But the sky is not falling and the Miami football program as a whole is in pretty good shape. Lets break this down into two parts. This years recruiting (and future years) and next years schedule and roster. (sorry for the length of the post but I'm so tired of reading that the sky is falling because it's not!)
Recruiting:
There is no way to spin this...We have taken our lumps in this years recruiting class and it's because our Coaching staff and team did not perform well against a really average schedule. Our verbal commits noticed that and were quick to abandon ship. However, we still have 14 commits and while the majority of them are defensive commits, the staff is out trying to recover from the defections that have happened. I absolutely love how some of you are so quick to question why the staff did not have a back up plan in place for all these de-commitments. It's not that easy. These targets they had were all hurricanes (and were saying all the right things) until the last couple of months. If we go out and offer kids while we have other kids (who were still verbally committed to us) that were still in play it will have negative factors in both scholarship limits and it pretty much tells those verbal commitments that we don't think your coming. Did that happen? Yes but the staff is out trying to recover from those defections. ESD is nice but it's not the tell all of recruiting and I firmly believe (and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one) that the staff will salvage this class. Richt and his staff are experienced and are working their butts off trying to make up for what has happened. Unless we sign everyone that we think we will, we won't get in the top 15 but we can finish in the top 25 which isn't bad considering a 7-5 record and how stupid we looked on offense the whole year.
So we finish in the top 25 and with our last two classes (12th nationally in 2017 and 8th nationally in 2018) we will still be able to put one **** of a product on the field in 2019. And Surge 2020 recruiting class is still intact and with a schedule that sets up nicely for us in 2019, Richt and his staff could close that class out in the top 10 which will be big in helping us to recover in key skill positions going forward.
So why will we be "better" in 2019? There are several reasons but I will stick to the top ones
1. Our offense will be better because we will have a "true" QB and not a running back acting like a QB. No matter if it's Perry or Williams, they will be an upgrade because they both "look" like QB's. We saw at the end of the year that Perry (while not great) made enough plays with his legs and arms to win games. The critical thing is that he did not turn over the ball. If we don't turn the ball over teams that we play in the ACC don't have a great shot to beat us. Look at the games in which we lost and turnovers were a major reason why. ****, Perry can go 6-20 and not turn the ball over and we still beat Pitt by 20 points.
2. Lingard, Davis and Dallas are the real deal. All we need is the threat of a passer to be our QB and it allows these running backs to be more effective. We had success running the ball against teams at the end of the year and some of it was because spread defenses out. But I also surmise that the offense was better because teams had to respect Perry's arm. He may not always make the right read (and has cold streaks that last for way too long) but he has legitimate arm strength and is pretty accurate. Defenses have to account for that.
3. I like the idea of a OL with a nasty edge. While I thought the line improved in the last two games I truly expect that a OL line made up of Scaife, Donaldson, Gaynor, Reed has a ton of potential going into next year and attitude to boot. We need to see who our LT is but it's not like Darling was great. He was average with some of you calling him a turnstile. Let's see who we get but I'm confident in that front four being able to handle the DL's of any ACC coastal team.
4. Jordan, Mallory are true impact TE who gained a ton of experience this year and will have a full off season to really bulk up/condition. With Irvins and Polendy back (and at least 1 TE we should get in recruiting) we will have depth for next year. The possibility of putting both those guys out at the same time is a nightmare for D coordinators to have to deal with. Combine that with a receiving core that also will have an offseason to bulk up/condition and the possibility is there for a dynamic offense.
5. Last but not least, the defense led by Manny Diaz is going to make life a living **** on ACC teams. Miami's D even if it takes a slight step back will still be able to handle the the offenses that UNC, Pitt, Duke, GT, etc. throw at it. Again, the offense just needs to not turn over the ball and no team that we face next year will be favored to beat us.
Richt needs to hire an O.C. Will he do it is the question. However, even if he doesn't a record of 9-1 or even 10-0 in the regular season is very realistic. UNC, Louisville and GT all have new coaching staffs and will need to rebuild/retool. Pitt can't throw the ball period. Duke loses Jones and a ton of Sr on their defense. Virginia loses 3/4 of their experience secondary and can't throw the ball either. Our only real challenges next year are Florida and Fla St. and if that's the case, I have to give us the edge even if we are running "30 year old plays" from a 6 play playbook.
Do me a favor, if you do down vote me please tell me what you don't agree with. I'm truly interested in where I'm off base with what I wrote.
GO CANES!!!!
