Swing and miss

[hurricaneman]

So it sounds like we had a 1A and 1A option at QB and weren't going to settle for less - and we'll end up with a QB worse than what we had last year.

I still don't buy the Howard narrative that all he had to do was sign. Even if that's what they told him, everyone "knew" Ward was Miami's main option, even if it wasn't true. That was the narrative. And narratives matter. I know it matters because they had to put out that 1A/1B bulls*** statement via insider guys and the press so that it didn't look bad for Howard.

The reality is you pick your guy, make him the belle of the ball, and ask for his commitment. If he doesn't commit that's on him and now Miami pursuing other options is in response, not in addition. Then you move on to "1B".

But this is the same mistake they eventually made with Ward. They lacked an outside perspective and were too lost in their own bulls***. From the outside, the Howard/Ward stuff timed so close seemed uncomfortable, people on this board talked about it. And then the prolonging of the Ward commitment seemed very weird. Again, multiple people kept saying that something is off but the staff clearly kept thinking it was near done. I get that if a guy has finalized an NIL deal you're feeling pretty good. But when that deal sits on the table for days, an then weeks, and the guy hasn't committed something is wrong. It took them way too long to see that. They should have realized it when ESD came and went without him committing.

I don't see this as a swing and miss. That implies, "you win some, you lose some". I see this as fielding a grounder as a second baseman and overthrowing the first baseman. You can't get the two best QB options in the portal on campus with the best NIL package and not land either one. That's a big time mistake.

 

[TheOriginalCane]

He signed with UCF.

No portal guys have signed with anyone.

I'm not saying KJ will go anywhere other than UCF, but we are entitled to talk to him for a couple more weeks.

 

[section9]

There's no getting around this fiasco.

BTW, this was a ****up on both sides. Mario should have walked away from the table and gone to Howard after Ward mucked around with FSU. The Ward people had too much negotiating leverage throughout the process. Now the Canes are screwed because they miscalculated and considered the chance of Ward opting for the League to be minimal, at best, when they didn't consider the kid's outsized ego.

For his part, Ward should have signed with us. I think the kid is getting bad advice. I don't think he goes in the High Rounds, because I think there are a lot of QB's coming out who are better than him. He needed that extra year of tape (JMHO) in a playoff environment. There's too much of a risk of him getting Brad Kaaya disease.

That said, I wish the Young Man all the best.

 

[Alex Del Piero]

Which you'd think would translate to the portal but i think he and Zo have been pretty average there at best unfortunately.

Not exactly, they have been pretty good in the portal except for QB and WR.

Lot’s of swing and miss at those positions, wonder why lol

*insert caveman gif*

 

[apfenny3]

Ward will be the 9th or 10th QB selected in the draft either before or after Pratt. Even at 9th, he'd be a 3rd round pick.

2024 NFL Draft Position Rankings: Quarterbacks | NFL Draft | PFF

USC's Caleb Williams headlines PFF's 2024 NFL Draft quarterback rankings.

www.pff.com

I think the factor here is 3rd round money plus 1-year into his rookie contract. However, the money is quite different for 2nd vs 3rd.

The first pick of the 3rd round is $5.85 million contact plus a $1.26 million signing bonus.

How much money do third round picks in the NFL Draft make?

Third round picks will make some solid money on their rookie contract, and can earn something extra through proven performance escalators.

dknetwork.draftkings.com

The first pick of the 2nd round is $9.9 million plus and a $4.2 million signing bonus.

How much money do second round picks in the NFL Draft make?

Second round picks don’t make as much money as first round picks, but they have a chance to reach free agency sooner.

dknetwork.draftkings.com

I'm not sure what the Ward camp is looking at. Declaring for the draft doesn't make sense because it doesn't make dollars. $7 million vs $14 million and it could be higher if he's drafted in the first round in 2025.

Ward would easily double his rookie contract by returning to school for another year.

The signing bonuses are included in that 9.9m and 5.85m, not in addition to them.

 

[bobbydigius]

There's no getting around this fiasco.

BTW, this was a ****up on both sides. Mario should have walked away from the table and gone to Howard after Ward mucked around with FSU. The Ward people had too much negotiating leverage throughout the process. Now the Canes are screwed because they miscalculated and considered the chance of Ward opting for the League to be minimal, at best, when they didn't consider the kid's outsized ego.

For his part, Ward should have signed with us. I think the kid is getting bad advice. I don't think he goes in the High Rounds, because I think there are a lot of QB's coming out who are better than him. He needed that extra year of tape (JMHO) in a playoff environment. There's too much of a risk of him getting Brad Kaaya disease.

That said, I wish the Young Man all the best.

Think you are missing his thought process here. I think it’s clear as day there are a bunch QBs that will go before him. I think he didn’t trust us to develop him. He was intrigued by the money we put on the table and that was it. He tried to leverage that money in hopes someone else was going to come close to it. Nobody touched it and in the end he opted for the league.

