Guess What: Andre Johnson Is A Hurricane

Then again, who isn't?

As you all know, Monday is a time for thankless labor, daydreaming about the end of the week and – in my case – unabashed hero worship brought to you in part by one of the 46* Miami Hurricanes currently playing pro ball in the National Football League.

Forty-six. Hell, we have more Johnsons (3) playing on Sundays then some D-1 teams have total players, which is all the more impressive considering we’ve fallen on harder times than RJ Berger since the middle of last decade.

Now the The U isn’t so much a breeding ground for talent as it is a four-year layover.

Guys used to get better playing in green and orange – novel concept, I know. To give you some idea of how bad it’s gotten, you need look no further than one Samuel “Next Irvin” Shields, a highly touted recruit who was stifled so terrifically that he’d forget how to catch and move to DB by his senior year.

Now he’s a central piece of the Packers’ nickel package, and already moving up the depth chart after week one.

I’m sorry we did this to you Sam. You, undrafted sir, make me exceedingly proud.

One more. Here’s what NBC Sports wrote last week about Coker/Shannon casualty Darryl “I’m Always in the Wrong Place, Even Though I Was Smart Enough to Turn Down Stanford” Sharpton:

I was real excited to see Sharpton on the field as I liked what I had heard from talking to Miami fans about him. And what was said about him seemed to be legit. The dude is a hell of a hitter, a good tackler (he led the defense with seven tackles) and showed he had good hands on an interception. As I predicted after the draft on Luv Ya Steel Blue, the guy is going to become a quick fan favorite. In fact there are already bandwagons popping up in Texans nation calling for him to start at the vacant LB position that Brian Cushing will leave for the first four games of the season.

(*screams into pillow/flings laptop clear across apartment*)

Anyway, my random U bitchfest – a common phenomena these days – shouldn’t distract from the central thesis of this post: namely, that Andre Johnson is a monster, a worldbeater and a man amongst boys, much like he was covering kickoffs at the tender age of 19. And Sunday might have been his very finest moment.

Check that. Second finest moment.

Finest moment.

Dre finished Sunday’s late afternoon game against the ‘Skins with a ho-hum 12 catches for 158 yards, passing 600 and 8,000 career, respectively, in the process. Yawn (still behind Wayne and Irvin). He also moved into third all-time with 15 10+ reception games. Bigger yawn (still behind Rice and Harrison).

The impressive part was when he outleaped a tremendously overmatched Washington defender in the left corner of the endzone to nab the game-tying touchdown with 2:01 left.

After sitting out most of the second half with a bum ankle.

Btw, he just turned 29.

Said SC-favorite Tony Kornheiser in a D.C.-induced rage this morning, “The reason you take Andre Johnson is BECAUSE HE CANNOT BE STOPPED!” I agree, Tone. And so do the Lions, who whiffed on him once upon a time in favor of Charles Rogers (not to be confused with Jerome McDougle, William Joseph or Willis McGahee, who were also taken in the first round of the ’03 draft).

Guy’s a freakshow. And since we more or less used to be neighbors, I have a couple quick anecdotes to pass on from his youth – you know, before he became the second guy ever to lead the league in receiving back-to-back years (but after he won the Big East Outdoor 100 Meter Championship in 10.59).

1) Taking over for Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne in ’01, Dre caught 37 passes for 682 yards as a sophomore on his way to Rose Bowl co-MVP honors. He bumped those totals the next year to 52 and 1092. The reason? Well, besides experience and 20 pounds of extra muscle… the guy could finally see. Apparently it took the Coker brain trust a full year to discover Johnson needed contacts, despite his continued complaints of blurry vision (fully explains the exams cheating). Talk about a red flag – we knew then and there that Larry Coker was overmatched running a Dairy Queen let alone the premier college program in the country.

2) Terrell Owens is on the Coral Gables campus during the ’02 season doing a photo shoot for one of his endorsements. The ‘Canes are pumped to have a superstar in their facilities – even more so upon spotting him from a distance standing on the practice field. A couple players approach this muscle-bound, NFL Adonis from behind. T.O. turns around, only it’s not T.O. at all… It’s 21-year-old Andre Johnson.

Me and bff Dre.

- Robbie

*including a couple unsigned/practice squad players

Mediocrity: It’s Still a ‘Cane Thing

An exercise in futility.

