09 Real Deal College Football Discussion/No Homers - Lets geh geh GET IT!

gunna get it · Dec 9, 2009

Like seriously. Cant Reid and LJ

ridiculous!

these !%#!%% gonna be playin odds & evens to see who returns kicks and Punts.

FSU not thinkin of playin LJ on offense at all?

B.Willis:

"It had to have been coaches from other schools that turned Tennessee in," Willis said. "They probably got jealous when they saw the girls at the game. We did nothing wrong and neither did the girls. They stayed in a hotel alone and didn't even have anything to do with us beside watching us play. I've talked with coach (Lane) Kiffin and coach (David) Reaves and they assured me that everything is fine."

"None of the other schools have compared to Tennessee," Willis said. "I'm taking my visits, but I'll be at Tennessee. I just want to see what else is out there."

rivals.com

N41D · Dec 9, 2009

Originally Posted by Bigmike23

soooooooooooo what about his horrible offense on game day?????

Can't make chicken salad outta chicken %$$% ?

goinham · Dec 9, 2009

Marcus Lattimore is a straight #$*+# for all that, tryna throw UT & the people that committed to UT under the bus. smh

if i was Miller & Willis i wouldn't have no kind of extra interaction with dude outside of anything completely necessary

fear the ibis · Dec 9, 2009

Originally Posted by jville819

I can't wait for this weeks 30 for 30. I'm more interested in that than the Heisman presentation lol

Had the premier tonight. So many old Cane heads in attendance.

Long but GOOD read...

[h1]Tracking proCanes - Billy Corben - "The U" Film[/h1]
Nov/13/09 03:15 AM Filed in: The U | Tracking proCanes

proCanes.com is continuing our "Tracking proCanes" feature with someone who is not a former University of Miami Athlete, but nonetheless an alum of the University of Miami and is heavily involved in spreading the spirit of the University of Miami Athletic program, specifically the football program, through his new film "The U" which will air on ESPN on December 12th at 9pm after the Heisman Trophy Presentation. Billy Corben was born in Florida and graduated from the University of Miami where he majored in political science, screenwriting and theater. His feature documentary directorial debut, "Raw Deal: A Question of Consent," premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, making him one of the youngest directors in Sundance history. Examining the alleged rape of an exotic dancer at a fraternity house at the University of Florida, the film utilized extensive clips from videotape footage of the alleged assault. Considered by critics to be "one of the most controversial films of the modern day" and "one of the most compelling pieces of non-fiction ever produced," (Film Threat Magazine), "Raw Deal" has been seen all over the world. Following that success, Corben and producing partner Alfred Spellman founded rakontur, a Miami Beach-based content creation company, and took on another Florida true-crime story, this one closer to home. The New York Times called "Cocaine Cowboys" "a hypervent-ilating account of the blood-drenched Miami drug culture in the 1970s and 1980s."

Corben is now putting the finishing touches on the film, "The U" which is described here: Throughout the 1980s, Miami, Florida, was at the center of a racial and cultural shift taking place throughout the country. Overwhelmed by riots and tensions, Miami was a city in flux, and the University of Miami football team served as a microcosm for this evolution. The image of the predominantly white university was forever changed when coach Howard Schnellenberger scoured some of the toughest ghettos in Florida to recruit mostly black players for his team. With a newly branded swagger, inspired and fueled by the quickly growing local Miami hip hop culture, these Hurricanes took on larger-than-life personalities and won four national titles between 1983 and 1991. Filmmaker Billy Corben, a Miami native and University of Miami alum, will tell the story of how these "Bad Boys" of football changed the attitude of the game they played, and how this serene campus was transformed into "The U."

proCanes: How did you come up with the idea for the film?
Billy Corben: Everyone in our company, Rakontur, are Miami natives basically. So one of the mandates of our company is to not only tell great stories, but tell great Miami stories. The Hurricanes of the 80's in particular is one of those great Miami stories. It was one of those stories on our list for a long a time to tell and we had an opportunity to pitch it to ESPN and we took that opportunity. The inspiration was really growing up in Miami and seeing the dramatic impact, not only in sports, but in our community in terms of pop culture, in terms of the merging of sports and entertainment, this profound effect the Miami Hurricanes had being the team of the 80's.

pC: What's the official name of the film?
BC: The temporary working title of the movie was "Hurricane Season," and now it is "The U" and just "The U." There have been some internal discussions about adding a subheading to it, but right now it is just called "The U"

pC: How did you end up partnering with ESPN?
BC: Like I said, this story of the Hurricanes of the 80's was on our short list, of great Miami stories that we wanted to tell and ESPN Films was doing some really great work and we called them up and Connor Schell, he happened to have been from Miami and gone to high school in Miami and he knew all about this story of course, not to mention he was a big Cocaine Cowboys fan which was really exciting and fortuitous for us. We went up to New York and met with everybody at ESPN films and eventually went to the Bristol CT headquarters and met all the people we have been working very close with on this movie and they loved the idea. They loved our take on it. They loved our angle on it. To their credit, they loved that we were also alumni and graduates of the University [of Miami] working on it. They've also given us a lot of creative freedom and autonomy on this project to tell it in our voice. It's definitely ESPN Films presents, there's no doubt about that, but it is our voice, it is Rakontur's voice telling the story just like all the 30 for 30's. These are all personal stories. All the filmmakers have a personal relationship with these stories and it's no different here with Rakontur, me and the Hurricanes. ESPN is producing over the course of just a couple of short years, 30 movies with 30 filmmakers. I mean movie studios these days don't even do that. So they are working their @##@$ off, to help all of us craft these individual unique visions, 30 of them. They've just been incredibly cooperative and helpful and supportive to work with. I really appreciate and I can't imagine having made this movie with anyone else and for anyone else other than ESPN. We approached them, we pitched the story, they loved it and have been behind us ever since.

pC: You went to UM, were you always a UM fan?
BC: My grandfather had season tickets in the 40's in the Orange Bowl and as long as I have been alive, my dad has had season tickets to first the Orange Bowl and now of course Joe Robbie, Pro Player, Dolphin, Land Shark Stadium, J-Lo Stadium whatever the hell it's called. I think it's Buffet Stadium, that would be fun at least or we should just call it Margaritaville. Why don't we just call it Margaritaville and drop stadium from it? My dad has had season tickets as long as I have been alive and I grew up going to 'Canes games. Whenever I could go, I would. I'm talking about five years old at the Orange Bowl. Some scary stuff. The Orange Bowl was quite an intimidating environment for a little kid. You could actually feel the stands move and shake as the crowd built up and roared and back in the 80's, the crowd would often get built up and roar. I remember the feeling of that stadium. It felt like that stadium was going to come apart as everybody was stomping and cheering and screaming. I remember even being that young and realizing what an absolute sensation this team was, and these players were. I was conscious, even then, of a good show, the spectacle of a great story. You could just look down at the field, at that stage and know you were witnessing the greatest show on earth. I've never seen football or entertainment like that since. It's a shame. It's a shame that football can't be that fun and that passionate and that exciting and that enthusiastic. Later, you know, we have the Miami rules, the excessive celebrations penalties which are just ludicrous and literally take the joy and the thrill out of a game being played by 18, 19, 20-year old kids and you would hope they would be able to enjoy it now as much as they enjoyed it then and as much as the crowd enjoyed them enjoying it.

pC: What's your favorite memory of the Hurricanes when growing up?
BC: It's tough because I was so young going to some of these early games. In high school, when I have more distinct memories I didn't go to as many games as I would've liked to, in fact I didn't go to any of the Championship games at the Orange Bowl, unfortunately. My dad had friends to take with those tickets and he wasn't going to let me have one of those tickets or maybe he sold them, who knows! Those were expensive tickets, even in those days, so who knows.

pC: How different was it doing a film like this as opposed to Cocaine Cowboys?
BC: Well, no joke, they're actually very very similar. One is about Miami and cocaine and one is about Miami and college football, so see, they're very much alike! [Laughter] In fact, Cocaine Cowboys fans will find that structurally there are a lot of similarities. Cocaine Cowboys opens with the city of Miami, as a sleepy little town. "The U" opens with the University of Miami as this institution of higher learning with a not so great football team going through six coaches in seven seasons, just really on the verge of extinction. The University of Miami had already cut basketball and football was the obvious next step for the trustees to cut and they managed to get one more lease on life, higher one more head coach, to see if they could make some thing happen and they happen to higher Howard Schnellenberger, which was of course the big shift in the fate of this program. So, the movies [Cocaine Cowboys, The U] kind of begin similarly in that regard with the old archival footage of the campus, which was a very lily-white campus in Coral Gables. We have this old classic tourism film about Coral Gables, just like at the beginning of Cocaine Cowboys we have those tourism films of Miami and Miami Beach and you're about to see the Cocaine Cowboys come in and turn the city upside down and turn it into what it is today and the same thing happens in "The U." In comes this remarkable football team, these groups of men, these different teams that made up the Hurricanes in that decade and they're about to come in turn the campus upside down, college football upside down and eventually professional football on its head. So, really, they're actually very similar films and not to mention there's a nostalgia today for both the Cocaine Cowboys era in Miami where anything goes, it was the wild west, there was a lot of money, a lot of parties a lot of fun, even though here was murder and mayhem, you still have that nostalgia. Same thing with the Canes, there's an even greater nostalgia for the 'Canes of the 80's and the exuberance and enthusiasm and style that they brought to the game despite the fact that there was some negativity some negative press some bad news from the program and that time period. There is still that very strong passion and nostalgia for the 'Canes of the 80's just like the Miami of the 80's of Cocaine Cowboys.

