We spend so much time on recruiting, but we rarely take time to look back. This series examines every class for the past five coaches- Manny, Richt, Golden, Shannon, and Coker. As Mario’s first class enters Year 4, what are the trends he needs to avoid if he wants to break the cycle?
Of course, bad coaching and development played a massive role in our downfall. But for this exercise, I wanted to focus on pure talent acquisition. That’s why I use NFL numbers. The NFL has the most standardized and competitive talent-evaluation process in football. It’s also really hard to get there- only 2% of CFB players and only 22% of four-stars make the league. And far fewer are able to stick around. As expected, our NFL decline mirrored our decline on the field.
Let’s start with our last championship-caliber class: 2001:
Four-year winning percentage: 88%
Total enrollees- 20
NFL players- 13
NFL games- 1,016
Day 1 Picks- 4
Day 2 picks- 5
Pro Bowls- 11
The class ranked 8th on Rivals. But as the numbers show, it was the best in America. I’ve listed the players in order of recruiting ranking, with NFL players in BOLD:
FIVE STARS
LB Leon Williams (Brooklyn, NY)
DB Antrel Rolle (Miami-Dade, FL)
TE Kellen Winslow II (San Diego, CA)
DE Andrew Williams (Tampa, FL)
OT Rashad Butler (Palm Beach, FL)
FB Quadtrine Hill (Broward, FL)
ATH Sean Taylor (Miami-Dade, FL)
TE Brandon Sebald (Ulster, NY)
CB Marcus Maxey (Navasota, TX)
WHAT HAPPENED: While Larry Coker was the head coach on National Signing Day, this was a Butch Davis class. Butch took the Browns job in late January, so most of the work was done when he handed it over to Coker. But this was also Coker’s best moment as a recruiter. Frank Gore and Roscoe Parrish were headed to Ole Miss until Coker took over and pressed to keep them home.
Coker also deserves credit for stealing Kellen Winslow II from Washington. KWII was ready to commit to the Huskies, but Winslow's dad still resented Washington's coach, Rick Neuheisel, for crossing the picket line during the NFL strike. Winslow wanted his son to play under Michigan State's Bobby Williams, one of the few black coaches in Division I. KWII was ready to announce for Washington on his dad's Fox Sports show, but Winslow Sr. halted the decision and created a highly awkward situation on camera. Miami, with former WR Curtis Johnson leading the recruitment, emerged as the compromise choice after NSD.
There weren’t many losses in this class, but a couple proved to have repercussions down the line. The Canes were slow to offer two-star local athlete Chris Gamble, who excelled at both WR and CB at Dillard. Gamble ended up signing with Ohio State, playing both ways, and drawing the phantom penalty from Terry Porter in the Fiesta Bowl. The Carolina Panthers drafted him in the first round, and he played nine years in the NFL.
The Canes also lost a battle for a package deal: DL Marcus Spears and WR Michael Clayton from Baton Rouge. They were leaning to Miami at one point in the process, before ultimately choosing the hometown Tigers. That was the class that put LSU and second-year coach Nick Saban on the map, as they also landed Andrew Whitworth, Joseph Addai, Marquise Hill, Ben Wilkerson, Travis Daniels and others. Both Saban and LSU would be a thorn in Miami’s side for the next two decades.
BEST PLAYER: It’s hard not to pick a Hall of Famer in Gore, but the only choice is Sean Taylor. For someone so legendary, his recruitment started out pretty ordinary. A three-star ATH recruited by the likes of Georgia Tech, Taylor transferred from Killian to Gulliver as a junior but failed to generate any national buzz. As a senior, he carried Gulliver Prep to a state championship with a Florida-record 44 touchdowns. While some had him pegged as a linebacker because of his size, he remained at safety and the rest is history.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The weakness of this class was OL and QB– two positions that frustrated Canes fans for the rest of the decade. There was no quarterback in the class, and the highest-rated offensive lineman was Robert Bergman. Not only was he a star OL, but he also punted (44.9 per attempt) and pitched for the baseball team (91 mph fastball). Some may remember that one of his relatives posted on the Grassy football board throughout Bergman's career. Ultimately, his lack of size and power kept him off the field.
BEST EVALUATION: Overshadowed by his Suwanee teammates Jarvis Herring (Florida) and Kyler Hall (Florida State), it was Kelly Jennings who emerged as the best of the bunch. He was a two-way player and the state runner-up in the 100M (behind future Kansas State star Yamon Figurs) as well as a good student. At Miami, he developed from an unknown three-star recruit into the first round pick of the Seattle Seahawks.
LESSON LEARNED: Take a quarterback every year. Miami was red-hot, but we still didn’t add a single body at quarterback. This came back to bite us.
CONCLUSION: With 13 pros, four Pro Bowlers, four first rounders and a championship trophy, this class is the last example of the Miami standard.
