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My only thing about the WR position is that if they were in a different offensive system they would be more explosive & more productive, this Enox offense neutralizes our speed at WR.

Just look at what SMU, Ark St, UCF, OK St, Wake Forest & UNC all did with their WR's with the high level production they put on the field & none of them have higher rated WR's than us. **** even ECU has a TF WR who was a low 3-star WR in HS & had 54rec 908yds this season.

Trust me, put JT4, Wiggins, Pope, Payton, Harley & the bunch in a Modern Spread attack & watch how drastically different they look.
I agree, it will make a difference.. and I do agree they are more than enough to light up the schedule that we play, especially when you combine with our other skill positions..

But I dont see a true #1 type and not sure we are recruiting those to go up against better teams.. Not if we have one committed at moment either..
 
Very well said D$!

"Enos has been a bust. This one is easy. The top 5 teams in yards per play are Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, Clemson and Ohio State. It’s an important stat. Enos finished 90th. Even Richt’s teams averaged 51st, and he was using a playbook from 1992. There is no choice but firing Enos. And since “pro-style offense” has been the common thread through 15 years of failure, it is time for a dedicated spread offense."

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯💯!!!!!!!!

Nice and all, but Miami doesn't have anywhere close to the offensive talent those four have. Doesn't matter the scheme if your QB and OL are below average, at best. Miami is a long way from being anywhere close to those four.
 
I agree, it will make a difference.. and I do agree they are more than enough to light up the schedule that we play, especially when you combine with our other skill positions..

But I dont see a true #1 type and not sure we are recruiting those to go up against better teams.. Not if we have one committed at moment either..
I think Payton has that ability be a true #1, Redding May not have the production primarily due to playing in a sh*tty offense but IMO he has that ability to be a #1, he’s the most athletic receiver we have have the second he walks into the room with a great build and speed and was beating dbs throughout the opening week. I’m very high on his ability. Also not writing off none of the other receivers we already have in the room, despite maybe not consistent production they all have flashed in their reps they are given
 
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We suck. So this is a long list. The problem might be as simple as "Manny Diaz and the people who hired him." But someone is going to have to fix these issues, so let's address the specifics:

Lack of discipline. We dropped from 48th to 104th in penalties. We finished with a total score of 41-42 against G5 teams. For comparison, Richt’s UM teams averaged a 43-18 win against G5. Worst of all, Manny was 0-3 coming off byes. The stats show that this team lost focus at every opportunity. Manny might be attuned to analytics, but analytics don’t mean much if your players don’t respect you.

The first change should be accountability. In retrospect, it was a mistake to bring back Jeff Thomas. He’s not good enough and his football character is not good enough. It’s one thing to tolerate a hard-working whoremonger like Michael Irvin. Jeff isn’t that kind of team player. Navaughn Donaldson is another example. He was too fat to play. Pat Riley doesn’t condone that with professionals. Manny shouldn’t condone it with college kids.

This class is critically important because of the high number of early enrollees. If they are ready to play, it gives Manny more leverage to bench underperformers.

Lack of leadership in the QB room. We’ve struggled here since at least 2007. It’s either been criminal issues (Marve and Olsen), discipline issues (Jarren and Kosi) or work ethic issues (Rosier, Jacory, Morris). The only guy who conducted himself like a quarterback was Brad Kaaya. Not coincidentally, he’s also our all-time leading passer.

We can’t rely on Jarren or Kosi. Ideally, Tyler Van Dyke is the real deal and a worker. If there is any doubt in January, bring in a grad transfer to compete. Maybe he comes in with the new OC.

Enos has been a bust. This one is easy. The top 5 teams in yards per play are Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, Clemson and Ohio State. It’s an important stat. Enos finished 90th. Even Richt’s teams averaged 51st, and he was using a playbook from 1992. There is no choice but firing Enos. And since “pro-style offense” has been the common thread through 15 years of failure, it is time for a dedicated spread offense.

The OL stinks. Barry’s OL can’t run block or pass block. They are 113th in yards per rush. They are 112nd in sack percentage. Barry is also struggling to recruit. Signing Day is a week away, and he only has two commits. Barry needs to fired along with Enos.

