2006 Miami NLI Preview
With National Letter of Intent Signing Day just hours away, I thought it would be a good idea to sneak a peak at the Miami class of 2006. Through articles and public announcements the MHT.com staff has been able to anticipate the student-athletes scheduled to sign Letters of Intent indicating their commitment to attend Miami University. From all accounts the Miami Coaching staff has done a terrific job assembling its first class. Don't forget, last season, Coach Montgomery and Coach Von Bergen scrambled to keep in tact the players recruited under Coach Hoeppner. As such, tomorrow's signee's really constitute the first recruiting class for Coach Montgomery.
So, what does it look like? Well, Miami was able to address pressing needs at certain positions as well as to add depth to an already talented team. Miami is expected to sign 22 student athletes.
OFFENSE
RUNNING BACK
The staff started out with a bang by landing top running back prospect Jamel Miller last April! Miller was atop the Miami recruiting board and became an early commit to the Redhawks. He's considered by most the #3 running back in Ohio in the Senior class behind only Chris Wells (#1 in nation and headed to Ohio State) and Anthony Elzy (headed to North Carolina). Miller didn't disappoint during the season as he rushed for 1,627 yards and was named to the Division II All-State 2nd team. Grade: B+. Although Miami didn't really need a running back in this class, it targeted Miller early and landed him soon thereafter.
WIDE RECEIVER
Miami lost only one wide receiver last season in Martin Nance but loses five next season so it is imperative that the staff land some talented players at the WR position. First on board was Eugene Harris from Atlanta, Georgia. Harris might remind many of Ryne Robinson as both are very athletic, both have an extra gear and both make returning punts a specialty. Harris had a 4.25 shuttle time and a 32” vertical at one Nike combine and has received an offer to play basketball at Georgia.
After Harris, Miami outrecruited the likes of North Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan State for Armond Robinson. Robinson, a 6’1” burner is a very physical player with long arms who has "big play" written all over.
Miami then secured under-the-radar Donovan Potter from Dayton C-J. Potter is 6’3” and although he doesn't have the speed to match either Harris and Robinson he is a big target that should pay dividends down the road. Donovan took his Junior year off to concentrate on basketball but came back with a vengeance during his Senior year as he was named First Team All-State Division III.
Grade: A-. Miami
TIGHT END
Although, not a huge need in this class, Miami was able to find and land the top TE in Southern Ohio in Sean Redwine, a 6’3” 245lb from Moeller. Redwine has everything one would look for in a TE including soft hands, a big frame and nice speed. It will be interesting to see if Redwine stays as a TE or if the coaching staff decides his big frame will allow him to add weight to be a productive Center or Offensive Guard.
Grade B.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Early on it appeared that Miami was losing out to Indiana as the Hoosiers were snagging every Offensive Lineman in the Midwest. However, persistence paid off and Miami landed three very talented student-athletes in big John Buckman 6’8” 330lbs from Coffeyville CC, Bob Gulley, 6’4” 275 from Berea (Scout.com's #85 player in the Midwest) and Nate Williams, 6’5 ½” 275lb from Cleveland. Buckman was brought in to contribute right away and Scout.com had Big John ranked as a 3-star recruit who can play at either the guard or tackle position. Grade: B+. Miami really needed 4 players at this position in this class but Buckman should play right away while Gulley and Williams are talented enough to contribute in a year.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Finally, Coach Montgomery found one of the top place-kickers in the nation in 6’2” Trevor Cook from Washington H.S., in Sioux Falls, SD. Kicking guru Chris Sailor (a former UCLA and San Francisco 49ers kicker is considered one of the nation's top kicking guru's) says that Trevor gets the ball out fast and may be the steal of the year as far as kickers go. Grade: B. How can you give an untested kicker anything other than a "B" ;)
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Coaching staff made the defensive line a priority for 2006. Specifically, it set out to land quality Defensive Tackles. The staff did not disappoint; it landed student-athletes that can help contribute right away. Both Martin Channels (6’ 310lbs, Wayne H.S.) and Alex Stewart (6’2” 270, DeSales H.S.) were named as top 50 DT's in the nation by one scouting service and both passed up offers from BCS schools to attend Miami. Mark Paun (6’4” 245) was better known as a TE in High School but plans are to beef him up and take his athletic ability to the tackle spot for help in future years. The same can be said for tall and athletic D.J.Svabik (6’6” 245) from Van Wert. Although Svabik will most likely use his speed (4.74) as a pass rushing strong side defensive end.
However, the gem of this position may be weak side defensive end Jordan Stevens from Monroeville, PA. Stevens is considered by one scouting service as the #39 pass-rushing DE in the nation. He chose Miami over offers from Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Illinois, Wake Forest, and Michigan State.
Certainly the players secured this season will rank as one of Miami's deepest and most talented crop of defensive lineman in some time. Grade: A+. Perhaps one of the best group of line prospects Miami has landed in one class. Channels, Stewart and Stevens could provide help immediately.
LINEBACKERS:
Perhaps one of the biggest needs the staff faced was the loss of five senior linebackers. The sell to recruits was an easy one; "come to Miami and compete for immediate playing time". The pitch worked to secure some very talented linebackers. First on board was ultra-athletic Caleb Bostic (6’3” 225, Westland H.S.). Second up was one of the most talented backers in Georgia; Donnie Hardy (6’2” 210 Tucker, Ga) who chose Miami over an SEC offer. Then came super-sleeper Jeff Cleveland (6’2” 225 Wayne H.S.) who burned it up at a number of combines this summer consistently clocking in with sub-4.5 40’s. Finally, Miami landed big and fast Dexter Korto (6’3” 200) who chose Miami over Uconn and I-AA power Delaware. No doubt the coaches had a big need to fill and were able to find four quality student-athletes to fill a huge void on the roster. Grade: A. Just like the D-Line, this position received some players who could contribute immediately. Lost of speed and athletic ability.
DEFENSIVE BACK:
Finally, the Redhawks, were able to really strengthen the defensive backfield by landing some incredible talent in the form of S Peris Edwards (6’2” 190 Rogers H.S.), S Jordan Gafford (6’ 190 Kilbourne H.S.), S Ben Bennett (6’2” 210 Maryland's Gwynn Park), and CB Brandon Stephens (Strongsville). Edwards and Gafford are both considered to be in the top-50 in Ohio and a couple of the top Safeties in the Midwest. Bennett comes from Maryland football factory (and state champ) Gwynn Park where he is known as one of the team's best hitters. The latest addition is CB Brandon Stephens who blew the Iowa coaches away this past summer as they offered him during a Hawkeye camp. Grade: A. Lots of Safeties and 2 quality CB's give Miami depth and talent.
CONCLUSION:
Tomorrow, it’s expected that both the Offense and Defense will receive some very talented players. However, I think that it's clear that the Defense is the side of the ball that will really load up in this class by securing top talent at each position. On the Offensive side of the ball, there was probably a need for one more offensive lineman but that can easily be addressed with the next class. However, with the bar being raised throughout the conference, Miami fans can be excited that its staff landed what should be considered as one of the top classes in the MAC. HAPPY NLI DAY!
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