Recruiting: A Look Back to 2005...

...And a look forward to 2008. So far, I've made an analysis regarding our 2003 and 2004 classes, and why their failures have led to a severe dip in our success on the field. We all know what happened. Miami finished at or around 500 in both seasons, an embarrassing turn of events for a once proud program. The question is how soon can this be turned around?

Let's take a look at the 2005 class and what we should expect from the 2008 football team.

First off, this was a pretty small class. We only brought in 17 kids. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, except Coker signed only 6 on offense. None of which were QBs, RBs, or WRs. The only non-blocking offensive player he signed was DajLeon Farr and he is gone.

Of the 17 kids from that class, a few won't be on next year's team. 5 star TE DajLeon Farr was a bust and transferred to Memphis. Demetri Stewart followed him on the way out, but the 3/4 star linebacker wasn't expect to do as much as Farr. Kenny Phillips also won't be on the roster, but he was the class' best prospect, a 5 star safety who should be selected in the first round this April.

That leaves only 14 guys left from an entire recruiting class to step up as this team's starters and leaders. The 2008 offense will be hurt badly by the lack of any skill position players being signed in 2005. Of those who were signed, 5* OL Reggie Youngblood (an ok player, but a disappointing career so far), 4* OL AJ Trump (hasn't played much, should land a starting job this year), 3/4* Chris Barney (hasn't done much) and 3* Matt Pipho (hasn't done much) are all we've got. Jerrell Mabry is still around, but the massive 3* FB isn't an impact player and will likely lose his job to incoming JUCO transfer Pat Hill.

Before I even get to the defense, I have to stress how much of a joke it is that Larry Coker and his staff didn't sign ANY players on offense. The 5 that are left are all blockers that don't project to be impact players at the next level unless Youngblood or Trump take it up a notch. And people wondered why the offense was so bad. "We don't have an offense" was a popular complaint. Sadly, we literally didn't have an offense.

Of the guys on defense that were brought in, Phillips was the best and is gone. The others are almost all disappointments. 4* Spencer Adkins is a decent LB, but isn't up to par with the 'backers this school has produced in recent drafts. 4* Richard Gordon has moved around between DE and TE and at this point is looking like another Jason Geathers, an outstanding athlete who just can't find a position.

Randy Phillips was a 4* SAFETY when recruited. I say SAFETY because he was moved to corner in college and this experiment failed miserably. I've never seen anyone get exposed as badly as Randy vs Oklahoma. Then he was moved back to his natural safety position and was not so bad because he is an excellent tackler. Bruce Johnson, Kelly Jennings' nephew, was also a 4* DB, and also has disappointed at times at corner.

Antonio Dixon, Courtney Harris, and Luqman Abdallah were our 3 DL recruits, and Dixon came in from the previous class. Dixon can be solid, but has trouble with stamina. Harris and Abdallah were both 3/4 star guys who have yet to make an impact on this defensive line, though they aren't necessarily bad players. All 3 will be needed on a very thin 2008 defensive line for the Canes.

Finally, the last 2 guys in the class are 3 star linebackers Darryl Sharpton (who can be pretty good but is out of position a lot from what I hear) and Eric Houston (who never should have been expected to be anything more than a special teams contributer).

In summary, we're screwed. I don't see it any other way. The freshmen coming in are going to be playing quite a bit. If this team makes it to 8-4 or 9-3, consider it a minor miracle because it is going to be a very raw, very inexperienced football team out there.

The 2005 class was ranked 7th and 12th by Rivals and Scouts respectively, but obviously yet again Coker failed to reap any benefits from a highly ranked class. Only one of the signees looks to be a major player at the next level. The 2008 team will have to rely heavily on younger players and needs the upperclassmen to overachieve in order to have a relatively successful season.

In case you were wondering, the projections based on recruiting rankings would have some sort of Top 5 of UGA, OU, Tennessee, USC and FSU at the end of the year. That's not so far off from what current Preseason Top 5's look like. Michigan is supposed to be high as well, but it's doubtful to translate to the 2008 season with all the chaos and defections going on up there.