CanesNation55
Thunderdome
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It's time to wake up the demons and take some serious reality checks all at the same time.
The University of Miami football program will again be in the national spotlight Saturday night when a new installment of the ESPN Films' 30 for 30 series, "The U Part 2," premiers after the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Director Billy Corben is back with his unique story telling style that was so popular when he released "The U," which took a look at all that was good and bad about the rise of the University of Miami's football program in the '80s. It debuted five years ago as part of 30 for 30's first season and quickly became one of the most talked-about documentaries in the acclaimed series.
But that wasn't the end of the story.
"The U Part 2″ picks up where the original film left off, with the program trying to recover from the devastation left by NCAA sanctions and scandals that had some calling for Miami to drop football. Dennis Erickson was out. Butch Davis was in and those having fond memories of Davis time at Miami and clamoring for a return by the coach will get some added ammunition for their arguments very early in the new installment.
I had a chance to watch an advance screening of the documentary Tuesday night. Quite honestly you will marvel at the way Davis took command of the program and overcame the loss of 39 scholarships to make Miami one of the best teams in college football history.
Today they talk about "the cloud" in reference to the recent NCAA investigations and penalties that ultimately resulted in the loss of nine scholarships. This was 10 clouds.
The film begins with a quick review of the past for those who might have missed Part I, but quickly transitions into the film's present, a time when Miami was known nationally for arrests, fights, drug use, and a Pell Grant scandal.
Davis acknowledges that he was not the first choice to replace Erickson, but clearly evolved into the best one.
"It was a terrific football opportunity," Davis says. "But it was a potential nightmare and dead end for some coaches.
"I had to change the culture, change the environment, get the program back on track in ways not embarrassing to the University."
Like present day Al Golden, Davis says he was led to believe the NCAA was a dead issue during talks about the job. A frustrated Davis lost his first game to UCLA, 31-8, and three of his first four.
Davis instilled a new level of discipline. Guys were punished for missing class, bad grades or misconduct.
"Butch was not real popular at first," former running backs Coach Don Soldinger said. He began the first season with nine players suspended.
"It made us look hard at the kids we recruited and subsequently a lot of the kids we recruited were not high profile players," Davis says. "It was a blessing in the long run."
Davis is shown in recruiting meetings. "We can't make mistakes," he said. He and the staff searched the country for walkons who could help make up the shortage due to the NCAA penalties.
One was Santana Moss, who came on a track scholarship.
Meanwhile, the team GPA increased a full point. But the 1997 season was a total disaster. It was the punishment that the NCAA envisoned. Davis calls that squad "a junior college team." It went 5-6. Quarterback Scott Covington is shown being slammed into the goal post by Florida State.
A banner was flown over the Orange Bowl.
"From National Champs to National Chumps. Thanks Butch."
Remember that.
"It was a tough year to handle," Davis says "We knew we were headed in the right direction. It was just a matter of if we would run out of time. Would we be allowed to stay there and complete the mission."
But Davis emerged with total control of the players and the program and it was amazing how quickly he turned it around.
"Butch had the coaches (butts) puckered so tight," center Brett Romberg said. Stories are told of one player punching another if they dared speak while Davis had control of the room.
The turning point came after the team was blown out of the Carrier Dome by Syracuse in that 1997 season. The next week the Hurricanes upset UCLA, a victory that gets its just attention in the documentary.
"The magic was back," Davis said.
Players took control of the team, demanding total commitment and elite performance from each other at every practice.
"It was like the prison yard," D.J. Williams said.
"Back then hazing was not OK," Phillip Buchanon said. "But it was OK."
"It was like getting initiated into a gang," Romberg said.
The documentary then jumps into "Act II," the 2000 season, which the players describe as championship or bust, a goal compromised by an early season loss to Washington. But the dramatic victory over FSU in the Orange Bowl gets attention as another true turning point.
"Big time players step up in big games," Santana Moss said over and over to the national TV cameras.
"Is it safe to say Miami is back in the running," Bobby Bowden was asked.
"Yeah I think so," Bowden said. "I think so."
"For the first time you felt we are back," Davis says.
Virginia Tech, No. 2 in the rankings, was blown out of the Orange Bowl.
"This is how Miami does it," Ed Reed said.
But FSU was allowed to play for the national title even though the Seminoles lost to the Hurricanes and Miami had victories over No. 1 and No. 2.
"That raised the stakes," Davis says.