pC: Who would you say was your favorite interviewee?
BC: Man, that's tough. That is tough because we did something like 40 interviews of head coaches, assistant coaches, players, from quarterbacks, wide receivers to some of the greatest defensive players to ever play the game of college or professional football. This is a real tough one. Finally we just got the Michael Irvin interview so there is a certain sweet smell of success there and he was as good, as we knew he was going to be in his interview. Jimmy Johnson was sensational. Lamar Thomas was hilarious. Bernie Kosar was a sweetheart and offered a lot of great insights that we wouldn't have otherwise gotten had we not interviewed him. Alonzo Highsmith was great. Mel Bratton was great. Jeremy Shockey, you had no idea what that guy was going to say next, he was a classic interview. That's a real tough one. Which one was my favorite? Too hard to say, too hard to say.

pC: How long will the feature be for ESPN?
BC: We're going to get a two-hour broadcast block so without commercials the total running time of the movie is going to be about 100 minutes, which is barely enough time to tell the story of the four national championships that we're telling. 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 seasons. It's tight squeeze, it's tight squeeze.

pC: How difficult was it to get the player interviews, were former players receptive to the idea?
BC: Good question. Very little trouble getting the interviews from the players. Except for Michael Irvin, which was a bit more of an uphill battle, but ultimately he agreed to talk to us and was terrific. Like Michael Irvin said and a lot of these guys said, the years playing for the Hurricanes were some of, if not the best years of their lives. To call someone up and say "hey will you come and talk about some of the best years of your lives" doesn't require a lot of arm twisting. The biggest problem was the University of Miami who was not supportive in the least of the project, which was funny because I did the math, of our full-time employees at Rakontur and the independent contractors that worked on "The U" and we have combined, no less than 20 years, 20 years, at the University of Miami, that we spent as students. You do the math, that's at least 2 million dollars in tuition, at least, for all of us and all the years and semesters we spent there. Not to mention we still get multiple emails a day asking us to donate money to the University and yet I approached the University of Miami as an alumni, as a graduate. I said "hey can we get access to your archives, your photos, your films, we'd like to interview Randy Shannon, we'd like to interview Paul Dee" and they told us to go screw ourselves. Here we are, School of Communication graduates made good, telling the definitive story of the University of Miami Hurricanes in this era for ESPN, one of the biggest, if not the biggest cable networks in the universe, basically producing a two-hour infomercial for the University of Miami. They should put Rakontur's name on a building when this is all done. I don't know how they measure in cash, the contribution of a two-hour primetime infomercial for the University of Miami and the extraordinary history of the football program. Nine p.m. after the Heisman Trophy ceremony on ESPN. I was really disappointed at the level of professionalism or lack thereof, and lack of support that we got from the Athletic Department and the University administration. They should really be ashamed of themselves of how they treat their alumni. It's not like we went to them for money, we didn't need money, ESPN was financing the thing. We went to them for support. Let us interview some people who are currently employed by you. Let us get some access to some of your archival materials and like I said, they sent us packing. Considering the quality of education that I got at the University of Miami for the money I spent, I like to say it's a TJ Maxx education at Neiman Marcus prices. The least they could do was be professional and be courteous to alumni.

I resigned my position on the Citizens Board, a very prestigious Board of both alumni and influential people in the community who are actively involved in fundraising efforts for every program of the University. I resigned as a result of the disrespect that the University showed us. What was interesting about it, was that the University not only blocked our access the small handful of people, Randy Shannon and Paul Dee mostly, who are currently employed by them who we needed the University's permission in order to get access to them for an interview. Not only did they block that, but they attempted be obstructionists about it. They were telling other people such as Coach [Dennis] Erickson, not to give us an interview. It's one thing to say, no we can't as a University endorse, though we didn't ask for their endorsement, participate in this, it's another thing for them to go out and try to obstruct our ability and access to people that are no longer employed by the University. So we went out to Arizona State to interview Coach Erickson and he said 'you know, I called the University to follow-up on this request and to see about the project and they told me not to do it.' I was like "you're kidding?" It's one thing for the University to say we're not participating and do whatever you want but to tell someone not to participate?

Fortunately for us, everybody pretty much, especially the players, didn't care what the University had to say, certainly were not going to be kept from telling their story. That's literally what this is; this is the player's stories. If you've seen any of our Rakontur documentaries Cocaine Cowboys, Cocaine Cowboys Two, Raw Deal, A Question of Consent there's no narrator there's no real point of view of the filmmakers forced upon the movie. It's not a Michael Moore movie. It's not a big expose or anything. This is their opportunity to tell their story in the first person. I always say Rakontur is first person productions. It's not about "they and he" it's about "I" and "we" and that's what we got here fortunately, because the players weren't going to listen [to the University]. The players didn't listen to the administration back when Tad Foote was trying to implement a code of conduct and dress codes, so they're sure not going to listen to the administration now telling them not to participate and thank goodness for them. These are men of character and men who are great characters and fortunately I think virtually everyone we approached, now that Michael Irvin gave us the interview, pretty much everyone we approached said 'yes' except for a very small handful of people employed by the University.

pC: Talk about going down to Jimmy Johnson's house in the keys.
BC: Holy crap. Jimmy Johnson has life perfected, perfected. He makes Jimmy Buffet look like a stockbroker. This guy is doing retirement right. It's amazing. He's got this beautiful house, right on the ocean, and he very graciously invited us down there to interview him. We had a real small window of opportunity because, as he put it, he could 'hear those fish biting out there' and literally the background of the shot while we're interviewing him is his fishing biddies loading up his fishing boat that's in the background of the shot. They're putting the bait on, the light beers, because Jimmy's on light beers now, he's on a diet, they're loading up the Subway sandwiches, the fishing rods like right in the background of the shot [laughter]. They're like 'sorry guy we're just running through!' and Jimmy was like let's do this, let's do this. So we ran the interview and literally the last thing we did was just an intro we recorded and he said 'alright guys, thank you, that's it!' He leapt down off the chair, ran into the background of the shot, jumped on his fishing boat and they just took off into the Atlantic [Ocean] to go fishing. It was awesome. There we all were, me and my crew just standing there with all of our equipment set up in Jimmy Johnson's back yard thinking this is the coolest job ever. I got him and everybody else to sign this football. I mean everybody that we interviewed signed this football and it's amazing. It's like 40 signatures from the greatest players, coaches assistant coaches and one of the greatest athletic directors, Sam Jankovich, who signed this ball. It's an amazing artifact that we have from making this movie.

pC: I assume you have a lot of footage that won't be shown on the ESPN feature, what will you do with that?
BC: That's a great question too, because we always have a glut of extra footage. We'll probably have some proCanes.com exclusive deleted scene that you can embed on the site at some point before or after the movie premiers. We're definitely putting together quite a DVD package. To me actually, as a movie buff and DVD collector, my number one, top bonus feature that I look for in a DVD, if I am going to buy it or rented it or whatever, is deleted scenes. To that end, all of our DVDs, Cocaine Cowboys One especially, Raw Deal, A Question of Consent, on those two DVDs we put over 30 minutes of deleted scenes and deleted footage on there. That to me is a real serious value. That's another 30 minutes of movie that you didn't get and not to mention it's a real insight into the film making process because you have to make a lot of tough decisions when you're editing a movie especially a movie that has to be 100 minutes for television that's got to tell the story of the Canes from the late 70's into the early 90's. I mean, obviously, as you said in your question, a lot of footage is going to wind up on proverbial cutting room floor. Fortunately there is no cutting room floor, it's all digital non-linear editing, so we have all of those scenes, deleted lines, deleted scenes, deleted sequences, we have them all in a lock box in a folder in Final Cut Pro where we can go back to and access those for additional content. It's definitely something whether it's on proCanes.com, the ESPN website, certainly on the DVD you're going to get a whole lot more of "The U" after the movie premiers.

pC: What phase are you in terms of the feature? Done? Editing?
BC: Man, oh man. This is an epic. ESPN is doing these 30 for 30's which is 30 different documentaries by 30 different filmmakers about some extraordinary sports story of the last 30 years to celebrate ESPN's 30th anniversary. They first came on in the fall of 1979, so right now they're celebrating the 30th anniversary. When ESPN picked us up, we were not a part of the 30 for 30 series and then they announced the 30 for 30 series and told us that we were going to be one of the only two-hour 30 for 30s because the rest of them were all one hour. So, really all of the 30 for 30s are pretty much about one player or one game or in the case Barry Levinson, one band, the Baltimore Marching Band and this movie is an epic, it's an epic. It's one of the few, if not only, 30 for 30s that is about four national championships in under 10 years of a single team. This is an epic!

