Article was written Sunday, but thought it was interesting.. :mischief

 

 

CALIFLORIDA BOWL | 8 TONIGHT, ORANGE BOWL

 

 

UM's future star on display

 

Derek Shaw, who has committed to UM, will be among 80 of the nation's top high schoolers participating in tonight's CaliFlorida Bowl.

 

By MANNY NAVARRO

 

mnavarro@herald.com

 

 

It didn't take long for Derek Shaw to get noticed this week.

 

He had been in Miami all of about five minutes Friday morning when a baggage clerk at Miami International Airport -- and obviously a devout University of Miami football fan -- figured out who the 18-year-old quarterback from Oceanside High School in California was.

 

''[The clerk] saw the name tag on my bag and was like, `I hope you know we're serious about football down here -- we want a national championship,'' Shaw said. ``I couldn't believe he knew who I was. I just kind of laughed and told him I'd do my best.''

 

If you don't know who Derek Shaw is by now, you probably don't spend your life searching websites trying to find out who the Hurricanes are recruiting. Here's an informal introduction: Shaw is the guy the Hurricanes have chalked up this recruiting season as their future quarterback.

 

At 8 tonight, the future will be on display for Hurricanes fans when the sixth annual CaliFlorida Bowl, a high school All-Star football game featuring stars from both states, gets underway at the Orange Bowl.

 

Shaw, who strained his hamstring while running sprints with his California teammates earlier this week, promised Friday nothing will stop him from throwing at least a few passes in his future home.

 

''The hamstring hurts, but not enough to keep me out of this game,'' said Shaw, who is expected to take fewer snaps tonight than USC commitment and Mission Viego star quarterback Mark Sanchez, the nation's No. 1-rated quarterback. ``I'm going to play no matter what. I want to start showing people what I can do.''

 

ANOTHER CALI QB

 

At 6-4 and 215 pounds, Shaw has the same build as the past two quarterbacks Miami recruited out of California -- Ken Dorsey and Kyle Wright. But Shaw, unlike Dorsey and Wright, wasn't born in California. He's actually from Texas.

 

Rated the No. 4 quarterback in the country according to Rivals.com, Shaw led Oceanside to a 13-0 record and the Section II Division Title this past season, completing 139 of 255 passes (54.5 percent) for 2,796 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in a spread offense. The last three wins in the San Diego area playoffs were come-from-behind victories.

 

Shaw's grandfather, Dick Enright, coached several future professional quarterbacks -- including Don Horn, Dan Fouts and Todd Marinovich. Enright, who coached at the high school level, two years at Oregon and several more as a 49ers assistant, said most scouts compare Shaw to Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Naimath.

 

''The one thing [uSC offensive coordinator] Norm Chow said about when he saw him was that Derek's arm was too strong for the high school level,'' Enright said. ``He's right. Half of his incompletions this year were because he throws it too darn hard. What makes Derek special in my eyes is that he has fight in him. It's the same stuff Brett Favre has.''

 

Shaw's fight comes from his mother Janie, who has raised Shaw, 18, and his 16-year-old sister Lauren on her own. Shaw was 8 when his mother lost a leg to bone cancer.

 

With the family unable to afford much healthcare, Shaw often administered chemotherapy shots to his mother in the absence of a nurse.

 

''The day after surgery, she drove herself home,'' Enright said of his daughter. ``When we finally caught up with her at the house, she was standing on one leg sweeping her kitchen floor. That's where he got his toughness from.''

 

TOUGH GUY

 

Shaw describes himself as a perfectionist on the field who is not afraid to get in his teammates faces to help them focus.

 

It wasn't until high school that Shaw actually began to play quarterback or take football seriously. In Pop Warner, he played linebacker.

 

'He used to tell me, `gramps I just love hitting people,' '' Enright said. 'He used to say, `I love it when you get hit real hard and feel the pain deep down inside.' I've got a feeling his closest friends at Miami are going to be the linebackers.''

 

Shaw, who says he plans on being a psychology major at Miami, picked the Hurricanes after an unofficial visit to the campus in August. He said he spent two days with Hurricane coaches, watching the team practice and said he simply felt at home.

 

''It's tropical, beautiful out here,'' said Shaw, who passed up offers from UCLA, USC, Arizona and Arizona State. ``I still have a lot to learn, but I also realize that down inside I have the talent to be a part of the great tradition.''

 

AN AUGUST START

 

Unlike Wright, a sophomore, and redshirt freshman Kirby Freeman, who enrolled at UM early out of high school, Shaw won't begin playing for the Hurricanes until August. That, however, doesn't stop him from believing he will be able to compete for playing time once he arrives.

