This is such great news and a very quick response. Usually, it takes a year or two for a head coach establish decent ground work in local recruiting....but this is a great start!
Miami Football Recruiting Is All Golden Under Al Golden
By Marcus Session
(Miami Featured Columnist) on January 12, 2011
The Randy Shannon era at the University of Miami is over, and there is a large debate about whether Shannon was as good of a recruiter as he was reported to be. There is no denying that Shannon left some talent on this team, but some of the players did not pan out to be as good as once touted, which is one of the reasons Shannon is not here anymore.
Since Al Golden has taken over, the Hurricanes have been in scramble mode trying to put a staff together, prepare for a bowl game and fill out the recruiting class.
At the Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, Florida, the University of Miami was only represented by one player, Anthony Chickillo, who was one of the best players on the field at the right defensive end position.
Al Golden and his staff, getting a late start, did something innovative: They had a letter addressed to every player at the game waiting for them at check-in. Here is an excerpt of what the letter said:
At the top it read, "From: MIAMI HURRICANE FOOTBALL STAFF."
Below that: "U Put In The Work, U Paid The Price, U Earned It All."
No other colleges did that, and it received a positive response from all of the players. It does not seem to have initially swayed any players to change their commitment, but what it did do was let players know that the University of Miami is still a top dog in college football and is not quietly sitting in the corner satisfied with mediocrity.
Golden, in his short time, has solidified the commitment of Anthony Chickillo, and although he lost recruits Teddy Bridgewater and Eli Rogers to Louisville it has not affected what he is building at Miami.
Golden has received five commitments since he has taken over the head coaching position, and Miami is now in the mix for about five to 10 players who are committed to other programs. Whatever Golden is doing on the recruiting trail, it seems to be working as you are starting to hear kids putting Miami in their top five again.
Here are the commitments Golden has picked up so far:
Olsen Pierre, 3-star DE
Fork Union, VA, Fork Union Military Academy
6'6", 280 pounds.
Dalton Botts, 3-star K
Moorpark, CA, Moorpark C.C.
6'3", 200 pounds.
Thomas Finnie, 3-star DB
Miami, FL, Miami Central
5'10", 170 pounds.
Taylor Gadbois 3-star OL
Dallas, GA, East Paulding
6'8", 295 pounds.
Ricardo Williams 3-star DE
Homestead, FL, Homestead
6'5", 210 pounds.
In the case of Thomas Finnie, he was scheduled to fly to South Carolina to finalize his commitment to the Gamecocks, but Al Golden and staff never let him board that plane and by the end of the day he was a Hurricane commit.
Ricardo Williams was leaning heavily to signing with the North Carolina Tar Heels as he was not being recruited by Randy Shannon, but Al Golden locked up this commit who says he wanted to be a Hurricane all along.
Golden has targeted three QBs in this class, one who he has offered a scholarship already but is currently committed to Wake Forest. The other two targets are waiting on an offer from the University of Miami and said they would commit if offered. This could be one of the best salvage jobs of a recruiting class when it is all finished because Golden is getting players to de-commit form other schools to come to Miami.
That is not an easy thing to do, and one thing is for sure: Every living room that Al Golden and his staff sit in, the parents and players have been impressed with how Golden conducts business.
Miami Football Recruiting Is All Golden Under Al Golden | Bleacher Report
Miami Football Recruiting Is All Golden Under Al Golden
By Marcus Session
(Miami Featured Columnist) on January 12, 2011
The Randy Shannon era at the University of Miami is over, and there is a large debate about whether Shannon was as good of a recruiter as he was reported to be. There is no denying that Shannon left some talent on this team, but some of the players did not pan out to be as good as once touted, which is one of the reasons Shannon is not here anymore.
Since Al Golden has taken over, the Hurricanes have been in scramble mode trying to put a staff together, prepare for a bowl game and fill out the recruiting class.
At the Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, Florida, the University of Miami was only represented by one player, Anthony Chickillo, who was one of the best players on the field at the right defensive end position.
Al Golden and his staff, getting a late start, did something innovative: They had a letter addressed to every player at the game waiting for them at check-in. Here is an excerpt of what the letter said:
At the top it read, "From: MIAMI HURRICANE FOOTBALL STAFF."
Below that: "U Put In The Work, U Paid The Price, U Earned It All."
No other colleges did that, and it received a positive response from all of the players. It does not seem to have initially swayed any players to change their commitment, but what it did do was let players know that the University of Miami is still a top dog in college football and is not quietly sitting in the corner satisfied with mediocrity.
Golden, in his short time, has solidified the commitment of Anthony Chickillo, and although he lost recruits Teddy Bridgewater and Eli Rogers to Louisville it has not affected what he is building at Miami.
Golden has received five commitments since he has taken over the head coaching position, and Miami is now in the mix for about five to 10 players who are committed to other programs. Whatever Golden is doing on the recruiting trail, it seems to be working as you are starting to hear kids putting Miami in their top five again.
Here are the commitments Golden has picked up so far:
Olsen Pierre, 3-star DE
Fork Union, VA, Fork Union Military Academy
6'6", 280 pounds.
Dalton Botts, 3-star K
Moorpark, CA, Moorpark C.C.
6'3", 200 pounds.
Thomas Finnie, 3-star DB
Miami, FL, Miami Central
5'10", 170 pounds.
Taylor Gadbois 3-star OL
Dallas, GA, East Paulding
6'8", 295 pounds.
Ricardo Williams 3-star DE
Homestead, FL, Homestead
6'5", 210 pounds.
In the case of Thomas Finnie, he was scheduled to fly to South Carolina to finalize his commitment to the Gamecocks, but Al Golden and staff never let him board that plane and by the end of the day he was a Hurricane commit.
Ricardo Williams was leaning heavily to signing with the North Carolina Tar Heels as he was not being recruited by Randy Shannon, but Al Golden locked up this commit who says he wanted to be a Hurricane all along.
Golden has targeted three QBs in this class, one who he has offered a scholarship already but is currently committed to Wake Forest. The other two targets are waiting on an offer from the University of Miami and said they would commit if offered. This could be one of the best salvage jobs of a recruiting class when it is all finished because Golden is getting players to de-commit form other schools to come to Miami.
That is not an easy thing to do, and one thing is for sure: Every living room that Al Golden and his staff sit in, the parents and players have been impressed with how Golden conducts business.
Miami Football Recruiting Is All Golden Under Al Golden | Bleacher Report