To that end, it has been an ongoing editing process not to mention that we just got a Michael Irvin on October 29th. We had locked pictures, so we thought several weeks ago, Two weeks ago we did live recording sessions that we put live on U-Stream so you could hear live a 14-piece orchestra all week long recording the music. Halloween weekend we spent editing the Michael Irvin sound bites into the movie which of course will make the movie longer which means we will have to cut other things out which means the shape and timing of the movie is going to change. We are still very much editing the movie but at the same time we are also recording the score, the original music, we are actually recording an original song, actually this is breaking news, I don't think anybody knows about this. We are recording an original song, main title song, theme song with Luther Campbell last week which was pretty incredible. It's an old school Miami based two live crew sounding styled song, which Luther is going to do the lead vocals on. We're doing the graphics work, designing a beautiful lower thirds effect, I'm not going to give away the surprise but it's a pretty bad @!# concept very consistent with the spirit of the U. We've got some beautiful graphics work and animation that's going on right now. So we're really doing everything at the same time right now to try and finish this movie. ESPN said the movie is premiering December 12th at 9pm, I told them you will not have it a minute later than 8:45 pm on December 12th. At this rate that might be about when we deliver [laughter]. The movie is looking great, it's sounding great. We're making a lot of last minute changes. I asked ESPN at the end of the second hour of the movie if they could have a SportsCenter break, this just in 'this just in, SportsCenter, "The U" is going into overtime" so we can make the movie a little bit longer.

pC: What's one thing you learned from making the film that you didn't already know about the program?
BC: Well I'm tempted to just say you have to watch the movie to find that out, but I'll give you one. Jimmy Johnson's Thursday night meetings, which I didn't know about, but hearing about it from Coach Johnson, from the players, it took on a new life and a new depth and new meaning to what was otherwise sort of anecdotal stories about these mythical Thursday night meetings. Art Kehoe even told us, that he wished that he had gone to one, but never actually made it to one of the Thursday night meetings. Commentary from the players and coaches of things like that, that are really really compelling. Everything else that I learned, that I didn't know about the team or the program I'm going to let you watch the movie and find out for yourselves something that maybe you didn't know about the program.

pC: How would you say this film is different from other sports documentaries?
BC: First of all I don't really look at it as a sports documentary. I look at it as a sports culture documentary. I look at it as a Miami story. I look at as a lot of things, but not just a sports documentary. I think it talks a lot about the atmosphere in Miami in the 1980's, the racial tensions in the community, the fact that we had not one, not two, but three incidents where police officers murdered young black men that led to multiple race riots over the course of the decade, starting 1980 with the McDuffie murder and riots going all the way to 1989 with the Lozano shooting and subsequent civil unrest and this was the environment and the neighborhoods where a lot of the great players in South Florida were recruited by Howard Schnellenberger and Jimmy Johnson and it gave these players a perspective and a fire, a passion for the game. As Mel Bratton put it 'football was the way out of the hood.' They played with that passion and that fire and that swagger that nobody had ever seen anything like it before. Not on TV, anyway. Hip Hop culture and street swagger and Miami street swagger is now pretty much mainstream, but back in the 1980's that was not what most of America knew. I think about pop culture references to black America in the 1980 and we have the Cosby Show and as far as music goes you had Run DMC, which was pretty tame Rap music. Luther Campbell was just coming on the scene, gangster rap was just coming on to the scene, it was very controversial and not ready for primetime. But here you had these players also not ready for primetime but right there in living color on your TV set every Saturday playing football and displays that you had just never seen before. That's what the movie is about to me. Yes, it's a great team, yes it's certainly about four National Championships in a span of less than a decade, but it's about these men and these personalities and the character and the characters that made up this team.

pC: Some former players I have spoken to have expressed concern over what sort of light the film will portray the "U." What would you say the film is trying to portray?
BC: I'll tell you this. I'll tell you this. 'Canes lovers who watch the movie are going to walk away from the movie still loving the team and maybe loving them even more. 'Canes haters are going to walk away probably still hating the 'Canes [laughter] for the same reasons they hated them before, but I think with a new level of appreciation or maybe even respect for how this team changed; first pop culture, then college football, then professional football maybe not in that order and really professional sports in general. I think this is a real opportunity for the team, the players, the coaches to tell their story from their perspective and respond, let's say, to a lot of the criticism and the negativity that's been around. There's no doubt that we're pretty objective in this film, we do present the other side of the story. But here you have first hand the Canes responding directly to that criticism and that controversy. Whether or not that makes everybody happy, whether or not that generates more controversy, we'll have to see when the movie premiers. I don't think anybody will throw a bottle at my head like poor Dan Le Batard [laughter]. He wrote something that pissed of a fan, I really hope I will not have enter the witness protection program after we premier this movie.

pC: You interviewed Coach Dennis Erickson, Larry Coker, Jimmy Johnson and Howard Schnellenberger. Talk about those interviews and just the difference between the 4 coaches and what they had to say.
BC: Coach Coker unfortunately is not going to be in the final cut of the movie, because we do not go all the way to 2001. Originally when we had conceived the movie we were possibly planning on going to '01. We're not now. This is just going to be the team of the 80's, the Canes that were recruited primarily by Schnellenberger and Jimmy Johnson and that continued to play in the early 90's and won in 89 and 91 with Coach Erickson. Right up to the Pell Grant scandal and the sanctions is kind of where we end our tale. In talking about Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, and Dennis Erickson, you could even tell today, interviewing them and watching their interviews in the movie exactly the kinds of personalities and exactly the kinds of coaches that they were and that the players and assistant coaches talk about. Their personalities are right there perfectly on display.

With Schnellenberger you get the stature of this man and the rich history of football that he brings to the table. You understand the reverence that these players had for him and you could practically still smell the cherry flavored tobacco smoke coming down the hall before he walks into a room and he's a real presence to this day. That growl low voice that he has really contributes to the whole persona which continues to this day and you really understand why the players respected him, paid attention to him and did not want to disappoint him. They wanted to go out and win for him.

Jimmy Johnson, same thing. I mean you see Jimmy Johnson on TV every week on Fox and he's just got that energy, and that enthusiasm, that passion, that fire that these players came along with. I think Don Bailey Junior told us in his interview, Jimmy Johnson had a chip on his shoulder from his time at Oklahoma and everything and he came in like a lot of these players did, with that chip on his shoulder. And Jimmy talked to us about how he could relate to a lot of these players because he was the first person in his family that went to college. A great line from the movie from Dan Le Batard, which I was going to tell you, but I think I am going to save it for the movie, it's a great line about the relationship and connection Jimmy Johnson had with his players, motivating these players the right away you can see why Jimmy Johnson became, as Michael Irvin said: "A lot of the guys on the team, myself included, didn't have fathers, grew up without fathers and Jimmy Johnson became all of our fathers.' You can see the warmth. I mean watching the archival footage, Jimmy and the team in practice and on the sidelines in games, in the locker room, there's always an arm around a shoulder, an embrace after a touchdown, I mean there was a bond and a level of warmth and not just respect but you know a familial bond and a love for each other and the game and that is so apparent in talking to Jimmy Johnson today.

Robert Bailey said in his interview 'Coach Erickson was like when a substitute teacher comes into class.' Everybody is just going mess around as much as possible and as much as they can get away with. Erickson you can see, he said in his interview 'that the players taught him more about football, their lives, and their culture than he probably taught them.' At the same time you can see that this is a guy knew enough to stay out of their way and to devise tactics to channel their energy off the field onto the field and into winning games on the field. You can see that he is cool and quiet but at the same time you can see he is calculating how to get these players to do what they need to do to win games. There's no doubt that he did it, winning two national championships.

pC: Did you talk to some of the Hurricane QB greats? Talk about them and their personalities.
BC: This is not a "Quarterback U" documentary but you can't make a documentary about the Hurricanes in the '80's and not talk to some of the great quarterbacks. We talked to two in particular, both of who won National Championships. We talked to Bernie Kosar and Steve Walsh. Both were terrific and not unlike the coaches, even to this day could understand the personalities that made them leaders on the field. Bernie Kosar was about as nice and gracious a man as I have ever met. He actually did the interview less than a week before the news broke about his financial difficulties and it really broke my heart to read about that in the Miami Herald. He really could not have been a nicer guy, more gracious guy and less than a week before that news broke, did not let on at any point before, after or during the interview that he was dealing with the kind of problems he was clearly dealing with at that time and we really appreciate his time, which he gave us quite a lot that day. His insight into Howard Schnellenberger as a coach, some of his teammates and what went into being a freshman quarterback coming out of that quarterback preseason contest of the '83 season that Schnellenberger had him and Vinny Testaverde endure to see who was going to get that starting position. It's actually a great deleted scene from the movie that hopefully will see the light of day somewhere online or DVD about that quarterback competition and how Vinny Testaverde was clearly, to coach Schnellenberger and to Bernie Kosar, clearly the better athlete pound for pound, pass for pass and how Schnellenberger just had a feeling. They go into that season and lose that first game against the University of Florida and perhaps this looks like Schnellenberger's folly and Schnellenberger famously said that he went back and looked at the film from the game and determined that play by play statistically the Hurricanes beat the [Florida] Gators, just not in the final score and he was able to, I think, instill that enthusiasm and that inspiration in Bernie and in the players, that you were clearly the better team there, now we have to make that reflect on the scoreboard and that is what they did for the rest of the season with this freshman quarterback who ended up winning all of their [remaining] games and go to the Orange Bowl against Nebraska for the National Championship that year.

