There were so many questions coming into this season for Coach Randy Shannon and his football team. How could this team make it through its early schedule and not come out totally defeated? Could Jacory Harris, provide the leadership and on the field command of this team, that he showed when steering Miami Northwestern to greatness? Is Coach Shannon a head coach, or just a great coordinator and recruiter? These questions and more were hanging in the balance when this team began its season.
Questions Answered
This team, being lead by underclassmen, has shown how much they learned playing as freshmen. The collapse last season came from a lack of depth. This season, freshmen are playing again and stepping up, but a superb junior and sophomore class is leading the way. We can see the maturation in this team when it rolled over Georgia Tech, or how they came back from halftime to show Duke who’s the boss. Even with countless injuries to vital players, they continue to plug in new baby faces and they continue to play at a high level. This is a direct effect of the excellent recruiting and development coming from Coach Shannon and his staff.
Coach Shannon is the man who was able to bring in a NFL pedigree offensive coordinator, Mark Whipple, to reshape the offense into the type that yielded countless NFL pros. Miami in the past has paid its bills by having a pro-style offense with the players to match. Countless players have come through those doors and have been developed to simply dominate, that is what separates the Canes from the USF Bulls. The recruiting classes since Shannon has taken over have replenished this team with talent. Under Larry Coker, the team suffered through a lack of talent and development. Shannon has provided discipline and structure that will prevent UM from sustaining any PR black eyes.
Jacory Harris has been a field general. He has provided the whole team with a stable leader. He is a sophomore who has played like a season veteran. Does he turn the ball over too much? Absolutely. But he also has the ability to take over a game with a single throw. He is a winner and will lead the team to become a national championship contender. Playing at Traz Powell Stadium in front of the whole community, he has done nothing but win, and that is all he knows. The high-pressure, high-temperature conditions in Miami-Dade county football has given us the diamond under center that we desperately needed. The pose that we have seen all year long comes from seeing and feeling what big time football is at Miami Northwestern.
This season has proven that we have the right team in place to remain in the conversation for years to come. We have seen Coach Shannon board this ship during a violent storm, navigating it out of the storm clouds to sunny, calm seas. We have a ship that has a destination in mind and that destination is prominence.
