I like Randy Shannon's move, hiring Mark Whipple to be Miami's new offensive coordinator. The only thing Canes fans should regret about it was that UM couldn't have hired him two years ago when it brought in Patrick Nix.
I spoke with two coaches who have worked against Whipple, and the way they rave about him is reminiscent of the big buzz in the coaching world about Chip Kelly when Oregon hired him. It'll be fascinating to see if Whipple has an impact on whether Miami can keep top RB recruit Bryce Brown. The Kansas back, who is widely considered the top back in this recruiting class, is expected to hold off on announcing his college choice until after signing day.
Whipple's first stop is to Wichita to recruit Brown, although the running back won't actually be there. (He already graduated from high school and will be in Nebraska with an uncle on vacation.) But Whipple will meet with Brown's father and Brian Butler, his mentor. Butler, who will conference Brown in via phone, apparently wants to sit down with the new Canes offensive coach and hear a detailed plan of how Miami will use the running back and get a better understanding of his offensive philosophies.
The timing of Whipple's hire is big in that UM also will be hosting blue-chipper Sheldon Richardson -- a nimble 6-foot-4, 280-pounder committed to Mizzou -- this weekend on an official visit. Many recruiting sites have pegged Richardson as one of the top DT recruits in the country, but apparently he is intrigued by playing tight end in college and he might get that chance at Miami, especially since the status of starting tight end Dedrick Epps is up in the air as he tries to recover from a late-season ACL injury that could sideline him for all of 2009. The Canes suddenly are extremely thin at tight end.
"Well, my father is just leaving the decision up to me, and my mother wants me to stay close to home," Richardson told InsidetheU.com. "My brother said it depends on what position I want to play. If I want to play tight end I could play tight end in Miami because Miami would be a better fit. I just don't know yet what position I want to play, so that's what else makes the decision so hard, because my body weight fluctuates up and down."
Todd Bankhead, who was Whipple's former QB when they won the 1-AA national title at UMass in 1988, spoke to a UM blog and offered some perspective on his former coach: "One thing is for sure, you wouldn't classify Whipple as being conservative," he told Anton Azucar. "Definitely fun to play for and fun to watch. The thing I liked most about his offense, it wasn't overly complicated for the players to pick up (his plays weren't a paragraph long with hundreds of variables for each player to read on the fly), but it was very tough for defenses to defend against."
One other UM point: Canes fans should be hoping Bill Cowher loves being in the TV studio, because word is Whipple would be his first call if the former Steelers coach opts to come back to coaching in the NFL down the road.
RANDOM STUFF
• I talked to Bobby Massie's high school coach Frank Rocco on Wednesday morning about the huge OT now at Hargrave Military Academy. "He's grown by leaps and bounds," Rocco said, speaking more about Massie's psyche. "As a younger player, he lacked self-esteem and confidence, but now he is very well-prepared."
Massie, whom some regard as the one of the top overall lineman prospects available this year, is scheduled to take his final official visit this weekend to Georgia. Rocco, who still talks to Massie, said he thinks the 6-7, 330-pounder is still very much undecided, although he added that Massie is a small-town guy at heart. "I know he really liked Ole Miss, and he just visited Alabama and he really liked it there and he felt very comfortable there."
• Tahj Boyd, the nation's No. 5-rated QB prospect, committed to Clemson over Oregon and Ohio State. The news isn't quite what ESPN's Tom Luginbill expected: "We must say this is a very surprising pick to us, and Clemson is now clearly stocked at QB for the near future. With Willy Korn and Kyle Parker both young and well-armed, the QB race at Clemson is sure to heat up for years to come now that Boyd is on board."
"Boyd is the ideal guy for this offense as he would have been had he picked Oregon as well. He is intelligent, a man of high character and has excellent upside as both a passer and runner. We don't feel Boyd gets the credit he deserves as a passer. He's not just an athlete playing QB; he's a true QB that is also a very good athlete. He isn't very tall, but he'll fit right in with Korn and Parker; both of them are right about 6 feet tall, too."
• Speedster Nyshier Oliver dropped his commitment to Notre Dame in favor of Tennessee, Josh Ward reports.