Of course, bad coaching and development played a massive role in our downfall. But for this exercise, I wanted to focus on pure talent acquisition. That’s why I use NFL numbers. The NFL has the most standardized and competitive talent-evaluation process in football. It’s also really hard to get there- only 2% of CFB players and only 22% of four-stars make the league. And far fewer are able to stick around. As expected, our NFL decline mirrored our decline on the field.
Let’s start with our last championship-caliber class: 2001:
Four-year winning percentage: 88%
Total enrollees- 20
NFL players- 13
NFL games- 1,016
Day 1 Picks- 4
Day 2 picks- 5
Pro Bowls- 11
The class ranked 8th on Rivals. But as the numbers show, it was the best in America. I’ve listed the players in order of recruiting ranking, with NFL players in BOLD:
FIVE STARS
LB Leon Williams (Brooklyn, NY)
- Fourth Round
- 61 NFL games
DB Antrel Rolle (Miami-Dade, FL)
- First Round
- 155 NFL games
- 3-time Pro Bowler
- Fourth round
- 20 NFL games
TE Kellen Winslow II (San Diego, CA)
- First Round
- 105 NFL Games
- 1 Pro Bowl
- Second Round
- 124 NFL games
DE Andrew Williams (Tampa, FL)
- Third Round
- 9 NFL games
OT Rashad Butler (Palm Beach, FL)
- Third Round
- 51 NFL games
- Third Round
- 241 NFL games
- 5 Pro Bowls
FB Quadtrine Hill (Broward, FL)
ATH Sean Taylor (Miami-Dade, FL)
- First Round
- 55 FL games
- 2 Pro Bowls
- First Round
- 91 NFL games
- 12 NFL games
TE Brandon Sebald (Ulster, NY)
CB Marcus Maxey (Navasota, TX)
- Fifth Round
- 2 NFL games
- Second Round
- 90 NFL games
WHAT HAPPENED: While Larry Coker was the head coach on National Signing Day, this was a Butch Davis class. Butch took the Browns job in late January, so most of the work was done when he handed it over to Coker. But this was also Coker’s best moment as a recruiter. Frank Gore and Roscoe Parrish were headed to Ole Miss until Coker took over and pressed to keep them home.
Coker also deserves credit for stealing Kellen Winslow II from Washington. KWII was ready to commit to the Huskies, but Winslow's dad still resented Washington's coach, Rick Neuheisel, for crossing the picket line during the NFL strike. Winslow wanted his son to play under Michigan State's Bobby Williams, one of the few black coaches in Division I. KWII was ready to announce for Washington on his dad's Fox Sports show, but Winslow Sr. halted the decision and created a highly awkward situation on camera. Miami, with former WR Curtis Johnson leading the recruitment, emerged as the compromise choice after NSD.
There weren’t many losses in this class, but a couple proved to have repercussions down the line. The Canes were slow to offer two-star local athlete Chris Gamble, who excelled at both WR and CB at Dillard. Gamble ended up signing with Ohio State, playing both ways, and drawing the phantom penalty from Terry Porter in the Fiesta Bowl. The Carolina Panthers drafted him in the first round, and he played nine years in the NFL.
The Canes also lost a battle for a package deal: DL Marcus Spears and WR Michael Clayton from Baton Rouge. They were leaning to Miami at one point in the process, before ultimately choosing the hometown Tigers. That was the class that put LSU and second-year coach Nick Saban on the map, as they also landed Andrew Whitworth, Joseph Addai, Marquise Hill, Ben Wilkerson, Travis Daniels and others. Both Saban and LSU would be a thorn in Miami’s side for the next two decades.
BEST PLAYER: It’s hard not to pick a Hall of Famer in Gore, but the only choice is Sean Taylor. For someone so legendary, his recruitment started out pretty ordinary. A three-star ATH recruited by the likes of Georgia Tech, Taylor transferred from Killian to Gulliver as a junior but failed to generate any national buzz. As a senior, he carried Gulliver Prep to a state championship with a Florida-record 44 touchdowns. While some had him pegged as a linebacker because of his size, he remained at safety and the rest is history.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The weakness of this class was OL and QB– two positions that frustrated Canes fans for the rest of the decade. There was no quarterback in the class, and the highest-rated offensive lineman was Robert Bergman. Not only was he a star OL, but he also punted (44.9 per attempt) and pitched for the baseball team (91 mph fastball). Some may remember that one of his relatives posted on the Grassy football board throughout Bergman's career. Ultimately, his lack of size and power kept him off the field.
BEST EVALUATION: Overshadowed by his Suwanee teammates Jarvis Herring (Florida) and Kyler Hall (Florida State), it was Kelly Jennings who emerged as the best of the bunch. He was a two-way player and the state runner-up in the 100M (behind future Kansas State star Yamon Figurs) as well as a good student. At Miami, he developed from an unknown three-star recruit into the first round pick of the Seattle Seahawks.
LESSON LEARNED: Take a quarterback every year. Miami was red-hot, but we still didn’t add a single body at quarterback. This came back to bite us.
CONCLUSION: With 13 pros, four Pro Bowlers, four first rounders and a championship trophy, this class is the last example of the Miami standard.