“Sad day. Mediocrity reigns at The U.” ~ Philip Kates

Starting to think that “sh*tty mood” is just my default Saturday disposition. Last week it took me two hours to hunt down possible B.J. Daniels defender Bryan Holt to swap Swamp tix. This week, I roasted that $10 student pass in effigy as I lamented the demise of my once proud program.

You don’t know what it’s like. Trust me, you don’t. A diehard ‘Canes fan in 2010 is like a diehard Sonics fan in 2010 – only if Seattle had won 5 NBA titles in the last quarter century.

What makes our sudden and precipitous decline even worse is that it was all too avoidable. We didn’t have to stay in-house and hire two full-wit coordinator/half-wit head coaches. We didn’t have to exile Devin Hester and Arthur Brown and James Bryant and [insert highly recruited future transfer] to inter-positional limbo, or worse, the bench. And we sure as hell didn’t have to bulldoze the Jewel in Little Havana. Hard to function without a heart.

I’m not frustrated that we lost today – 36-24 in Columbus in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicates). Trust me, anybody with a head on his shoulders not sipping from the Don Bailey, Jr. Memorial Kool-Aid cup saw this coming.

(And no, a victory today wouldn’t have erased a whiff of the ’03 Fiasco Bowl’s devastatingly lingering fallout.)

I’m frustrated, per usual in the Shannon Era, by how we lost – stupid penalties, stupid decision making, stupid turnovers, embarrassing defensive special teams, manhandled at times by a more physically gifted team, and last but certainly not least, lopsidedly out-coached.

And yet somehow – by way of a nationally backed propaganda campaign on par with McCarthyism – people around the country still think “we’re back.”

News flash: Miami’s been a middle of the pack ACC team for the last 6 years, and as far as I can tell, nothing’s changing until Donna Shalala pulls her head out of her ass.

Irvin, Kelly, Kosar, Walsh, Blades, Tez, Maryland, Dorsey, Ray Ray, Vilma, Wayne, James, Shockey, Winslow, Barrow, Smith, Dre, Sapp, Morgan, Testaverde, Taylor, Reed, McGahee, Portis, Gore… Just thought I’d remind you of where we’ve come from. And, yeah, I left out a bunch.

I swear this wasn't that long ago.

I was already cradling myself in a fetal position by 4:30 left in the 4th, but two things in particular kicked me in the gut when I was down.

The first I saw mastered at the 2008 Emerald Bowl. Let’s put it this way: if burning timeouts was an art, Randy Shannon would be its Van Gogh. So down by 12 late in the fourth quarter, the ‘Canes need a stop on 4 and 1 and then need two more possessions to give themselves any chance.

Luckily, we got the benefit of an injury timeout – you know, so we could use that 60 or so seconds to set our goal-line D.

Of course, Shannon doesn’t blink before calling ANOTHER timeout – with the clock already stopped – after sending either the wrong unit or wrong formation back onto the field.

It’s these little things that eat at me – the false starts (Joel Figueroa and Harland Gunn wouldn’t see another snap if I was running the ship), the botched play action, the drops, the fumbled snaps, the dogmatic insistence on pooch kicking even though it, without fail, yields better field position for the opponent.

But I digress. Todd Blackledge’s brainwashed synopsis of how Miami has to now worry about other teams losing to get to Arizona was the thing that really set me off.

REALLY, TODD?!? REALLY? You really think we’re running the table with our “physically gifted quarterback”? Really? Physically gifted compared to who? Gumby?

"I've seen him in person - he's not a pound over 140... but he's got nice rims." ~ Robb Hilson

Like I said before the season, 8-4. Mark it down. Mark it down for as long as Shannon’s on board, and for as long as the The U relegates its football program to the institution’s periphery.

I’m f*cking pissed. Happy Saturday.

- Robbie

College ‘Cane Day: Three Quick Hits

1991 Cotton Bowl

College football’s crept on me like a Denny’s Grand Slam promo on a fat man, which is to say: It hasn’t crept up on me at all. The Miami Hurricanes kick off their season tonight against FAMU in The Artist Formerly Known as Joe Robbie Stadium, and as Bryan Holt might say, I’ll be glued to my computer like Bobby Brown to a crack rock.

It’s true that I’ve been down on our program in recent years. It’s true that recruiting savant Randy Shannon bears the brunt of my sarcastic U-posts. It’s also true that I would pawn my right kidney and mortgage all my earthly belongings for another national championship.

