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.
2014
Four-year winning percentage- 63% (+2 from prior year)
Total enrollees- 27
NFL players- 7
NFL games- 298
Day 1 Picks- 1
Day 2 picks- 1
Pro Bowls- 1
FIVE STARS
DE Chad Thomas (Miami-Dade, FL)
RB Joe Yearby (Miami-Dade, FL)
OT Kc McDermott (Palm Beach County, FL)
QB Brad Kaaya (Los Angeles, CA)
S Kiy Hester (NYC Metro, NJ)
DE Trent Harris (Orlando, FL)
LB Darrion Owens (Jacksonville, FL)
WR Braxton Berrios (Raleigh, NC)
DE Demetrius Jackson (Miami-Dade, FL)
DT Calvin Heurtelou (New York City Metro, NY)
WR Darrell Langham (Palm Beach County, FL)
DT Michael Wyche (Hampton Roads, VA)
ATH Trayone Gray (Miami-Dade, FL)
CB Ryan Mayes (Miami-Dade, FL0
TE Chris Herndon (Atlanta, GA)
LB Juwon Young (Albany, GA)
S Marques Gayot (Palm Beach County, FL)
TE David Njoku (New York City Metro, NJ)
DT Courtel Jenkins (New York City Metro, NJ)
OC Nick Linder (Broward County, FL)
OLB Terry McCray (Broward County, FL)
DT Joe Brown (Los Angeles, CA)
WHAT HAPPENED: This year doomed Al Golden. The class itself was not bad, with seven NFL players and two starting QBs. But the misses were fatal. Miami Central’s Dalvin Cook might have been the biggest recruiting loss ever. He committed to Clemson and flipped to Florida before signing with Florida State. This single decision set the balance of power in the state. Cook went 6-0 against Miami and Florida, averaging over 157 rushing yards per game.
We also lost Sony Michel to Georgia. Sony was a lifelong Canes fan and a household name in South Florida since 8th grade. If not for injuries to his knee, he could have been an even bigger star.
Another bad miss was CB Quincy Wilson. His father, Chad, was a Canes Football alum and prominent local coach. Miami evaluated Wilson at their camp but didn’t offer. Wilson signed with UF and developed into a second rounder. Worse yet, this snub helped poison a generation of Broward private school kids against Miami (including Quincy’s brother Marco). WR Isaiah McKenzie (93 NFL games) is another Broward kid who left camp without an offer.
The 2013 season ended with a whimper, and the bad on-field vibes carried over to recruiting. Of the 27 signees, only eight were blue-chip prospects. There were also massive holes. We didn’t sign a single defensive back who contributed, and we missed on future pros like JC Jackson (Immokalee), Chris Lammons (Plantation), and Deatrick Nichols (Central). Derrick Tindal (Boyd Anderson) was another good player who made All Big-10 for Wisconsin.
BEST PLAYER: David Njoku had all the hallmarks of a hidden gem- lanky 6’4 frame, big lower-body, legit track measurables (7’1 high jump), and young for his class. But he still finished the cycle as a low three star, even after a late push from Ohio State. Njoku redshirted, grew into TE, and went first round.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: I thought Trayone “Choc” Gray would good. He was a huge (6’2, 230) and fast (4.37) athlete without a set position. Ultimately, the instincts never came together at any spot. Jason Geathers (Class of ‘99) was more productive but similar.
BEST EVALUATION: Njoku, Chris Herndon and Braxton Berrios were all three-star hits, but I’m going with Miami’s all-time leading passer. James Coley was the first coach to offer Brad Kaaya, and the quick trigger paid off when he blossomed into a four star. Kaaya wasn't a quick-twitch athlete but he was very smart and a natural passer. As a true freshman with no spring, he threw for 3,198 yards, 26 TDs and 12 INTs. This is a fun thread from 12 years ago with a lot of familiar names:
https://www.canesinsight.com/threads/brad-kaaya.51911/
LESSON LEARNED: This wasn’t as much of a lesson as a reminder- good cannot replace great. We missed on two franchise backs with Dalvin Cook and Sony Michel and replaced them with Joe Yearby. He was a good player, but there are levels. When you always lose the biggest battles, it adds up.
CONCLUSION: This class had a lot of washouts, but it also formed the core of the early Richt teams. The biggest issue was the lack of athleticism. Nobody from this class other than Njoku was particularly dynamic. The losses of Cook and Michel were devastating to the fanbase because we had followed them for years. They made business decisions to leave South Florida and we can't really argue with the results. Golden had one more class after this, but he was a dead man walking.
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.