The Michigan model is our best hope. They were awful in 2017. Harbaugh hired a new coach and developed his young starters. Eventually, they grew into a solid unit. Nelson, Campbell, Gaynor, Clark and Scaife should get better – individually and as a group – with more time in the weight room and more experience. Time will tell how much better they get. There was some really bad film but also flashes of athleticism and toughness.

Donaldson should not play again until he loses at least 25 pounds. Given his knee injury, a full redshirt makes some sense. You can bring him back for the last four games and keep his redshirt. A grad transfer should come in to compete and add depth. Herbert and Hillary are currently unplayable.

No speed in the back 7. Our LBs and DBs were too slow this year. The speed at LB should improve naturally with guys like McCloud, Brooks and Huff. Speed at DB is another story. This class is a disaster. I’ve defended Rumph and Banda in the past because their players developed. But they have been negligent this cycle. This class reminds me of Golden and Shannon’s depth-killing DB classes. That's how you end up starting grad transfers. Manny needs to evaluate that operation from top-to-bottom, with all options on the table.

One thing I’d like us to do is pursue big-time traits out of state. If you can’t get the Tyriques of the world with the total package, find a tough high-ceiling guy and pair him with a high-floor local player. There are plenty of viable DBs in South Florida and you can task your recruiting department with tracking down out-of-state speedsters.

We are too slow to offer. We aren’t good enough to offer kids late. We need to be first and we need to be aggressive. OL recruiting is a perfect example. Everyone down here knew this was a historic OL class in South Florida. But the SEC beat us to the punch and took the best guys. How does LSU offer a Cuban OL before UM? That’s unforgivable. We don’t have a problem dropping guys, so get in early and be aggressive.

Barry is saying the right things about OL traits but he is slow to actually identify those players. For example, I posted about a player named James Pogorelc from Virginia. This was in May 2019 and he still had no offers. His testing numbers were public and his film showed a prototype tackle in the Barry mold—tall (6’7), flexible, coordinated, laterally quick (4.68 shuttle) with great grades. I even sent his name to the staff. We did nothing.

Flash forward seven months. We are still short on tackles, and Pogorelc now has offers from Michigan and Stanford. If we had gotten him on campus in spring or Paradise we could have stolen him. Now, there’s no chance. Given the state of our program, we need to be ahead of the curve.

We need a more consistent run game. Miami finished dead last nationally in power success rate, per Football Outsiders. Some of that is on the OL. But in general, the Enos run game was boom or bust. If Dallas leaves, this becomes a much bigger problem. Harris, Lingard, Chaney and Knighton are big-play backs but they aren't guys who chew up yards between the tackles. Marcus Crowley could prove to be one of the biggest misses from the 2019 class.

One option is adding more of a QB-run dynamic. Trevor Lawrence has run for 407 yards and 7 TDs this year. Lawrence is a better athlete than our QBs, but the difference is slight when you look at testing numbers. Get those guys involved.

We have no proven WRs. One of the most glaring aspects of the FIU and Duke games was that our WRs couldn't separate. Some of that is schematic. But we don't have enough proven playmakers. It would be nice to see athletic workers like Payton and Wiggins step up in the bowl game and carry that into the offseason. We need a couple players to separate from the pack.

We need to get more out of our TEs. This is a first-world problem, but we never got Jordan and Mallory going at the same time. One adjustment I would make is using Mallory more like a flexed receiver. He was in-line too often when they were together and he performed worse than I expected. Throw him some screens and get him running with the ball. Jordan is just as good of a receiver, but he is so much better as a blocker that it makes sense for him to take on the bigger role there.

Add it all up and you have 6-6. The only group I'm comfortable with is DL. We've finished 2nd, 2nd and 7th in sack percentage the last three years and now we are stopping the run. Recruiting is also going well. That's a godsend, because DL is one of the most difficult positions to restock.

The bowl game is irrelevant but also important. The young guys and the OL should be eager to prove themselves. And Manny needs to show that he can keep his players focus when it isn't FSU or Florida week. So far, he's failed spectacularly.
 
Some of your best, most realistic work, @DMoney. As I wrote to you elsewhere...