pC: What do you think about the move to Land Shark Stadium?
BC: I was on the University of Miami Citizen's Board, a position that I resigned from, as a result of a lack of cooperation the University gave us on this project and I was on the Board when Paul Dee came and made a presentation at a luncheon about the options that the University was facing with regard to which stadium to contract with, to have the Hurricanes games and it broke my heart to see the Orange bowl torn down, in fact it's something, that even though this movie is not about the Orange Bowl and the destruction of the Orange Bowl plays a very important visual element in our movie at the end of it. It felt right especially because of the rich history of the stadium. At the same time the presentation that we saw, from a business standpoint, was very clear that this move was inevitable, there was nothing that was going to stop it from happening. From a strictly business perspective it was a sound decision, and as I said inevitable, a foregone conclusion that they were going to move the team. What you can't really account for in a business decision like that, the x-factor, we'll call it the "U-factor," the "OB-factor." That is that element of whether it is motivational, spiritual, psychological, or what have you, that the Orange Bowl brings to the table in terms of local excitement, community excitement about the team and about the games. It was a creaky piece of crap, that stadium, but it had not only a lot of history, it felt a lot more like a college stadium, certainly than already dated corporate coldness of what is now Land Shark Stadium. So, there's definitely something to that.

I think the distance is not a major factor, students can still take buses and everything up there, but I think there is definitely, I mean you can see when the team is number 8, number 9 [in the polls], attendance has been pathetic this year at Land Shark, there's no doubt about it. I think there has been more enthusiastic tailgating going on outside of the stadium that fan support in the stadium. So whether or not that's just a testament to the dissatisfaction the fans feel with the stadium change or the fact that there's been some beautiful weather lately so there's a lot of competition for people's time and attention. People get out of bed and it's a beautiful day and they're like 'huh, beach or Land Shark Stadium?' The fair-weather fans, as they call them. Ultimately, like I said, it was a sound business decisions and an inevitable one at that, but I think it's going to take a couple of year convince the community and the fans at-large that this is something that they should drive north to the county line to experience Hurricane football.

Schnellenberger talked to us in his interview about the plans he had for an on-campus stadium at the University of Miami. But Schnellenberger has always been a major proponent of that. Look at his plans at FAU right now. He's got a beautiful on-campus stadium and shopping mall planned that he's been actively endorsing and getting support for and it's a real shame we can't have that level of on-campus enthusiasm at the University of Miami. Again, there's not a lot of options for playing football in Miami-Dade county is the bottom line, unless you're going to build a stadium from scratch on available land. You can't play at the Bank United/Convocation Center, you can't play at Mark Light Steroid Field, or whatever it's called. There's only so many venues to play football and when you looked at the business opportunity that the City of Miami and the Orange Bowl was afforded with and Dolphins Stadium was offering at the time, there was no hope for the Orange Bowl, for the Hurricanes to continue with the Orange Bowl. That was the final nail in the coffin for a venue that took up a lot of property, a lot of land, you can't help but watch the footage of it being torn down and wish that they could have thought of some way to preserve that structure and the history of that structure. I mean a Marlins stadium? I mean really? Really? Is that necessary?

pC: On your website, you use the photo of the Ibis being detained by FSU cops, why?
BC: Why not? [Laughter] Why not? It's actually going to be a great deleted scene, John Routh, aka Sebastian the Ibis, telling us the story of how he was beat down and handcuffed at Doak Campbell Stadium by some troopers who were not happy that he was going to use a fire hydrant to put out the flaming spear [laughter]. It's a great story and also a wonderful image that is so emblematic of the "bad boy" reputation that the Hurricanes had at the time that appeared to even extend to our mascot. I just think it's one of those things that really deserves to be preserved as the header on our blog. Read proCanes.com's exclusive interview and account of his run-in with the FSU cops.
pC: After all the interviews you have done, what's one word or phrase you think describes the U. BC: Well I think "The U" actually does a very effective job as a word or a phrase that describes the U. It's "the U." As McGahee would say 'the U already know.' What more do you need to say really about it? It's become a brand. Howard Schnellenberger tells us in his interview how when he first came to the University he was giving the entire Football program an entire overhaul in terms of the facilities, box office, ticketing, the promotional materials, programs, artwork, etc, people were coming to him asking him to get rid of the U logo of the team. He said 'why would we get rid of the U? What are we going to make it? We're going to make it an M? There's a lot of M's in the world, but there' only one U.' He said 'we're going to make that logo more recognizable than the IBM logo.' He said that in 1979. That's exactly what has happened. One of the things we end the movie with is a montage from Monday Night Football of former Canes introducing themselves when they're supposed to say what college they went to, they just say 'the U.'

pC: After interviewing all these former greats, what's one thing you saw that they possessed or that made them great that the current team and future teams need to do to get back on top?
BC: I think I should leave the football coaching to the football coaches [laughter]. Well the football coaches and Sid Rosenberg and everybody on the sports talk radio who like to do a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking and Monday morning coaching. So I don't know if it's necessarily what the team needs to do now to get back on top, but I will tell you that the relationship that this team had with each other and with their coaches, it sounds trite, but it was a family. The former players, the way they look back at the new players and embrace them and try to mentor them and train them, I think is extraordinary. Michael Irvin told us in his interview, he had never talked with another player in the pro's [NFL] that had the bond, relationship and talked as much about his alma mater and was as enthusiastic about the college team he played for as the former 'Canes are. When you're facing a tough year, sometimes teams break down into factions, sometimes there's support for coaches, there's people against coaches, it can become a very contentious environment when you're not winning. It's easy to pull together and be a family when you're winning. It's tougher through the tough times, through the hard times and that's something this team really used to do. They were winning and the world was crapping on them. They would lose, at the Fiesta Bowl, the world was crapping on them. You come off the loss of the Fiesta Bowl, which Jimmy Johnson tells us in his interview, was 'the most devastating loss of his entire career' college or professional and a lot of the players share that sentiment, if not most of them. They came off of that loss, which was devastating, they came back to the University of Miami, back to Coral Gables and Jimmy Johnson nearly resigned with the conflict he got into with President Tad Foote. Tad Foote tried to implement the code of student conduct for the players, the dress code, etc., the players would have none of it. Here they were with the entire nation's media crapping all over them, and here was the President of the University, and he came to symbolize everything they were up against, because they weren't even feeling the love on campus at home from their own administration. They pulled together and came out the following year and won a national championship. Again, with a brand new quarterback, Steve Walsh, in the 1987 season.

What has to happen is that the team needs to pull together as a family; I think this movie will actually help, to tell you the truth. I think the team should watch this movie and they should understand the modern tradition, modern legacy of this team. This is not a team steeped in hundreds of years of tradition. It is a modern tradition a modern legacy, it is something current players are very much part of, especially the players from Schnellenberger 's fabled "State of Miami," you know these local recruits that Randy Shannon has so passionately pursued and I hope he continues to do so. Really, that's what they have to do. What the team needs to do is watch this movie. They should watch it on a loop. They should play it in the locker room endlessly. They should just have to watch this movie over and over again to be reminded of who the Hurricane are, where they come from and what is expected of them. What is expected of them is by their coaches, by the former players, by their teammates, by their classmates, by the campus, by the administration, by the community, by the city of Miami and 'Canes fans all over the world, is to win. That's all, it's pretty simple right, just to win. Nothing more is expected of them, right?

pC: What is your next project once you're done with "The U?"
BC: Ha! Next project! We're already neck deep in the next projects. We've got "Dawg Fight" about a ring of underground, backyard fighting in South Florida, in Perrine, specifically. Really intense story. We have a great trailer for it online. We're working on Cocaine Cowboys 3 which is about "Los Muchachos", the boys Louis Falcon and Sal Magluta the most successful and notorious Cuban cocaine smugglers in Miami, in the 1980's. Cocaine Cowboys One really focused on the Columbians, now this is the Miami Cuban cocaine smuggling story. We are working on Square Grouper, which is kind of an unofficial prequel to Cocaine Cowboys which is about marijuana smuggling in Miami in the 1970's, which is going to be amazing. It looks extraordinary. The stories are, you know, revelations. It's more these characters like John Roberts and Mickey Munday and Griselda Blanco and Jorge "Rivi" Ayala. These people that nobody, or very few people have heard of, that are just going to knock your socks off. Interviews with people that are telling the stories, your jaws are going to be on the ground. What else are we working on? Ah yes, "Peter Gatien Project." Now we're working on a 90's ecstasy movie, takes place in New York, around the nightclub scene and how the city of New York and the Feds cracked down on ecstasy and nightclubs in New York in an effort to clean up the city. They really made public enemies of the local nightclub owners of New York in an effort to get rid of ecstasy and clean up New York. Other than that nothing is going on! Of course I would love to do a sequel to "The U" about the 2001 team, we could call it "The U 2" or something like that.