• USF landed another touted LB prospect. This time it's the nation's No. 13 ILB recruit DeDe Lattimore, who reportedly picked the Bulls over, among others, Auburn and Louisville.
• Florida standout Lamar Scruggs, the nation's No. 21-rated WR, has picked South Carolina over Ole Miss, according to TheBigSpur.com.
"Scruggs could become a go-to type of guy and has excellent measurables," says ESPN's Tom Luginbill. "He is the type of kid that could come into the situation at South Carolina and be a factor quickly. Their receiving corps is young; they lose Kenny McKinley and they don't yet have any established threats, but lots of ability to be very comparable to."
Sources say the 6-3, 215-pound Scruggs was one of three big targets the Rebels felt like they had a very good shot to land. The other two are 6-5 Marlon Brown, the nation's No. 3 WR and 6-3 Patrick Patterson, the No. 14 wideout. Patterson, a small-town guy, is rumored to be leaning toward Ole Miss.
• Orson Charles, the speedy tight end prospect from Tampa, is expected to not announce his college choice till after signing day, and that's apparently no problem for UGA coach Mark Richt, who also doesn't seem to mind saving the No. 7 jersey for him, according to this AJC story:
"Coach Richt said he will wait … and what was really neat is that he said he would hold my No. 7 jersey for me, even if there is another player they're recruiting that wants it and that guy is [deciding] on signing day," Charles said. "I was really surprised and impressed with the way [Richt] was talking about everything. Georgia knew before I visited there that I wasn't going to commit, and they never pressured me, or really even brought it up. It was a relaxed situation, a lot of fun."
The No. 7 jersey was worn by quarterback Matthew Stafford last season. Charles, who is also considering USC, FSU, Tennessee and UF, could probably get the No. 7 at SC since DB Cary Harris was a senior this year and Vidal Hazelton left the program . Tight end Cornelius Ingram wears No. 7 for UF. It's doubtful Charles gets that jersey at FSU, since that's the number worn by QB Christian Ponder. He might be able to wear it at Tennessee, since DB Dee Morley wears No. 7 for the Vols but no one has it on offense.
• Big get by Duke landing onetime Virginia recruit Tyree Watkins, a speedy New Jersey product. He is an explosive wideout, something the Blue Devils simply didn't have.
• Last year Southern Miss landed a dynamite big receiver in DeAndre Brown, and now the Golden Eagles might have found an ideal counter in JC transfer Justin Jordan, as Kevin Hageland reports.
Jordan had been clocked at 4.41 in the 40-yard dash, and the former Wildcat received offers from California, which he visited in November, Arizona, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah before choosing Southern Mississippi.
• Justin Thompson has been a highly touted defensive-line recruit for, it seems, years. The JC transfer signed with Oregon last year, but failed to qualify and didn't play in 2008. Thompson is expected to be on the field in 2009, only it'll be for the Memphis Tigers who need the help, as they're trying to replace three solid D-linemen.
According to Phil Stukenborg, Thompson said he chose Memphis for a variety of reasons, among them a schedule that has the Tigers playing Ole Miss and Tennessee in 2009 and the presence of former high school and junior college teammate Greg Ray on the Tigers roster.
"Me and Greg went to high school together (in Los Angeles) for all four years, and he and I went to the same junior college," Thompson said. "We only lived about 15 minutes from each other in Los Angeles. He is one of my closest friends."
The Tigers have actually been bringing in a bunch of hyped former big-name recruits. Also coming to Memphis is Miami wideout Jermaine McKenzie, who is transferring in with his twin brother Tremaine, a DB who comes from a California JC. Tight end Dajleon Farr, another ex-Hurricane, transferred last year and will become eligible this fall. Tigers defensive coordinator Tim Walter, a former Miami assistant, is a big reason why the school has been able to bring in some former Canes. LSU transfer Derrick Odom and former Wisconsin RB Lance Smith also become eligible in '09.
• FIU is coming off a breakthrough season and is on the rise. Last year, the program, which opened its charming new stadium in September, showcased a gem of a rookie in receiver T.Y. Hilton, who went on to become the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. As Pete Pelegrin writes, more big things are coming for the program: "In July, FIU will inaugurate a state-of-the-art fieldhouse that includes a 14,000-square-foot weight-training center, the FIU locker room, coaches offices, meeting rooms, injury-rehab center and six additional club suites, with a patio overlooking the field from the west end zone.