The heart of our program's issue is broader and probably deserves an entire article itself: we are currently a superficial program. We hire people who seemingly try to figure out their work on the job with limited humility or self-awareness. The result is currently a fake program.

I spent the offseason excited about the future based on offseason data points (all we could analyze and discuss then) and consistently qualifying almost each post with "if these guys game plan and coach as detailed and specific as how they communicate, market and brand," we're going to do great things. Guess what: the season came around.

@DMoney mentioned how Manny is "attuned to analytics." From everything I can see, it seems shaky. I think Manny wants to appear like he's into analytics. Going for a 2-point conversion down 14 near or into the 4th quarter is about the only real life example that stands out in my brain. The rest? It's about as far away from analytics as you can get. We were 89th in plays per game, 90th in yards per play, 130th in 3rd down conversion. We ran a 7 minute grind out drive when an opponent (FIU) was faking injuries to slow us down. So despite any basic metric saying to speed up our approach, we consistently got in plays late to an offense that could barely get going. There is nothing in evidence that backs up analytics-driven behaviors.

We market ourselves as a "cutting edge" program. Where is the evidence? Besides throwing on beach trash as uniforms and some Kinder-level extrinsic motivation and positive reinforcement with gameday jewelry, what do we do that's cutting edge? Our defense throws out some exotic blitzes, but then they become dull the 45th time we blitz a deep Safety from the boundary. Again, we want appear cutting edge without doing the work.

And, guess what happens when the entire program, because this isn't about only what we saw on the field this year, has a culture of appearance > evidence? Well, you attract people and players with similar behavioral patterns. Or, worse, you model those behaviors for impressionable young players.

Early on this season, after I saw what I needed to see post-UNC, I wrote a post about returning to substance. The whole program will continue to float around until we prioritize action over talk, evidence over appearance and work over flash. Till then, I'll hang back in incredible disappointment that I thought some offseason data points might finally carry over into what counts: what we do on the football field. Once we get back to that, I'm up for whatever dancing, jewelry, and marketing we want to do. Can't sell a fake product forever - even if the target market is desperate on hope. As we have been.
With what you first started with, we should shelve the whole NFLU thing that permeates the program, the guys that earned that werent even here for it and ever since it was picked up by other to use as work being done by them, we have sucked and players that do come here leave early if they will be drafted or not based on that brand.. Its was a cool little thing but we are soo far removed from the guys that actually earned that and it doesnt relaly reap us any benefit other than losing guys who souldnt be leaving early..

Yes I know all schools have to deal with ealry departure but here at the U, we champion it... All it takes is for a player to play ONE great game and they are fielding NFL draft questions from reporters and being told by fans on social media they will be first round picks..
 
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Good post...Couple things

WR: Wiggins is developing...Also worth noting that Jeff Thomas flat out went through the motions from Louisville on. Not celebrating with teammates, head down, etc, etc...

TE: We probably used the TE position more than 90 pct of teams in the nation. Can't agree with you there. Also Mallory flexed out is an OK idea and it was used early on, when we do that though you keep a Dee Wiggins, a Harley, etc...on the bench and those guys can play too.

Also, chasing national DB isn't going to get you anywhere. We've BEEN CHASING NATIONAL DBs...We offered tons of kids from tex, from LA, etc, etc... Take the easier route and focus on the kids in your backyard and cast a bigger net. Can you bring in 1 OOS'er per year or every year? of course. Find a stud oos'er. But the problem with DB recruiting isn't not getting OOS kids, it's missing locally...And I'm not just talking missing on Surtain, Stevenson, etc...I'm talking missing on Delancey, Hodges, D. Brown and most of all (seems worse every day) Francois. I can name a ton more...I never agreed that this was a poor DB class in Sofla. It lacked star power at top, but it was as deep as ever. Mike Rumph has to go...There is no other option left here, I'd love for Banda to go with him because he's just an annoying *******, but only Enos, Barry, James are more important fires right now. Good dude, terrible recruiter. It ain't exactly Bama, LSU, OSU he's losing the kids to this cycle either.

But folks on here are saying kids like JT need to be recruited anyway. They would rather beat their chest to the 4 or 5 star on the roster then see actual production.
 