 

[E1k]

Im personally low on guys like bo nix and jj mccarthy so if it was my team id rather them take a chance on ward than draft those two but for a couple years know they been getting talked up so we will see

 

[goblin deez nuts]

Think you are missing his thought process here. I think it’s clear as day there are a bunch QBs that will go before him. I think he didn’t trust us to develop him. He was intrigued by the money we put on the table and that was it. He tried to leverage that money in hopes someone else was going to come close to it. Nobody touched it and in the end he opted for the league.

I think it's clear as day to people who want to bash Mario, when in reality he doesn't need any false narratives to get to that point. He does a good enough job out in the open to prove he sucks.

 

[Chicho Salchicha]

The soy boys in here complaining about Mario not recruiting a QB....you cucks fail to realize that most of the QB's in the room were previous admin players. Brown was a Manny Diaz recruit kept in the fold by Mario to not lose a freak athlete. TVD was a Manny Diaz recruit. We had bigger issues on the team than QB...aka OL and WR. You *** dumpsters seem to forget how many dropped passes our WR's had during the Manny Diaz era. Yet Mario's admin produced 3 WR's that eclipsed most programs in the country in total yardage. Our RB room was ELITE sharing the ball to multiple RB's. We had a Top 10 defense where under Manny Diaz in the not-so-distant past was the worst defense in P5. Emory Williams managed his reps to beat Clemson and had he not been injured, put us in position to possibly beat FSU - as true ******* Freshman. TVD never beat Clemson and neither did Rozier with our best team in years. You glory hole mouth breathers are hilarious! So, Cam Ward took off to the NFL, the kid bet on himself. He didn't go to another program. We will find a QB, not worried about it. If we don't, we have Emory who is an animal which to me has Dorsey vibes in toughness and command presence. Last I checked, Dorsey wasn't a 1st Round draft pick and he commandeered the best teams in college football history. So, sit the **** down, put your wife's ***** collection away and relax. We are building a monster here. GO CANES!

 

[bandhammer]

The soy boys in here complaining about Mario not recruiting a QB....you cucks fail to realize that most of the QB's in the room were previous admin players. Brown was a Manny Diaz recruit kept in the fold by Mario to not lose a freak athlete. TVD was a Manny Diaz recruit. We had bigger issues on the team than QB...aka OL and WR. You *** dumpsters seem to forget how many dropped passes our WR's had during the Manny Diaz era. Yet Mario's admin produced 3 WR's that eclipsed most programs in the country in total yardage. Our RB room was ELITE sharing the ball to multiple RB's. We had a Top 10 defense where under Manny Diaz in the not-so-distant past was the worst defense in P5. Emory Williams managed his reps to beat Clemson and had he not been injured, put us in position to possibly beat FSU - as true ******* Freshman. TVD never beat Clemson and neither did Rozier with our best team in years. You glory hole mouth breathers are hilarious! So, Cam Ward took off to the NFL, the kid bet on himself. He didn't go to another program. We will find a QB, not worried about it. If we don't, we have Emory who is an animal which to me has Dorsey vibes in toughness and command presence. Last I checked, Dorsey wasn't a 1st Round draft pick and he commandeered the best teams in college football history. So, sit the **** down, put your wife's ***** collection away and relax. We are building a monster here. GO CANES!

If all of that is true, why did we go 7-6?

 

[TheOriginalCane]

If they haven’t enrolled we should pursue still if it’s a top choice, no???

You summed up Mario and portal recruiting pretty well. It’s not like high school. He literally has the worst sense of time and time management.

Yeah, I just DM'd with another poster, and I mentioned some "Portal recruiting differences" that Mario is not as good at, including playing-time guarantees (Mario is big on letting the competition dictate the starters) and short-time-frame (Mario is great at building relationships and impresses HS kids with his photographic memory of all their great plays, but these Portal guys just want to get down to business).

Mario needs some external structure so that his brain can laser-focus on what he's best at. He needs a coach NOT named Mario to be his down/distance/time/timeouts guy. And he needs to let Alonzo present him with a decision matrix for every time-constrained hiring and Portal decision.

Mario did a great job of figuring out his top priority Portal recruit, and he impressed the **** out of the Ward family. BUT, Mario was not cognizant enough of the time limitations and WHY a kid might pick the risk of the NFL draft over all the good things that Miami had to offer.

Mario MUST allow other voices like Alonzo's into his decision process. He must. It's how all the good teams work. Especially these days, it's nearly impossible to have a "do-everything" head coach who succeeds.

Bill Parcells was pretty good with the Giants and Patriots, making the playoffs 7 times in 12 years and winning 2 Super Bowls.

Once he was allowed to shop for the groceries, he only made the playoffs 3 times in 7 years, with no Super Bowls and a 1-3 playoff record.

 

[hoops156]

Ward will be the 9th or 10th QB selected in the draft either before or after Pratt. Even at 9th, he'd be a 3rd round pick.