I love this team – more than I love any other team. More than I love most of my friends. More than I love my dog.

I’ve also got us pegged for 8-4, which means you’re likely to encounter a bunch of intra-season bitching and a wave of late-December snark (I’m writing Emerald Bowl jokes as we speak).

No matter. I’m on board till the end, come hell or A.J. Highsmith.

So here’s a big SC shoutout to The Core Team – Brian, Gene, Tim, Maria, Alex, Jonathan and Mr. Robb Hilson – the majority of whom have braved the Orange Bowl-Broward transition in a valiant effort to bring us number 6.

Great news about the tent.

I’d also like to share three of the most violent collisions in the history of our storied program – a holy trinity of decleating hits, the vids of which are designed to power you through a brick wall.

Enjoy.

Robert Bailey on Chris Samuels: #4 Miami vs. #3 Texas, 1991 Cotton Bowl

The Longhorns, led by right tackle Stan Thomas, spent the weeks leading up to New Year’s day hyping their “Shock The Nation” tour with a steady stream of bulletin board material. It took Robert Bailey approximately 4 seconds to prove he could read. His bullet-train hit on the opening kickoff knocked Samuels out for the rest of the game, but it was everything after that prompted the New York Times to lead its coverage with the following:

The Miami Hurricanes, taunted and challenged all week by a Texas team with national championship aspirations, put on one of the most explosive demonstrations in the 55-year history of the Cotton Bowl today.

Final score: 46-3. Said Outland Trophy winner Russell Maryland after the game, “They weren’t ready for that. They were saying, ‘These boys are crazy.’ They’re right, we are.”

Bailey earns legend at 0:57

Michael Barrow on Tamarick Vanover: #3 FSU at #2 Miami, 1992

History remembers this game most for Dan Mowrey’s final-second goalpost whiff, but Wide Right II’s crowning moment came earlier in the fourth quarter when Iron Mike Barrow “separated Vanover from his senses.” Payback both for a 94-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff and high-profile recruiting snub, “The Hit,” as it’s simply known, endures in ‘Cane lure just as much for its subsequent military-style celebration as its sinus-clearing impact. Said Barrow years later,

I remembered Vanover from when he visited Miami and I went up to him and said something like, “Man, you chump, I’m glad you went to that girls’ school, because you weren’t tough enough to come here.” And a couple plays later, I got the hit.

Miami survived 19-16. The lesson here as always: don’t go over the middle on Number 56.

Watch for the salute.

Sean Taylor on PK Sam, #12 FSU at #1 Miami, 2002

The YouTube title says it all: “Hardest hit ever by Sean Taylor.” ‘Canes are up a point with 4:30 left. FSU is driving. The game would eventually end in another Bowden-flummoxing, missed field goal… not that Sam would know. He’s still spinning. In hindsight, this was the beginning of the end. For everybody. But if The U never again rises to title-winning prominence, Taylor’s defining blow will suffice as a lasting image just fine, thank you.

Memories never die.

Go Canes.

- Robbie

UM’s Randy Shannon Preps for Thursday Rivalry

Body language specialist Randy Shannon

On the eve of the 13th-ranked Miami Hurricanes’ biggest Thursday night home game of the season, head coach Randy Shannon graciously took time out of his hectic schedule to share insights on the season opener against Florida A&M. Occasionally surly, UM’s fourth-year man makes up for his lack of charisma, charm and overall personality with an incomparable sense of brevity and wholly original logic.

Said Shannon of Sunday’s practice, “We were a little bit sluggish today, which was good.”

Miami is a nearly three-touchdown favorite this week, but with a showdown against second-ranked Ohio State just 11 days away, coach expects his team to fly around a little bit, do great things and continue to improve, because that’s all you can do. Which is good.

The following are Shannon’s word-for-word answers responses to a barrage of heavy-hitting questions from local muckrakers at the Miami Herald and Rivals.com.

Was Saturday a work day or were you able to get some rest?

Work day. Always a work day, trying to get better in some way or fashion, which is good.

Now that you’ve settled on a preliminary depth chart, what do you think you have in this team?

Don’t know.

You said [true freshman LB] James Gaines really caught your attention in fall practice. Will he contribute this season?

Don’t know. He’s there. Practicing hard. That’s all you can say.

How many true freshmen could see time this year?

Don’t know.

