Official Signing Day Thread

[JetsMania]

Very impressive job by Shannon down in So. Fla. this year. He really did well considering the state the program was in during the last of the Coker days.

 

The Gators had a good day overall, having no real changes of mind (outside of DVD yesterday, but that was going to occur and everyone knew it).

 

 

2008 Florida High School 2 Top QBs ever play when the Gators and UM meets. I cant wait to see Tebo vs Marve

 

I want to go to that game (I have never been to the swamp). UM plays at Texas A&M the week after, which should be another crazy place to watch a game.

[Fishfan79]

Very impressive job by Shannon down in So. Fla. this year. He really did well considering the state the program was in during the last of the Coker days.

 

The Gators had a good day overall, having no real changes of mind (outside of DVD yesterday, but that was going to occur and everyone knew it).

 

 

2008 Florida High School 2 Top QBs ever play when the Gators and UM meets. I cant wait to see Tebo vs Marve

 

I want to go to that game (I have never been to the swamp). UM plays at Texas A&M the week after, which should be another crazy place to watch a game.

 

Oklahoma game next year will be fun to see too in the 2nd week of the season. The swamp is a good enviroment, went to a game with my frat brothers up there and a party afterwards. But, the town is a dump compared to south florida

[JetsMania]

Very impressive job by Shannon down in So. Fla. this year. He really did well considering the state the program was in during the last of the Coker days.

 

The Gators had a good day overall, having no real changes of mind (outside of DVD yesterday, but that was going to occur and everyone knew it).

 

 

2008 Florida High School 2 Top QBs ever play when the Gators and UM meets. I cant wait to see Tebo vs Marve

 

I want to go to that game (I have never been to the swamp). UM plays at Texas A&M the week after, which should be another crazy place to watch a game.

 

Oklahoma game next year will be fun to see too in the 2nd week of the season. The swamp is a good enviroment, went to a game with my frat brothers up there and a party afterwards. But, the town is a dump compared to south florida

 

Eventually I want to see games at:

 

Florida

ND

LSU

Texas A&M

Bama

Ohio State

Sugar Bowl (I've been to the orange, fiesta and rose)

[BobbyBowden]

DT to UF.

[Wild Card]

DT to UF.

 

Good and bad decision... He's not going to start right away, maybe on special teams. He will be on the receiving end of passes from Tim Tebow, though.

[wanks1212]

DT to UF.

 

Good and bad decision... He's not going to start right away, maybe on special teams. He will be on the receiving end of passes from Tim Tebow, though.

 

that's more like two negatives

 

dt is a hell of a pickup for them though

[Mark]

If DT earns his playing time, he'll see touches. Just like Harvin did.

 

I think DT will get a lot of PT this season. The Gators lost Baker and Cornelius, two of their most productive receivers. DT is the gem of this WR class for Florida, and I think his explosiveness will put him clearly in the mix.

[Wild Card]

DT to UF.

 

Good and bad decision... He's not going to start right away, maybe on special teams. He will be on the receiving end of passes from Tim Tebow, though.

 

that's more like two negatives

 

 

The Tebow haters really need to stop. He's going to be ridiculous.

[El Guapo]

Notre Dame....

Jimmy Clausen 5 star QB Natl. rank #1

Robert Hughes 4 star Rb natl. rank #9

Matt Romine 4 star OG natl. rank #12

Gary Gray 4 star CB natl. rank #6

Duval Kamara 4 star Wr natl. rank #8

Emeka Nwankwo 4 star OT natl. rank #22

Armando Allen 4 star Rb natl. rank #21

Harrison smith 4 star S natl. rank #25

Mike Ragone 4 star TE natl. rank #2

Kerry neal 4 star DE natl. rank #31

Golden Tate 4 star Wr natl. rank#37

Taylor Dever 4 star OT natl. rank #29

Brandon Walker 4 star K/P natl. rank #5

Brian Smith 3 star MLB natl. rank#30

Ian Williams 3 star DT natl. rank#36

Andrew Nuss 3 star OT natl. rank#52

Steve Paskorz 3 star SLB natl. rank#36

Aaron Nagel 3 star WLB natl. rank#14

 

Great Job done by Charlie Weis

[Guest FishFanInPA]

Al Golden did an outstanding job....29 guys....6 3 star athletes and a lot of enthusiasm.....Higher class rank then NIU...couple Florida kids

 

Jemarr Anderson DB 5-10 185 4.5 5.2 Fleming Island, FL

Joe Jones RB 5-11 190 4.4 5.4 Hollywood, FL

Moses Parker DB 6-1 200 - 5.3 Gainesville, FL

 

Michigan got the QB of the future in this kid Ryan Mallett from Texas...

