Malcolm Bunche has announced that he will be taking his official visit to the campus on January 24th, 2009.
Alright, the news is pretty much the same as has been on Rueben Randle. The only thing new is that the official visit is going to happen in January but nothing is solidified yet. I got this information from someone who speaks to Rueben every day and was there for his official visit to Oklahoma. I'm going to try and set up lunch with this person tomorrow to see if I can get anymore information about Rueben and what he's saying about the recruiting process and what he thinks about Miami thus far.
Alright. Here's what I've got.
I had lunch yesterday with a guy who is about as close to Rueben Randle as you can get. There's not a lot new going on with Randle's situation but Rueben has set an official visit date with Miami but they haven't made it known to the media, etc. He is in fact coming to Coral Gables for an official visit on January 23, 2009. The school wants him to come for a visit in January when classes are in session because that's one of the strong selling points of the program to recruits. Rueben will see classrooms filled with 20+ kids at a private school whereas when he seen the classrooms while visiting Oklahoma, he seen classrooms filled with kids 300+ deep.
Rueben has spoken to current and former Hurricane players such as Lamar Thomas, Antrel Rolle, Reggie Wayne, Kellen Winslow, Jacory Harris, Brandon Harris, and Davon Johnson. I was told that Kellen Winslow was pressuring him the most to commit in the moment before stepping outside to play some catch out back with the four current players mentioned above. All of this happened back in June during Randle's unofficial visit to the school. Thomas, Rolle, Wayne, and Winslow were all working out in the facilities at the time.
Rueben seems to like the Big 12 offenses and their style of attack. He has already visited Oklahoma and is very interested in their program from what I was told and he also plans to make an official visit to Oklahoma State on January 16, 2009. Oklahoma State came as a shock to me but again, he likes the offenses in the Big 12.
I was also "sort of" given some other big information. I had to read between the lines to get it but there's a reason that Rueben Randle wasn't really interested in Miami a month ago and now he is. It's also the same reason that Andre DeBose, a standout recruit from Sanford, Florida, wasn't even remotely interested in Miami a month ago and now all of a sudden we're back in the mix for DeBose as well. You guys are smart, I've sure you can figure out why all of a sudden we're in the running for two of the hottest recruits in the country. Expect this news to drop either the 29th or the 30th is my guess.
Also, from what I was told, Dyron Dye and Ray Ray Armstrong are silent commits. However, Ray Ray has to get his grades up or he will find himself out in the Bayou playing football. So, Randle, DeBose, Armstong, and Dye, are all strong possiilities from what I've been told and if Shannon can land all four of these recruits, he'll easily have the top recruiting class in the nation again.
But the big news for now: Rueben Randle. Official visit. January 23, 2009. I'll be sure to find out exactly what goes down on this visit and how Rueben feels about the school.
Well, Rueben has a little "Miami in his corner" and I'll leave it at that. This is why I've said all along that Miami has a much better shot at Randle than people know. Randle is a grounded kid. He understands the importance of education and academically, Miami is much more appealing than Oklahoma. There's a WOLRD of difference between a private school and a flagship school. Rueben has already gotten a taste of what it's like to be 'Cane and it's definitely persuasive. However, I wouldn't blame him a bit if he went to Oklahoma. Miami's offensive is inept? That's being a bit generous if you ask me lol.
...but, Patrick Nix is in his final year of a two-year deal so if he isn't given an extension—who steps in is the question? I think Shannon shocked a lot of people by firing his long-time friend, Tim Walton, and hiring defensive mastermind, Bill Young, last season. If Nix doesn't return, I expect another homerun hire by Randy Shannon. Shannon made a mistake with the Nix hire and I've always felt that way despite standing behind Patrick Nix 100% throught his tenure here. Shannon simply fell in love with a guy who was a 6 when Randy, for whatever reason, felt he was a 9.
Also, Patrick Nix is in his final year of a two-year deal.
Shannon probably saw what nix did with Calvin Johnson and thought he could do the same at Miami.
The only thing I saw Nix do with Calvin Johnson was fail to get him the ball.
At least Olson made adjustments during the game...going to an unbalanced line so Miami could get the running game going...etc...
+1
Nix failed to get the ball to Calvin Johnson on several occasions. I remember being in the stands when we played Georgia Tech back in 2006 and it was the other Johnson who did most of the damage against us. I forget the kid's name but it was brutal.
Nix failed in every single game to make proper adjustments to what the defense was doing. I'll give him a pass for last season and perhaps some of this season with the Freshman quarterbacks and the below average offensive line but he still must be held accountable.
The only games in which I really had no problem with the play calling o Nix this season was the Florida, Texas A&M, and North Carolina State games. At first I had a real issue with how we attacked Florida but after talking to some of the players after the game I understood Shannon and Nix's logic on the conservative play calling. The Texas A&M game was the best I had seen the team all season. However, Texas A&M was a bad football team. Against North Carolina State we seemed to make adjustments and attack downfield more so than we had all season. It still wasn't enough. It seemed as if Nix was calling plays to save his job. He has to go.