CaneSB,
Good stuff. A couple of things I wanted to touch on.
1. Quincy Wilson - We all certainly understand the "politics" that permeate South Florida football. Your analysis of his recruitment might be correct (talent evaluation) however in my opinion, the staff viewed his potential character flaws as a risk that outweighed the rewards, in the short and long run.
There seem to be a couple misconceptions about Wilson's recruitment. Some say that the staff wanted him at safety instead of corner. Others say we dropped him because of character. The truth is the staff just didn't like him as a player. And I get it-- Wilson is a flawed prospect. But what perplexes me is that the staff ignored even more flaws for Ryan Mayes and missed the opportunity to have a vocal Miami advocate on a SFE team filled with All-Americans every year. The cost-benefit analysis there does not make sense.
4. QB - again, not sure how you can characterize their recruiting at the QB position as "clumsy." They got their guy in Kaaya and it most likely that all of their tactics were guided by not losing him. Perhaps offering Treon early may have led to Kaaya's departure and it wasn't until the end that they felt Kaaya was in the bank and that Treon was ripe for taking. Further, Rosier came down to camp and they offered him very early and he committed. It seems like there QB recruiting was very calculated and the least bit "clumsy." It is fair to disagree with their evaluations but unfair to characterize their process as you did.
The staff offered Eduoard as a QB, took his commit, changed their minds and dropped him. They didn't offer Treon as a QB, realized their mistake with a month left before NSD and offered him. That strikes me as clumsy. They had two other quarterbacks committed during Kaaya's recruitment, so I don't see how refusing to offer Treon as a QB had anything to do with scaring off Kaaya.
2. Stubborn on Size - every year there a handful of kids who go elsewhere that you can make a case they should have been recruited. How come we didn't take McKenzie and Dowels when we signed Berrios? I don't think Golden has a moratorium on size but when you are not ELITE (i.e. Duke Johnson, Joe Yearby, Corn Elder), the risk increases significantly with average measurables (height and speed being the most critical) and you have to be selective.
As discussed above, we initially refused to offer Berrios and would have lost him if he wasn't such a die-hard Cane. And a stubborn devotion to size is the only way to rationalize Mayes over Dowels. Mayes isn't even physical-- his own coach called him soft. As for McKenzie, we had enough room to take him and Berrios. It's not against the rules to have two under 6' receivers. The Patriots won Super Bowls that way. When McKenzie is on SportsCenter changing games, it will reflect poorly on the staff.
6. Defensive Scheme - We signed Demetrius Jackson, Chad Thomas and Anthony Moten. 3 of the top defensive players in south Florida. Valentine was the only local defensive player (off the top of my head) that we recruited heavily that didn't sign with us. This defensive scheme is hurting recruiting mantra is BS.
Most of this class was signed up before the defense collapsed. Rival coaches started using the defensive scheme against us at the end of the year. Alabama used that pitch on Chad Thomas heavily, which is why we were sweating. Chad even said that Alabama was the better football opportunity, but Miami gave him options after football. Valentine was a very vocal critic of the scheme. Someone fed him that line, but the fact that the defense was atrocious made us vulnerable to that approach. This will hurt us even more next year.
Finally, you list several big-time prospects that left South Florida in the past. But if you'll notice, very few of the guys you listed are from the 99-01 era. That's because Butch cemented a national championship by locking down the area with a string of bonanza classes. That's what many were hoping for this year, and they didn't get it. I hope those classes are yet to come.
1. Quincy Wilson - Since you have used Ryan Mayes in numerous examples, it is clear that you are not very high on him. I have't seen his film nor will I watch it. But the debate about is not about offering Mayes instead, it is about the type of personality Golden does and doesn't want on this team. The coaching staff just flat out didn't like the kid's personality. Doesn't mean his is a bad kid. It just wasn't a fit and having an outspoken parent played a factor as well. (This is not an assumption, you can PM me if you want my sources). Further, you are drastically overestimating both Quincy and his father's influence on other players. However, if play along with your narrative, in the short term if could help with minimal long term benefits. But what about the scenario where he goes to UM and isn't happy? A CURRENT player with an outspoken father can do serious damage if they played their cards right and used the media properly to air the dirty laundry. Joe Rose, Manny Navarro, Gary Ferman would eat that **** up. The cost-benefit analysis makes PERFECT SENSE. The staff was not high on him as a player on and off the field. The upside was he committed to UM and helped recruit players...which he tried to do for Florida and failed. When you look at upside vs downside...the downside risk of bringing a potential locker room cancer onto the team at this critical point in the rebuilding process vastly outweighs his upside...unless, of course, he ends up as a top 10 pick which most will agree is highly unlikely.