We at proCanes.com would like to thank Billy Corben for being so gracious with his time to do this very insightful interview for our new feature "Tracking proCanes." Click here to check out our past interviews with Leon Searcy, Steve Walsh, Frank Costa, John Routh, Chad Wilson and more!

gunna get it · Dec 9, 2009

Originally Published: December 9, 2009

[h2]Dunkley has rare speed, elusiveness[/h2]

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By Tom Luginbill
Scouts Inc.
Archive

The top two wide receivers in the Class of 2010 have yet to decide where they will play their college football, which leads to some nice anticipation assigning day approaches. We get the feeling that both Chris Dunkley(Pahokee, Fla.) and Darius White (Fort Worth, Texas/Dunbar) will makethe choice in January or sometime thereafter.

This group of wideouts is a notch above what we saw in 2009 and more reminiscent of the 2008 class that featured the likes of Julio Jones and A.J. Green. Fifteen of the 20 wide receivers in this class have made theirverbal commitment, each one to a higher-end BCS conference school. Geographically, this group lacks diversity -- 18 of the top 20 prospects are fromCalifornia, Texas or the Southeast region of the country, including six from the state of Florida alone.

Almost half the prospects in the top 20 stand shorter than 6 feet tall. With college coaches looking for "space" players more than ever, webelieve you could see the trend move back toward smaller playmakers -- guys who stand between 5-9 and 6 foot -- who can be lethal after the catch. This spreadoffense is largely based around the short-to-intermediate passing game. The big guys are great, but it is difficult to find the larger, more physical widereceiver who also has great vertical speed and elusiveness in space.

Keep in mind that many of the top prospects at this position also have significant experience at QB -- including De'Joshua Johnson (Pahokee, Fla.), Trovon Reed (Thibodaux, La.) and Markeith Ambles (McDonough, Ga./Henry County). That fact gives these players aunique perspective seeing the ball from both ends of the spiral.

Here's a look at which players at the position have the best skills.
[h3]Most physical[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: This category is about size, strength and the wisdom of a player to know how to use both to his advantage.It's the ability to handle press coverage, to outmuscle defenders for the ball, to create separation using one's frame and not to go down immediatelyafter the catch.

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Courtesy of ESPN RISE MagazineRobert Woods stars as a wideout and safety at the high school level.

Da'Rick Rogers (Calhoun, Ga.); committed toGeorgia: Rogers may not be quite as tall, but he has Calvin Johnson-like physicality. He is strong, well built, tall and likes to mix it up. He is aload to handle in contested matchups as well as after the catch. Rogers is so tough to bring down in the open field and is capable of running defenders over atany time. He is very difficult to press at the line of scrimmage.

Robert Woods (Gardena, Calif./Serra); committed toUSC: We probably would not have put Woods in this category last spring, but he has since proven on many occasions that he is a force to be reckonedwith when the ball is in the air. He attacks the ball, has a sturdy, strong build and will take the ball away from defenders in jump-ball contests. He is toughto press and guard one-on-one downfield because of his speed and strength.

Willis Wright (Miami, Fla./Springs); uncommitted:This may surprise some, but Wright is built very similar to ArreliousBenn with the same type of sturdy stature that allows him to muscle his way through tight coverage and break tackles after the catch. He is a dangerouscombination of strength and speed as a kick-return specialist.

[h3]Fastest[/h3]
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Tom Hauck for ESPN.comChris Dunkley's list of possible schools includes Florida, Georgia, West Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee.

What Scouts Inc. looks for: These players are serious vertical threats for whom defenses must compensate in the secondary. They have theability to stretch the field, affect coverage and potentially create big plays. Sometimes this speed is straight-line, and sometimes players possess some"wiggle" to their speed, which is ideal. Speed and fluid hips are a dangerous combination.

Chris Dunkley (Pahokee, Fla.); uncommitted: Zero to 60, Dunkley gets out of the gate in a hurry. He is always a threat vertically and isthe type of player who can track and kick it into a second gear when running deep and locating the football. On underneath routes, he is always a threat totake it the distance and has homerun potential from anywhere on the field.

Martavis Bryant (Anderson, SC/TL Hanna); committed toClemson: Bryant is in this category because it is rare for a player of his size (6-3) to possess his top-end speed. He displays some quick-twitchathleticism for a big guy that allows for him to get vertical in a hurry. If Bryant gets a seam after the catch, his speed and long stride take over.

Solomon Patton (Mobile, Ala./Murphy); committed toFlorida: Patton isn't very big, but he can scoot. He displays terrific acceleration and can get over the top of defensive backs rapidly. His footquickness and short-area burst allow for him to decisively make sharp cuts and double moves as a route-runner and create a lot of separation.

[h3]Best hands[/h3]

Davide De Pas Kadron Boone should have ample opportunity playing in Mike Leach's high-octane system.

What Scouts Inc. looks for: These pass-catchers are focused on every play. They have the ability to show quick hands, pluck and tuck, anddisplay ideal hand-eye coordination. This group of wideouts must show the body control to adjust to poorly thrown balls and extend to catch balls thrownoutside their frame.

Kadron Boone (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic); committed toTexas Tech: Along with great hands, Boone is also a terrific route-runner. He has tremendous focus and strong hands. He plucks the easy ones andadjusts to the difficult ones with ease. He is especially effective over the middle of the field and shows great toughness.

Markeith Ambles (McDonough, Ga./Henry County); committed to Tennessee: Ambles shows quickness and great natural ability. He demonstratesgood concentration against tight coverage to catch the ball away from his frame and haul in passes when he is being contested.

Justin Hunter (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes); committed toLSU: Hunter has long arms, good leaping ability and the focus to make the difficult catch look easy -- especially when covered. He is the type ofplayer you can just throw the ball up to and know there is a high likelihood he will come down with it.

[h3]Best after the catch[/h3]
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Scott Purks for ESPNRISE.comTrovon Reed is part of an impressive Auburn class.

What Scouts Inc. looks for: Some guys are strictly downfield guys, and some are primarily underneath possession receivers, but the guy whocan take the short pass and turn it into a spectacular event each time he gets the ball in space is the most coveted of pass-catchers.

Chris Dunkley (Pahokee, Fla.); uncommitted: Dunkley's stop-start ability is matched only by his teammate De'Joshua Johnson, butDunkley is more physical. He has wiggle, runs low to the ground and rarely needs to gear down when cutting in a short area of space. His explosiveness as aball-carrier is on par with his route-running quickness.

Trovon Reed (Thibodaux, La.); committed to Auburn: A smooth and shifty prospect, Reed can really scoot and almost glides his way throughthe open field. Reed is one of those players who does not look like he is moving that fast yet no one seems to run him down. Reed will make the transition towide receiver full time next year -- he played a lot of quarterback in high school. He is a guy who is capable of going the distance any time he touches theball.

De'Joshua Johnson (Pahokee, Fla.); committed to Florida State: Johnson is a water bug. Although he's on the small side, he islightning quick and is possibly the toughest one-on-one matchup this class has to offer. He has rare suddenness and is a player at his best in the open fieldon short and intermediate routes.

[h3]Most acrobatic[/h3]
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Scott Powers/ESPNChicago.comAt 6-5, Kyle Prater could be the next big wideout to star at USC.

What Scouts Inc. looks for: Prospects who consistently display great body control and sideline awareness when adjusting to poorly thrownballs or attacking the football either in traffic or uncontested. Should be good "leapers" and be able to contort their frames to make thespectacular look easy.

Justin Hunter (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes); committed to LSU: Hunter may be in a class of his own in this category and is capable ofproducing the same types of plays Alshon Jeffery did for South Carolina this year. His ability to leap and extend for one-handed grabs is in the"special" category when you need a clutch catch.

Kyle Prater (Hillside, Ill./Proviso West); committed toUSC: Prater may not be as flexible in his body control as Hunter, but his wingspan alone affords him the ability to go over the top of DBs and snatchthe ball out of the sky. He possesses the widest wingspan of any player in this class.

Darius White (Fort Worth, Texas/Dunbar); uncommitted: White is silky smooth and able to lay out because of his size and speed. He's ago-to player and he makes the tough catches look easy with his quick hands. He has terrific sideline and back end line awareness.

