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Warren Sapp's Mt Rushmore of U players

caneinorlando said:
Has to be Jerome....and im not so sure he's 4th.....He invented UM Swag...
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i put him as my 4th also. but reed and hendricks are cfb and nfl hof, and irvin kinda built the brand given his nfl hof career then tv career. but agree brown was the brand daddy in the ‘80s.
 
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gacaneaddict said:
Ted Hendricks?

He was a 2 time 1st team All-American, and 1 time 2nd team All-American, and he had an award named after him.

He had 327 career tackles, an all time Miami DL record.

He forced 9 turnovers in one year!
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Ted Hendricks has to be on the list. It's a must
 
PalyCane said:
Ted Hendricks has to be on the list. It's a must
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depends on your criteria.

define them.

what’s the importance of title team? what’s the importance of brand building?

i put him there on excellence and cfb significance, but if you prioritize those two traits you can omit him.
 
Ethnicsands said:
depends on your criteria.

define them.

what’s the importance of title team? what’s the importance of brand building?

i put him there on excellence and cfb significance, but if you prioritize those two traits you can omit him.
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Most important criterion for me: Dominance as a football player. By this metric I have Hendricks at #1. I think he's the greatest football player to have ever suited up at UM.

Brand counts, but to me it is a secondary consideration behind the dominance as a player criterion
 
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PalyCane said:
Most important criterion for me: Dominance as a football player. By this metric I have Hendricks at #1. I think he's the greatest football player to have ever suited up at UM.

Brand counts, but to me it is a secondary consideration behind the dominance as a player criterion
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i defined it to balance significance, title leadership and brand, because it’s hard to sort otherwise for me. on your criterion, i’d have to put sean taylor on it too. but that’s what makes for a great discussion.
 
With UM, you would have to do a Mt. Rushmore by position group. And yes, when I saw the title of this thread, I KNEW Sapp had put his name in it. 🤣😂🤣
 
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Ethnicsands said:
There is no way you can leave Ed Reed off that team. I personally think Irvin ans Hendricks belong on it but can make the argument against either based on how the criteria is defined. On almost any criteria Reed is in.
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I hear you. It's also difficult to not include Jerome Brown. In my mind, he was the heart and soul of what became the "Cane Thing" for the rest of the 80s and early 90s.
 
Hey..U family..it don’t matter what 4 U put up there..U can’t go wrong with any 4 U want to put up there #Legends..pick your 4..I guarantee your 4 will be Legends also..it’s all about the U baby
 
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I'm going to go ahead and change the rules a little. Too many all-time greats to do not do it by position. So, here's my Miami Rushmore by position: (based solely on career at Miami)

QB - Vinny, Bernie, Gino & Dorsey
RB - Edge, Portis, Highsmith & Ottis Anderson
WR - Irvin, Andre Johnson, Reggie & Lamar
TE - Winslow, Shockey, Bubba & Olsen
OL - McKinnie, Searcy, Romberg & Carey
DT - Jerome, Sapp, Russell Maryland & Cortez
DE - Stubbs, Hendricks, Greg Mark & McDougle
ILB - Ray Lewis, Morgan, Barrow & Vilma
OLB - Jessie, Darrin Smith, DJ & Beason
CB - Antrell, Rumph, Buchanon & McNeil
S - Ed, 26, Bennie & Meriweather
ST - Hester, Feagles, Huerta & Kevin Williams
HC - Jimmy, Schelly, Botch & Manolo (I kid. Jury is still out). Gotta go with Dennis Erickson. Only coach to win 2 nattys
 
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NorthEastCane said:
I hear you. It's also difficult to not include Jerome Brown. In my mind, he was the heart and soul of what became the "Cane Thing" for the rest of the 80s and early 90s.
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I included JB on my top 4 so not disagreeing, but the 4th spot was harder than the first 3 for me. I couldn't avoid Reed, Hendricks and Irvin.

After Brown, you have a lot of people to consider:
- Kelly, Kosar, Testaverde,
- Edge, Foreman
- Wayne, AJ, E. Brown, Hester
- Sapp, Maryland, Kennedy
- Lewis, Morgan, D. Smith, Barrow
- ST, Be. Blades,
- Howard, Jimmy,
- Searcy, McKinnie, Harrah, Otto
 
Ethnicsands said:
You can be whatever you want. When you call yourself names, have at it.

I am a huge ST fan, but that comment doesn't square at all with UM history. He didn't start on a title team. He played 2 seasons of impact ball. He's not in the college football hall of fame or the pro football hall of fame. He didn't win a major award.

