Portal shopping list

Portal shopping list

DMoney
DMoney

Comments (133)

Also on wolff, his HC did an interview and it sounded like Wolff wants be closer to home (Venice) and “loves the state of FL”
 
We also for a good 10 years have been unable to close on most high value corners. For any good one we’d actually grab we strike out on the next 9.
If we can get dominant guys in the front 7 our corners will be ok. Bama and UGA been getting away with that sh for years even our Butch squads. Make those guys look better than what they are by having top NFL talent up front. That will def improve corner play and help land higher value DBs that want to play in front of that. We on the right track though so I am not worried
 
Advertisement
We also for a good 10 years have been unable to close on most high value corners. For any good one we’d actually grab we strike out on the next 9.

When Rumph missed on the American Heritage CBs and Josh Jobe, I think we all knew we were in for a bumpy ride. But we haven't hit on top P5 high school corners since.

2016 Malik Young
2017 Bandy, Jhavonte Dean
2018 Blades (CB/S hybrid, Frierson (moved to safety), Ivey, Nigel Bethel
2019 Christian Williams, Couch
2020 Dunson, Marcus Clarke
2021 Malik Curtis (listed as "athlete"), Stevenson (transfer)
2022 Graves (listed as "athlete"), Khamauri Rogers, Jaden Harris, Porter (transfer)
2023 Stafford, Damari Brown, Davante Brown (transfer), Terry Roberts (transfer)

That's a whole lot of woof mixed in with projects right there. I thought Rogers would do something. I thought McClain would stick and fight to start. I thought Blades might even come back and battle for a spot. Just a graveyard of roadkill smh.
 
- Backup QB. This is the trickiest one on the list, because who wants to be a backup? But Jacurri would love a redshirt and he could use one as well. A kid from FCS could make sense.

- Starting-caliber running back. Don Chaney has made plays all spring but cannot be relied upon for obvious reasons. TreVonte Citizen is probably out until mid-season due to a setback in his recovery, and you don't want to rush him. Last year, we looked fairly deep and still had to rely on a UAB kid off the street. They want to add someone who is a legitimate player and not just a body.

- Speedy flanker/Z. The WRs are in better shape than I expected. Colbie Young and Xavier Restrepo look like good starters, and Jacolby George, Isaiah Horton and Breshard Smith have all flashed at various times. You also have explosive freshmen in Ray Ray Joseph and Robby Washington. The missing piece is a true deep threat with speed who scares defenses. The guys we have are more run-and-catch types.

- Backup interior OL. I've been talking about this on the podcast for a while. They want to add a backup center. Watch Luis Cristobal in the Portal as a guy who has started games. They are otherwise good with the Top 8 of Rivers, Cohen, Lee, Cooper ,Mauigoia, Nelson, McCoy and Okunlola.

- Big DT. This isn't just a plugger- they want someone with size, athleticism and, preferably, eligibility. Ahmad Moten's emergence has helped this group, but you still need another guy.

- LB. Put this one as a maybe. They'd take the right guy.

- Safety/nickel. I believe they are looking for a guy who is a big nickel- someone who lines up in the slot with coverage ability but has more physicality than a Te'Cory Couch. If we get that type of guy, you may see someone like Jaden Harris fortifying the safety position. He fits better there- faster than quick with good tacking ability.

- Cornerback. In terms of priority, this may be #1. We need one or two starting caliber guys. The tricky thing is that these guys are hard to find. Hopefully, we get lucky with some Portal entries.
Well, ****, sounds like we're short everything but a long snapper.

Longtime fan & not a hater, but this falls squarely in Mario's lap. He & staff should have done a better job portal shopping in the early period. If you do that, you'd now be cherry picking instead of having to fill up the cart at Costco. This might also be a reflection on the laborious staff shuffling after the season.

So, we need 2 backup interior offensive linemen. Excuse me, but didn't Mario & Co. bring 2 interior OL with them from Oregon (Jonathan Dennis & Logan Sagapolu)? Terrible look if you failed these two evaluations.

Big DT? Didn't we bring in two - though obviously not pluggers - in the initial portal? How did those evaluations work out?


A cornerback & safety/nickel . . . so what's the deal with Terry Roberts - player or poor evaluation?


Starting caliber RB and a backup QB? This should be interesting.


Bottom line, the college game is about talent & Miami isn't perfect, but the talent level should be at least equal to or better than most ACC teams. Yeah, keep stacking talent & fill holes. ****, yeah. At some point it's just not all about recruiting. It's not fantasy football where you pile up 5 stars. The coach has to take the talent he has & compete - put a respectable product on the field.

Understand the need to be patient & hope Mario kills it, but the early work isn't comforting.
 
Interesting: the two guys long-rumored, that were finally green lighted (despite Robert's Bama smoke), appear to be busting. Roberts reportedly didn't have the best foot speed, and was oft-injured at Iowa. Somehow the BIG teams make it work without all guys being supremely athletic. Not ready to give up on him contributing yet. Definitely ST's. Have to think Guidry made it work with 2 & 3 *'s in the Marshall secondary.

The smallish (being kind) DT on the other hand...
 
Advertisement
I asked the same question in the Spring Game thread - has Zion Nelson stopped playing football?
Seen him int he background of a few spring videos...and spring game he was in a jersey so imma say no..he still at it.
 
No what? Citizen absolutely had a chance to start in 2022.. with Chaney hurt? Citizen could have started over Parrish and Knighton.

Go back and read the board last July/August before he got hurt. There was plenty of buzz about him potentially starting by the end of the year.
Even before that….. gators said the only reason we got him is desperate Mario guaranteed him a starting job lol. Billy Bob would never do that.
 
Advertisement
Sure, those Richt guys didn’t help but they are no longer here.

Diaz's recruiting hurt us last year and will hurt until Mario stacks at least 3 top classes IMHO, from a depth/quality standpoint.
The guys from Richt’s 2018 and 2019 recruiting classes should have made up a majority of the guys playing last year it we had to rely on underclassmen and transfers because so many of those guys didn’t pan out. It’s still at least half in Manny though because he wasn’t recruiting well as a DC either.
 
Advertisement
The guys from Richt’s 2018 and 2019 recruiting classes should have made up a majority of the guys playing last year it we had to rely on underclassmen and transfers because so many of those guys didn’t pan out. It’s still at least half in Manny though because he wasn’t recruiting well as a DC either.
I've emotionally forgiven Richt because he was dealing with a serious illness - but good lord his recruiting was diabolical.
 
That’s not true at all. Don’t confuse high school rankings with college talent.

Our young crop is talented no doubt. But we’ve got glaring holes at multiple starting spots and depth issues almost everywhere.

That’s why there’s the portal. Some use it better than others…
 
Back
Top