Updated: December 8, 2009, 5:00 PM ET

[h2]Top-end speed not most vital for a RB[/h2]

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By Billy Tucker
Scouts Inc.
Archive

Running backs come in all shapes and sizes -- perhaps more than any other position in football. They also possess different skill sets, which make themunique and productive in their own fashion. While significant, top-end speed is not always the most important trait of a back. Attributes such as vision,quickness, lateral agility, initial burst through the hole and the ability to make people miss in space are vital qualities. Not all backs possess all or evenhalf of these characteristics, but each one can make a back in the right scheme with the right opportunities a dangerous commodity.

Spread offenses led by zone-stretching backs with great lateral feet have become prevalent in college football, but plenty of teams still employ atraditional downhill, power-running scheme requiring a sturdier, more downhill back. Just look at what Heisman candidate Toby Gerhart is doing at Stanford.

Many of the backs in this 2010 class could fit into multiple categories and offenses; the position as a whole is deep with quality this year. While it lacksa multitude of elite performers, there is still a handful of upper-tier backs we feel have the physical tools and skill sets to become prolific collegerunners. It was a tight race for the top spot and it could continue into the all-star season, when each back will get a chance to perform versus topflightcompetition.

Michael Dyer (Little Rock, Ark./Little Rock Christian Academy),Marcus Lattimore (Duncan, S.C./Byrnes), Mack Brown (Lithonia, Ga./Martin Luther King), Jordon James (Corona, Calif.), Storm Johnson (Loganville, Ga.) and Lache Seastrunk (Temple, Texas) head this RB class and each brings a littlesomething different to the table.
[h3]Best inside runners[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: These backs have a knack for squaring up their shoulder pads quickly, getting downhill and attacking the holewith urgency between the tackles. You have seen us use the term "pick and slide" in our reports, and this is used to describe a back's ability toavoid with patience, find seams and move laterally in-line through the tight creases. The best inside runners consistently break initial contact, fall forwardand finish runs.

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AP Photo/Brian ChilsonMost of Michael Dyer's production is earned after initial contact.

Michael Dyer; committed to Auburn: Dyer may be on the shorter side, but he is stacked with muscle and has a very low, powerful base. Hegets downhill quickly and can slice through the small, in-line creases with great lateral movement, balance and jump-cut skill. The recent Auburn commit isshifty between the tackles and rarely gives defenders a clean shot. A pinball type of runner, he consistently bounces off first contact, keeps his feet andfinishes runs.

Storm Johnson; committed to Miami: Johnson attacks the downhill seam with great urgency and is a decisive inside cutter with very goodinitial burst. The future Hurricane can also be patient, sidestep the first defender through the hole and avoid initial penetration. He's a load to takedown when he accelerates north and south and gains striking momentum. Underrated on the national level, Johnson has the size (210 pounds), strength and runningleverage to pick up the tough inside yards.

Jordon James; committed to UCLA: James lacks a huge frame, but he has great explosiveness through the hole. He excels at picking anddarting his way through inside traffic and consistently breaks initial contact. He runs deceptively hard between the tackles, despite having great outsideburst. The in-state UCLA pledge has a low center of gravity along with great vision and suddenness, allowing him to see the small creases open quickly andburst to daylight.

[h3]Top home run threats[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: Simply put, a home run threat can take it to the house on any given carry. Excellent top-end speed and theextra gear needed to separate from faster defensive backs in the second level are required. Give these guys a small crease or the edge on the perimeter andthey can take it the distance. Aside from game-breaking speed, the best home run threats are typically elusive and strong; most big runs are sprung frombreaking arm tackles or making the first defender miss in space.

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ESPN RISE MagazineLache Seastrunk is very sudden through the hole and reaches top speed by his second or third step.

Lache Seastrunk; Undecided: We do question Seastrunk's ability to be a full-time back at the next level, but not his ability to be agame-breaker if employed in a spread offense. He has very good top-end speed, change-of-direction skills and can be difficult to handle in space. He needs tocontinue polishing his receiving skills, but we like his big-play ability and the potential to turn the short run or pass into a big gain.

Mack Brown; Florida: Brown is simply explosive and one of the best backs at accelerating through the second level. He has very good longspeed and can spring open a big run at any time with his ability to run through or around the first wave of defenders. A hamstring injury limited hisexplosiveness as a senior, but when healthy the C.J. Spiller (Clemson)comparisons are warranted for this future Gator.

Jordon James: He reaches top speed quickly, rarely gears down to cut and has great breakaway burst. He carries over his blazing 40 times tothe field and is the type of back who can find a seam and take it the distance on any given carry. James also has an explosive second gear to separate fromfaster defensive backs. Today, backs are often judged by their production of 20-plus-yard runs, which should be James' specialty for the Bruins.

[h3]Best workhorse backs[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: These running backs are capable of wearing down a defense over the course of a game and are able to run insidewith consistent power. They often deliver the blow on their way to earning productive yards after contact. They have to be tough, durable, display superiorin-line running strength and be strong in the fourth quarter. These guys are high-carry, every-down finishing load backs who want to be fed the football.

Michael Dyer: He blends compact size and power with great lateral agility, allowing him to carry the load and earn productive yards aftercontact while still remaining elusive and durable. He's built low to the ground with great balance and a powerful base needed to absorb the blow and lowerhis shoulder pads, when needed. The Under Armour All-American gets stronger as the game goes on and had plenty of 25-plus-carry games on his way to becomingthe most prolific back in Arkansas history.

Peter Cochran for ESPNRise.comMarcus Lattimore can be difficult to arm tackle when he squares up and bursts downhill out of his cuts.

Marcus Lattimore; Undecided: Lattimore has carried his prominent Byrnes squad and opposing defenders on his back throughout his career andthrives on high carries in big games. He has the thick frame and good running strength needed to be an every-down workhorse. Currently undecided, Lattimore canhurt you inside or out as a runner and may have the best hands in this class. He's a three-down back who rarely comes off the field.

Anthony Wilkerson (Tustin, Calif./Tustin); committed toStanford: Wilkerson has the downhill strength and durability to step in for Gerhart next fall in Palo Alto. He is thickly built, very sturdy andattacks the hole at full speed. He's determined to finish each carry, but has the footwork to also sidestep defenders through initial traffic and avoiddirect hits. Wilkerson had 48 carries in a Tustin win over Valencia this fall.

[h3]Most versatile backs[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: The word "dynamic" epitomizes this category. The ability to line up all over the field and createmismatches is a must in today's open offenses. Polished receiving skills are a necessity and return skills are an invaluable bonus.

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Tom HauckIn terms of running and receiving skills, there may not be a more dynamic back in this class than Brennan Clay.

Brennan Clay (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch); committed toOklahoma: To reach 1,000 yards as a both a runner and receiver in the same season is impressive -- at any level. Clay has great hands and receivingskills, but he will also surprise you on film with his in-line toughness, power and sturdiness as a runner. Clay could develop into a featured back for theSooners and should contribute right away in the return game.

.J. Morgan (Woodland Hills, Calif./Woodland Hills-Taft);committed to USC: If Morgan remains at running back for the Trojans, we expect him to be utilized similar to Joe McKnight. He has elite speed (world-class hurdler), elusiveness andathleticism; he can hurt defenses in a variety of ways with a variety of touches. Should also be a great returner early in his career and excel as a third-downback. Morgan can line up all over the field and create mismatches; ultimate space player.

Marcus Lattimore: While he's an every-down back, we also have Lattimore in this category because he has arguably the bestpass-receiving skills in this entire running back class. The South Carolina native has soft hands and understands how to create separation as a route runner.He can get 4 yards on first down, catch the screen on second and pick up the blitz on third-and-long.

[h3]Best upside[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: The back with the highest ceiling when projecting three to four years down the road; has the most room forcontinued physical development or improvement in skill set. These backs should become more productive with full-time college weight training, coaching andpositional polish.

Tom HauckDeontae Cooper flashes a sneaky second gear to pull away and has good top-end speed with a smooth stride.

Andre Dawson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/ Washington Senior);Undecided: If he can continue to fill out his lean, 205-pound frame and sign with a downhill offense, he could end up being one of the more productivebacks in this class. Dawson has load-back, NFL I-formation qualities to his game. He lacks game-breaking speed, but is a one-cut-and-go slasher who coulddevelop into a workhorse at the next level.

Deontae Cooper (Perris, Calif./Citrus Hill); committed toWashington: The versatile Cooper is more of a one-speed back, but he's a consistently strong and productive downhill runner who can wear downdefenses in a high-carry role. He bounces off a lot of high arm-tackles with his wiry frame. His ability to gain size and strength in Washington'sfull-time strength program and lower pad level will be the key to his college success.

Spencer Ware (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton); committed toLSU: Ware plays quarterback and while a productive passer and overall athlete, we think he'll develop into a downhill thumper for LSU. At a strongand compact 225 pounds, his physical running style fits well with the Tigers. He is very sturdy between the tackles, showing very good balance. He may needsome time to polish his skill set as a pure back, but his upside is exciting and his natural athleticism should allow for a smooth transition.

Billy Tucker is a recruiting coordinator for Scouts Inc. and has close to a decade of coaching experience at the college and high schoollevels.

