For only the 8th time this decade....

[gcdevil22]

Miami is about to BLOW UP!!!!

no...for real this time...I promise...I mean, they'll be young...again (just like the last 12 years)...but this is the year!!! I can feel it!!!

don't believe me...just ask Bruce Feldman, who has never been wrong a day in his life

Is Miami about to blow up? - ACC Blog - ESPN

[burton2019]

This thread will bring the lulz.

[CoeburnCane]

11/20/2010...the date's already marked down. Here's hoping for clear skies and in the 80's for that tilt so we can actually see who the better team is on a decent field, as opposed to last year's mess.

That being said, it's too early to tell anything. This is simply Spring Practice hype. I'd bet money once VT's spring is in full bloom after a few scrimmages, I can go to the Roanoke Times and see an article from one of their homers telling how Williams/Evans/Wilson is as good as having Earl Campbell/Walter Payton/Barry Sanders in the backfield, or some sort of hyperbole like that. Some writer somewhere always writes something to that extent about a team they cover or went to school at. Maybe Dinich will write something like that as she loves Williams/Evans/VT in general.

Keep in mind that Feldman is a Miami alumnus...he almost never is critical of the program and is always hopeful that they'll return to dominance. Even if he does blog for ESPN, he's still gonna have a pro-Miami slant about 95% of the time. BUT--he doesn't make a habit of dogging out other programs at Miami's fortune, which is how he keeps a job--well, that and writing best-selling books.

If you want an honest/quick analysis, the 4 positions that should be locks to be strengths for Miami are DL, WR, RB, and K--lots of talent/depth at the first 3 positions, and if Bosher stays healthy/consistent--he's got to be a Groza frontrunner. QB should be fine as long as Jacory stays healthy--I have little/no confidence in the backups even coming out of the spring when they all got a lot of reps, but the depth numbers-wise is a lot better than last year--so at least there are options. OL lost some pieces but is overall more talented. If they can get clicking, they'll be not only good, but deep. Expect a lot more rotation out of them this year to keep first-year guys rotating in fresh--I think you'll see guys like Glenn/Linder/McDermott crack the rotation as freshmen. TE is THIN, you'll likely see a RS Fr. Billy Sanders and Richard Gordon in the starting roles, though the staff is hopeful the Juco kid coming in, Chase Ford, can step up and get some reps. Other than those 3--we're looking at 2 true Freshmen (one of which is a project in Clive Walford) to add depth there, which is never good.

At DB, safety shouldn't be an issue. Between Nicholas, Telemaque, Armstrong, and Reid--we're set there and I expect big things out of Telemaque for sure this season. CB on the other hand, DVD & B. Harris have to step up to be "the" guys, and we have to develop some guys behind them (i.e.--Latwan Anderson/Brandon McGee). If those things don't happen, people will be able to pass at will against us. LB is a position of concern, esp. MLB. It's likely McCarthy will move over to MLB in the fall unless the coaches are 100% comfortable with Kylan Robinson in that role (as a fan, I'm not comfortable w/that). Watch for Kevin Nelson to have a say when he arrives in the fall as to who the MLB will be. I still have concerns about them covering the opposing TE's as a group--that has to improve otherwise that's a glaring weakness. Run support shouldn't be an issue (esp. with that DL in front of them and that group of safeties behind them) as long as they stay technically sound when wrapping up tackles.

That's as honest as I can get--and I don't think I went over the top like Feldman admittedly did.

[gcdevil22]

I hate that Miami had to play in the rain, but somehow VT didn't...that should be something the NCAA should look at, teams shouldn't be allowed to do that, it's pretty unfair

I also hope it is 80 degrees and sunny, and whatever other conditions Miami would deem to work in their favor so the tired excuses will be fully exhausted if VT wins again

the difference between any hype given to Williams and Evans as opposed to Miami's squad is that both Williams and Evans have produced on the field...Evans set the freshman rushing record only to have Williams break that record along with VT's all-time rushing record the very next year...ummm why wouldn't there be a reason to hype them up? if they don't have a good season it is no one's fault but their own, but no one is exactly going out on a limb when saying that VT has one of the better backfields in the country...it's not from speculation, it's from results....name another backfield that has produced more than that tandem.....don't worry...I'll wait

but VT has some big questions heading into the spring

Tight End - VT graduated their top 2 TE's, and moved their most talented TE (Chris Drager) to DE last year to shore up depth issues in the hopes they could move him back this spring...Jason Worilds tunred pro so it created a huge void at DE and Drager must stay on the defensive side, so VT is left with only one proven TE, Andre Smith....VT uses a lot of 2 TE sets and right now do not have anyone who could be considered a solid option in that look...so VT has talked about using a FB more (Josh Oglesby was moved to FB from RB) or going with more 3 and 4-wide sets since they have a lot of talented receivers

Left Tackle - Ed Wang manned the spot for years, but now he's graduated...all four of the other spots are filled with guys who are either returning starters or playing who played a lot of snaps last fall due to injuries, and did a good job...but for right now the LT spot belongs to Nick Becton, a r-Soph who has been given praise for his promise in practice but has not played many snaps

Defensive End - VT lost both DE spots, and Chris Drager will stay at DE and take one spot while the other will be battled for by Stephen Friday and some talented freshmen...if the freshmen can have a big spring, it could shore up the DLine issues, though they certainly won't be as talented as Worilds/Brown....ILB Jake Johnson was moved to DE and should do a great job there after starting 11 games at LB last year

Whip LB - Cody Grimm and Cam Martin both graduate, which leaves VT without anyone with game experience at the position...Whip is important for VTs defense because it is a playmaking position...r-Soph Jeron Gouveia-Winslow, whose father played for the Redskins, has taken the top spot for now, and it will be interesting to see how he does this spring

Free Safety - Eddie Whitley is talented enough to do the job, but the FS is the voice of the defense and Whitley will need to become a leader in that regard, behind him there isn't much experience either, so that will need to be looked at

depth at Rover - Davon Morgan started at Rover for the past 2 seasons splitting time with Dorian Porch, and he'll be fine...but behind him there isn't a single player with game experience...look for Xavier Boyce to be moved from WR to Rover as Rover was his intended position when he came to VT and there is a logjam at WR

[CoeburnCane]

You're right, maybe someone will give them some praise. That is, if you ever take their schwanstuckers out of your mouth long enough for some other homer to get a turn.

What are u still doing on here anyways? Don't you have a crap blog to write so no one will read it?

:mooning:

[Biggin]

please, i dont want in a war between two mediocre programs heh, but evans and williams combined have 2920 yards, while Ingram and T-Rich have a combined 3137 yards.

[gcdevil22]

that's also over 3 seasons (2 for Ingram, 1 for Richardson) and they have just over 200 yards more with an extra season counted...so congrats

[Rich_Kotite]

Miami is about to BLOW UP!!!!

no...for real this time...I promise...I mean, they'll be young...again (just like the last 12 years)...but this is the year!!! I can feel it!!!

don't believe me...just ask Bruce Feldman, who has never been wrong a day in his life

Is Miami about to blow up? - ACC Blog - ESPN

Thats pretty **** amazing that Miami can do that 8 times since its a new decade. Hopefully you got nowhere near the engineering department.