Have you made a decision on Jacory’s backup?

Nope.

Tell us what it’s like to finally have [late commit, Rivals No. 15 overall, ATH] Latwan Anderson out there?

Didn’t do much. He’s in the pre-trial phase – his helmet – so really couldn’t do anything.

Your plans for him?

He’s a walk-on.

Wait. So you’ve hit the scholarship limit?

He’s a walk-on.

Will you play him?

He’s a walk-on.

What can you tell us about [true freshman DE] David Perry?

He’s a walk-on in the acclimation period.

You’ve moved Kylan Robinson to outside linebacker, correct?

Nickel situations he’s always outside. Sometimes he’s in the middle, sometimes outside.

And in base situations?

He’s been in the middle.

How do you get an idea of what FAMU will do on Thursday?

Just look at last year’s tape. That’s all you can do, and do what they’ve done the last three or four games of the season and base it off that. It’s going to be something new.

Tell us a little more.

We don’t know what FAMU is going to do.

What do you like about your team?

They didn’t hit the wall. The year we went 7-6, we hit a wall against Virginia – there was no way to get those guys out of it. [This year] we had a walkthrough at 10:30 at night, came back the next morning at 6 and they responded.

Will [senior middle linebacker] Colin McCarthy start on Thursday?

Depends on the game. I couldn’t tell you.

Tell us who’s in the mix to return kicks.

About eight of them.

Which unit is the FAMU game more important to?

The whole team.

Editor’s note: Special thanks to insider/Core Team member J. Franklin. Go ‘Canes.

- Robbie

UM receiver LaRon Byrd out 0 to 12 games with leg injury

Randy Shannon before his interrogators.

The 13th-ranked Miami Hurricanes suffered a setback to their receiving corps earlier this month when explosive junior slot man Thearon Collier left school due to “personal issues.” Collier, the team’s best punt returner, will likely transfer to USC to sit under the tutelage of head coach Lane Kiffin and, God willing, an English teacher.

Wrote Collier on Facebook, “THS MY LAST WEEK IN MIA B4 I HEAD OFF TO CALI TO PERSUIT MY FOOTBALL CAREER …”

Departures of this kind are nothing new for the Hurricanes, a team that regularly sees top talent leave to persuit football careers at once-inferior programs. Collier’s West Coast swing does, however, shake up a depth chart that got even thinner Monday when second-leading receiver LaRon Byrd missed practice with a leg injury.

Byrd, a junior, was seen on campus walking with a brace and crutches, but the severity of the injury is still unclear. When accosted by local reporters, head coach Randy Shannon shed some light on the situation.

(Note: word-for-word answers via the Miami Herald in grey)

Coach, how is LaRon doing?

“He’s doing fine. I told you guys the other day some guys are nicked — we’re going to sit them out.”

Hopefully, it’s serious. But we don’t think it is…

“You want it to be serious, though, huh? You go around that corner, you’re going to see about five guys riding [exercise] bikes; they didn’t practice today.”

We’re just trying to do our job, coach. You mad at us?

“You guys try hard. I’m not mad. I’m just joking around with you.”

Wait… so LaRon will be back for afternoon practice?

“Nope.”

Let’s say a player is out for [week two's game against] Ohio State. Would you tell us?

“I keep telling you guys [and] you keep trying. I’m telling you, I will let all you guys know when a guy is going to be done for the season, like I always do.”

Byrd will have an MRI later this week to determine whether or not the leg needs to be amputated.

- Robbie

When Randy Shannon Speaks, Randy Shannon Speaks

"The Communicator"

National and local media continue to pepper Miami head coach Randy Shannon as the 13th-ranked Hurricanes approach their Sept. 2 home opener against Florida A&M. Shannon is of the general persuasion that questions shouldn’t exist, let alone reporters. But since he is at the helm of a major college program, the usually tight-lipped fourth-year man graciously throws a bone to those pesky sportswriters every once in a while.

The following are Shannon’s word-for word responses to an amalgam of wide-ranging interrogations he’s endured at the mics of Rivals.com, the Miami Herald, the Palm Beach Post and the Orlando Sentinel in recent weeks.

__________

On what would constitute a successful 2010 season:

“Getting better. Just getting better.”

On expectations surrounding the team after last year’s 9-4 season:

“I can’t tell you 9, 10, 11 [wins]. I can’t tell you those things. You can not win this ACC conference and still go to a BCS bowl game. Is that a victory or not a victory? Is that improvement or not? You can’t classify what it takes to be successful.”