[The Fan]

I LOVE Randy Shannon's attitude. I wasn't sure about him as a choice, but I am really happy with how he finished strong based on what was left, his honesty, loyalty to the U and I am optimistic he will get the program back on the right track. I fully expect him to start locking up South Florida, starting this year. Anyway, here are some quotes and comments from the course of the day Shannon put out. Enjoy U fans.

 

The one position we have to find more competition at is the kickers. We'll find a kicker and punter because we're going to put pressure on those guys. Competition, that's what we're going to have at Miami. Guys are going to push themselves to be the best. If not, we're going to go to the next guy. Every home we went into, we told every player `We're recruiting you this year coming up. Next year we're gong to find a guy to replace you.' We were upfront and honest. You're at the University of Miami, and they're going to try to find someone else to take my place next year. That makes that guy pick his game up and the next guy pick his game up. The more we can get that competition going we're going to be successful at the University of Miami. I have confidence we're going to get that done."

First and foremost I want to thank the parents of the student-athletes we recruited. Because I think the parents played a big part in what we have at the University of Miami...Next and foremost we wanted to go out and find high-quality people, find guys who have great character, are good kids in the community. We went around and asked students, schools, the counselors, principals, security guards, janitors, and when they tell us these are great people that you're going to try to recruit at the University of Miami, those are guys that we're going to go after. That's the first thing we looked at as a staff. Second we want a solid student-athlete, guys who will work in the classroom, not just show up one day, then three days later miss class. We wanted to make sure they're solid student-athletes all-around. The next thing is we tried to find big-time athletes. That's the one thing this program's always been around athletes, no matter if you're a defensive back that can play running back, receiver, line up at quarterback and do kickoff returns. That's how you win games, you get guys like that athletically on your team. We recruited maybe 10 guys that can go back and forth from running back, wide receiver, defensive back or kickoff returner. That's how you are successful and score points. The next thing is we wanted to find is winners, guys from winning programs. The one thing you always look at, you look at the trends. If you recruit an athlete that's been 3-9, 3-7, 2-8, 1-9, he's used to losing. That won't ever happen. It's too hard to get this guy to win. So we try to find winning programs, 7-3, 8-2, winning state championships, 11-0, 10-0. Those guys know what it takes to win. They know how to win, get the job done. They want to make sure that at all costs they aren't going to let the program down, the coaches down, their teammates down.

 

Q: What was your overall philosophy in recruiting?

 

Shannon: To get the best quality players. Not the best players. Quality. I look at a lot of sports these days and I see the big name guys are really trying to tear down this sport. One player is not going to make this team at the University of Miami. It's not. If you get quality athletes it's going to be a great thing going here at the University of Miami. You might be a great athlete, but you might be detrimental to your team. You can't win that way.

 

 

Q: What specific areas were you honing in on?

 

Shannon: Positions everything. If we were able to sign five defensive linemen, we'd have signed five defensive linemen. If we could have found three quarterbacks, we'd have signed three quarterbacks. We need competition, and that's the one thing we said we were going to do.

 

Q: Are you leaving spots open?

 

Shannon: You always have to leave spaces open. People keep forgetting Ray Lewis was signed in May. Russell Maryland was signed [late]. We're always going to leave space open for great athletes and great student-athletes in the long run.

 

Q: Receivers was obviously a priority.

 

Shannon: We attacked the receiver position very hard. Everybody that we went and looked at that can play receiver and defensive back, those are guys that we want. And some of the greatest defensive backs and receivers that have been here always played two positions in high school. I remember this: Bennie Blades came out of high school when I came out. Bennie was a tailback in high school. At Miami he was a free safety.

 

Q: Having not gone to a BCS game in three years, was selling UM a lot harder?

 

Shannon: I don't talk about the past. Talk about the future. I don't ever look back. You can't change anything that happened in the past. Three seconds just went by. Could you change anything from that point? Don't ever look back. Keep looking forward, you'll be okay. And that's what we kept telling the staff. You can't dwell on the past. The past is the past. I don't ever wear my rings, you notice that? I have three, I've never worn them. I wore them that one day and after that I never wore them again. You can't change the past. I have to always keep myself going and strive to be the best I can be and get more rings that way and more championships.

 

 

Q: Robert Marve is a very celebrated signing.

 

Shannon: He's a good quarterback. He's a guy that's competitive, is not afraid of any competition. When I went to talk to him, and coach [Joe] Pannunzio was vital in the recruiting, I talked about Booker T. Washington. He was talking about how the first half he was getting banged around. I said `How'd you adjust?' He said `Coach, I just told my guys on the offensive line it was my fault. I put it all on me to make those guys feel good.' When a guy can do that, I like him. He took the pressure off the guys up front and then in the second half they took the game and won it. He brings that charisma, that team aspect of `Find a way for these guys to play for me.'

