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.
The next class is Larry Coker’s first full class, and also the beginning of our decline: 2002.
Four-year winning percentage: 82% (-6 from prior class)
Total enrollees- 22
NFL players- 6
NFL games- 492
Day 1 Picks- 1
Day 2 picks- 3
Pro Bowls- 6
The class ranked 5th on Rivals. I’ve listed the players in order of recruiting ranking, with NFL players in BOLD:
FIVE STARS
WR Ryan Moore (Orlando, FL)
ATH Devin Hester (Palm Beach, FL)
WR Aikeem Jolla (New Orleans, LA)
TE Curtis Justus (Perry, OK)
DE John Wood (Miami-Dade, FL)
DT Kareem Brown (Miami-Dade, FL)
QB Marc Guillon (East Bay, CA)
CB Glenn Sharpe (Miami-Dade, FL)
CB Terrell Walden (Miami-Dade, FL)
RB JR Mounts (Key West, FL)
K Jon Peattie (Clearwater, FL)
OG Alex Pou (Miami-Dade, FL)
THREE STARS OR BELOW
S Brandon Meriweather (Apopka, FL)
WR Sinorice Moss (Miami-Dade, FL)
LB Antonio Reynolds (Akron, OH)
OL Anthony Wollschlager (Broward County, FL)
WR Darnell Jenkins (Miami-Dade, FL)
WHAT HAPPENED: Like most Coker classes, this one was extremely top heavy. There were only six NFL players (compared to 13 the year before), and only three made any real impact. QB Marc Guillon came from the same Bay Area high school as Ken Dorsey, but he was not Dorsey. The offensive line continued to erode. Put simply, Coker fumbled the momentum of the 2001 championship.
After cleaning up South Florida the year before, the local losses began to add up. Hallandale OG Davin Joseph chose Oklahoma, North Miami Beach OG Max Jean-Gilles chose Georgia, and Belle Glade WR Santonio Holmes picked Ohio State after begging for a Miami offer. All three became impactful players.
The Canes’ WR class flopped, with only one of the four (Sinorice Moss) making the pros. Ironically, many thought Moss was a nepotism offer at the time because of his brother, Santana.
While most point to the Fiesta Bowl loss as the beginning of our decline, it really started here.
BEST PLAYER: This one goes to the Hall of Famer, Devin Hester. Everybody knew Hester was elite, and the five star left no doubt with a return touchdown and INT in the CaliFlorida All-Star Game. The only question was whether he’d play WR or DB. Those questions continued into the NFL, but he proved to be the best return man in NFL history.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Orlando’s Ryan Moore was the top-ranked receiver in America, and showed some flashes early in his career. But he ultimately failed to develop, and the wide receiver position would be a problem spot for years. Moore’s biggest contribution to the Canes came off the field: as far as I remember, he was the first player to use the “U” hand symbol.
BEST EVALUATION: The Canes took a chance on a 170-pound, highly aggressive option quarterback from Apopka named Brandon Meriweather. The three star ultimately gained weight and became a first-round pick and a two-time Pro Bowler at safety.
LESSON LEARNED: Where’s the beef? We only signed one finesse DT (Kareem Brown) and two smaller-framed interior OL. We failed to convert our championship momentum into war daddy recruits like Alabama did a decade later.
CONCLUSION: Despite a few great players at the top, this class was the beginning of a rapid decline in Miami’s talent level under Lary Coker.
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.
The next class is Larry Coker’s first full class, and also the beginning of our decline: 2002.
Four-year winning percentage: 82% (-6 from prior class)
Total enrollees- 22
NFL players- 6
NFL games- 492
Day 1 Picks- 1
Day 2 picks- 3
Pro Bowls- 6
The class ranked 5th on Rivals. I’ve listed the players in order of recruiting ranking, with NFL players in BOLD:
FIVE STARS
WR Ryan Moore (Orlando, FL)
ATH Devin Hester (Palm Beach, FL)
- Second Round
- 156 NFL games
- Four Pro Bowls
- NFL Hall of Fame
- Third Round
- 165 NFL games
WR Aikeem Jolla (New Orleans, LA)
TE Curtis Justus (Perry, OK)
DE John Wood (Miami-Dade, FL)
DT Kareem Brown (Miami-Dade, FL)
- Fourth Round
- 1 NFL game
- Fourth Round
- 21 NFL games
QB Marc Guillon (East Bay, CA)
CB Glenn Sharpe (Miami-Dade, FL)
CB Terrell Walden (Miami-Dade, FL)
RB JR Mounts (Key West, FL)
K Jon Peattie (Clearwater, FL)
OG Alex Pou (Miami-Dade, FL)
THREE STARS OR BELOW
S Brandon Meriweather (Apopka, FL)
- First Round
- 112 NFL games
- Two Pro Bowls
WR Sinorice Moss (Miami-Dade, FL)
- Second Round
- 37 NFL games
LB Antonio Reynolds (Akron, OH)
OL Anthony Wollschlager (Broward County, FL)
WR Darnell Jenkins (Miami-Dade, FL)
WHAT HAPPENED: Like most Coker classes, this one was extremely top heavy. There were only six NFL players (compared to 13 the year before), and only three made any real impact. QB Marc Guillon came from the same Bay Area high school as Ken Dorsey, but he was not Dorsey. The offensive line continued to erode. Put simply, Coker fumbled the momentum of the 2001 championship.
After cleaning up South Florida the year before, the local losses began to add up. Hallandale OG Davin Joseph chose Oklahoma, North Miami Beach OG Max Jean-Gilles chose Georgia, and Belle Glade WR Santonio Holmes picked Ohio State after begging for a Miami offer. All three became impactful players.
The Canes’ WR class flopped, with only one of the four (Sinorice Moss) making the pros. Ironically, many thought Moss was a nepotism offer at the time because of his brother, Santana.
While most point to the Fiesta Bowl loss as the beginning of our decline, it really started here.
BEST PLAYER: This one goes to the Hall of Famer, Devin Hester. Everybody knew Hester was elite, and the five star left no doubt with a return touchdown and INT in the CaliFlorida All-Star Game. The only question was whether he’d play WR or DB. Those questions continued into the NFL, but he proved to be the best return man in NFL history.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Orlando’s Ryan Moore was the top-ranked receiver in America, and showed some flashes early in his career. But he ultimately failed to develop, and the wide receiver position would be a problem spot for years. Moore’s biggest contribution to the Canes came off the field: as far as I remember, he was the first player to use the “U” hand symbol.
BEST EVALUATION: The Canes took a chance on a 170-pound, highly aggressive option quarterback from Apopka named Brandon Meriweather. The three star ultimately gained weight and became a first-round pick and a two-time Pro Bowler at safety.
LESSON LEARNED: Where’s the beef? We only signed one finesse DT (Kareem Brown) and two smaller-framed interior OL. We failed to convert our championship momentum into war daddy recruits like Alabama did a decade later.
CONCLUSION: Despite a few great players at the top, this class was the beginning of a rapid decline in Miami’s talent level under Lary Coker.
