Al Golden Camp Observations (June 1st)

Jun 1, 2014

**Most of the big names at the first Al Golden Football camp of the year were not participating unfortunately. It seems like each year we have seen a decrease in the number of top-flight prospects competing in camp mostly because they don’t think there is much to gain if they already have a Miami offer. Here are some notables who were on hand but did not participate:

Champagnat Catholic TE/DE Devonaire Clarington – Was getting major attention from Miami coaches as would be expected. Standish Dobard was seen conversing with Clarington, as well as Clive Walford for a short period.

Miramar OL Leeward Brown – The Miami commitment Brown was in attendance watching the offensive line group for most of the day. It would have been nice to see him in action in what was otherwise an underwhelming group of offensive linemen.

Royal Palm Beach LB Charles Perry – Perry committed to Miami at a camp last year and he looked thrilled walking around with his family and decked out in Canes gear. Al Golden pulled him and his family aside and was speaking to them for a few minutes. It is obvious that he remains a top priority for Miami as he continues to rack in impressive offers. Perry has a nice frame to work with.

Champagnat Catholic OL Chidi Valentine-Okeke (2016) – This was the sight of the day. Valentine-Okeke, who will be only a junior next season, might be the most physically imposing prospect I’ve ever seen. He is not far off in terms of size from Miami sophomore lineman Sonny Odogwu and he still has two years left of high school. He holds a Miami offer and I expect for him to rise up the national rankings once his time comes.

Champagnat Catholic WR Darnell Salomon (2016) – Yet another ultra-talented prospect from Champagnat, Salomon holds offers from the likes of LSU, Alabama, Florida, and Miami. Salomon was spending a lot of time with Miami freshman receiver Tyre Brady on the sidelines.

Coconut Creek WR Binjimen Victory (2016) – Miami offered Victor during the spring. He was there with two of his Coconut Creek teammates.

Coconut Creek CB Malek Young (2016) – Young will be a name to keep an eye on over the next few months.

**Here are some of the standouts who actually participated on Sunday:

Tampa Plant DT Kyle Henderson – Henderson lacks height at the defensive tackle spot, but is wide and can move very well. Although the offensive line group was not incredible, he dominated as he was supposed to. He is a plan-B type for Miami at the position.

Dwyer DE/OLB Alex Davis – Davis is a very intriguing prospect. He is 6-5, 210 and the captain of Dwyer’s basketball team. He won DL MVP today and his length was giving the offensive linemen fits. He is not there technique-wise, but showed a mean streak and could blossom into a major prospect over time.

Palmetto QB Jack Allison (2016) – Allison is the total package at QB. He is 6-5 with great arm talent and some mobility. Shows the ability to put touch on his passes as well. Coley was all over him.

Council Rock North (PA) QB Brandon McIlwain (2016) – McIlwain is one of the top-ranked players at his position for his class, so it was nice to see him make the trip down. Exceptional athlete who is still learning the position. He is more of a dual-threat guy so I’m not sure how he would fit in the offense, but extremely talented nonetheless.

Royal Palm Beach QB Toddy Centeio (2017) – I mentioned Centeio a few months back after seeing him at a couple of 7-on-7 events and he really impresses me each time I see him throw. His delivery is elongated right now, but that can be worked on. He has great am strength, athleticism, and size. It is crazy to think how good he can be in three years.

**Some high school coaches in attendance for today’s event include Tim Harris, Jr. (Booker T. Washington Head Coach), Roland Smith (Miami Central Head Coach), Mike Tunsil (Champagnat Catholic Head Coach), and Ahmad Ward (Homestead offensive coordinator). It is always a positive to have coaches from talent-producing schools out at camp. It gives them an up-close look at Miami coaches in action.

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shysdad

Jun 3, 2014

Im starting to feel like I blew up this thread into more than what I had meant to get into sorry

B
Bccrhp

Jun 3, 2014

shysdad said:
Im starting to feel like I blew up this thread into more than what I had meant to get into sorry

You obviously care a great deal about him, which reflects very well on both you. Best of luck, hopefully at UM but wherever he ends up.

JerseyCanes

Jun 3, 2014

shysdad said:
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

Man... I'll be Rooting for this kid wherever he ends up!!!!!!

(Except for UF..Sorry)

JC

BWCD

Jun 3, 2014

shysdad said:
Im starting to feel like I blew up this thread into more than what I had meant to get into sorry

Don't be. This is some good conversation, some of the best this place has seen in a good bit. It's a welcome diversion from the norm.

