AlexCane
Senior
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2011
- Messages
- 6,380
I don't know how thread-worthy this is, but it's the offseason. Other than conversations about John Ruiz's net worth--who knew we had so many accountants and financial experts on here?!--and a terrible thread that turned predictably political (good job, guys!), things are pretty slow.
I had an opportunity to speak with a Hurricane coach one-on-one. What an awesome guy-more on that later.
Here are some tidbits. Nothing groundbreaking.
-Of course, the first question I asked him, the question on everyone's mind, what's the outlook for the season. He was quite optimistic so that's reassuring. He thinks we will be much improved, particularly on D. He said that the DL transfers have an opportunity to be "elite." (His word.) He didn't mention names, but I assume he's referring to Mesidor, Agude, and Jackson.
-We've heard this before, but Manny's scheme was based on vertical pressure. Now, we will be taking on more blockers. Presumably, this will be an adjustment for our DL used to the prior scheme. My thought: we may see a team that improves throughout the year as the techniques, schemes become more comfortable with reps.
-Part of the optimism, I think he believes that we were better than a 7-5 team last year. He mentioned the 3 tough losses (UVA, UNC, and FSU). I wasn't going to debate with him that we had some wins that easily could have gone the other way too. Nevertheless, simply stated, internally there's optimism.
-On FSU, a player (who he didn't mention and I was too scared to ask lol) missed an assignment. If the player does what he's supposed to, might be a different outcome.
-Mentioned Chase Smith and Bissainthe at LB. That's exciting. I know we'd all like to see them get some PT and hopefully live up to their talents.
-He said the UCLA LB will help.
-Fall camp starts August 2. We will get 29 practices.
-The timeline for the new football facility is 19-20 months IIRC. That's insane, given Miami construction standards.
-Coaches only allowed 1 hour/week with the team. That's another topic but kind of silly. One hour?!
-We spoke a lot about the portal and NIL.
-Reading between the lines, I think he's a little down on the effect it's had on recruiting. Whereas, for example, in the past coaches had to work to sell a kid to their staff, program, college environment, etc., now it's just where can a kid get more $. It's my word, but I think he believes recruiting has lost some charm.
-He was ok with the kids getting paid, but thinks the system we have now-which is a free-for-all-is too much and that some regulations need to be put in place.
-He believes that some type of salary cap may be necessary. I mentioned that then some school will say "here's $20K on top," but he believes guidelines need to be in place, even if maybe just to improve the perception about this new NIL world.
-He said Florida's NIL legislation puts us at a disadvantage with other states. I won't mention the states but basically in other states, folks can induce a player to come to a school. Florida does not permit that. It's kind of surprising that there isn't one set of rules for all NCAA teams to abide by.
What a cool dude this coach was. Incredibly engaging and was as interested to ask me questions about me and my family than I was to discuss Cane football. I can see how some of these guys are amazing recruiters. Just a gifted and genuine conversationalist. He must have read "How to win friends and influence people" cover to cover 18 times.
On that note, I ain't foolish or naive enough to think I can change anyone here, but everyone should try to be more respectful of our staff and players. This doesn't mean folks are immune from criticism, but criticism can be measured and stated appropriately. I know a lot of stuff here is in jest and attempts at humor, but there are some good dudes on staff and on the team. (As an aside, I had a chance to meet Zach McCloud several months ago and have nothing but great things to say about him too.) They're not commodities for our mere entertainment. I bet if we all had a chance to meet the coaches and players we'd generally be far more respectful than we are on this board. Be nice. Be respectful. There's a right and wrong way to say everything.
I had an opportunity to speak with a Hurricane coach one-on-one. What an awesome guy-more on that later.
Here are some tidbits. Nothing groundbreaking.
-Of course, the first question I asked him, the question on everyone's mind, what's the outlook for the season. He was quite optimistic so that's reassuring. He thinks we will be much improved, particularly on D. He said that the DL transfers have an opportunity to be "elite." (His word.) He didn't mention names, but I assume he's referring to Mesidor, Agude, and Jackson.
-We've heard this before, but Manny's scheme was based on vertical pressure. Now, we will be taking on more blockers. Presumably, this will be an adjustment for our DL used to the prior scheme. My thought: we may see a team that improves throughout the year as the techniques, schemes become more comfortable with reps.
-Part of the optimism, I think he believes that we were better than a 7-5 team last year. He mentioned the 3 tough losses (UVA, UNC, and FSU). I wasn't going to debate with him that we had some wins that easily could have gone the other way too. Nevertheless, simply stated, internally there's optimism.
-On FSU, a player (who he didn't mention and I was too scared to ask lol) missed an assignment. If the player does what he's supposed to, might be a different outcome.
-Mentioned Chase Smith and Bissainthe at LB. That's exciting. I know we'd all like to see them get some PT and hopefully live up to their talents.
-He said the UCLA LB will help.
-Fall camp starts August 2. We will get 29 practices.
-The timeline for the new football facility is 19-20 months IIRC. That's insane, given Miami construction standards.
-Coaches only allowed 1 hour/week with the team. That's another topic but kind of silly. One hour?!
-We spoke a lot about the portal and NIL.
-Reading between the lines, I think he's a little down on the effect it's had on recruiting. Whereas, for example, in the past coaches had to work to sell a kid to their staff, program, college environment, etc., now it's just where can a kid get more $. It's my word, but I think he believes recruiting has lost some charm.
-He was ok with the kids getting paid, but thinks the system we have now-which is a free-for-all-is too much and that some regulations need to be put in place.
-He believes that some type of salary cap may be necessary. I mentioned that then some school will say "here's $20K on top," but he believes guidelines need to be in place, even if maybe just to improve the perception about this new NIL world.
-He said Florida's NIL legislation puts us at a disadvantage with other states. I won't mention the states but basically in other states, folks can induce a player to come to a school. Florida does not permit that. It's kind of surprising that there isn't one set of rules for all NCAA teams to abide by.
What a cool dude this coach was. Incredibly engaging and was as interested to ask me questions about me and my family than I was to discuss Cane football. I can see how some of these guys are amazing recruiters. Just a gifted and genuine conversationalist. He must have read "How to win friends and influence people" cover to cover 18 times.
On that note, I ain't foolish or naive enough to think I can change anyone here, but everyone should try to be more respectful of our staff and players. This doesn't mean folks are immune from criticism, but criticism can be measured and stated appropriately. I know a lot of stuff here is in jest and attempts at humor, but there are some good dudes on staff and on the team. (As an aside, I had a chance to meet Zach McCloud several months ago and have nothing but great things to say about him too.) They're not commodities for our mere entertainment. I bet if we all had a chance to meet the coaches and players we'd generally be far more respectful than we are on this board. Be nice. Be respectful. There's a right and wrong way to say everything.
