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Question for Insiders re Jordan Miller?

TheChosenOne said:
It hard to explain but Wilfork is just naturally big he wasn't out of shape. Dude was a top rated DT in the country so you knew his athleticism and talent was legit. He was also on the track and field team as well at UM.

Trying to compare this guy to Wilfork is like when people try to compare any 6'3 safety to Sean Taylor. Those guys were the best in their class. Your not suppose to look at a 2-3 star DT who looked as big as Wilfork and think he can turn into the next Wilfork when Wilfork was a 4-5 star kid who was one of the best DT in his class. Because most 2-3 stars are 2-3 stars for a reason. Doesn't mean they can't improve but they're rated that low because they're limited overall.
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He was ranked low because he played for a small school and didn’t attend any camps. One of the better schools they played said they couldn’t block the guy. They had no answer for him. Now, if that sounds like an average Joe to you, that’s your business. Had Miller played in Dade County and attended camps, he’d have been rated much higher much faster. You can’t teach size with that speed. Miller is a naturally big dude that is very strong and quick. He’s not a big fat guy that just eats up space. He’s a disruptive force. You’ll see.
 
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TheChosenOne said:
It hard to explain but Wilfork is just naturally big he wasn't out of shape. Dude was a top rated DT in the country so you knew his athleticism and talent was legit. He was also on the track and field team as well at UM.

Trying to compare this guy to Wilfork is like when people try to compare any 6'3 safety to Sean Taylor. Those guys were the best in their class. Your not suppose to look at a 2-3 star DT who looked as big as Wilfork and think he can turn into the next Wilfork when Wilfork was a 4-5 star kid who was one of the best DT in his class. Because most 2-3 stars are 2-3 stars for a reason. Doesn't mean they can't improve but they're rated that low because they're limited overall.
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MIller didn’t attend camps so that explains his rating
 
Yep.

Rankings don't matter.

What does matter is how well our coaches can evaluate players, then develop and coach them.

Russell Maryland was the last player taken in his class.

Ended up being drafted #1 overall.

ThomasM said:
He was ranked low because he played for a small school and didn’t attend any camps. One of the better schools they played said they couldn’t block the guy. They had no answer for him. Now, if that sounds like an average Joe to you, that’s your business. Had Miller played in Dade County and attended camps, he’d have been rated much higher much faster. You can’t teach size with that speed. Miller is a naturally big dude that is very strong and quick. He’s not a big fat guy that just eats up space. He’s a disruptive force. You’ll see.
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jkaz1 said:
Yep.

Rankings don't matter.

What does matter is how well our coaches can evaluate players, then develop and coach them.

Russell Maryland was the last player taken in his class.

Ended up being drafted #1 overall.
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In some cases the rankings are right, but when a player is off the radar like Miller, it's understandable that he couldn't possibly be ranked higher. He simply didn't get noticed, and didn't go to camps to try to get noticed. He is an anomaly now, as the internet has really made it easier for people to see practically everyone. However, it happens. A great player fell through the cracks and right into our laps.
 
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He went from a small school (Palatka) to Sandalwood, then dominated every team Sandalwood played started getting exposure and made it to a 3* DT without a single camp. His video shows an insanely fast first move, and even more impressive for a guy his size.

“He’s the real deal,’’ Mandarin High coach Bernard Harrell, whose program played against Miller, told CaneSport. “He emerged out of nowhere. We played him and couldn’t block him. I was like, ‘Who is this kid?’’’
 
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It was a question for insiders that are given info or see things and are able to get info like 40 times and bench press stats. Coaches, staff, insiders and players play close attention to newcomers and will know if a guy has certain skills even before the pads go on. I know we have to endure the silly little boys attempts at humor, but that's to be expected.
 
reg said:
"Desperate?"

This is an ignorant post. First of all, the only reason why Miller was a 3 star recruit is because he played for a small school in the middle of nowhere, in which he didn't attend any camps. He was literally an unknown prospect. For his senior year, his family moved to Jacksonville in efforts to get Miller more exposure, because they knew they would not be able to afford sending him to camps. He DOMINATED every team, pretty much on every play of the season, in which some of the most respected coaches in Jacksonville called him the most dominant DT that they have ever seen come through Jax.

The teams that offered him, were not desperate. They were the ones who were fortunate enough to watch him when they came to scout/recruit other players that were on the opposing team's (this is especially the case for Tennessee and Virginia)

Miami got on board after receiving a call from Jordan's head coach, who's son happens to be a linebacker at The U. Miami saw his film and then sent 5 coaches to his home the next day, including Richt. Part of the quick vetting process, was Hartley calling all of his Jacksonville connections, in which they confirmed that Jordan was an absolute monster and would be the steal of the 2018 class.

