National Signing Day

Today was College Football's National Signing Day. I woke up early (West Coast!) to the sound of my first recruit signing text message of the day and stayed glued to the computer screen well past lunch. ESPN2 showed ESPNU's signing day coverage for two hours, and for those 120 wasted minutes, they interviewed Zook and Meyer and even talked about how great Saban has done at Alabama and how wonderful his future classes will be (ha!), but no mention of the 'Canes. No talk about how The U, despite coming off one of the worst seasons in decades, a coaching change, a murder, and other tumultuous issues, still managed to put together an impressive Top 15/Top 10 class including marquee steals from Alabama and Florida. No mention. Though I'm sure if we signed a kid with an arrest record they'd be all over it. Par for the course, I suppose...

Randy Shannon's first class is something Miami fans should be proud of; especially considering that it will likely be his worst class, as things can only get better... next year means a full year as CEO, a full staff, and likely a much better record than 7-6.

Offense

At QB, Miami got their future leader and superstar in Robert Marve (video). The dude is Mr. Florida, a state champion, national top-ten QB prospect, and a class act. I guarantee he will lead us to the BCS championship game. It was a pleasure to steal him away from O'Saban been Lyin' over at 'Bama.

At RB, we retained 5-star speedster Graig Cooper (video). We also picked up another sick speedster in former Mississippi State commit Lee Chambers (video) and also added agile athlete Shawnbrey McNeal. I imagine all three (Coop and Chambers as the lighting to Baby James' thunder, and McNeal as a Hester-like return specialist) will be fighting for some playing time right away. James, Cooper, and Chambers could be the latest version of having Portis, McGahee and Gore in the same backfield. If last year's 4-star recruit Kylan Robinson bulks up, he could make for a sick dual-threat FB helping pound the way for our superstar tailbacks.

Though Deonte Thompson ended up at Gainesville, our WR's are plenty and talented. Kayne Farquharson (video) is possibly my favorite recruit in this whole class. A 5-star JUCO prospect, his impact will be immediate, both as a receiver lining up next to Sam Shields and as a leader who just ozzes UM Swagger. Plus, his name is Kayne. Leonard Hankerson and Jermaine McKenzie (video) are both big, quality 4-star receivers, and Daniel Adderly is a tall sleeper who will likely grow into our next great TE.

Harland Gunn is one of the best O-Line prospects in the nation, and will absolutely start right away, maybe at center if he can get that whole ball-snapping thing down. Orlando Franklin is a boulder with legs; dude's 6'6", 325 pounds and is going to be a force at RT. And big sleeper Tyler Horn will add some much needed depth to the line.

Defense

The 'Canes also got big, quick, and versatile Chris Perry, a 4-star DT from Texas. After Kayne, Allen Bailey is a close 2nd favorite recruit of this class. He is a monster who will play LB, or more likely due to his size, DE. If you haven't yet, you need to see his highlight video. At one point he runs through the offensive line into the backfield and smashes a fullback into the tailback. When I say monster, I mean it. I cannot wait to see him in uniform, making offenses scared to take the field all by himself. And rounding out the front 7 in this class is Adewale Ojomo, a big, fast 4-star DE from my hometown of Hialeah. He is going to be a sack machine at The U.

Finally, to me, the secondary might just be the bread and butter in this class. 'Cane legacy Damien Berry is a converted RB who will play safety. His athletic ability will make him a serious center fielder. I've already run out of adjectives and superlatives, but suffice to say that JoJo Nicholas (stolen from the grasp of Rutgers) and Jared Campbell (Calais' brother) are two more safeties who are smart and athletic. We've found our new Ed Reed and Sean Taylor. Except here we've got three of them. And rounding it off, we've got two tremendously quick and talented at CB in 4-stars Demarcus VanDyke and Doug Wiggins. DVD is lightning quick, and Wiggins is just a straight-up playmaker. This is the kind of secondary that can lock down and shut out superstar receivers.

Looking forward to Sept. 1

Needless to say, the season cannot begin soon enough. I can't wait until these young men suit up in the new uniforms, rock the orange-and-green U, and start a new era in Miami Hurricanes football. Only 204 days and counting...