Today we quiz Kartik, a long-time UM observer and publisher of the always-engrossing Florida College Sports. Kartik lives in the Canes backyard and knows his way around the Orange Bowl better than Larry Coker. Who better to answer our questions about the team that new coach Randy Shannon brings to Tallahasseee Oct. 20th.
ChantRant: How is UM different after Shannon's first spring game compared to a year ago after Coker's last?
Kartik: The
attitude is completely different. Players and fans are looking forward
to the season for a change, and there seems to be a honeymoon for
Shannon from the fans. The signing of five star RB Graig Cooper also
has excited fans even though he was injured in the spring game and did not
play. In fairness to Larry Coker, Cooper was actually recruited by him
but Shannon convinced him to re-commit to Miami.
ChantRant: Both QBs have had their problems. Is this the achilles heel of the team, and will it seriously affect UM's won-loss record this year?
Kartik: Quite frankly I would take both Quarterbacks at Florida State
over our QBs. Kyle Wright, short of a Carson Palmer like Senior year
turn around will go down as
one of the great failures in UM history.
He'll be compared to the likes of Brian Fortay and Frank Costa, and in
my opinion Costa was a far superior QB. Despite the frustration of
Seminole fans with Drew Weatherford, he is a far better reader of the
game than is Wright. Wright proved in his very first prolonged action
as a freshman in relief of Brock Berlin vs Georgia Tech that he had no pocket presence and little clue when to get rid of the ball. Thankfully in that game Berlin
had thrown 3 early TDs to give UM an insurmountable lead. But Wright
hasn't improved at all since then. Unlike Weaterford who has made plays
against good team, Wright has a grand total of four TDs in his career
against what I would consider respectable opposition.
I
prefer Kirby Freeman to Wright but he isn't any great shakes either.
Freeman is mistake prone and is very inaccurate as a passer. But he
does make plays with his feet as we saw against Maryland and the Bowl Game. He is a poor man's Xavier Lee, but is preferable to Wright.
The
poor QB play will likely doom the Hurricanes to another season where we
don't seriously compete for the ACC title. Robert Marve, Florida's "Mr.
Football" out of Tampa/Plant HS signed with Miami but will likely not compete for the starting job just yet.
ChantRant: How do UM fans feel about new Offensive Coordinator
Patrick Nix from Georgia Tech?
Kartik: I
like the Nix hire. At Ga Tech he ran the ball between the tackles with
P.J Daniels and Tashard Choice and also used Reggie Ball's mobility to
move the pocket and spring some big passes down field. Despite Ball's
inconsistency he is still a far better QB than Kyle Wright and should
Wright be the starter, Nix will have to dumb down his playbook since
Wright's confidence is lacking. Nix was also an excellent College QB
himself at Auburn and I believe he understands the frustrations and
difficulty which come with playing the position at this level. That's
why he was so patient with Ball.
ChantRant: Will this be one of the Canes' more dominating defenses?
Kartik: Yes, but that may not reflect in the win/loss record. Calais
Campbell is one of the best lineman UM has ever had which is saying a
great deal when you think of guys like Daniel Stubbs, Jerome Brown,
Cortez Kennedy and many many others, but he's being wasted on a team
whose offense is one of the worst of any team in a BCS conference. Keep
an eye on Colin McCarthy, a linebacker who ironically wears Dan
Morgan's old #44. The secondary is as loaded as any prior Miami
secondary. But short of this defense creating points themselves off of
fumble and INT returns, their efforts will likely go unrewarded.
ChantRant: Is Shannon restoring the swagger of Miami teams
of the past?
Kartik: It's
tough to say because Shannon is so different from the last three UM
coaches. His mentor is Jimmy Johnson, and beyond acquiring JJ's great
motivational skills,
Shannon's strong ideas about discipline may not
sit well with all the players. Shannon will not tolerate the sort of
off the field nonsense that Coker tolerated late in his tenure (in
fairness Coker was a pretty strong disciplinarian early in his tenure,
but as he became more besieged as a coach he let the team's behavior
suffer) and is also deadly serious about student athletes going to
class and being successful students. It's that emphasis on the
classroom which really helped sell Donna Shalala on hiring him. The
other part of Shannon's interview that blew away Shalala was a five
year plan he has developed to reinvigorate the fan base in South
Florida. Moving to Dolphin Stadium which seems almost certain at this
point was not part of the plan to my knowledge, but that
indirectly could help increase attendance even though I personally am
very sentimental about the
Orange Bowl.
Almost lost in all the hoopla over 2008 commitments is a young man who just might make us forget Brandon Warren in 2007. Jonathan Hannah inked his Letter of Intent after signing day, surprising every one — especially N.C. State coaches who were counting on his commitment (thanks, Chuck).
Mohlmann: "He's 260 pounds and I think his intention is to play TE. Playing OL is something we never discussed or even thought about."
Comments? Questions? Kudos?