Keith “Cinco” Brown, Randy “Duke” Johnson, A.J. Leggett, Willie Bailey…What do they have in common?
1. They are all from the great state of Florida
2. They are all elite talent with multiple offers from schools from other BCS conferences
3. They all are current verbal commits to the University of Miami and its class of 2012.
Coach Golden has wasted no time in fulfilling his post-signing day news conference statement of reconnecting with schools, players and coaches in the surrounding Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. His team of coaches is working tirelessly to make up for lost time evaluating talent and reaching out to coaches and players who fit the mold for what he is trying to build at the U.
Now, to give credit where credit is due, all the kids listed above were already committed to Miami under Coach Shannon, and as we all know NSD 2012 is a long way away. A.J. Leggett in fact decommitted shortly after Shannon’s firing and linked his name with FSU who had the No. 1 recruiting class in 2011. Fans around the country worried about the remaining three names on our 2012 list of commitments during this transition of coaching staff, plus it did not help to ease consciences around the program when so many of Coach Shannon’s 2011 early commits ended up signing with other programs by NSD 2011. However, what IS noteworthy though is how Coach Golden and his staff have not taken those verbal for granted.
It seems the entire UM coaching staff practices what they preach. They live the plan that Coach Golden has brought in, and they are mending the fences of what was once known as the “State of Miami.” The coaches are in the schools, in the homes and in the communities making their presence felt again. The first junior day held at Miami went off without a hitch and allowed our staff to evaluate firsthand the type of talent that the State of Florida has.
Coach Golden claimed he had a 78 percent closing rate on kids they offered scholarships to at their junior day at Temple. Fans are drooling to see what is going to happen with a full year for him and his staff to evaluate and visit Miami. But once again, critics will say, “What has he done? He is 0-0 at UM currently and all he is selling is talk and UM’s past to bring in recruits.”
Well, for those of you who remember, Coach Shannon did not leave the cupboards bare at UM. Videos are circulating around the internet of Miami’s new workout routines (see for yourself http://www.theufootball.com/). Players are being treated as men, and challenged to get better physically, mentally and professionally versus living in fear of being put in a doghouse, never to return to the good graces of past coaching staff if they walked outside the lines. It’s very clear that a gauntlet of opportunities has been thrown down for players to resurrect and recreate themselves. All they have to do is go get it because it is ripe for the taking. The Miami Hearld reported that the players do see a huge difference. Adewale Ojomo loves “the discipline and organization. What we were doing before was not good enough.”
It finally seams that leadership is stemming from the top down in the right tone of voice and swagger, because everyone from the faculty, fans, recruits and players are paying attention. The real question is how long will it take to manifest itself with play on the field and leadership in the locker room? Don’t misunderstand what I am saying; I am sure there are leaders on this team. However, it always came across that over the past three years, players were walking on eggshells, not allowed to unleash the type of leadership that used to ooze out on the field in ways fans have seen over the years at Miami. So right now Coach Golden is doing the right things, pushing the right buttons and the University of Miami stock is rising.
Spring is right around the corner and I will bet there will be recruits floating in daily to witness the rebirth of a championship team. People migrate to those leaders who truly care about what they do and practice what they preach. Step right up and get your ticket because in my opinion no one is showing how it can be done better than Coach Golden and his staff at the “[]__[]”
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