... For example, I posted about a player named James Pogorelc from Virginia. This was in May 2019 and he still had no offers. His testing numbers were public and his film showed a prototype tackle in the Barry mold—tall (6’7), flexible, coordinated, laterally quick (4.68 shuttle) with great grades. I even sent his name to the staff. We did nothing.

Flash forward seven months. We are still short on tackles, and Pogorelc now has offers from Michigan and Stanford.
If we had gotten him on campus in spring or Paradise we could have stolen him. Now, there’s no chance. Given the state of our program, we need to be ahead of the curve.
Jesus Christ make it stop
 
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I think Payton has that ability be a true #1, Redding May not have the production primarily due to playing in a sh*tty offense but IMO he has that ability to be a #1, he’s the most athletic receiver we have have the second he walks into the room with a great build and speed
None of those guys have made plays here yet.. Payton enrolled early and couldnt make a play?

With the way we have been 15 years I am more in the show me mindset.. Does Redding have hands, can he catch? Right now he is daniel Adderly until he makes a play in college..
 
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"No speed in the back 7. Our LBs and DBs were too slow this year. The speed at LB should improve naturally with guys like McCloud, Brooks and Huff. Speed at DB is another story. This class is a disaster. I’ve defended Rumph and Banda in the past because their players developed. But they have been negligent this cycle. This class reminds me of Golden and Shannon’s depth-killing DB classes. That's how you end up starting grad transfers. Manny needs to evaluate that operation from top-to-bottom, with all options on the table."

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agree with this 1,000%. DB recruiting is lagging, I like Rumph & Banda as people but the fact is they're not getting it done as recruiters.

We need more Depth at CB & the methodology by which we go about offering kids at this spot is asinine. We're either too lazy or too picky with how we recruit CB's & then when we strike out on multiple targets we just sit pat & act like nothing's wrong, it's annoying AF.

Al Blades has been good for us & I believe he's going to be much better next year, but Ivey is a HUGE liability in coverage, his technique is poor, he has no recovery speed & he lacks physicality in rerouting the WR despite the fact he's a pretty **** big corner.
They want LBs at CB. All they talk about is tackling.
 
@DMoney with all do respect but don’t absolve the defense in this mess, they failed us in the 4th quarter in literally every loss and that must be added to your list of problems

Just going to talk about the losses, not even going to mention other games where our 4th quarter defense was bad like pitt and cmu. We had 5 out of 6 losses in the 4th quarter in which the defense had the lead or a tie(va tech) but gave up a td right after in everyone of those instances.

Vs uf had lead in the 4th with 9:30 left
Leading 20-17 let them go on a 85 yard drive to score a td

vs unc had the lead in the 4th with 3minutes left

After the offense led a td drive. Defense gives up a 4th and 17 with 3 minutes left in the game and proceed to let unc march down the field.

vs Va tech
Had a tie in the 4th with limited time remaining
We allowed va tech 6 redzone trips and they scored a td on each of those 6 trips... not to mention when we did make a comeback we let them walk right down the field and score a td in the 4th quarter.

vs ga tech
Had the lead in the 4th
29 missed tackles attributed to the amount of time they were able to burn off in the game . Horrible tackling performance by the defense and couldn’t get a stop when we needed to

vs fiu
we let fiu really score 30 points against us including 2 4th quarter tds? Like what are we doing here?

vs duke
Had the lead in the 4th quarter and let duke score 2 tds in that period

People can say well the games shouldn’t have been that close if the offense did their job but what good is it to have these meaningless stats on defense if you CANNOT depend on them in crunch time when it matters most? Our defense failed us just as much as anyone else when we needed them to step up. It’s common place for people to just blame the offense and yes without and it’s no secret we do but this defense needs this criticism but if we just throw all the blame to the O again these coaches/players on that side of the ball are still going to think their sh*t don’t stank and they aren’t issue. But what I can say as I’ve illustrated above they are in cahoots with this debacle of a season to along with the offense if you ask me :monkey-serious:

He didn't absolve the defense. He said the back 7 is lacking speed and development. Recruiting's also been a problem. Both the offense and defense have been a problem. But it's been more glaring on offense. Having a competent offense makes a difference as most of these games aren't as reliant on the defense being as dominant. But Baker needs to go as well.
 
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