Before you talk **** about one of our players, who has not even played a down for us yet, you should know what the f'uck you are talking about. Unlike Miami choosing to offer Jordan, your post seems a bit "desperate"
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k9cane said:
Cortez Kennedy, but bigger, stronger and quicker first step




(hopefully)
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Cortez came in overweight as a junior (JUCO transfer). He was a backup in '88. The Coaches told him he could be an A-A if he got his weight down. Their persuasion must have worked.

Interestingly, there was another kid from the same JUCO, I can't remember the name. It was in Mississippi. The kid, Eddie Blake, was being recruited in '89. You could see him in a purple jersey on our sideline at the '89 ND game in the OB. I saw him on the tape cheering our team on. I was at the game and spoke to Eddie after the game. I asked him if he was coming to the U. He said he was. The guy was absolutely massive. He didn't look that fat, either. A little while later, Cortez Kennedy came out of the locker room. He looked so much smaller than Blake. I think Blake went to Auburn eventually and became an OL. Never heard of him again.
 
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OriginalCanesCanesCanes said:
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I think Cortez Kennedy was an unknown in HS. He turned up at UM in his third year after two years in JUCO. He came to UM in '88, meaning he would have been a HS senior in '86. I was reading recruiting publications then. I never remember reading about Kennedy. He came out of JUCO and became a superstar a few years later.

Kennedy might have come from the JUCO in Senatobia, MS. They had a coach there named Franklin, I think. I remember calling Franklin's office and talking to his wife. I guess JUCO programs were so bare-bones that family sometimes helped out in the office. This is so long ago, about '88 or '89, so it's like thirty years. I used to talk to journalists and whoever else might talk to me about players in their areas. I remember talking to a Denver Post HS sportswriter about Darren Krein. That's how bored I was at work.
 
TheMatador said:
Cortez came in overweight as a junior (JUCO transfer). He was a backup in '88. The Coaches told him he could be an A-A if he got his weight down. Their persuasion must have worked.

Interestingly, there was another kid from the same JUCO, I can't remember the name. It was in Mississippi. The kid, Eddie Blake, was being recruited in '89. You could see him in a purple jersey on our sideline at the '89 ND game in the OB. I saw him on the tape cheering our team on. I was at the game and spoke to Eddie after the game. I asked him if he was coming to the U. He said he was. The guy was absolutely massive. He didn't look that fat, either. A little while later, Cortez Kennedy came out of the locker room. He looked so much smaller than Blake. I think Blake went to Auburn eventually and became an OL. Never heard of him again.
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Blake did play OL for Auburn, and amazingly enough was a 2nd round draft pick of the..........................MIAMI DOLPHINS.
 
TheMatador said:
Cortez came in overweight as a junior (JUCO transfer). He was a backup in '88. The Coaches told him he could be an A-A if he got his weight down. Their persuasion must have worked.

Interestingly, there was another kid from the same JUCO, I can't remember the name. It was in Mississippi. The kid, Eddie Blake, was being recruited in '89. You could see him in a purple jersey on our sideline at the '89 ND game in the OB. I saw him on the tape cheering our team on. I was at the game and spoke to Eddie after the game. I asked him if he was coming to the U. He said he was. The guy was absolutely massive. He didn't look that fat, either. A little while later, Cortez Kennedy came out of the locker room. He looked so much smaller than Blake. I think Blake went to Auburn eventually and became an OL. Never heard of him again.
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Matador, the story is that during the off-season in 89, as Erickson took over, it was Russell Maryland that basically took him running and disciplined him. It was amazing that a quality guy like Jimmie Jones( who had a very nice NFL career) was supplanted as a senior.

I dont think this program has ever seen a guy make a last season jump the way Tez did from afterthought to the 3rd pick in the draft and an eventual NFL Hall of Famer
 
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k9cane said:
Matador, the story is that during the off-season in 89, as Erickson took over, it was Russell Maryland that basically took him running and disciplined him. It was amazing that a quality guy like Jimmie Jones( who had a very nice NFL career) was supplanted as a senior.

I dont think this program has ever seen a guy make a last season jump the way Tez did from afterthought to the 3rd pick in the draft and an eventual NFL Hall of Famer
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Yep. Actually, it started with Randy Shannon, who lived with Tez and when Randy left for the Cowboys, Russ Maryland took over and took Tez under his wings.