On increased roster depth contributing to heightened competition in practice:

“We always say that you can talk about things you can do, but who is going to step up and lead that group?”

On junior defensive tackle Marcus Forston, who did not record a tackle last season after a successful true freshman campaign:

“I told him, ‘You had some success as a true freshman, then your second year thought the world was going to be yours and you forgot about the process of working hard…”

Adding:

“Last year, he worked hard, he just expected big things without understanding what to do.”

On LeBron James joining the Miami Heat:

“It took a lot of pressure off me. They’ve got to win the championship now.”

On James as a recruiting tool:

“That’s illegal. You’re trying to get me in trouble.”

On the Sept. 11 game against second-ranked Ohio State in Columbus:

“The only thing I’ve got to concern myself about is August.”

On what the above game, a rematch of the 2002 BCS National Championship, would mean to the program:

“It’s a game.”

On highly-touted offensive lineman recruit Seantrel Henderson’s first practice Thursday:

“It’s a start. You know, he’s got to do what he has to get done.”

On how he expects to use Henderson, Rivals’ No.1-rated high school tackle in ’09:

“We have a plan for him.”

On whether sitting out spring practice with a thumb injury hurt quarterback Jacory Harris:

“No. It helped. He was able to stand there and watch.”

On injured senior running back Graig Cooper, who blew out his knee in last season’s Champ Sports Bowl:

“He’s running, he’s squatting, he’s lifting, he’s jumping. He’s full board everything. We’re going to take it slow. If he’s healthy he’ll play. If he’s not ready, we won’t play him.”

And 10 days later:

“Like I said before, I can’t tell you guys when Cooper is going to be ready to go. If his body heals tomorrow, then he’ll be ready to go. If it heals in three weeks, he’ll be ready.”

On whether he knows about the parties in Miami that have embroiled student-athletes with the NCAA:

“I get abreast on things that come up.”

On Miami’s potential return to the dominance of the ’80s and early ’90s:

“I don’t think ‘dominance’ is the word you want to use. You want ‘we’re improving.’”

On the team’s philosophy after losing 6 of its last 7 in ’07, its last 3 in ’08 and 3 of its final 7 after starting 5-1 in ’09:

“The first thing we’ve got to do is make sure we finish. That’s going to be our big motto.”

On the development of fifth-year senior TE Richard Gordon, who was awarded an injury hardship for last season and caught three passes in ’08:

“He’s the leader of the tight ends, is doing a great job, is really settling in now. He’s doing an awesome job, and we’re excited the way he’s going. If Richard comes along, we’re going to be really, really good.”

On whether the biggest obstacle to a freshman playing immediately is more mental or physical:

“Both.”

On Sunday’s fourth practice in the rain at Greentree Field:

“Sunday was a hump day. We looked at last year and it was a three-game stretch. We won some games and then we got a little lax. So now it’s the same situation. This is our fourth — it’s raining. And last year [at Virginia Tech] it was raining.”

On educating players about Internet use:

“Every year there’s going to be a freshman who comes in and I’m going to have to sit them down and tell them to clean up their Internet.”

On the perils of new media, which have recently lead to an NCAA investigation into Miami’s potentially “impermissible texts”:

“I don’t do Facebook. I don’t do Twitter. I’m the wrong guy. I know a lot of other coaches use it. I’m kind of old-fashioned… You get the right kind of kids in your program by communicating face-to-face and being verbal.”

The Hurricanes completed their fifth fall practice Monday. Coach Shannon was not available for further verbiage at the time of posting.

- Robbie

Off Broadway Heroes: Magic Benton

Magic being Magic.

The NFL is the beautiful side of the game of football.  It is a league that garners praise and popularity while turning the few who can excel in it into immortal figures. This is why we here at Sports Casualties find intrigue in the other side of the game – the aspect of the game that is played on a gravel back road, not a glistening main street.

This is the third piece in an occasional series that will profile professional football players who succeeded in a now defunct league only to never “make it” anywhere else. Sports Casualties writer Robbie Hilson referred to this series as a “Where are they now?” for players who were never anywhere in the first place. He is correct. He is also the author of this post and would like to thank Bryan for ceding the “Broadway” reigns. This has been an incredibly rewarding experience for him.