 

''I've heard a lot of rumors going around that Kyle Wright wasn't doing too good and that they're real pleased with Kirby Freeman,'' Shaw said. ``All I know is Brock [berlin] isn't going to be there next year and there's going to be an opening. I know I can compete with those guys, and I'm going to put up the best fight I can.''

 

 

 

 

Hurricanes picture a rosy 2005

 

BY SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN

 

sdegnan@herald.com

 

 

ATLANTA - Thomas Carroll, a fourth-year junior who had two sacks, two tackles for a loss and a blocked field goal Friday night in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, was so happy with Miami's 27-10 victory against Florida that he said he hoped the Hurricanes (9-3) could ''run the charts'' in 2005.

 

''It means a lot winning the state of Florida and going into next season with a big boost,'' Carroll said. ``I came into the 2001 Rose Bowl [national championship game] as a freshman. I plan on going out to the Rose Bowl again next year.''

 

Miami's victory invigorated the formerly forlorn Hurricanes so much that they began looking ahead to the possibility of 2005 -- namely the Rose Bowl. Pasadena will be the site of the Bowl Championship Series title game.

 

Even junior linebacker Roger McIntosh, who told reporters a few days ago he was considering entering the NFL draft early, said he would return for his senior season. As he was leaving UM's vibrant locker room, he said he expected to be in Pasadena the same time next season.

 

''I'm coming back for another round to smell the roses,'' McIntosh said as he left the Georgia Dome with a grin so wide he couldn't help but laugh. And by his tone, one could hardly doubt him.

 

At 7:15 a.m. Saturday, only eight hours removed from the Hurricanes' New Year's Eve victory, UM coach Admin Coker agreed: ``There's something about winning the last game in a bowl against a team like Florida. This is a great way to jump-start into next season.

 

'Last night, several people asked us, `Are you up for this game? Are you down? What's the attitude of this team?' The feeling was, 'Well, Miami is not going to be in this thing.' I didn't know if we'd win or not, but I knew we'd be into it. The guys did not want to be the team that lost to Florida.''

 

MANY RETURNING

 

The prospect of so many underclassmen returning gives Coker even more hope.

 

''We have a lot of young players coming back, and we have to use that and build on it,'' he said. Antrel Rolle, for example, was the only regular senior starter on defense.

 

``I will encourage our players to watch some TV the next few days, see what some of these other teams are doing and where they're playing and maybe have in our goals and our visions being in Pasadena next year. Or maybe in the Orange Bowl again. That next step, we want to get back to.''

 

Coker was asked if there was some relief knowing the team wouldn't be decimated by too many juniors turning pro early. ''There is some relief there,'' he said. ``When you lose four underclassmen like we lost last year, you just don't reload. . . . What I see is guys who maybe have NFL qualities but know they need to come back for another year to reach the level they need to be at.''

 

CONSIDERING DRAFT

 

Coker said tailback Frank Gore and receiver/returner Roscoe Parrish are still considering entering the draft. Both players await to learn a range of rounds in which the NFL College Advisory Committee believes they'd be drafted.

 

''They're going to weigh the options,'' Coker said. ``Frank wanted me to talk to his mother. Frank wants to come back. But, you know, you don't know until it's over.''

 

? UM defensive end Bryan Pata said after the game that he sustained a minor concussion.

 

Herald sports writer Bob Emanuel Jr. contributed to this report.

Look out for Kalvin Bailey, the #1 ranked fullback by Rivals, out of Seffner, Florida, who committed to Iowa.

 

I would guess he would be in this Florida thing? I don't know..

I think we have a great shot at playing in the Rose Bowl next year. We have some question marks at quarterback, though. We need to answer that question before we can say we are a legitimate national title contender. On another note, I don't think USC would have run over us the way they ran over Oklahoma. I think they beat us, but only like 34-24 or something like that. No blowout.

I think we have a great shot at playing in the Rose Bowl next year. We have some question marks at quarterback, though. We need to answer that question before we can say we are a legitimate national title contender. On another note, I don't think USC would have run over us the way they ran over Oklahoma. I think they beat us, but only like 34-24 or something like that. No blowout.

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Nobody expected the showing USC put on last night.

 

If USC plays like they did last night, Miami would have got crushed too, don't kid yourself. That goes for any team in the country as well.

 

Miami will be darn good again next year...that FSU/Miami game is gonna be sick.

i saw him in that game

 

he was really, really, really bad

 

he made the worst pass i've ever seen. ever.

 

bailey played in the game too Iowa, he did fairly well