And you reminded me about Jimmie Jones! More than ever, he makes my point about Jimmy Johnson recruiting desperation reaches and longshots, not five star marquee names. Jimmie Jones was recruited by no one. He did not play football his senior year. He had to work during the summer and a new coach at Okeechobee would not let kids on the team who did not come out for football in the summer before school started. Jimmie had to wait until school started because he had to work so he didn't play football his senior year in HS. Jimmy Johnson found out about him and offered. He wouldn't have reached for this kid who had not even played as a senior had he been recruiting a bunch of blue-chippers. Yet all the know-it-alls on this board think that's all he was doing. Let me tell you, he was not.

Yes, Jimmie Jones was a **** of a find. When he left the Cowboys, I think, he signed the largest free-agency contract for a DT in the NFL up to that time. So, he was displaced by Tez. Means nothing. We had a rotation in '89, with future NFL studs like Jimmie Jones and Shane Curry in the rotation at DT and DE, respectively. That was some kind of defense, probably the best DL we ever had and one of the best in CFB history. How many were big name recruits? Kennedy? Nope. Maryland? uh-uh. Shane Curry? well, maybe. Recruited out of Cincinnati Princeton HS (?) as a LB and started his career at Georgia Tech. Willis Peguese? Well, no name until his senior year and turned up on national lists. Probably one of the top two recruits in the state along with Darius Frazier out of Hallandale. We got both of those guys, but lost so many other blue chippers the year we got those two. Darius Frazier didn't last. Got arrested for dealing. Don't know what happened to him. I heard a report though that when he was at UM he was throwing OLs around "like matchsticks." Then when he was forced out after his arrest, some told me he was just a placeholder until Tez came in. I doubt that. Darius Frazier was one of the truly serious top recruits we got during an otherwise dismal mediocre era in our recruiting. It's a tribute to hard work by kids and great coaching that we had such good teams during that era.

Here's a story outlining Tez' history. I actually knew his mom. Spoke to her for the longest time after that huge win over ND in '89. She called him Kurt. That was really his nickname growing up. I found Tez' bio at NW Mississipi.

Here's some stuff:

How Cortez Kennedy became the NFL's premiere DT (1992)

Cortez "Kurt" Kennedy

Official Site of the Northwest Mississippi Rangers - Cortez Kennedy - Class of 1988 - Hall of Fame - Northwest Mississippi Community College

Those are some amazing memories....I also had a brief talk with Russ Maryland whom I ran into in the lobby of the Holiday Inn across from campus. I was staying there and Tez' parents were on the same floor. I ended up talking for the longest time to his mom. I don't think she told me, but she pulled him off the football team in 10th grade since his grades were so bad. He didn't have a 2.0 his senior year so he got recruited by no one.

Really a shame to lose this guy at such a young age. You could see from all the articles, hypertension, diabetes, edema in the legs, and possible early heart failure, the danger of being overweight. I hate to say it, and it's none of my business, but I hope that Big Vince finds a way to keep his weight down. He is huge and both his parents died at relatively young ages from weight-related diseases, such as stroke and diabetes. I hope his wife really works on him.

I remember back in the '70's there was a strike, I think, by the NFL players. They had publicized a statistic showing that the average life expectancy for an NFL alum was about ten years lower than the average male American.

Gotten way off topic, but I think a young prospect like Jordan Miller, with his natural size and quickness can develop himself into an amazing football player. That will take a lot of hard work but he's in the right place to do it.
 
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reg said:
"Desperate?"

This is an ignorant post. First of all, the only reason why Miller was a 3 star recruit is because he played for a small school in the middle of nowhere, in which he didn't attend any camps. He was literally an unknown prospect. For his senior year, his family moved to Jacksonville in efforts to get Miller more exposure, because they knew they would not be able to afford sending him to camps. He DOMINATED every team, pretty much on every play of the season, in which some of the most respected coaches in Jacksonville called him the most dominant DT that they have ever seen come through Jax.

The teams that offered him, were not desperate. They were the ones who were fortunate enough to watch him when they came to scout/recruit other players that were on the opposing team's (this is especially the case for Tennessee and Virginia)

Miami got on board after receiving a call from Jordan's head coach, who's son happens to be a linebacker at The U. Miami saw his film and then sent 5 coaches to his home the next day, including Richt. Part of the quick vetting process, was Hartley calling all of his Jacksonville connections, in which they confirmed that Jordan was an absolute monster and would be the steal of the 2018 class.

Before you talk **** about one of our players, who has not even played a down for us yet, you should know what the f'uck you are talking about. Unlike Miami choosing to offer Jordan, your post seems a bit "desperate"
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Now your choosing to tell this dude where to go and how to get there, while he chooses to make negative **** up about a Cane freshman who has a bright future
 
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