[h2]ND recruit Hendrix has an elite arm[/h2]

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By Tom Luginbill
Scouts Inc.
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The key word for the 2010 class of quarterbacks is upside.

In many ways, this group of signal-callers is in the developmental stages -- I do not mean for this to take on a negative connotation. The reality is thatalthough some prospects could find their way onto the field early given the right circumstances, most of these prospects would really benefit from redshirting.That circumstance would give these raw prospects a chance to get acclimated to the next level physically and mentally.

There is a high ceiling for development with both the pocket-passers and dual-threat players in this group, but many are green and have yet to come intotheir own. We get the sense that many college programs recruiting the prospects in this class feel the same way we do about the lack of top-end talent in thisclass -- kids in this class were locked up and verbally committed earlier than ever. In essence, coaches are taking the approach that it is better to jump on aguy because there aren't as many to choose from in the class as a whole. In fact, 37 of our top 40 rated quarterbacks have already made their collegechoice as it stands now.

In the first installment of our positional superlatives series, we have examined the prospects we feel are the most well-versed at a specific trait orskill. This doesn't mean that there are not many players who fit the bill in these categories, but a few have stood out to some degree.

One trend remains true to this position -- athletic quarterbacks are a hot commodity and will continue to be as long as the spread offense remains prevalentin college football.
[h3]Most upside[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: Simply put, will the prospect be the same player four years from now he is today? Is there still growthpotential, both physically and mentally, for this prospect to develop into a better player down the road?

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Tom Hauck for ESPNRISETyler Bray propelled himself on to the national recruiting radar with his play on the camp circuit.

Blake Bell (Wichita, Kan./Bishop Carroll); committed toOklahoma: While Bell can be somewhat mechanical in his methods, his physical measurables and tools are outstanding. He has only played quarterback fortwo complete seasons, but there are not many 6-foot-6 prospects who can move and throw like he can. With Landry Jones firmly entrenched as the Sooners' starter, Bell will be able toredshirt and blossom without having to see the field right away.

Tyler Bray (Kingsburg, Calif.); committed toTennessee: Bray reminds us of a right-handed Matt Leinart coming out of high school. This future Vol, however, possesses a deceptive athleticism theformer USC standout lacked. Time in the weight room and the opportunity for him to grow into his tall, lanky frame provide for a high ceiling of development.He has the arm and size. Also, his overall accuracy and timing are very impressive. Tennessee may have lucked out in landing this talent at a needposition.

Tyler Smith (Easton, Pa./Wilson Area); committed toMaryland: It's really surprising that Smith isn't garnering more attention. He has a lightning-quick release and is a better athlete than hisphysical stature would lead you to believe. He has a live arm, can make all the throws and could play in the spread running the zone read-option as well as thepro set multiple scheme. Reminds us a bit of Tony Pike at Cincy, only with better wheels.

[h3]Most accurate[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: These signal-callers have the ability to consistently place the ball within the strike zone in all areas of thefield, even when they have to throw with defenders in their faces. Accuracy is far more important than arm strength. When coupled with an understanding oftiming, accuracy can make a passer with a marginal arm a lethal weapon.

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Tom Hauck for ESPN.comUSC-bound Jesse Scroggins is the No. 2-rated quarterback prospect in the nation.

Jesse Scroggins (Long Beach, Calif.); committed toUSC: One of the reasons Scroggins has been so accurate is because he maintains balance and remains calm in the pocket. His feet are underneath him andhe does not rush throws. Scroggins throws a very catchable ball, knows how to change ball speeds and leads receivers to a spot very well. He also is one of thebetter play-action passers in this class.

Jake Heaps (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline); committed toBYU: Fundamentally, Heaps is ahead of the curve in this class. He is sound in his overall mechanics, which provides consistency in his accuracy to allareas of the field. What he may lack in pure arm strength, Heaps makes up for with timing, footwork and a consistent delivery. He is one of the most accurateshort-to-intermediate throwers we have seen the past couple of years.

Brett Nottingham (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista); committed toUCLA: Nottingham is the Ty Detmer of the group; he may lack great zip and strength to all areas of the field, but his timing, soft touch and abilityto place the ball where he wants it gives him an edge. He is sound mechanically and, once again, footwork is the key to his overall productivity level. Hecan't afford to be late on throws, but Nottingham is a sound rhythm thrower who knows where to go with the ball.

[h3]Strongest arm[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: The ability to make spectacular throws into tight spots with arm strength alone. These players display theskills to drive the ball vertically with power and are able to consistently throw the deep comeback route to the sideline from the opposite wide hash.

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Kevin Shepard for ESPN.comPhillip Sims has a game similar to that of Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard.

Andrew Hendrix (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller); committed to NotreDame: Hendrix is the fastball thrower of this class (he plays baseball at a high level); he displays a tremendous downfield arm. His ability tostretch the seam or fit the ball down the sideline between a Cover 2 safety and corner sets him apart from others in the group. He could also fit right intothe upside category. A player with his arm and ceiling for development is a hot commodity. With Jimmy Clausen a candidate to leave early, Notre Dame is most definitely hopingto hold on to Hendrix.

Phillip Sims (Chesapeake, Va./Oscar Smith); committed toAlabama: The ball pops out of Sims' hand with tremendous zip and authority. He also plays in a scheme in which he gets to drive the ball deepseveral times a game. Playing for one of the nation's top high school programs Sims has had to make many throws in the intermediate and deep passing gamealong the sidelines from the opposite hashmark. He has also learned to take down his velocity when he needs to for certain throws. In other words, he's notjust throwing hard because that is all he knows.

Zach Lee (McKinney, Texas); committed to LSU: LikeHendrix, Lee plays baseball. Lee, however, is still learning to control his arm especially on shorter, underneath throws. The ball comes out of his hand withflames on it and his physical stature and strength are apparent when he sets his feet, stands in there and fires the ball. He is capable of placing the ballanywhere on the field and to some spots even when his feet are not set.

[h3]Best dual-threat skills[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: These prospects can be every bit as dangerous with their legs and overall athleticism as they can be with theirarms. Oftentimes at this stage, dual-threat QBs are better athletes than passers. Some of these players are a candidate to move to another position down theroad.

Tom Hauck for ESPN.comAt 6-4, good size is among Devin Gardner's better assets.

Robert Bolden (Orchard Lake, Mich./Saint Mary's);committed to Penn State: Bolden plays in the Wing-T offense with few passing opportunities and not many shogun snaps. Still, in our opinion hepossesses the best combination of athleticism and passing upside in this class. He is tall, has a powerful arm and is deceptively speedy and elusive much inthe same way Terrelle Pryor is.

Devin Gardner (Inkster, Mich.); committed toMichigan: Many of the comparisons to Vince Young are derived from Gardner's low, three-quarters delivery. However, his size and feel for the gameare reminiscent of the former Texas signal-caller as well. With quirky mechanics, Gardner's methods may not always be pretty, but he is just what thedoctor ordered for Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines.

Barry Brunetti (Memphis, Tenn./University); committed to WestVirginia: Brunetti may possess some of the best skills as a passer among these dual-threats. However, he lacks the same ideal measurables in terms ofheight, standing at 6-foot, and top-end speed. He is a dual-threat who is a passer first, runner second. Brunetti has terrific velocity on the football andenough elusiveness to be a quality runner out of the shotgun.

[h3]Best intangibles[/h3]
What Scouts Inc. looks for: A player with the ability to succeed on toughness, leadership, savvy and creativity. Some guys have great toolsalong with intangibles and others lack great measurables and physical gifts, but find ways to win regardless. Intangibles are extremely difficult to define,but you know it when you see it.

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Tom Hauck for ESPN.com Nick Montana was a marquee recruit for first-year Washington coach Steve Sarkisian.

Devin Gardner (Inkster, Mich.); committed to Michigan: This kid really works to be good; it's important to him and he is highlycompetitive. He likes the idea of having to compete for respect and is always working to get better. Sure, he has the physical tools and size to succeed. Hehas also demonstrated a tremendous commitment to the sport.

Nick Montana (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian);committed to Washington: He had to inherit some of these traits from his dad, right? There is no doubt Montana has some savvy to him and if he puts inthe time and works to be good at the next level he has a high ceiling for development. Of course, you couldn't ask for a better pedigree.

Phillip Sims (Chesapeake, Va./Oscar Smith); committed to Alabama: This kid is very competitive and very tough. Sims has proven capable ofhandling a lot from a scheme standpoint at the prep level, which should give him a leg up once he enrolls at Alabama. He can manage and run the offense andknows where to go with the ball and how to get into the right play.

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Scouts Inc.Chase Rettig is an Under Armour All-American.
[h3]Most underappreciated[/h3]
What Scouts Inc looks for: These guys have high level skills but aren't generating the buzz of some of their quarterback counterpartsin the 2010 class. Look for these prospects to come in to their own at the next level.

Sean Mannion (Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill); committed toOregon State: This future Pac-10 signal-caller is highly underrated as a passer and deceptive athlete. He's a typical Beaver recruit -- a goodplayer not enough people are on. Credit Mike Riley and his staff.