But the coach didn't stick around for the 2001 National Title run. After a victory over Florida in New Orleans, in which the two teams brawled on Bourbon Street in the week before the game, Davis left for the Cleveland Browns.
"You could see that this program was a dynasty in the making," Davis says.
Act III of the film begins with Davis denying he would leave, which eventually painted him as a liar, a stigma that remains today. On January 30, 2001, Davis called a team meeting to tell everybody he was going to the Browns. Players considered it a betrayal, but immediately aligned behind Larry Coker.
"That was the most difficult decision I ever had to make," Davis says. "It was a decision that I regret. I wish I had stayed at Miami."
"What Coach Coker did," Najeh Davenport says, "was nothing."
"He let us know that if we just did our job we would win," Ken Dorsey says.
Miami was up 30-0 in the first half of their season opener under Coker at Penn State.
The rest of Act III reviews the 2001 season and a team that had Vince Wilfork, Willis McGahee, Antrel Rolle, Sean Taylor, and Kellen Winslow sitting on the bench. But it does it very quickly, shooting past the FSU and Washington victories into the Rose Bowl game against Nebraska for the national title.
"That was the start to the finish of Butch Davis' project," defensive tackle Damione Lewis says.
Then the documentary transitions quickly into Act IV, moving on from the glory of Miami's fifth national title to trying to do it again in 2002.
"Anytime a guy like Jeremy Shockey leaves and you got Kellen Winslow to put there, anytime a guy like Ed Reed leaves and you got Sean Taylor to put there you pick up as close to where you left off and in some cases you are even better," Dorsey says.
Miami had 11 players drafted from the 2001 team and didn't miss a beat in another undefeated regular season. Then came the Fiesta Bowl. An out of sync first half. The Willis McGahee injury. The field goal to force overtime. The lead, Dorsey to Winslow. And then ... the play.
Glenn Sharpe breaks up the pass. The nearest ref signals incomplete. Fireworks go off above the stadium. The Miami team runs on the field in celebration. And then the flag.
Corben does a phenomenal job recreating the scene. You see the play from every angle. It was indisputably a horrible call by ref Terry Porter.
"We just celebrated and acted like we won," D.J. Williams said. "Everybody is hugging. Now we have to recuperate."
And Ohio State wins.
"The game is really over this time," Jon Vilma says.
"I feel like part of my legacy was stolen from me," D.J. Williams says.
"You hate to see an official's call decide a national championship," Coker says.
"Referees," Reed says. "Who polices the police?
"The way we lost that game, I think it took something out of the program maybe."
The rest of the documentary is devoted to showing just what that meant. The 2003 season. The Seventh Floor Crew. The annihilation at the Chick-fil-A bowl by LSU. The firing of assistant coaches, including Art Kehoe and Don Soldinger. The FIU brawl. The Bryan Pata death. The firing of Larry Coker. The hiring of Randy Shannon. Ponzi schemes. Destruction of the Orange Bowl. Nevin Shapiro.
Act V goes in depth into the Shapiro crisis. Randy Phillips talks in detail about the former Living Scholar program and how it allowed boosters like Shapiro to get close to players. Shapiro was McGahee's Living Scholar.
Then the documentary moves back to football. The last game in the Orange Bowl. The firing of Randy Shannon. The hiring of Al Golden. "It's a dream job," Golden says.
Act VI. The Yahoo Sports story. Self-imposed penalties. The never-ending NCAA investigation. The cloud. Negative recruiting. Finally, the penalties. Losing. The Fire Al Golden banner.
The emotional ending I won't spoil for you. But you will be moved, maybe to tears.
"The kids growing up just don't know," Vilma says. "They don't know about the tradition."
Thanks to Corben's latest work, they will now. Al Golden might want to make the current team that tanked the end of the season watch it nightly.
"While `The U' (part 1) covered the '80s, we never got to tell the incredible story of the greatest college football team of all time: the 2001 Miami Hurricanes," Corben said. "Bookended by scandal, NCAA investigations and sanctions, we couldn't resist the opportunity to tell this new rise and fall story that picks the saga up right where we left off in 'The U.' I'm also flattered to be a part of the first-ever 30 for 30 sequel.
"`The U' was one of the most electric films of the first season of 30 for 30," says Connor Schell, vice president and executive producer of ESPN Films and Original Programming. "Five years later, we feel a sequel is warranted, telling a fresh story with new characters in the same fast-paced, engaging style that defined the original."
Mission Accomplished. Block out your Saturday night.