2. QB - Cristobal was highly involved in Edouards recruitment. Cristobal left and they dropped Edouard. I guess that can be categorized as "changing their minds" but I don't see that as a bad thing. You keep using these demonstrative adjectives like
panicked. I don't know Golden personally but I think the last adjective I would use to describe anything he does is panic. There were multiple defections around the time they offered Treon...Bethel, Powell. They moved on from Turner. Valentine was on the ropes and Cook, etc was clearly signing elsewhere. Perhaps a better explanation was there was now room for a 3rd QB who could play other skill positions if it didn't work out at QB? Treon was committed to FSU at the time but he ultimately ended up at UF. Something happened with his recruitment and perhaps the staff had a spot available and decided to make a run. Was their evaluation and strategy misguided? Perhaps. But the staffs motivations and tactics are VERY calculated. As I stated numerous times, I understand the criticisms of evaluations but feel that you are attacking the issue from the wrong angle.
3. Stubborn on Size -What do you mean by refused to offer Berrios? First, there is a significant difference between 5'11 and 5'8 in football. Our coaches have recruited and signed a ton of players in the 5'10-5'11 range, some under 5'10. Duke, Dorsett, Tracey Howard, Malcolm Lewis, Corn Elder, Antonio Crawford and now Berrios. Brandon Powell was also under 6'0. Your comment about recruiting players under 6'0 is a inflammatory. But like all other programs, most tend to look for kids 5'11 and above. Filter any recruiting database and look at the players that sign with all of the major programs. Bama, Auburn, Oklahoma, etc sign at most, one player under 5'11 per year. Also, look at the quantity of players at that height and how may are successful and you are at a less than 1% hit rate. The odds are against you. To be that small and get an offer, you have to be extremely special. Isn't the reality that most schools are hesitant to offer kids under 5'11 without a ton of a conviction or other factors/influences? Berrios came to our camp and was impressive but it wasn't until he went to the opening and his short area quickness tested off the charts. Combined with his growing relationship with Kaaya (who had leverage) and you have a solid basis for offering him. What I find most interesting is McKenzie ended up at Georgia with Sony. Fairly confident that is not a coincidence. I don't know much of anything about Dowels or McKenzie but clearly the staff did not think they were worthy of a UM scholarship and but history proves that they have no problem recruiting players of any size and shape.
4 Defensive Scheme - Last time I checked, isn't Alabama a better opportunity right now? Probably had less to do with Miami's defense scheme being bad and more to do with Alabama putting 25 1st rounders into the league over the last 5-6 years. Pretty sure they can use that pitch against almost all schools.
But let's embellish for a minute on scheme and further, player development. As stated, I have strongly dug my heels in the ground and defended Golden and the scheme. I 100% unequivocally believe our defensive problems have been due to a lack of talent. The guys that do have talent are mostly sophomores and freshman. I think the world of these players hearts and commitment but Shayon Greene, Kacy Rodgers, Luther Robinson, Jimmy Gaines, Kelvin Cain, AJ Highsmith, Tyrone Cornelius, Justin Renfrow have no business being on the field for Miami. I 100% blame Shannon and think Golden has done a good job of restocking the talent pool.
Here is the rub....How can Golden and D'Nofrio go to Temple, recruit a bunch of 2 stars and produce 2 of the best Defensive Lineman in the NFL in under 5 years - Terrance Knighton and Muhammed Wilkerson? Same coaching, same scheme. You can attack the defensive numbers at Temple all you want - which were very good. How can anyone attack a philosophy that has concrete evidence that they can develop players? They also produced a 2nd rd pick at safety and on offense - Bernard Pierce and Rod Streater (900 yards receiving in 2013). That is not a fluke. Think back to what Golden and co did with Tommy Streeter, Ben Jones, and even the players mentioned above. We went 9-4 with those JAGS. The defense was atrocious as the season went on...I believe there are many factors that contributed to this which I can elaborate on at a later date, but I believe that there will be A **** TON of people on here eating their own words in 2 years.
