north east get recruited by the local schools only. If your coach knows someone they may get the word out. We went to rivals and the coach that worked with Shy all day sang his praises pulled him aside after and told us he was the prototypical Linebacker and took coaching well. He said Shys size at 16 is college ready not to mention where he will be in another 14 months or 3 years. I have emailed and spoke to rivals 100 times...you think they could even bother rating him? nope. I havent spoken to one coach that doesnt think he is a great college prospect. Without this camp Miami wouldnt even know who Shy was. Even if he doesnt get an offer he knows what a college staff thinks of him and what he can do to be a better player. Plus there was a coach from FIU there who loved Shy it exposed him to a few different staff opinions and thoughts
 
shysdad said:
Yes thats exactly the way I feel about the camps. Kids up here in the north east get recruited by the local schools only. If your coach knows someone they may get the word out. We went to rivals and the coach that worked with Shy all day sang his praises pulled him aside after and told us he was the prototypical Linebacker and took coaching well. He said Shys size at 16 is college ready not to mention where he will be in another 14 months or 3 years. I have emailed and spoke to rivals 100 times...you think they could even bother rating him? nope. I havent spoken to one coach that doesnt think he is a great college prospect. Without this camp Miami wouldnt even know who Shy was. Even if he doesnt get an offer he knows what a college staff thinks of him and what he can do to be a better player. Plus there was a coach from FIU there who loved Shy it exposed him to a few different staff opinions and thoughts
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I'm not a shill for any website, first and foremost...but Rivals isn't the only game in town. See if you can get in touch with some of the talent evaluators at 24/7, ESPN, or even Scout. If he gets ranked on one site, usually the others follow eventually.

Throw those guys a line and see if something comes of it if Rivals won't get off their ***.
 
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To be honest it doesnt matter any more... Shy has always wanted to be a Hurricane he loved the campus and the staff he met. He has met the Syracuse coaches and we are camping there and visiting the 21st of this month. There isnt another college he wants to play for. If FSU or Bama called he would still choose Miami or Syracuse. He wants to play somewhere that appreciates him and wants him. He doesnt want to go to a place where he is just a number. I only mention the lack of ranking as it goes to my point that these camps are the only option if you have a high school coach without the connections.
 
Shysdad thanks for joining the board. I will share a few things that could help you and your son out both on the field and academically

1) in terms of SAT/ACT prep testing, there is a free testing called www.number2.com it was started by guys from Yale. They are so good at testing that the College Boards ( organization that administers the ACT/SAT/GRE/GMAT etc) contacted them an nw they write some of the questions on the actual tests. The benefits usng the site is they offer free prep testing that is interactive and strength based; it takes a baseline assessment then tailors the testing to improve the students weaknesses. Also the site will explain any wrong answers and most likely why you thought it was correct. Also someone can be designated as a proctor to receive emailed progress reports on the student.

2) have shy take Salsa dancing lessons from a professional studio for at least 3 months once a week over the summer. This will teach him to be lighter on his feet while shifting his body weight for quicker change of direction while opening his hips more. Ultimately this will translate into shorter area quickness and flexibility which is what you need in both pass coverage and change of direction pursuit of a shifty ball carrier ( this will prevent broken ankle syndrome when attempting to tackle in space). For instance NFL WR Keshawn Johnson was kicked off dancing with the stars because he was to stiff, yet WR Hines Ward, WR Jerry Rice, RB Emmit Smith, and DT Warren Sapp all were successful at Dancing with the Stars because they are flexible in the hips and lite on their feet.


3) Also Shy should take some Martial Arts training over the summer in particular hand to hand fighting techniques ( not all martial arts cover this so you need to find one in your area that does that specifically). This will improve his ability to quickly shed blockers by defeating their hands while in the same motion using leverage to move past them. NFL Hall Fame Defensive End Randy White was one of the first players to incorporate martial arts into his game, and it led to his career to the HOF.

[video=youtube_share;CMX1uYDiV5Q]http://youtu.be/CMX1uYDiV5Q[/video]
 
SHY said:
He was great he was at all the drills and took me aside for a while and worked with me one on one. Gave me a tour of the building and new fields. Gave me some things to work on. But overall he seemed like a great guy.
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6ft 1 215 and you run a 4.5 is this accurate> With that size and speed you could play mulitple positions
 