P
pb5cane

Jun 3, 2014

shysdad said:
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

Welcome to the board! I saw him out there Sunday. I thought he performed well. How were you able to get his 40 time?

shysdad

Jun 3, 2014

Thank you guys for all that. He is a great kid and a great leader. Just didnt want the post originator thinking I hijacked his thread. My main purpose in posting was to say the camps are great for the under recruited kids like Shy

Tad Footeball

Jun 3, 2014

Obviously just going by an initial impression but it'd be really nice to have more REAL mentors (and parents) like Shysdad here rather than our South Florida style of "mentoring". Best of luck to them as both kid and dad seem like quality individuals. Let's just hope that when Shy blows up that Condi Rice doesn't catch wind too!

shysdad

Jun 3, 2014

I timed it with a video app called ubersense... it allows you to video and break down the video pause replay slow motion to 1/8th speed. I stood behind the guy with the stop watch and videoed his hand movement with Shy in the back ground then stopped the play noted the time and slow motioned till he clicked again and subracted the time. Not exact to the running but should be exact to the clock they timed him with. Thanks I thought he performed well. It was funny in the one on ones he got smoked the first time up and he came back and the coach from FIU said what was that? You didnt even bump him. Shy said We can bump? I thought it was no contact? they sent him back out and that was the end of that he knocked the next three down at the line. But other than that one embarrassment I thought he had a great day.

Classic

Jun 3, 2014

Man, this is one heck of a thread.

Great insight into the under-recruited areas of the NE, and goes to the point some here had suggested, that the camps are a good opportunity for lesser known kids to get exposure, and for our staff to get on kids before they "blow up" on the national scene (if at all).

I was impressed by Shy's first step, and I think Pops is right; if his surrounding casts' sacks and stats improved, it had a little something-something to do with that man Shy.

Sounds like a great kid with determination and passion.

I hope Shy continues to stay focused and improve his game. And I hope that Miami extends him an offer in the coming months. He has the physical tools, has great acceleration and form, and perhaps more importantly, the type of hard working/killer mentality that appears to characterize our 2014 class.

Thanks for being a good and supportive father, Shysdad. We need more of you around, especially in SoFla, but certainly across the nation.

I've just got to say. If Miami offers, The U > 'Cuse by any metric I can consider. We have a painful history of talented kids identifying Miami as their "dream school" and then spurning us in the end. Don't let Shy be another. (Just playin', but not really, hah).

Again, good on you both, and God bless.

shysdad

Jun 3, 2014

I took him to south beach the night before camp... I'm not sure if they offered many other schools can talk there way around that lol... Or maybe that was me they couldn't talk out of it... I forget

shysdad

Jun 3, 2014

I'm going to throw this on here just because I have been reading all the threads and a lot of people are complaining about the kids with the lists and the committing and de committing. There is too many threads to put it on all of em so again apologies for side tracking a camp thread.Being on the other side if this process with Shy I can see the games being played... I've talked with some of these kids at camps visits and combines. They are confused by this process and half of em have no help. I meet kids at visits there by themselves and I was actually told by a coach never send Shy here alone I'll have him committed before you even knew it happened. These kids get told they are the greatest thing ever. They are promised the world by some schools. They are treated like nfl stars during these visits. It's no wonder they can't make a decision. Then you have coaches that flat out tell you even if you commit to another school I'm still going to chase you . It's the system that's screwed up. You have schools with 10 offers out to the same position when they know full well they are only taking 2 at that spot. Then they commit a couple and pull the offers. Leaving kids outside looking in. I know of a couple kids who tried to commit and a school told them to think about it and make sure they didn't want him to make the wrong choice... Why? Because he was 5 th on their board and they thought they might land the higher ups. So now this kid is thinking they are looking out for him but if those others commit he won't have his offer anymore. It's not fair to the kids the kids decommiting isn't fair to the schools... None of it is good. I will say with Shy only having a couple schools he is even considering it makes easier. But we have also talked and I can tell you we have agreed when he commits that's it no option for decommiting ( barring coaches leaving schools being sanctioned type stuff) his word will be his word. But again it makes the game harder for us. Do we commit to syracuse when he has the offer and they want him? Do we wait till 2 backers commit? Do we hold out hoping for the U to come thru? What if we lose the syracuse offer? It's a lot of pressure on a 16 yearold deciding the biggest thing he has ever had to. This could make or break his whole life. Just consider that before you blow up on a kid playing games with his commit.

grover

Jun 3, 2014

^This is the raw truth. I think the level of your son's "commitment" has to depend upon the coach and program he selects. With Golden, he stays committed to virtually all recruits. We'll get turnover of maybe one or two a year in the November/December timeframe, if a kid takes a major step back his senior season or has off-the-field issues. With many other programs, coaches have no problem pulling offers or stringing kids along.

If I were one of these recruit's parents, I would probably tell them to lock in their first choice by the end of the summer but take visits. If the coaches keep in contact and continue to show commitment, then stick. But if you can't get a hold of them, then it's good to have a options.