 

Q: Were there any disappointments that slipped through your fingers in the last day or two?

 

Shannon: No. One thing recruiting this year -- a lot of the players have been upfront and honest in this recruiting class `Coach, I'm thinking about you guys but I have someone else involved.' It's never been a deal where `Oh, man, he told me something different, went the other way.' The hat trick wasn't played on the University of Miami this year because we recruited the guys that were quality kids. Quality kids that would tell us up front, `This is where I'm going.' We knew every time a kid wasn't going to Miami the night before or day before.

 

Q: Can Marve play right away?

 

Shannon: Everybody has a shot to play this year.

 

Q: What is the strength of this class?

 

Shannon: Athletes. A bunch of athletes in this class, guys that can play multiple positions. That's one thing we tried to address, and we did.

 

Q: Is there a trend to get younger players in the lineup quicker?

 

Shannon: Get the best players in the lineup. That's the biggest thing. We've had young players play early and win games for us. The one thing this coaching staff will never do, they will never play a guy just because he's a senior. Every year the best players play. Nobody ever thought Chavez Grant was a great player. How high was he ranked last year in the State of Florida? About 89? 30th among DBs in Florida. People don't realize he won the Houston game for us, the Nevada game for us. He's not ranked high, but what we look at it is what's best for the University of Miami. And that's the only thing that counts.

 

Q: You have 17 signees (Kayne Farquharson is not an official signee as he has some academic issues that are expected to be rectified by the summer, and Chris Perry's paperwork was not in order as of press conference time). How many openings were there for spots?

 

Shannon: I don't look at numbers. I just sign. I was on Wall Street and everyone yells `Sell, sell, sell.' I just keep sign 'em. Keep signing.

[Junior]

10th best class in the nation. Not bad.

 

 

We won't choose to talk about the NIU class.......

[Fishfan79]

I LOVE Randy Shannon's attitude. I wasn't sure about him as a choice, but I am really happy with how he finished strong based on what was left, his honesty, loyalty to the U and I am optimistic he will get the program back on the right track. I fully expect him to start locking up South Florida, starting this year. Anyway, here are some quotes and comments from the course of the day Shannon put out. Enjoy U fans.

 

The one position we have to find more competition at is the kickers. We'll find a kicker and punter because we're going to put pressure on those guys. Competition, that's what we're going to have at Miami. Guys are going to push themselves to be the best. If not, we're going to go to the next guy. Every home we went into, we told every player `We're recruiting you this year coming up. Next year we're gong to find a guy to replace you.' We were upfront and honest. You're at the University of Miami, and they're going to try to find someone else to take my place next year. That makes that guy pick his game up and the next guy pick his game up. The more we can get that competition going we're going to be successful at the University of Miami. I have confidence we're going to get that done."

First and foremost I want to thank the parents of the student-athletes we recruited. Because I think the parents played a big part in what we have at the University of Miami...Next and foremost we wanted to go out and find high-quality people, find guys who have great character, are good kids in the community. We went around and asked students, schools, the counselors, principals, security guards, janitors, and when they tell us these are great people that you're going to try to recruit at the University of Miami, those are guys that we're going to go after. That's the first thing we looked at as a staff. Second we want a solid student-athlete, guys who will work in the classroom, not just show up one day, then three days later miss class. We wanted to make sure they're solid student-athletes all-around. The next thing is we tried to find big-time athletes. That's the one thing this program's always been around athletes, no matter if you're a defensive back that can play running back, receiver, line up at quarterback and do kickoff returns. That's how you win games, you get guys like that athletically on your team. We recruited maybe 10 guys that can go back and forth from running back, wide receiver, defensive back or kickoff returner. That's how you are successful and score points. The next thing is we wanted to find is winners, guys from winning programs. The one thing you always look at, you look at the trends. If you recruit an athlete that's been 3-9, 3-7, 2-8, 1-9, he's used to losing. That won't ever happen. It's too hard to get this guy to win. So we try to find winning programs, 7-3, 8-2, winning state championships, 11-0, 10-0. Those guys know what it takes to win. They know how to win, get the job done. They want to make sure that at all costs they aren't going to let the program down, the coaches down, their teammates down.

Q: What was your overall philosophy in recruiting?

 

Shannon: To get the best quality players. Not the best players. Quality. I look at a lot of sports these days and I see the big name guys are really trying to tear down this sport. One player is not going to make this team at the University of Miami. It's not. If you get quality athletes it's going to be a great thing going here at the University of Miami. You might be a great athlete, but you might be detrimental to your team. You can't win that way.

 

 

Q: What specific areas were you honing in on?