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Awesome thanks for the advise. I will talk to Shy tonite about the salsa dancing Im sure he will be all about it as on the flight home he was asking me about yoga to improve flexibily and what I thought about ballet. Shy did take martial arts for a couple years and has just run out of days to continue. he volunteers with the lowell police dept and runs an athletic program for grade school kids in the dare program during the summer and refuses to give it up. He does an sat prep class through the school and is actually taking the sat this saturday and the act the next saturday. We will see how he does and check that out. Shy recently was diagnosed with a learning disability. we had him tested in 9th grade and the school said he was fine he was grounded for a year and half cause we were told it was attitude problems. This year we had him tested privately and found the issue. He was given an iep for extended test times and we got him on some meds...its been a world of difference he has all b's this quarter and is doing great. His sat prep teacher said he should do fine. In mass the schools require you to take the core courses the ncaa requires just to graduate so as long as he can get his gpa up over the next 4 quarters he should be all set. I aslo spoke to the ncaa about a waiver for Shy and they said he was an excellent candidate for one. Shy was adopted by my wife when he was 4. I wont get into details as I believe Shy will tell his story when he is ready but I will tell you the horror of the first couple years of his life will astound you. It is amazing where he is from where he came. The ncaa legislative team said if a school submits a waiver he would most likely be approved...but right now we are planning on the way things have been going to take care of it. Most of the schools that have talked to Shy (BC Maryland Uconn UNH Umaine Rutgers Perdue Umass URI and a few others ) have said if he gets the B"S this quarter they will offer him at the end of this month. But again there is only a couple offers that count
 
He ran a 4.57 last year at uri he ran a 4.63 at the camp this weekend.. he did have a bad time at sparq a Delayed 6 hour flight would be my fault so he ran a 4.93...but he trains at velocity and runs 4.58 consistently... he has and does play a ton of positions and was even at tight end for a couple plays the end of the year. He told the coach he is playing quarter back for part of a game this year but the coach has yet to respond to that one. He is also 16 he had an xray last season and the doctor pointed out his growth plate isnt near closed he said expect 6'2 6'3 when he is done...he also gains 10 pounds of pretty much pure muscle every year so plan on 6'1 225 next year
 
UM has had several players come through that have had Learnng Disabilities.

http://hurricanewarriors.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=2&limit=1&limitstart=1



Hard life, gentle man: Miami Hurricanes' Antonio Dixon was homeless
By SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN
Posted on Thursday, 12.25.08

A Christmas tree adorned with red velvet ribbons and gold tinsel brightens a stark outdoor patio at the homeless assistance center in Overtown.

Suddenly, a towering young man in a baggy University of Miami sweat suit lumbers unexpectedly onto the grounds. Word spreads in whispers and shouts: Antonio Dixon is back!

Shelter employees stream out of the cafeteria. Homeless men, women and children excitedly wait their turns to hug the affable, 6-3, 326-pound Hurricanes defensive tackle who has overcome more adversity in his 23 years than most people face in a lifetime. His gap-toothed smile says he still feels comfortable at the place he once called home.

''He's hard to miss, right?'' jokes Dan Vincent, executive director of Community Partnership for Homeless. 'Let me put it this way, I've announced to my board and staff, `Always be looking on the football field for a young man named Antonio Dixon. He's one of ours and he's a real success story.' ''

That, he is -- whether or not he makes it onto an NFL field.

On Christmas Day, while Dixon's hero -- his mother, Corenthia -- prepares ham, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and cakes and pies for the other Dixon children, he will celebrate with his Hurricane family in San Francisco. Miami (7-5) plays California (8-4) in the Emerald Bowl at 8 p.m. Saturday at AT&T Field, so this year's Christmas will be far from home.

''I'm excited to be playing in a bowl game,'' says Dixon, a senior. ``But California is a long ride away. Last Christmas, we just ate and ate and ate. But I'll take the bowl game and less food. I feel very blessed to have one last chance to show how good I can play.''

Dixon does not speak those words the way most readers read them. He stutters severely. And though his speech impediment has improved from when he was a child, and sometimes even briefly disappears when he's especially comfortable, it still can be painful to witness. He slaps his thigh and chest when he can't get the words out, ''a habit I taught myself,'' he says with a grin.

`MY HERO'
His courage has been tested in many ways.

Dixon and his siblings spent much of their childhood homeless, attending countless schools and living in shelters in Miami and Atlanta -- ''in the hood,'' says his younger brother, Jarvis, an outgoing 18-year-old studying to get his GED. But they were always with their mother, never lived on the streets and usually had food in their bellies, he says.

''We ain't never slept under a bridge or nothing, but we went from house to house or shelter to shelter,'' Dixon says. ``My mama calls me every day. She's my hero. She went through a lot of stuff. I'll never forget where I came from and what I've been through. It motivates me and makes me a better person. It made me want more.

``I've been through the best and the worst.''

FORCED TO MOVE
After Dixon's grandmother died from AIDS in 1989, when he was 3, his mother was evicted from the low-income apartment her family shared with the grandmother in Liberty City. Corenthia Dixon dropped out of Miami Northwestern High when she was 15 and pregnant with Dixon's older brother, Darrell. Then she got pregnant with Antonio at age 17.

Next came Jarvis, followed by Mikesha, 14, and Michael Antoine, 10.

Together, the family moved countless times because Corenthia's fast-food jobs didn't pay enough to support them, or didn't last long enough. Records show that the Dixons stayed at the Overtown homeless shelter six times between December 1995 and March 2005 -- Antonio was at Milford (N.Y.) Academy by the last session, studying to improve his SAT scores so he could play football at UM.

