2008 Miami Football

 A look at the 2008 Hurricanes Football team position by position. 

Quarterbacks

Robert Marve, R-Freshman (Has the upper-hand right against all quarterbacks. Marve has seriously impressed the coaching staff. )

Jacory Harris, Fr ( Known as a straight winner. No question about that. Given a chance, he will make an impact. Weight is an issue right now.)

Taylor Cook, Fr (Size. Size. Size. This 6 foot 6 inch  is the type of quarterback Offensive Coordinator Patrick Nix is looking for.)

Cannon Smith, Fr (Coach Randy Shannon raves about how Smith can manage a game and not make mistakes.)

 

Running Backs

Graig Cooper, Sophomore (Explosive runner. Will benefit from having one year under his belt. Very strong work ethic.)

Javarris James, Junior ( We all witnessed last year that James had a sophomore slump but he will rebound this year. He is an early favorite to be team captain.)

Shawnbrey McNeal, Soph (McNeal is all speed. If somehow he bulks up during the off season then he can be a young Frank Gore in the making.)

Lee Chambers, Soph (There are rumors that Chambers is blossoming into a fine running back. Chambers just can’t afford to make the same mistakes he did last year on kick off returns.)

Full Backs

 

Jerrell Mabry, Jr ( Marby made TOO many mistakes last year. He couldn’t block a man right in front of him.  Has the upper-hand right now but he may lose his spot to Patrick Hill. 

Patrick Hill, Jr (Stocky full back and knows how to steam roll a defender. Will make plenty of holes for Cooper and James to run through.)

John Calhoun, Fr (Coaching staff with try to mold Calhoun into a h-back, something like Chris Zellner and Washington Redskins Chris Cooley.)

Wide Receivers

Sam Shields, Jr (The talent is there. If Shields somehow gets off his negative attitude, then he could really have a break out season. That’s only if though.)

Jermaine McKenzie, R-Fr (Marve number 1 target. McKenzie has been unstoppable in 7-on-7 drills. Will make plays this upcoming year.)

Aldarius Johnson, Fr ( Deuce will make an immediate impact as a freshman and will have a good season. Overall he is the best receiver UM grabbed this off season. But he is definitely not going to do what Michael Crabtree did for Texas Tech this past season.)

Davon Johnson, Fr (Coach Aubrey Hill will make Johnson into something special.)

Kayne Farquaharson, Sr (It is competition time for all the wide receivers. Nothing is guaranteed if your an upperclassman.

Leonard Hankerson, Soph (Just like Fraquaharson, it’s time for competition.)

Travis Benjamin, Fr (Small quick receiver that coach Shannon is high on. Will help Miami in the return game. Comparisons to Santana Moss)

Thearon Collier, Fr (Speedster. Simple as that.)

Tommy Streeter, Fr (Great speed for a tall receiver. Really shined in the Miami Northwestern vs Southlake Caroll (TX) game)

Ryan Hill, Jr (Had the opportunity last year to make an impact for the Hurricanes. He didn’t make a dent!)

 Kendall Thompkins, Fr  (Will turn out to be like Roscoe Parrish. Might even be better.)

 

Tight End

 

Dedrick Epps, Jr (Shannon believes Epps could be the solid number 1 tight end.)

Richard Gordon, Jr (Gordon has all the tools to be a great tight end. Find a way to get him a couple of touches a game. He could surprise a lot of people.)

Chris Zellner, Sr (Good blocker for Miami last year. That’s really all that could be said.)

 

Offensive Lineman

Reggie Youngblood, Sr ( Good blocker with a lot of experience but sometimes gets holding penalties in cruel moments. Could be team captain as well.)

Chris Barney, Jr ( Efficient blocker who has shown a mean streak from time to time.)

Tyrone Byrd, Sr (Byrd is just a funny man. He will work hard to get a starting position his senior season.)

Joel Figueroa, Soph (Enormous and great at run blocking. Seen the playing field quite a lot last season. Could be a surprising starter next season.)

Jason Fox, Jr (Returning starter and has experience under his belt. He will look to get after it next year.)

Orlando Franklin, Soph (Mark my words! Franklin will only get better and he will join that Miami class of 1st round draft picks.) 

Harland Gunn, R- Fr. (Gunn plays will a really really rough attitude. Coaches love how he plays. He will see some action this year.)

Tyler Horn, R-Fr ( Horn could surprise people with his work ethic and could see the field this year.) 

Ben Jones, Fr (Loves the U with all his heart. He will be a great lineman for the Canes in the future.)

Brandon Washington, Fr (All around player. Great at run blocking as well as pass blocking.)

Matt Pipho, Jr (This could be the year that Pipho grabs a starting position.)

A.J Trump, Jr  (With a need to fill the center position, Trump is the main guy to do so.)

Ian Symonette, Soph (Somehow, just somehow, Miami has to get “The Bahamian Giant” on the field. He is 6′9 330 and athletic! Symonette has the tools. He just needs to put them together.)

 

Defensive Lineman

Eric Moncur, Sr (Moncur could have a great season if he brings the same intensity he brought last year.)

Dwayne Hendricks, Sr ( Great at clogging holes. Has to stay healthy. His beef will be needed to stop the run.)

Antonio Dixon, Sr (Dixon has dreams of playing in the NFL. Has to stay healthy both on and off the field. If he does so, then he will have very successful season.)