No one seems to remember Bennie Blades anymore, though his name is U.M. royalty. Blades was a 2x first team all american, Thorpe award winner, led the D on a national championship team and is in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Ed Reed was 2x All American and led D on natty team, and also is in the CFB HOF, along with the NFL HOF.

I personally think ST was the best college defensive player I've ever seen. But from a U.M. history and brand perspective, don't see how he's top 4.
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Bennie Blades was a great ,great player at the UM... A LB sized safety with timed speed. In college NFL scouts often compared him to Seattle Seahawks wrecker Kenny Easley who at the time was considered pro football best safety.. Yes, Easley was considered better than Ronnie Lott at the time. Unfortunately for Easley he was forced into premature retirement after the 87 season due to a kidney ailment..still made the HOF.

Blades remains Miami highest drafted db ever.. had a solid pro career where he was an all time tough guy playing despite many injuries
 
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ManPower4 said:
Bennie Blades was a great ,great player at the UM... A LB sized safety with timed speed. In college NFL scouts often compared him to Seattle Seahawks wrecker Kenny Easley who at the time was considered pro football best safety.. Yes, Easley was considered better than Ronnie Lott at the time. Unfortunately for Easley he was forced into premature retirement after the 87 season due to a kidney ailment..still made the HOF.

Blades remains Miami highest drafted db ever.. had a solid pro career where he was an all time tough guy playing despite many injuries
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I will say this about Sean Taylor.. he should have taken home the Thorpe award in 2003 but the award was gifted to ou cb Derrick Strait.. a player nowhere near ST stratophere. That award is presented by the Oklahoma sports HOF...

In 87 Bennie Blades who entered the season as the nations top db was tied for the award by the late ou db Rickey Dixon who had a great sr campaign.. Years later after witnessing what happened to ST - Blades was fortunate to grab a share of the award.
 
King of Allapattah said:
I'm going to go ahead and change the rules a little. Too many all-time greats to do not do it by position. So, here's my Miami Rushmore by position: (based solely on career at Miami)

QB - Vinny, Bernie, Gino & Dorsey
RB - Edge, Portis, Highsmith & Ottis Anderson
WR - Irvin, Andre Johnson, Reggie & Lamar
TE - Winslow, Shockey, Bubba & Olsen
OL - McKinnie, Searcy, Romberg & Carey
DT - Jerome, Sapp, Russell Maryland & Cortez
DE - Stubbs, Hendricks, Greg Mark & McDougle
ILB - Ray Lewis, Morgan, Barrow & Vilma
OLB - Jessie, Darrin Smith, DJ & Beason
CB - Antrell, Rumph, Buchanon & McNeil
S - Ed, 26, Bennie & Meriweather
ST - Hester, Feagles, Huerta & Kevin Williams
HC - Jimmy, Schelly, Botch & Manolo (I kid. Jury is still out). Gotta go with Dennis Erickson. Only coach to win 2 nattys
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CB Duane Starks ?

Jessie Armstead shouldn't be that high.. exciting special team ace as a fr in 89... was projected as a super soph when he sustained a knee injury vs fsu early in the 1990 season and missed the rest of the year ..solid college player who played on a surgically repaired knee as an upperclassmen where he essentially shared time with pint sized destroyer Rohan Marley.. An injury free Armstead as a pro developed in the dynamo he was projected to be out of high school..
 
ManPower4 said:
CB Duane Starks ?

Jessie Armstead shouldn't be that high.. exciting special team ace as a fr in 89... was projected as a super soph when he sustained a knee injury vs fsu early in the 1990 season and missed the rest of the year ..solid college player who played on a surgically repaired knee as an upperclassmen where he essentially shared time with pint sized destroyer Rohan Marley.. An injury free Armstead as a pro developed in the dynamo he was projected to be out of high school..
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As good as Starks was at Miami, I don't think his resume matches up with Antrel Rolle, Philip Buchanan, or Ryan McNeil. For me it came down to choosing between Starks and Rumph. I think Rumph edges him out slightly. Rumph started 3 years at UM and made 1st/2nd team all conference all 3 years, won a national title, and very comparable statistically. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with either one. It's that close.

As far as Jessie Armstead is concerned, I really couldn't think of any other OLB's that were better than him at Miami. Now that I've put more thought to it, one could definitely make a case for Maurice Crum or Nate Webster.
 
We would need two rushmores; one for offense and one for defense. Even then that wouldn't be enough.

But if it had to be four, and we were basing it solely on UM production:

1.) Ted Hendricks
2.) Dan Morgan
3.) Playmaker
4.) Vinny Testaverde

If we combined NFL body of work:

1.) Ted Hendricks
2.) Ed Reed
3.) Jim Otto
4.) Playmaker
 
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