 

Shannon: Positions everything. If we were able to sign five defensive linemen, we'd have signed five defensive linemen. If we could have found three quarterbacks, we'd have signed three quarterbacks. We need competition, and that's the one thing we said we were going to do.

 

Q: Are you leaving spots open?

 

Shannon: You always have to leave spaces open. People keep forgetting Ray Lewis was signed in May. Russell Maryland was signed [late]. We're always going to leave space open for great athletes and great student-athletes in the long run.

 

Q: Receivers was obviously a priority.

 

Shannon: We attacked the receiver position very hard. Everybody that we went and looked at that can play receiver and defensive back, those are guys that we want. And some of the greatest defensive backs and receivers that have been here always played two positions in high school. I remember this: Bennie Blades came out of high school when I came out. Bennie was a tailback in high school. At Miami he was a free safety.

 

Q: Having not gone to a BCS game in three years, was selling UM a lot harder?

 

Shannon: I don't talk about the past. Talk about the future. I don't ever look back. You can't change anything that happened in the past. Three seconds just went by. Could you change anything from that point? Don't ever look back. Keep looking forward, you'll be okay. And that's what we kept telling the staff. You can't dwell on the past. The past is the past. I don't ever wear my rings, you notice that? I have three, I've never worn them. I wore them that one day and after that I never wore them again. You can't change the past. I have to always keep myself going and strive to be the best I can be and get more rings that way and more championships.

 

 

Q: Robert Marve is a very celebrated signing.

 

Shannon: He's a good quarterback. He's a guy that's competitive, is not afraid of any competition. When I went to talk to him, and coach [Joe] Pannunzio was vital in the recruiting, I talked about Booker T. Washington. He was talking about how the first half he was getting banged around. I said `How'd you adjust?' He said `Coach, I just told my guys on the offensive line it was my fault. I put it all on me to make those guys feel good.' When a guy can do that, I like him. He took the pressure off the guys up front and then in the second half they took the game and won it. He brings that charisma, that team aspect of `Find a way for these guys to play for me.'

 

Q: Were there any disappointments that slipped through your fingers in the last day or two?

 

Shannon: No. One thing recruiting this year -- a lot of the players have been upfront and honest in this recruiting class `Coach, I'm thinking about you guys but I have someone else involved.' It's never been a deal where `Oh, man, he told me something different, went the other way.' The hat trick wasn't played on the University of Miami this year because we recruited the guys that were quality kids. Quality kids that would tell us up front, `This is where I'm going.' We knew every time a kid wasn't going to Miami the night before or day before.

 

Q: Can Marve play right away?

 

Shannon: Everybody has a shot to play this year.

 

Q: What is the strength of this class?

 

Shannon: Athletes. A bunch of athletes in this class, guys that can play multiple positions. That's one thing we tried to address, and we did.

 

Q: Is there a trend to get younger players in the lineup quicker?

 

Shannon: Get the best players in the lineup. That's the biggest thing. We've had young players play early and win games for us. The one thing this coaching staff will never do, they will never play a guy just because he's a senior. Every year the best players play. Nobody ever thought Chavez Grant was a great player. How high was he ranked last year in the State of Florida? About 89? 30th among DBs in Florida. People don't realize he won the Houston game for us, the Nevada game for us. He's not ranked high, but what we look at it is what's best for the University of Miami. And that's the only thing that counts.

 

Q: You have 17 signees (Kayne Farquharson is not an official signee as he has some academic issues that are expected to be rectified by the summer, and Chris Perry's paperwork was not in order as of press conference time). How many openings were there for spots?

 

Shannon: I don't look at numbers. I just sign. I was on Wall Street and everyone yells `Sell, sell, sell.' I just keep sign 'em. Keep signing.

 

 

I agree completely, I think he is a great influence now he needs to get the winning next year to help the recruiting. Next year is a HUGE class coming out of Dade-Broward. It is very important to swipe as many of them as possible as there is some huge prospects coming out of our backyard then. According to the guys on canesports.com today on the radio it might be the best class ever out of south florida (including a big time QB).

 

I would love to see Miami kick Rutgers, USC, UF, FSU out of south florida like the old days, but I know there is too many hands in the honey pot to remove them completely but we should get the choice pieces of meat here. Let the others pick at the carcus, just like USC does out in Cali.

 

I give the class a C+ this year overall for our standards (just outside of the top 10 overall and in the top 10 in stars). I give UM a A- because of the Job under the circumstances though. In about a months time Randy, Nix and the others on the staff put together an amazing group of guys that did fill the needs.

 

 

I would of sure loved DT though, sucks we lost him. A great pick up for the gators as he would of been a starter this year for us I think. But will see what they do with DVD (if he will be a DB or a WR for us) and Hankerson will be interesting too.

 

thank you for the article fan, a good read.