DAD IMPRISONED
Antonio's father, former Miami Edison High linebacker Frazier Hawkins, is serving an 18-year prison term for a drug-related offense. Dixon hasn't seen his father, 45, since he was a sophomore at Miami Booker T. Washington High and his dad was moved from a Miami-Dade County facility to Jesup, Ga. The two speak weekly by phone. UM coach Randy Shannon also frequently speaks with Hawkins. The federal prison lists Hawkins' release date as September 2009, though Dixon said his father could be released as early as May.

''He was selling the worst of the worst -- crack,'' says Dixon, who adamantly adds he has seen enough in his life to stay far away from drugs. ``Sometimes you get mixed up in things trying to make fast money. He knows he did wrong. You get rapists and murderers in jail for five years. He was taking care of me. He wasn't a bad dad. He was paying my mama's rent and putting clothes on my back.''

`A SURVIVOR'
Shannon, who grew up fatherless and poor and also lost close family members to AIDS, has pushed Dixon to always strive higher.

''Tony's situation has been pretty tough,'' the coach says. ``He has been from shelter to shelter. He has a speech impediment but he doesn't shy away from people. He was homeless but he hasn't let it beat him. I talk to his father about how Tony is doing in school, and I update him about injuries. Tony is a survivor.''

Through all of Dixon's obstacles and triumphs, most believe his most impressive accomplishment is being on pace to earn his degree in May after he completes three more classes in the liberal-arts program. He has a learning disability in reading and works intensely with tutors and technology to help him improve.

''I'm very smart with things of that nature,'' boasts younger brother Jarvis. ``So sometimes Antonio calls me to help him spell something or find the right word.''

`HE KEEPS FIGHTING'
Coaches are especially fond of this gentle giant, who is not so gentle on the field. ''He's not a guy who is going to go in when you have a scrambling quarterback,'' Shannon says. ``Now, when it's a physical game -- two backs, smash-mouth football -- you're going to see a lot of Antonio Dixon because his big body won't get moved off the football.''

Dixon has sustained various injuries, including partially torn medial and posterior collateral ligaments in his left knee last season. But he said he feels great now, having dropped 34 pounds from the 360-pound frame he had when he first arrived on campus in 2005.

This season, Dixon has started four games. He rotates at left tackle every two series. His 21 tackles include three for losses and a prized fumble recovery against Wake Forest, a night he couldn't stop smiling when interviewed afterward.

''He has pushed through and not let anything bury him or keep him down,'' says defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, who believes Dixon can get to the pros. ``Even when sometimes you'd think it would be too much for him to bear, he keeps fighting. He doesn't want to fail.''

`TEARS TO MY EYES'
Corenthia Dixon, 41, cried at UM's Senior Day at Dolphin Stadium.

'I was so proud, thinking, `This is my baby,' '' says Antonio's mother, who now works part-time in the cafeteria of the homeless shelter that took them in. She lives in Liberty City with her youngest children and boyfriend, David Howard, a construction worker who helps support them.

''Every time I think of Tony it brings tears to my eyes,'' Corenthia says. 'Because of the living we had to go through, being homeless, I only hoped Tony wouldn't drop out of school. That's what he kept saying, `I'm going to drop out to help you.' And we'd keep saying, 'No, no, no. Finish school and play football. That's what you love to do.' ''

Corenthia describes Antonio as calm, gentle and funny. ``He was always worried about us. He's a mama's boy. He likes to laugh, he likes to dance, loves video games and cartoons -- Dragonball Z.''

`BIG BABY'
She says his speech problems began early.

'He started stuttering when he was young, and the kids would tease him and he'd come home and cry. I'd say, `Don't pay them no attention. Just talk the best way you can.' Pretty soon they were his friends.''

Years later, when Dixon was a freshman at Booker T., the other football players asked him to repeat various football plays, and he did, with long, drawn-out stutters. They gathered around him and began laughing, Corenthia recalls, and Antonio began to cry. Thus was born the nickname ``Big Baby.''

''He never lashed out,'' his mother says, ``and they became his friends, too.''

`A REAL GOOD MAN'
At the shelter, Dixon and his siblings were well-behaved and appreciative, says Val Cureton, director of operations for Community Partnership for Homeless. Several shelter employees who follow Dixon's football career are thrilled that one of their own is thriving.

''I'm so pleased he has grown up to be a real good man,'' says Alfredo Brown, Community Partnership's deputy director. ``I feel like he's a second son of mine.''

Gloria Blue, the homeless shelter's assistant food service manager, remembers Dixon confiding in her when he was 10 or 11.

''He'd grab my legs and talk to me,'' she says. ``He had fear. He was worried about the future and what his life would be like.

'I'd tell him, `Keep the faith and good things will follow. God opens doors.' ''

 
great story. Shy hasnt had the long term problems but he had a rough start. It is hard to believe but early things like that can be life time problems. He has turned out very good for what he has been through. My wife adopted another boy who is 11 he is having a very hard time and will probably never be right but we keep trying.
 
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