Marcus Forston, Fr  (Warren Sapp just retired from the NFL. ALL the Canes fans in the world are just  hoping for that magic to flow right into Forston’s body. If that happens, then Miami will get a national championship. No questions asked.  Forston will get PLENTY of playing time this year. Shannon loves fresh bodies on defense.)

Adewale Ojomo,  R-Fr (Great man to be around and the coaches love AO. Ojomo is continuing to add weight and he will make many plays this upcoming season.)

Josh Holmes, Soph (Not a Shannon type of recruit but if Holmes works hard he could change his  mind.)

Allen Bailey, Soph (Build this young man up and you will get a monster. Bailey LOVES to hit. Offensive Coordinators could gameplan against Bailey in the future.)

Courtney Harris, Jr ( Has the speed at the end position but needs to develop a little more.)

Jeremy Lewis, Fr ( Has the size to step in right away. Over the years he will become a force in the inside.)

Micanor Regis, Fr ( Strong. Plays smart and hard. By mid season he will get a lot of reps. A very underrated player who could push for a starting job.)

Joe Joseph, Jr  (Again, not Shannon type of player but will have to prove him wrong.)

Luqman Abdallah, Jr (Has to be a beast in the middle to keep up with Dixon, Hendricks, and Forston.)

Linebackers

Arthur Brown, Fr (Will make an impact right away. Brown has the talent to be one of the best linebackers to ever play at Miami. All he has to do is translate that to the college football field.)

Sean Spence, Fr  (The older he gets, the wiser and stronger he becomes. Spence will be on the field this upcoming year. Don’t let his lack of ideal size and speed fool you. Instincts Instincts Instincts!! Shannon loves smart linebackers. Spence’s will prove to everyone that he is a spectacular player. 

Colin McCarthy, Jr (Great at playing the run. There is no knock on him for that. Needs to work on pass coverage. Anyone who watched McCarthy in pass coverage last year saw how terrible he was.)

Spencer Adkins, Sr (Has to buy into the team concept. Adkins most likely won’t just like he did late last year.)

Ramon Buchanan, Fr (Could be both linebacker and safety. Will make a great rover comparable to Reggie Nelson. Teams could be hesitatant to go his way.)

Jordan Futch Fr  (Might play tight end. Either way he will be one of the keys for the Miami Hurricanes future.

Marcus Robinson Fr (Plays hard every single down. Defensive Coordinator will love his ability. Impressive size, speed and athletic ability. The question is will he be able to read college offensives.)

Glenn Cook, Sr   (Knows the playbook up and down. Will mentor all the young linebackers.)

Romeo Davis, Sr (Has not been able to say healthy. If he stays healthy this year, he could see a good amount of pt.)

Darryl Sharpton, Jr (Solid player but made too many mistakes last year. Young really won’t use Sharpton that much if he doesn’t make better decisions.)

Cornerbacks

Randy Phillips, Sr (Can we get Phillips to play every game like the game he played against Florida State last year? If he does, bad news for opponents.) 

Carlos Armour, Sr (Inconsistent. Shannon does not favor Armour at all.)

Chavez Grant, Jr (Will have to work hard to beat out the talent this year. Nothing will be given to Grant like last year.)

Brandon Harris, Fr (Phillips, Armour, and Bruce Johnson are going to feel real jealous when another freshman comes in and takes their job again. Cane fans hope he won’t be a bust.)

DeMarcus Van Dyke, Soph (Two goals for Van Dyke this off season. Gain weight and improve tackling. With his work ethic, he will accomplish that.)

 Bruce Johnson, Sr  (Will have to battle for his job. Shannon really doesn’t favor Johnson.)

Safeties 

Anthony Reddick, Jr (Stay Healthy! It is hard to image that Reddick is just a junior on the field. Just hope that Reddick makes some of the plays he made a couple of years ago. Wouldn’t be surprised with another injury though.) 

Lovon Ponder, Sr (Well, Ponder is better than Willie Cooper. The young talent will make him work for his position.)

C.J Holton, Fr (Straight hitter. No questions ask about that.He lights people up. Just hope he doesn’t get beat deep because of his aggressiveness. )

Damien Berry, Soph  (There wasn’t any better player on special teams last year than Berry. Berry will see a lot of playing time on defense.)

Vaughn Telemague, Fr (If Telemague plays the way he talks, then Miami will have another great safety.)

JoJo Nicolas, R-Fr (Nicolas will have to battle the incoming freshman class. Shannon has backed up Nicolas since day one.)

Jared Campbell, R-Fr (If Campbell improves just like his brother Calais did, then he will be nice at safety.)

C.J Odom, Fr (Brings a lot versatility to the Hurricanes. He is a sleeper to grab the starting stop towards the end of the season.)

Kicker

Jake Wieclaw, Fr  ( A kicker from Big-Ten country. Miami is just hoping he can make a simple field goal. Just simple field goals!!!!!) 

 

Punter

Matt Bosher, Soph (As the season progress last year, Bosher did settled down and starting making some key punts. But Shannon still needs more.)

Lelan LeDoux is a freshman double majoring in broadcast journalism and sports administration. He is also a staff sports writer for the Miami Hurricane. (thehurricaneonline.com)  He may be contacted at l.ledoux@umiami.edu.