It’s hard to get recognition when you come from a program that produced the likes of Michael Irvin, Brian Blades, Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne. So Magic Benton often gets lost in the discussion of all-time great University of Miami receivers.

And rightfully so.

Magic’s enduring spot in Hurricane lore was secured not by his play on the field, but instead harkens back to his humble beginnings as a wee lad in the inner city. A very, very wee lad in the inner city.

As the story goes, upon Benton’s arrival at “The U” in 1995, a curious reporter took it upon himself to unearth the origins of the star sophomore’s eccentric name, asking simply, “Magic, how did you get your name?”

It was in this moment that the young receiver’s legend was “born” – so to speak – as he proudly announced to all that he was conceived in the bowels of the Magic City Lounge.

Even the most comprehensive of Google searches leaves the whereabouts of this fine establishment a mystery. In the interest, then, of responsible journalism I went to the experts to corroborate the story, lest I confuse fact with folk tale – like the time true freshman DE Rusty Madearis recorded 5.5 sacks in his debut against Texas Tech in October of 1990.

Oh wait. That really happened.

Medearis: A legend derailed

Regardless, I consulted Alpha-‘Cane Fan/Father Robb Hilson before posting, sending this email: “Magic Benton… I’m writing a piece on him. Do you have any fond recollections to include?”

His response minutes later: “Other than where he got his name? No.”

I also have it on good faith from UM Core Team Member and proud ‘Cane alum Brian Mormile that the story is in fact true. In a fit of curiosity, he actually took it upon himself to ask Benton in person. Excellent work, Brian.

Now if Great Number Eight was defined solely by five letters, he wouldn’t be worthy of the third “Off Broadway” installment. Not just anyone enters the cherished pantheon thus far reserved only for Mario Bailey and Kelvin Bryant.

Well Magic Benton is not just anyone. In 1994, the talented high school senior made 5A all-state honors at Miami Northwestern by hauling in 22 catches for an eye-popping 650 yards, inventing the term “YAC” in the process. Amazingly, his 29.5 yards per catch was a sharp decline over the previous year’s 38.1 YPC.

Cementing his reputation as the top athlete in Florida and the No. 17 overall receiver according to SuperPrep, Benton resisted the likely-illegal recruiting advances of UM coach Dennis Erickson and opted instead to enroll at FSU. Unfortunately, enrollment entails passing grades. After a quick layover in prep school, he promptly pulled a “reverse Terri Hilson,” transferring to Miami after realizing that Tallahassee sucks.

Magic in the Old Lady.

Miami’s fortunes changed immediately upon Benton’s arrival. After making the Orange Bowl the year before, the Hurricanes fell to 8-3 in 1995 under first-year coach Butch Davis. The ‘Canes missed a bowl for the first time in years due to a contentious bout with NCAA rule makers.

In an unparalleled display of class, Benton was not among the players who broke into the captain of the track team’s apartment and struck him repeatedly before the 1996 campaign. This boded well for the upcoming season, when Magic filled the void created by star receiver Jammi German’s ACL injury (and nine-game suspension for instigating an on-campus brawl).

Benton led the 1996 ‘Canes with 547 receiving yards and scored 4 touchdowns. His breakout game came in the season opener against Memphis, in which he scored on two punt returns and also caught a 73-yard touchdown pass for the 11th-ranked ‘Canes. His star-making performance spawned this classic headline in the next day’s Boca Raton News: “Big Plays Rule: Benton’s ‘magic’ handles Miami’s woes.”

The following year was a low point for the senior leader and the Hurricanes in general. Benton succumbed to injury in game four, an infamous 47-0 throttling at the hands of FSU. Without his game-breaking ability, Miami fell to 5-6 despite sophomore Edgerrin James’ 1,000-yard campaign and a record-setting freshman outing from Reggie Wayne.

Impressively, Magic remained a scholarship player until his graduation after the ’97 season, a rare accomplishment considering the program did not have many to give. Though he was not selected in the NFL Draft, Benton briefly caught on with the Green Bay Packers, paving the way for future Hurricanes Bubba Franks and Najeh Davenport and meeting Brett Favre in the process.

Daniel "Bubba" Franks: Not conceived in the Bubba City Lounge

Where most stories would end, those of the greats take on new life. Thus began Benton’s fabled turn as an Arena Football League hero.