2014
Four-year winning percentage- 63% (+2 from prior year)
Total enrollees- 27
NFL players- 7
NFL games- 298
Day 1 Picks- 1
Day 2 picks- 1
Pro Bowls- 1
FIVE STARS
DE Chad Thomas (Miami-Dade, FL)
- 20 NFL games
- 3rd Round
RB Joe Yearby (Miami-Dade, FL)
OT Kc McDermott (Palm Beach County, FL)
- 17 NFL games
QB Brad Kaaya (Los Angeles, CA)
- 6th Round
S Kiy Hester (NYC Metro, NJ)
DE Trent Harris (Orlando, FL)
- 19 NFL games
LB Darrion Owens (Jacksonville, FL)
WR Braxton Berrios (Raleigh, NC)
- 87 NFL games
- 6th Round
DE Demetrius Jackson (Miami-Dade, FL)
DT Calvin Heurtelou (New York City Metro, NY)
WR Darrell Langham (Palm Beach County, FL)
DT Michael Wyche (Hampton Roads, VA)
ATH Trayone Gray (Miami-Dade, FL)
CB Ryan Mayes (Miami-Dade, FL0
TE Chris Herndon (Atlanta, GA)
- 49 NFL games
- 4th Round
LB Juwon Young (Albany, GA)
S Marques Gayot (Palm Beach County, FL)
TE David Njoku (New York City Metro, NJ)
- 106 games
- First Round
- One Pro Bowl
DT Courtel Jenkins (New York City Metro, NJ)
OC Nick Linder (Broward County, FL)
OLB Terry McCray (Broward County, FL)
DT Joe Brown (Los Angeles, CA)
WHAT HAPPENED: This year doomed Al Golden. The class itself was not bad, with seven NFL players and two starting QBs. But the misses were fatal. Miami Central’s Dalvin Cook might have been the biggest recruiting loss ever. He committed to Clemson and flipped to Florida before signing with Florida State. This single decision set the balance of power in the state. Cook went 6-0 against Miami and Florida, averaging over 157 rushing yards per game.
We also lost Sony Michel to Georgia. Sony was a lifelong Canes fan and a household name in South Florida since 8th grade. If not for injuries to his knee, he could have been an even bigger star.
Another bad miss was CB Quincy Wilson. His father, Chad, was a Canes Football alum and prominent local coach. Miami evaluated Wilson at their camp but didn’t offer. Wilson signed with UF and developed into a second rounder. Worse yet, this snub helped poison a generation of Broward private school kids against Miami (including Quincy’s brother Marco). WR Isaiah McKenzie (93 NFL games) is another Broward kid who left camp without an offer.
The 2013 season ended with a whimper, and the bad on-field vibes carried over to recruiting. Of the 27 signees, only eight were blue-chip prospects. There were also massive holes. We didn’t sign a single defensive back who contributed, and we missed on future pros like JC Jackson (Immokalee), Chris Lammons (Plantation), and Deatrick Nichols (Central). Derrick Tindal (Boyd Anderson) was another good player who made All Big-10 for Wisconsin.
BEST PLAYER: David Njoku had all the hallmarks of a hidden gem- lanky 6’4 frame, big lower-body, legit track measurables (7’1 high jump), and young for his class. But he still finished the cycle as a low three star, even after a late push from Ohio State. Njoku redshirted, grew into TE, and went first round.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: I thought Trayone “Choc” Gray would good. He was a huge (6’2, 230) and fast (4.37) athlete without a set position. Ultimately, the instincts never came together at any spot. Jason Geathers (Class of ‘99) was more productive but similar.
BEST EVALUATION: Njoku, Chris Herndon and Braxton Berrios were all three-star hits, but I’m going with Miami’s all-time leading passer. James Coley was the first coach to offer Brad Kaaya, and the quick trigger paid off when he blossomed into a four star. Kaaya wasn't a quick-twitch athlete but he was very smart and a natural passer. As a true freshman with no spring, he threw for 3,198 yards, 26 TDs and 12 INTs. This is a fun thread from 12 years ago with a lot of familiar names:
https://www.canesinsight.com/threads/brad-kaaya.51911/
LESSON LEARNED: This wasn’t as much of a lesson as a reminder- good cannot replace great. We missed on two franchise backs with Dalvin Cook and Sony Michel and replaced them with Joe Yearby. He was a good player, but there are levels. When you always lose the biggest battles, it adds up.
CONCLUSION: This class had a lot of washouts, but it also formed the core of the early Richt teams. The biggest issue was the lack of athleticism. Nobody from this class other than Njoku was particularly dynamic. The losses of Cook and Michel were devastating to the fanbase because we had followed them for years. They made business decisions to leave South Florida and we can't really argue with the results. Golden had one more class after this, but he was a dead man walking.