Chase Rettig (San Clemente, Calif.); committed to BostonCollege: If Rettig can consistently perform mentally and physically on par with his ability level, Boston College may have a steal on its hands.

Steve Kaiser (St. Louis/De Smet Jesuit); committed toSMU: You think SMU has made a surge now? Kaiser could end up being the next Timmy Chang or Colt Brennan for June Jones. Watch out Conference USA!

Tom Luginbill is the National Recruiting Director for ESPN's Scouts Inc.

i am toddzo · Dec 9, 2009

Joyner

with all these defensive commits you gotta think Jimbo is tellin them who thedc is and they like.

ThaxbyChamblis · Dec 9, 2009

Come on Bro, pre-ponder injury FSU had a Top 25 offense in the nation. W/ a Defense ranked in the 100's, 3 soph's on the OL, A Soph TE, Soph RB,Freshman FB and 3/4 WR's were Soph's. Even w/ his ******ed %%# calls FSU's offense did work. Save for the USF game. We were terrible that game. Butwe still put up yds, we just had 4 fumbles.

If FSU has a top 50-60 defense this year we win 8-9 games easy. And that's w/ a top 10 strongest schedule in the nation.

Now is Jimbo absolved from all blame? Hell no. Does he deserve all the blame? Hell no. How the hell can he run the team when he only control's/hasinfluence over 1/3 of the team? He's an OC/QB coach, and the offense has improved EVERY year and Ponder is lightyears away from where he was last year.

Idk how he's gonna do as a HC, and idk if he's some kinda savior like a lot of people seem th wanna anoint him as. I'm not sold on him but I willjudge him fairly.

W/ that said, welcome home Joyner. Now let's close out w/ a strong note and upgrade the talent and the coaching staff.

ThaxbyChamblis · Dec 9, 2009

Joyner hinted that it might be Stoops.J

gunna get it · Dec 9, 2009

hmmmm this is the 2nd person Ive had say something about Corey today...

Spoke with James Bryant earlier... Said Lemonier really likes UT and thinks that he will be a Vol with Smith in the end...

Some names to look out for as potential replacements for Gran and/or Wilson:

Billy Gonzales - Florida WR coach

Latrell Scott - former Virginia WR coach

Jay Graham - South Carolina RB coach (his connections to UT are obvious)

Tom Rathman - 49′ers RB coach

Frank Gansz Jr - UCLA Special Teams Coach

Sylvester Croom - former Mississippi State Head Coach, current RB coach for the St. Louis Rams - if you did not already know he has tons of experience coaching RBs in college and the Pros.

Rob Ianello - former ND WR coach and Recruiting Coordinator

Manny Diaz - MTSU defensive coordinator (former ST coordinator at NC State where he recruited South Florida with much success)

supposedly CLK interviewed Rathman already, and the UT contigent would love to get former UT RB Jay Graham back in house.

Click to expand...

ooiron manoo · Dec 9, 2009

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=69236

.J. Morgan (Woodland Hills, Calif./Woodland Hills-Taft); committed to USC: If Morgan remains at running back for the Trojans, we expect him to be utilized similar to Joe McKnight. He has elite speed (world-class hurdler), elusiveness and athleticism; he can hurt defenses in a variety of ways with a variety of touches. Should also be a great returner early in his career and excel as a third-down back. Morgan can line up all over the field and create mismatches; ultimate space player.
I don't think he will see the field in 2010. He blew out his knee in the playoffs.

iye2 · Dec 10, 2009

Originally Posted by dreClark

Wasn't he a Buckeye? Didn't he drop FSU?

no one wants to listen. tried to told yall ...

you guys. Im pretty sure if Jimbo didnt make that in-home the buckeyes wouldve had him.
Sucks because he couldve made an immediate impact in columbus as well but what can ya do..

ThaxbyChamblis · Dec 10, 2009

Originally Posted by IYE2

Originally Posted by dreClark

Wasn't he a Buckeye? Didn't he drop FSU?

Click to expand...

no one wants to listen. tried to told yall ...

Click to expand...

you guys. Im pretty sure if Jimbo didnt make that in-home the buckeyes wouldve had him.
Sucks because he couldve made an immediate impact in columbus as well but what can ya do..
Y'all made an in home w/ him yesterday tho'

Anyways:

Spoke with James Bryant earlier... Said Lemonier really likes UT and thinks that he will be a Vol with Smith in the end...

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Like seriously. Cant Reid and LJ

ridiculous!

these !%#!%% gonna be playin odds & evens to see who returns kicks and Punts.

FSU not thinkin of playin LJ on offense at all?

Click to expand...

He also said that the Seminoles told him they would use him on both sides of the ball.
So, we'll see.

Click to expand...

gobucksbc · Dec 10, 2009

Originally Posted by dreClark

Originally Posted by IYE2

Originally Posted by dreClark

Wasn't he a Buckeye? Didn't he drop FSU?

Click to expand...

no one wants to listen. tried to told yall ...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

you guys. Im pretty sure if Jimbo didnt make that in-home the buckeyes wouldve had him.
Sucks because he couldve made an immediate impact in columbus as well but what can ya do..

Y'all made an in home w/ him yesterday tho'

Not good when the main man doesn't show for the in-home. Not that I think it would've mattered, but it would've been nice to have theSenator there. There has to be a good reason as to why he didn't show. Best of luck to LJ at FSU.

ThaxbyChamblis · Dec 10, 2009

This is the 1st I'm hearing of Sweatervest not being there....

zs05wc · Dec 10, 2009

Man I wish Brennan Clay would have followed Tate to Michigan.

gobucksbc · Dec 10, 2009

Originally Posted by dreClark

This is the 1st I'm hearing of Sweatervest not being there....

Buckeyes sent in Johnson and Haynes...not exactly your recruiting homerun hitters. Would've been nice to have Tressel and Fickell there, butFickell was rumored to be interviewing for the Akron job...and the reason why Tress didn't show up is still a mystery. Again, I really don't think itwould've mattered had he been there or not.

gunna get it · Dec 10, 2009

it wouldnt have mattered. things had changed dramatically a few weeks ago

gobucksbc · Dec 10, 2009

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

it wouldnt have mattered. things had changed dramatically a few weeks ago

My favorite Scrubs scene...

ThaxbyChamblis · Dec 10, 2009

Originally Posted by gobucksBC

Originally Posted by dreClark

This is the 1st I'm hearing of Sweatervest not being there....

Click to expand...

Buckeyes sent in Johnson and Haynes...not exactly your recruiting homerun hitters. Would've been nice to have Tressel and Fickell there, but Fickell was rumored to be interviewing for the Akron job...and the reason why Tress didn't show up is still a mystery. Again, I really don't think it would've mattered had he been there or not.

Maybe he saw the writing on the wall? I dunno.

iye2 · Dec 10, 2009

I hate scrubs. And no I hate it even more

BC, you think Fickell is gone..?

unkleluke · Dec 10, 2009

LJ had me scared for a minute but I knew at the end of the day he would be a Nole..

Now lets go steal Elam

gobucksbc · Dec 10, 2009

Originally Posted by IYE2

I hate scrubs. And no I hate it even more

BC, you think Fickell is gone..?

Not yet. Everything I've been reading has Akron hiring Notre Dame's interim coach (Ianello). It's only a matter of time before hetakes a MAC job, though. He needs to get some head coaching experience. Lots of talk of him becoming the man when Tress calls it quits.

gtownballer23 · Dec 10, 2009

Originally Posted by Fear The Ibis

We had a real small window of opportunity because, as he put it, he could 'hear those fish biting out there' and literally the background of the shot while we're interviewing him is his fishing biddies loading up his fishing boat that's in the background of the shot. They're putting the bait on, the light beers, because Jimmy's on light beers now, he's on a diet, they're loading up the Subway sandwiches, the fishing rods like right in the background of the shot [laughter]. They're like 'sorry guy we're just running through!' and Jimmy was like let's do this, let's do this. So we ran the interview and literally the last thing we did was just an intro we recorded and he said 'alright guys, thank you, that's it!' He leapt down off the chair, ran into the background of the shot, jumped on his fishing boat and they just took off into the Atlantic [Ocean] to go fishing. It was awesome. There we all were, me and my crew just standing there with all of our equipment set up in Jimmy Johnson's back yard thinking this is the coolest job ever.

Click to expand...

Jimmy

newbs24 · Dec 10, 2009

Out of the current or leaning commits for your teams, how many early enrollees is your squad gunna have? Michigan is looking likeRB Stephen Hopkins, RB AustinWhite, WR Jerald Robinson, WR, Jeremy Jackson, WR Ricardo Miller, OL Christian Pace, DE Kenny Wilkins, S/LB Marvin Robinson, plus 2009 CB Adrian Witty. Lovethat so many are thought to be coming in but possibly 3 might not be able to. We will see.

gunna get it · Dec 10, 2009

UT has 12 EE slated to enroll in January. and at least 4 of them will be practicing with the team during Bowl game practices .

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