I've been playing the can you go 16-0 and one team that sticks out is the 1984 team. I was 3 years old so I don't remember much about the team except for the fact that one of the reasons we really didn't win more games was because Jimmy kept the previous staff's defensive coaches. For the real old heads here how good was that team and how good was WillIe Smith (TE)? He had 66 receptions and 852 yards in one season but you never hear his name mentioned with Cane greats. Also how good was Bernie that season with over 3600 passing yards in that era? I remember Bernie mostly with the Browns
Willie Smith was the real-deal at TE.
He was a smooth, athletic TE who would have been a legit pro were it not for a bad knee (or tibia?) injury that retired him.
This occurred during his redshirt senior season, and after what happened to him he was the poster boy for the risk of a NFL prospect sticking around for redshirt 5th year.
It came up as a reason often with the other players who left early in subsequent years.
The 1984 team was loaded with talent. People often forget the 1983 National Championship team had 60 something
freshmen and sophomores, so the 1984 team had ballers.
The exception being the OLine, who as dycane noted, was small.
We had problems keeping some of the local HS talent during the early 1980s plus some of the projected guys quit after a year or two in the early 1980s.
Some of the examples of local talent heading elsewhere being William Roberts (Carol City HS, OhioState),
Stefan Humphries (STA, Michigan) and Lomas Brown (Miami Springs, UF).
So the OLine consisted of converted Dlmen and underrecruited guys who OLine coach Christ Vagotis toughened up.
Vagotis was a legend at Killian HS and had played OL at Bama under the Bear.
Tough dude.
He did wonders with what he had to work with and I know of at least two of the players who almost quit the football program.
The problem with 1984 team was, as others cited, Schnellenberger leaving UM during summer.
JJ was reportedly 3rd or 4th choice.
The AD Sam Jankovich did not believe in promoting coaches to HC from existing staff.
He was a former college HC himself and he believed in hiring established HCs who would bring their coaches.
However, the timing was bad, so it was agreed that JJ could not bring his coaches until 1985 season.
Schnellenberger's defensive coaches ran 3-4 and 5-2 defenses and was not a fit for JJ's defensive scheme.
That offense though, was a machine.
Kosar didn't have the arm talent that Cam Ward has, but he was similar in running the offense insofar as accuracy and poise was concerned.
Eddie Brown was a stud WR and he loved to talk some serious smack. Lol.
The second WR was the late Stanley Shakespeare, and he was very productive.
The RBs were very good with Darryl Oliver, Highsmith, Warren Williams and Melvin Bratton who came on late in the season.
Willie Smith's backups were Charles Henry and Alfredo Roberts, both underrated too.
Back to the defense, it was a very bad 1984 season for them, but they were not lacking talent.
You had upperclassmen DLmen such as Willie Lee Broughton, Kevin Feagin and Joe Kohlbrand, who would play in the NFL and, of course, there was the late great Jerome Brown.
The schedule was a bit of a nightmare, playing Auburn at the Meadowlands, Florida at Tampa, and at Michigan - all
within 19-20 days. Then we had very good FSU, Purdue (beat OSU, Michigan, ND), Maryland and BC teams on the schedule.
That Florida team was stacked too. They probably had their best OLine and they had Kerwin Bell and three wonderful RBs
in Neal Anderson, Lorenzo Hampton and John L. Williams.
To quote a President, the schedule was "No Joke".
Anyways, this is my recollection.
I may have miss some things.