After unsuccessful tours in other professional leagues, the former Miami standout lent his name and considerable talents to the upstart arenafootball2, joining the expansion Florida Firecats in early 2001. The following year, Benton put Estero, Fla., on the map. He finished the 16-game regular season among the league leaders in several statistical categories and led the Firecats through an improbable playoff run that ended with a 65-47 loss to Peoria in ArenaCup III. Benton was, however, exposed to a national audience – the game was televised on the Vision Network.

His fourth year in the league was also a career pinnacle of sorts. Performing in front of crowds of up to 4,000 – impressive considering Estero’s population of 9,503 – Benton developed a special connection with quarterback and former Chicago Bear Ken Mastrole. The team rolled through the postseason as Benton grabbed 23 catches for 308 and six TDs en route to ArenaCup V. Benton again shined bright on the big stage as his Firecats avenged the AC III loss to Peoria with a grind-it-out 39-26 victory over the Pirates.

After a number change, Benton is still No. 1.

After an 8-week retirement during the 2008 season in which he helped coach the Florida Christian Institute football team, a 32-year-old Benton returned to the Firecats to reclaim both his team and his af2 receiving records, some of which had been challenged by league standout George Williams. Benton had no problems picking up where he’d left off. A three score performance in week 18 against rival Daytona propelled him back into the record books with 1,098 career points.

In 2009, Number Eight left the af2 how he entered it – on top. He led all receivers with 8 catches for 91 yards and two scores as the Firecats upset the Kentucky Horsemen 67-39 in what would be both Benton and his team’s final game. Just weeks later, the Firecats were denied postseason participation for colluding to form a new league. The af2 folded soon after.

This twist of fate opened a new door for Benton. Always one to jump at an opportunity, he rejoined his old quarterback as an instructor at the Mastrole Passing Academy and continues to coach up high school prospects to this day. In addition, the receiver’s signed collectibles have held up remarkably well over the years. Autographed 8x10s routinely fetch up to $23.99 on the secondary market.

All said and done, Benton finished his prestigious af2 playing career as the league’s all-time leader in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns (with 630, 8,293 and 178, respectively). To former teammates and fellow UM alums Toney Tella, Ethenic Sands and Jon Peattie, he is known by the moniker “Mr. Af2.” To everybody else, he’s known simply as “Magic.”

Repping "The U" till the very end.

- Robbie

Mediocrity: It’s a ‘Cane Thing

Dazed and Confused

I was originally going to write about O.J. Mayo, because what better way to forget National Signing Day than to write about the Memphis Grizzlies.

I just got off a 45-minute phone call with the world’s biggest Miami Hurricanes fan. He is also my father.

Points of discussion:

How did Miami fare on National Signing Day?

“I swear, I’m ready to coach this team,” are the first words out of his mouth. This is not a good sign.

I sent him an email earlier that read: “Hey, 18 of our 27 signees are three stars, so we’re extremely well-positioned for four more years of above-averageness!” Apparently he did not think this was funny.

This was one of the greatest pools of talent in Dade County history, he says. “And we land 2 of the top 100,000 guys!”

I think to myself that this is not a national championship-contending ratio.

He asks me if I know anything about Gainesville High’s Kevin Nelson, our top defensive recruit and the No. 3 inside linebacker prospect in the country.

Supposedly he has “‘tude,” like Ray Lewis I-will-be-the-best-to-ever-play-here kind of ‘tude. I remind him that wide receivers Lance Leggett and Sam Shields had this ‘tude. They did not fare as well as Ray Ray.

Success: Just Out of Reach

My father suggests dejectedly that maybe this is the blue-collar class that brings us all the way back.

Immediately, my thoughts turn to RB Damien Berry, our best offensive player and the kind of “blue-collar” guy Pops refers to.

The only way Berry can get consistent carries this year is if he has pictures on head coach Randy Shannon, and even then Shannon would probably find a way to burn the pictures along with all of his remaining timeouts.

It’s a numbers game, Dad says. A couple of our five offensive linemen – two of them four-stars – will pan out. They have to. Our O-line is a sieve.

This word “sieve” is a synonym for “colander” and “strainer.” I have only heard it used in reference to Miami’s offensive line.

My father says that if we hit on some of these linemen, highly touted redshirt freshman RB Lamar Miller should be really good for us.

I tell him that if Lamar Miller is as good as we think he is, Randy Shannon will promptly move him to fullback.