The University of Miami football program will again be in the national spotlight Saturday night when a new installment of the ESPN Films' 30 for 30 series, "The U Part 2," premiers after the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Director Billy Corben is back with his unique story telling style that was so popular when he released "The U," which took a look at all that was good and bad about the rise of the University of Miami's football program in the '80s. It debuted five years ago as part of 30 for 30's first season and quickly became one of the most talked-about documentaries in the acclaimed series.
But that wasn't the end of the story.
"The U Part 2″ picks up where the original film left off, with the program trying to recover from the devastation left by NCAA sanctions and scandals that had some calling for Miami to drop football. Dennis Erickson was out. Butch Davis was in and those having fond memories of Davis time at Miami and clamoring for a return by the coach will get some added ammunition for their arguments very early in the new installment.
I had a chance to watch an advance screening of the documentary Tuesday night. Quite honestly you will marvel at the way Davis took command of the program and overcame the loss of 39 scholarships to make Miami one of the best teams in college football history.
Today they talk about "the cloud" in reference to the recent NCAA investigations and penalties that ultimately resulted in the loss of nine scholarships. This was 10 clouds.
The film begins with a quick review of the past for those who might have missed Part I, but quickly transitions into the film's present, a time when Miami was known nationally for arrests, fights, drug use, and a Pell Grant scandal.
Davis acknowledges that he was not the first choice to replace Erickson, but clearly evolved into the best one.
"It was a terrific football opportunity," Davis says. "But it was a potential nightmare and dead end for some coaches.
"I had to change the culture, change the environment, get the program back on track in ways not embarrassing to the University."
Like present day Al Golden, Davis says he was led to believe the NCAA was a dead issue during talks about the job. A frustrated Davis lost his first game to UCLA, 31-8, and three of his first four.
Davis instilled a new level of discipline. Guys were punished for missing class, bad grades or misconduct.
"Butch was not real popular at first," former running backs Coach Don Soldinger said. He began the first season with nine players suspended.
"It made us look hard at the kids we recruited and subsequently a lot of the kids we recruited were not high profile players," Davis says. "It was a blessing in the long run."
Davis is shown in recruiting meetings. "We can't make mistakes," he said. He and the staff searched the country for walkons who could help make up the shortage due to the NCAA penalties.
One was Santana Moss, who came on a track scholarship.
Meanwhile, the team GPA increased a full point. But the 1997 season was a total disaster. It was the punishment that the NCAA envisoned. Davis calls that squad "a junior college team." It went 5-6. Quarterback Scott Covington is shown being slammed into the goal post by Florida State.
A banner was flown over the Orange Bowl.
"From National Champs to National Chumps. Thanks Butch."
Remember that.
"It was a tough year to handle," Davis says "We knew we were headed in the right direction. It was just a matter of if we would run out of time. Would we be allowed to stay there and complete the mission."
But Davis emerged with total control of the players and the program and it was amazing how quickly he turned it around.
"Butch had the coaches (butts) puckered so tight," center Brett Romberg said. Stories are told of one player punching another if they dared speak while Davis had control of the room.
The turning point came after the team was blown out of the Carrier Dome by Syracuse in that 1997 season. The next week the Hurricanes upset UCLA, a victory that gets its just attention in the documentary.
"The magic was back," Davis said.
Players took control of the team, demanding total commitment and elite performance from each other at every practice.
"It was like the prison yard," D.J. Williams said.
"Back then hazing was not OK," Phillip Buchanon said. "But it was OK."
"It was like getting initiated into a gang," Romberg said.
The documentary then jumps into "Act II," the 2000 season, which the players describe as championship or bust, a goal compromised by an early season loss to Washington. But the dramatic victory over FSU in the Orange Bowl gets attention as another true turning point.
"Big time players step up in big games," Santana Moss said over and over to the national TV cameras.
"Is it safe to say Miami is back in the running," Bobby Bowden was asked.
"Yeah I think so," Bowden said. "I think so."
"For the first time you felt we are back," Davis says.
Virginia Tech, No. 2 in the rankings, was blown out of the Orange Bowl.
"This is how Miami does it," Ed Reed said.
But FSU was allowed to play for the national title even though the Seminoles lost to the Hurricanes and Miami had victories over No. 1 and No. 2.
"That raised the stakes," Davis says.
But the coach didn't stick around for the 2001 National Title run. After a victory over Florida in New Orleans, in which the two teams brawled on Bourbon Street in the week before the game, Davis left for the Cleveland Browns.
