From Ken Dorsey To Raul Aguirre, Miami Hurricanes Recruits Need A Chip On Their Shoulder
The first year of Mario Cristobal's tenure as Miami Hurricanes head coach has been a failure. The team is 4-5 with several embarrassing defeats, including a 45-3 rivalry game humiliation against Florida State.
Cristobal is losing the battle but can still win the war.
The Hurricanes currently have the number 7 recruiting class in America for 2023, per 247 Sports. I expect several of the 2022 Canes to exit through the transfer portal this offseason and several new faces to enter. It's up to Cristobal to not only find skilled athletes, but to find players with category five hurricane sized chips on their shoulders.
2023 linebacker Raul "Popo" Aguirre, a Miami commit, has the right idea...
"I'm going to be honest; we're coming in to take people's spots," he told On3 Sports.
Aguirre put it powerfully into words and it seems to be an attitude shared by the entire class. The 2023 commits are always talking about a brighter future for the program and never dwelling on Miami's frustrating present.
On a new episode of my Locked On Canes podcast, I sat down with former Miami Hurricanes team captain Don Bailey Jr. Don played for Howard Schnellenberger in the late 70s/early 80s, right when the Hurricanes program was being built into a powerhouse.
"The only way that this program is going to continue to improve and get better is if everybody understands what coach Cristobal's philosophy is," Bailey said. "That is to have position competition everywhere. It helps everyone. It helps the players who are established and it helps the players who are coming in. His focus, when he talks to recruits, is to say 'you are going to get an opportunity.'"
Bailey says a coach should never promise anyone a starting job and that certainly isn't the way Cristobal operates. All he can promise to a recruit is an opportunity, and the rest is up to them.
I believe Miami has several committed players who can compete immediately, like:
5-star CB Cormani McClain
5-star OT Francis Mauigoa
4-star linebackers Aguirre and Malik Bryant
4-star EDGE Jayden Wayne
And depending on whether Tyler Van Dyke is back, even 4-star QB Jaden Rashada, just to name a few.
But with that said, all 20+ verbal commits should come in with the hunger to take someone else's job and the belief necessary to make it reality.
Embracing competition was a hallmark of the Miami Hurricanes during their championship runs.
Don Bailey used to speak to the incoming Hurricanes freshmen every year before the season began. He recalls talking to the class of 1999, which included future national champions and NFL stars like Andre Johnson, Clinton Portis, Bryant McKinnie, Phillip Buchanon and Ken Dorsey.
The Florida State Seminoles were at their peak that year while Miami was on the road back from probation. When Bailey asked the room full of freshmen, "Who, in this room right now, is ready to start against Florida State." He recalled, "It took all of three seconds, when I finished asking the question for the second or third time, and the only person that stood up was Kenny Dorsey. He didn't raise his hand, he stood up!"
"Those are the guys that win championships. That's the mentality that can overcome the loss (last week) to Florida State."
Dorsey did not start against Florida State that season but he wasn't far off. Five weeks later he made his first career start for the Canes in a 55-0 victory over Rutgers. He only suffered two defeats at The U in over three full seasons as the starting quarterback.
If Miami can find a room full of Dorseys after national signing day, they can start the long road back to prominence.
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