Plzwork4

Jun 3, 2014

All I got left to say is Paranos gon' Paranos...

wherrera8

Jun 3, 2014

shysdad said:
Hi everyone just wanted to come on and thank you all for the kind words you gave to Shy. I am Shy's step dad John Brewer. Saw some of you guys talking about these camps being a waste and would like to let you know I believe they are great. Shy is a great player suffering from the biggest problem a high school player can face...he plays in Massachusetts. I had been emailing Coach Barrow for months asking him to look at Shy and he said he liked the film but wanted to see him at a camp. Mass kids are largely ignored as is evident by all the recruiting sites not even rating Shy (dont get me started on that). Unless the high school coach has some contacts up here these kids are never heard of...the big schools think the US boarder ends at New Jersey. I may be just a parent so take my words with a grain of salt but ill put shy against any of those kids the rating sites are calling 4 stars maybe even some of the 5. If you watched the highlights you can see Shy is a play maker. He loves to hit and is a good technical player. I believe the right coach can send him places he can only dream of. I laugh at the comment of understanding what Shy was saying... Mass schools are a blessing and a curse all at the same time.Shy has always dreamed of being a Hurricane I think he relates to the old school bad boy style of play and is a big fan of current Cane Perryman's physical punishing style...watch for his senior year to be a more punishing style. He has been getting double and triple teamed all this past season and if you saw his game film above the highlights you could see the sack total for his fellow line backers and d ends is high I believe because of the attention payed to Shy. He does need to get off blocks quicker and we have been working on that all this year... no more engaging players just hit em and go. Keep in mind Shy is only 16 and will graduate at 17. His picture doesnt do his size justice... on the field Sunday the current Canes linebackers and running backs all talked to him...I should have taken pictures but was kinda far away for my Ihpone. But I just wanted to come on and thank you guys for the kind words you gave Shy it meant alot to him. He would love to be a Hurricane but offer or not thank you

This is phenomenal! It helps for him to have this type of support at home. I him and you and your family only the best! God Bless!

calinative umstudent

Jun 4, 2014

Some good points. This is why I think we need an early signing period though. I think it just takes the pressure off the players and the schools. It guarantees the student they are in the class, and can then just focus on School and Football, rather than worrying about whether they have a commitable offer or if someone else will commit and take their spot.
I'm not quite sure how many linebackers we will take in this class. I'm pretty sure we are at least trying to get 1-2 linebackers, but to be completely honest, right now the coaches are probably holding spots for Ben Humphreys and Tevon Coney.
But, I'm also pretty sure Syracuse is looking to bring in 3-5 linebackers in this class. If I were you I'd ask them how many they are trying to bring in this year, and just sit on the offer for a little bit, because just having an offer from a school in the power 5 conference is good and could attract more attention from other schools when the season is actually underway. Good luck and make sure to get to the other Al Golden camps because it ends up being worth it if he earns a scholarship to Miami, and Golden has been willing to offer players based on these camps...

Kevin

Jun 4, 2014

Regarding shy's father comment about coaches gassing these kids up and telling them they're the greatest thing since canesinsight.com. when it's all lies and what not. I'm glad our coach, coach Golden is genuine and actually cares about his players and recruits im sure. that quality gets lost in the recruiting world; especially when kids commit to saban/bama. Don't take me wrong, I wanna win as much as the next guy. But give me a coach who actually cares about me, athletics aside.

RattlerCane

Jun 4, 2014

shysdad said:
I'm going to throw this on here just because I have been reading all the threads and a lot of people are complaining about the kids with the lists and the committing and de committing. There is too many threads to put it on all of em so again apologies for side tracking a camp thread.Being on the other side if this process with Shy I can see the games being played... I've talked with some of these kids at camps visits and combines. They are confused by this process and half of em have no help. I meet kids at visits there by themselves and I was actually told by a coach never send Shy here alone I'll have him committed before you even knew it happened. These kids get told they are the greatest thing ever. They are promised the world by some schools. They are treated like nfl stars during these visits. It's no wonder they can't make a decision. Then you have coaches that flat out tell you even if you commit to another school I'm still going to chase you . It's the system that's screwed up. You have schools with 10 offers out to the same position when they know full well they are only taking 2 at that spot. Then they commit a couple and pull the offers. Leaving kids outside looking in. I know of a couple kids who tried to commit and a school told them to think about it and make sure they didn't want him to make the wrong choice... Why? Because he was 5 th on their board and they thought they might land the higher ups. So now this kid is thinking they are looking out for him but if those others commit he won't have his offer anymore. It's not fair to the kids the kids decommiting isn't fair to the schools... None of it is good. I will say with Shy only having a couple schools he is even considering it makes easier. But we have also talked and I can tell you we have agreed when he commits that's it no option for decommiting ( barring coaches leaving schools being sanctioned type stuff) his word will be his word. But again it makes the game harder for us. Do we commit to syracuse when he has the offer and they want him? Do we wait till 2 backers commit? Do we hold out hoping for the U to come thru? What if we lose the syracuse offer? It's a lot of pressure on a 16 yearold deciding the biggest thing he has ever had to. This could make or break his whole life. Just consider that before you blow up on a kid playing games with his commit.