We discuss the firing of defensive line coach Clint Hurt and his new replacement, Kentucky’s Rick Petri. This move lit up the message boards – they have decided that Petri is the guy that finally turns the D-line around.

My father and I conclude that, hey, the guy’s been a defensive line coach his whole life. He must be really good at it.

Maybe Randy is starting to feel the pressure. He’s firing guys. He knows his job security hinges on our “140-pound quarterback” staying healthy.

Then again, I offer, if Jacory Harris breaks in two, at least Randy will have an excuse for sucking.

Is Pace quarterback Stephen Morris – #49 QB overall, 3 star – the real deal? The real deal compared to what?

My fathers says that if he’s not the guy, we’re in bad shape. I clarify, continued bad shape.

A long, long time ago/ I can still remember

Best case scenario, Harris stays healthy for two more years and then we start a redshirt freshman QB in 2012. We’ve been in this position before under Larry Coker. How could we not have learned our lesson? 

Pops says we’re going to be hard-pressed to win 10 games this year. I tell him he’s really going out on a limb and reiterate my long-running prediction: 7-6, Emerald Bowl victory.

He says it’s all relative. He was listening to Bay Area radio (he lives in San Francisco) today and fans are in meltdown mode because the Giants won’t resign Lincecum, the GM is a bum, and they haven’t won a World Series since 1954, as the New York Giants.

I say, yes, it’s all relative, and then I ask him who will win a title first, the Giants or the Canes.

We both agree. Giants.

Will the Hurricanes build an on-campus football stadium during our lifetimes?

He is cautiously optimistic that the Canes will have a 40,000-seat venue in the heart of Coral Gables in the next 25 years. However, he is also cautiously optimistic that he will live to be 104, which leaves us considerable wiggle room.

We ask each other what it would take for UM President Donna Shalala to spend real money on a head coach. Filling seats in our empty stadium would more than compensate for the expense. What are we missing?

Shalala wants to make the university into a premier research institution, which is fitting – because when you think Miami, you think South Beach, Dwyane Wade, P-Diddy and premier research institutions.

Would my father be a better head football coach than Randy Shannon?

Actually, we’ve been having this conversation for a full two years now. He says that since Shalala is such a tightwad when it comes to financing athletics, he would take a drastic pay cut should the position become available to him.

President Clinton: Not a UM Booster

I say things could be worse. An interstate rival could have landed the No. 1 class.

We talk about linebacker Arthur Brown’s potential transfer to Kansas State. My father says Brown just doesn’t have it.

I tell him that before I come to this conclusion, I would like to see him play just one meaningful down. Just. One. I tell him that it is quite possible that if every talent scout in the country had him ranked as the top defensive prospect coming out of high school, it is quite possible that these talent scouts are right and our talent guru, Randy Shannon, is wrong.

I say that whatever “it” is, Brown must have “it” more than linebackers Darryl Sharpton or Romeo Davis had “it,” no?

Not according to the coaching staff, says Pops. Arthur looks lost in practice – more lost than Sharpton, who made a career out of lost.

We speculate about what this looks like – being more lost than Darryl Sharpton. Is Arthur running in the opposite direction on run plays? Or is it worse? Does Arthur need help putting his pads on just to get to practice?

We turn to Phil Mickelson, because on days like these, we need something to cheer us up. The analysts on the Golf Channel suggest that Phil has toned up. He no longer has a soft midsection, which will help his swing plain.

My father is quick to shoot down this notion, citing Phil’s “bra fat” as evidence.

We stay on Phil because, you know, it’s been a rough day if you’re a Canes fan. So my father comments on Phil’s “fairy-ass white shoes and white pants.”

My dad describes a man he saw on the streets of San Francisco today holding a sign that read, “Squid Party.” He tells me that it is more likely that he will one day hold a sign that says “Squid Party” before he wears “fairy-ass white shoes and white pants and a white belt.”

The Old Lady, put down

We finish our conversation by talking about Joe’s Stone Crabs, the ESPN coverage on South Beach, Warren Sapp on “PTI” and the giant hole in the ground where the Orange Bowl used to be.

We talk about Jeremy Shockey and Jonathan Vilma – how cool they are. And we talk about the four Miami alums that made the All-Decade team.

These things give us solace, or at least remind us of the glory days.

This is what it is like to be a Hurricanes fan on Feb. 3, 2010. This is what we mean by “All about The U.”

- Robbie