"You could see that this program was a dynasty in the making," Davis says.
Act III of the film begins with Davis denying he would leave, which eventually painted him as a liar, a stigma that remains today. On January 30, 2001, Davis called a team meeting to tell everybody he was going to the Browns. Players considered it a betrayal, but immediately aligned behind Larry Coker.
"That was the most difficult decision I ever had to make," Davis says. "It was a decision that I regret. I wish I had stayed at Miami."
"What Coach Coker did," Najeh Davenport says, "was nothing."
"He let us know that if we just did our job we would win," Ken Dorsey says.
Miami was up 30-0 in the first half of their season opener under Coker at Penn State.
The rest of Act III reviews the 2001 season and a team that had Vince Wilfork, Willis McGahee, Antrel Rolle, Sean Taylor, and Kellen Winslow sitting on the bench. But it does it very quickly, shooting past the FSU and Washington victories into the Rose Bowl game against Nebraska for the national title.
"That was the start to the finish of Butch Davis' project," defensive tackle Damione Lewis says.
Then the documentary transitions quickly into Act IV, moving on from the glory of Miami's fifth national title to trying to do it again in 2002.
"Anytime a guy like Jeremy Shockey leaves and you got Kellen Winslow to put there, anytime a guy like Ed Reed leaves and you got Sean Taylor to put there you pick up as close to where you left off and in some cases you are even better," Dorsey says.
Miami had 11 players drafted from the 2001 team and didn't miss a beat in another undefeated regular season. Then came the Fiesta Bowl. An out of sync first half. The Willis McGahee injury. The field goal to force overtime. The lead, Dorsey to Winslow. And then ... the play.
Glenn Sharpe breaks up the pass. The nearest ref signals incomplete. Fireworks go off above the stadium. The Miami team runs on the field in celebration. And then the flag.
Corben does a phenomenal job recreating the scene. You see the play from every angle. It was indisputably a horrible call by ref Terry Porter.
"We just celebrated and acted like we won," D.J. Williams said. "Everybody is hugging. Now we have to recuperate."
And Ohio State wins.
"The game is really over this time," Jon Vilma says.
"I feel like part of my legacy was stolen from me," D.J. Williams says.
"You hate to see an official's call decide a national championship," Coker says.
"Referees," Reed says. "Who polices the police?
"The way we lost that game, I think it took something out of the program maybe."
The rest of the documentary is devoted to showing just what that meant. The 2003 season. The Seventh Floor Crew. The annihilation at the Chick-fil-A bowl by LSU. The firing of assistant coaches, including Art Kehoe and Don Soldinger. The FIU brawl. The Bryan Pata death. The firing of Larry Coker. The hiring of Randy Shannon. Ponzi schemes. Destruction of the Orange Bowl. Nevin Shapiro.
Act V goes in depth into the Shapiro crisis. Randy Phillips talks in detail about the former Living Scholar program and how it allowed boosters like Shapiro to get close to players. Shapiro was McGahee's Living Scholar.
Then the documentary moves back to football. The last game in the Orange Bowl. The firing of Randy Shannon. The hiring of Al Golden. "It's a dream job," Golden says.
Act VI. The Yahoo Sports story. Self-imposed penalties. The never-ending NCAA investigation. The cloud. Negative recruiting. Finally, the penalties. Losing. The Fire Al Golden banner.
The emotional ending I won't spoil for you. But you will be moved, maybe to tears.
"The kids growing up just don't know," Vilma says. "They don't know about the tradition."
Thanks to Corben's latest work, they will now. Al Golden might want to make the current team that tanked the end of the season watch it nightly.
"While `The U' (part 1) covered the '80s, we never got to tell the incredible story of the greatest college football team of all time: the 2001 Miami Hurricanes," Corben said. "Bookended by scandal, NCAA investigations and sanctions, we couldn't resist the opportunity to tell this new rise and fall story that picks the saga up right where we left off in 'The U.' I'm also flattered to be a part of the first-ever 30 for 30 sequel.
"`The U' was one of the most electric films of the first season of 30 for 30," says Connor Schell, vice president and executive producer of ESPN Films and Original Programming. "Five years later, we feel a sequel is warranted, telling a fresh story with new characters in the same fast-paced, engaging style that defined the original."
Mission Accomplished. Block out your Saturday night.
![crossover22[]_[]](https://data.canesinsight.com/avatars/m/2/2075.jpg?1518149361){kind=avatar}