" 'FIU is turning into big-time football,' said Archbishop Carroll defensive back Terrance Taylor, who decommitted from Rutgers to join FIU. 'That weight room is going to be big, and I'm going to be big in it. This is no longer the FIU people once thought it was. This is a new and improved FIU.' "
Two other guys to keep an eye on are FIU commits Darian Mallary, a shifty, undersized back who ran for more yards than anyone in Dade County last season and linebacker Kenny Dillard, the county's leading tackler (138 tackles, 10 sacks), a speedy 6-0, 195-pounder who comes from local powerhouse Northwestern High.
• Texan Dewayne Peace, who had been committed to Michigan, but had been reportedly told by the Wolverines staff they wanted him as a DB, has switched his choice to Arizona, the (Tucson) Arizona Daily Star reports.
"As soon as I took my visit, I knew I wanted to go to Arizona," said the nation's No. 134-ranked wideout prospect. "It was beautiful. The climate is wonderful, the mountains … it's something I had never seen before. It was overwhelming."
• With the Boston College staff in a bit of transition, Georgia OT Nick Klemm is wondering about his verbal commitment to play for the Eagles, and Maryland might snatch him away, writes Glenn LaFollette:
"Klemm -- a 6-foot-6, 280[-pound] tackle -- was 100 percent committed to BC but that was before offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. took a job with the Giants. The Wheeler standout went on an official visit to Boston College on Dec. 12. After just returning from an official [visit] to Maryland this past weekend, Klemm's recruitment status now comes down to a two-team race between Boston College and the Terrapins.
"It's pretty tough to deal with something like this," Klemm said. "It's very hard to buil[d] relationships in a short amount of time. Boston College hasn't named an offensive line coach yet, and that's someone you want to know. You'll be with that person throughout your college career. So that's important to me."
• Updating the Yogi Roth Journey -- Day 4 - Easter Island:
"I landed to the sound of the ocean all around me and a flower [lei] being placed over my shoulders in front of a crowd, as landing is an event on this island as a plane arrives only three times per week. From there, it was straight to the hostel and then the town's center, or one road with a few small shops. But the shops were not the attraction; rather, it was the picture-perfect surf coming barreling down at me from the south side of the island. So into the water I went and it was as fun as you are imagining right now while sitting in your chair. Which brings me to a question; what would happen if you left your chair today? Other than the impending argument with your partner and the bills left unpaid, how would your co-workers remember you?
The reason I'm asking is because this small beach community reminded me of a retreat our staff had last off-season in a small beach town north of Los Angeles. There, during our meetings, a member of our staff asked Coach Carroll a question regarding how we want our players to leave USC: Do we want them to leave as good citizens, All-Americans, Heisman Trophy winners, graduates, etc? A great question and one that all of us were excited to hear the answer to. It was there when Coach Carroll turned to that unnamed staff member and said, "Well, what do you want them to leave as?"
Carroll then continued to ask us to write down the very first thought that came to our minds regarding what we wanted our individual players to leave the program as. At the same time he was beginning what is the first step in the Win Forever philosophy finding out who you are. He asked me what I thought and immediately, I reframed my initial response to a more academic, coach-speak answer. "Well, Coach, I would like them to be worldly, good men, smart quarterbacks."
He thankfully stopped me with a laugh and bluntly asked, "Yogi, what was the first thing you wrote down?"
And then, as I looked toward my notepad for no apparent reason, I smiled, as I knew in my heart what I wanted the players I coached to leave USC with. I wanted them to leave as "dreamers." To leave knowing that they can achieve anything they dream up in their analytical quarterback head.
The point is, whatever you want your players to leave the program with they will leave with, because you cannot hide who you are, and the same is in life. We can't hide who we are! Thus, as I am sitting in an Easter Island hostel chair in pain from sunburn on my now-leathery neck. I guess I'll ask you what you would want your players, children, life partners, co-workers, or friends to take away from you if you ever moved on?
Bruce Feldman