That's very understandable and makes complete sense. Ultimately you have to do what's best as a recruit not saying it that means give up on his dream bc you have to continue to wrk hard for what you really want in life. Its also hard on the coaches with the amount of money these schools*pay them these days its win now or you're out and they have to bring in the best of the best that they are able to. This explains also to those wondering why FAU took in some pretty big name recruits early. Knowing all along this guy may not stay but just incase the worse case scenario were to happen he has a school at the end. Which most kids do that anyways. Best of luck on you guys journey and suck up all the knowledge he can get on this road bc if his ultimate goal is to play pro ball he can get there from any school as long as he plays the part. There's nothing like that orange and green though and hey if the Canes Orange and Green doesn't offer as you see in the name there's more orange and green in the state with FAMU they'll be glad to bring him but this is the wrong site to mention that. You're doing the right thing though if this is the school he wants to go you're definitely putting him in the position to when some what have seen that as a closed door so far away with attention from out of region schools.

shysdad

Jun 4, 2014

To the person who was discussing the number of backers Miami will be taking... That's exactly why shy and I ended up on this site.... Believe it or not this is the best place to figure out what a school is doing. If you ask a coach when we meet them what the plan to do for how many at what position the get real vague real quick. They don't want to tell you we are looking at 2 if you are 3 rd on the board. If you go to these sites you get all the info on who is visiting who is tweeting who has been selected the kids wish list and so much more all in one spot. You can also get a feel for how current players are doing and what the position is going to look like in a year or two. You can get a tonite of info on how the coach is doing in his job and recruiting so you can get a feel for if he will be there in a year or two. You do seem correct in saying the coaches are looking for 2 or 3 backers here. And they seem to have 3 or 4 they are hoping to land. A couple of them seem to be looking else where but keeping Miami guessing incase they need them. I think it will be a long time before you have some real set in stone players committing to the U. To many of these guys have been getting their tires pumped by recent national champs and the kids are enjoying the rock star status and are blinded by last years successes. Syracuse does seem to be looking for 4 or 5. They have targeted a couple big names but have picked out a couple unknowns like shy to pursue hard.

shysdad

Jun 4, 2014

Another thing I will tell you with out getting into any names... I have been to a bunch of combines and camps this year and I will tell you I have seen a couple of the big 5 star kids a lot of these sites are begging for. I will also tell you don't put to much hype in some of them. A lot of these kids have Manzielitus they want to be famous not football players. Not so much in the linebackers but the corners this year are brutal. I watched this one 5 star kid at a camp and this site is all excited about him... He is committed to another school and that school is all excited. But let me tell you let them keep him. They have just wasted a big time position on a big ball of hype. I think what happened was the kid was real good at previous year camps and the competition has caught up and the people throwing around the stars don't want to go back on him because of all the hype. But I can tell you this kid sucks. He is a penalty machine. He was celebrating one on ones that he committed 3 fouls before the ball was thrown not to mention the 2 before the ball hit the ground. He kept walking off the field after these plays to get his back rubbed like he won a championship. Believe me you don't want him.

P
Paranos

Jun 4, 2014

shysdad said:
Another thing I will tell you with out getting into any names... I have been to a bunch of combines and camps this year and I will tell you I have seen a couple of the big 5 star kids a lot of these sites are begging for. I will also tell you don't put to much hype in some of them. A lot of these kids have Manzielitus they want to be famous not football players. Not so much in the linebackers but the corners this year are brutal. I watched this one 5 star kid at a camp and this site is all excited about him... He is committed to another school and that school is all excited. But let me tell you let them keep him. They have just wasted a big time position on a big ball of hype. I think what happened was the kid was real good at previous year camps and the competition has caught up and the people throwing around the stars don't want to go back on him because of all the hype. But I can tell you this kid sucks. He is a penalty machine. He was celebrating one on ones that he committed 3 fouls before the ball was thrown not to mention the 2 before the ball hit the ground. He kept walking off the field after these plays to get his back rubbed like he won a championship. Believe me you don't want him.

Saban will correct those flaws or cut him after the first year, such is life at Bama and the unnamed young DB will learn he is not in New Jersey anymore. Thanks for sharing the insight.

Go Canes

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Al Golden Camp Observations (June 1st)

Al Golden Camp Observations (June 1st)

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