2024 NFL Draft Position Rankings: Quarterbacks | NFL Draft | PFF

USC's Caleb Williams headlines PFF's 2024 NFL Draft quarterback rankings.

www.pff.com

I think the factor here is 3rd round money plus 1-year into his rookie contract. However, the money is quite different for 2nd vs 3rd.

The first pick of the 3rd round is $5.85 million contact plus a $1.26 million signing bonus.

How much money do third round picks in the NFL Draft make?

Third round picks will make some solid money on their rookie contract, and can earn something extra through proven performance escalators.

dknetwork.draftkings.com

The first pick of the 2nd round is $9.9 million plus and a $4.2 million signing bonus.

How much money do second round picks in the NFL Draft make?

Second round picks don’t make as much money as first round picks, but they have a chance to reach free agency sooner.

dknetwork.draftkings.com

I'm not sure what the Ward camp is looking at. Declaring for the draft doesn't make sense because it doesn't make dollars. $7 million vs $14 million and it could be higher if he's drafted in the first round in 2025.

Ward would easily double his rookie contract by returning to school for another year.

he didnt believe or maybe doestn believe that playing at UM would get him drafted higher

 

[PIPO]

How do you know we don’t have a Plan B

 

[Chicho Salchicha]

If all of that is true, why did we go 7-6?

are you a silly potato head? what in that did I say was not true? how about TVD throwing 13 INT's in 4 games...where the average loss differential was less than 9 points. Sit this one out bud.

 

[TheOriginalCane]

I hear you but the kid signed a NIL deal. He was recruiting for Miami, I’d think it was done too. When it started to linger Miami did reach out to Jefferson and it sounds like others so really not sure what else you can do. People try to compare it to FSU having a backup plan but the difference is he was basically committed to Miami there was almost a zero percent chance he was going to FSU.

I basically agree with you, but here's where it gets...dicey...to explain how the sausage is made...

Ward agreed to an NIL deal. Correct.

Did Howard?

And that's where you have to point out the obvious inconsistencies in the "but both guys had offers and could have picked Miami at any point" stuff.

We had a clear #1 who was empowered to accept our offer at any point. That's where Mario's tunnel vision hurt us. A true "1A and 1A" would have BOTH been allowed to sign NIL deals that were comparable to each other, and would have BOTH been given the green light to pick Miami.

Unless Mario Cristobal's indecisiveness and lengthy decision-making process is SECOND only to Will Howard's, then it's not hard to figure out what is true and what is not true.

Time to make nice with Will Howard and his mom. Portal guys are not as emotional as 17 and 18 year olds are. Miami is still a great situation for Howard, same as it was when he and his mom were on campus and fell in love with Miami.

Make it work, Mario. Pay that man his money and give him him the green light.

 

[canetothemax]

holding out hope he reconsiders since he is not signing with an agent. Kids declare all the time and back out.

 

[Reyrey]

Yea, because tbh, not one person has been able to get a read on the situation, at all. 2 guys have visited. One said NFL. The other hasn’t made a decision. I don’t think anyone here truly knows what plan B is so I don’t understand the panic.

 

[Chicho Salchicha]

Yeah, I just DM'd with another poster, and I mentioned some "Portal recruiting differences" that Mario is not as good at, including playing-time guarantees (Mario is big on letting the competition dictate the starters) and short-time-frame (Mario is great at building relationships and impresses HS kids with his photographic memory of all their great plays, but these Portal guys just want to get down to business).

Mario needs some external structure so that his brain can laser-focus on what he's best at. He needs a coach NOT named Mario to be his down/distance/time/timeouts guy. And he needs to let Alonzo present him with a decision matrix for every time-constrained hiring and Portal decision.

Mario did a great job of figuring out his top priority Portal recruit, and he impress the **** out of the Ward family. BUT, Mario was not cognizant enough of the time limitations and WHY a kid might pick the risk of the NFL draft over all the good things that Miami had to offer.

Mario MUST allow other voices like Alonzo's into his decision process. He must. It's how all the good teams work. Especially these days, it's nearly impossible to have a "do-everything" head coach who succeeds.

Bill Parcells was pretty good with the Giants and Patriots, making the playoffs 7 times in 12 years and winning 2 Super Bowls.

Once he was allowed to shop for the groceries, he only made the playoffs 3 times in 7 years, with no Super Bowls and a 1-3 playoff record.

 

[TheOriginalCane]

he didnt believe or maybe doestn believe that playing at UM would get him drafted higher

Well...he did...

But if he truly believes that he can go in the second round, then the "upside" isn't much higher.

PLUS, if you look at what his Dad said, they are hyped for that second NFL contract. And first rounders have an extra year option that the drafting teams can exercise. So maybe, just maybe, they see "low first round" not being such a great thing, at least compared to second round, which they certainly believe is attainable.

I will be curious to see how Cam does in the "picks up nuances quickly" drills at the Combine...

 

[hollyhood27]

Mario is good at the long game of recruiting, but we all have seen that he has a hard time processing things quickly (see in game management).