Let's Talk Football...and Major League

Hello All,

Right around the midway point of every summer, I start to get the itch for football season to start. And, being an obsessive compulsive when it comes to the Miami Hurricanes, I start to analyze. For the second year in a row, I will break down each Miami Hurricane by position group, starting today with quarterbacks.

QUARTERBACK

Last Season

Jacory Harris and Robert Marve battled all season for the starting job, each showing the inconsistencies of a young quarterback. Harris won and Marve transferred*.

The Outlook

Jacory Harris, Sophomore

Harris is looking to become the next star Miami quarterback, and expectations are high. Harris looked good closing out games last season, except of course the terrible two minute drill in the bowl game against Cal. This season, Harris needs to make a step forward in terms of arm strength and leadership. It is clear that he is able to operate under pressure and make things happen when the pocket breaks down. However, toward the end of last season his arm clearly fatigued and he struggled making “NFL” throws. Harris also has to continue to develop as the type of quarterback that gets the ball to his playmakers and gets out of the way.

Taylor Cook, Freshman (Redshirt)

Cook has the physical talent but needs to continue to develop. Right now he seems to be the guy behind Harris, and Coach Shannon has expressed that this is an area of concern. Harris is not the sturdiest kid around, so Cook will most likely be called upon at some point this season.

Cannon Smith, Freshman (Redshirt)

Smith is a competitor but very limited athletically. He is behind Cook on the depth chart and may remain there barring injury.

A.J. Highsmith, Freshman

For right now, Highsmith will be a quarterback. He is short but athletic, and could change positions once at school. He is almost certain to redshirt, no matter the position.

PREDICTION

If all goes according to plan, the offensive line will be better and allow Harris even more time to use his numerous weapons, which is what Harris really likes to do. There were times last year when Harris got a little panicked, and it showed. This season, that cannot happen. Harris seems to be the leader that everyone predicted, and if he accomplishes what he needs to during the offseason and stays healthy for the full year, he alone is good for at least a one win improvement.

* It is hard to make statements like this about last season's quarterback situation. While at the end of the day the statement is true, it does not reveal the complexity of what actually transpired. There were plenty of moments last season when Marve looked better than Harris. What really undid Marve was his inability to get the most out of his complimentary players, as Harris did. However, there are several who would like to say that Marve was bad, Harris was good and the solution was simple. This is just untrue. While Marve may have been a bad apple and certainly needed to make better decisions, he led the team to some big wins and that should not be forgotten (most notably the Virginia Tech win, when Harris looked lost).

I was reminded of this kind of revisionist history while watching one of my favorite movies yesterday, "Major League". At the end of the film, the cursed Indians are able to beat the heavily favored Yankees in a one game playoff to make the playoffs. However, what is lost in history is the epic choke-job the Bronx Bombers pulled. Let's take a look:

- In the bottom of the 7th inning, with the Indians down to 7 outs and down 2-0, Cleveland third baseman Roger Dorn singles to bring Pedro Serrano to the plate. Serrano is a massive power hitter who is known to struggle against the curvevall. The New York pitcher promptly runs the count to 0-2 on 2 curveballs, making Serrano look like a fool. The logical next pitch is a curveball low and in the dirt, as Dorn is no threat to steal. What does the Yankee pitcher throw? A fastball, letter high and over the plate. The predictable result? A two run homer to tie the game and steal the momentum for the Tribe.

-In the top of the 9th, Indians skipper Lou Brown brings in Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn to face Yankee Triple Crown winner Clu Haywood. Haywood, aside from having an all-time great moustache and uttering the always hilarious "How's your wife and my kid?" one liner during the movie, has hit two home runs in his only two at-bats against Vaughn. Vaughn quickly runs the count to 0-2 on two overpowering fastballs. Haywood, being the Albert Pujols of his day, has got to maintain discipline in this instance and wait for the 1-2 count that is sure to follow. After all, there is no way Indian catcher Jake Taylor is going to let Vaughn throw anything close to the strike zone. Vaughn rears back and fires a fastball somewhere around Haywood's eyes...and Haywood swings! The crowd goes wild and the Indians head to the bottom of the 9th with their leadoff guy on deck, needing one run to win. Would this happen to Pujols? Manny? I think not.

-Taylor comes up with Willy Mayes Hayes, the fastest player in baseball, on first. The Yankees bring in their closer, The Duke. Hayes gets a lead PAST the first base cut in the infield, which is absolutely ridiculous. He then gets an awful jump and arrives at second at the same time as the throw from the catcher...only the second baseman fails to put the tag on in time. Now the Indians have the modern day Cool Papa Bell in scoring position with their 2 hitter at the plate and one out.

-After The Duke takes the dumb risk of throwing at Taylor's head with Hayes on second, Taylor makes the heroic gesture of pointing at the left field stands after signaling to Lou Brown for the squeeze bunt. Taylor puts the bunt down and beats the throw to first narrowly. As the throw comes to Haywood at first, he is staring at Hayes flying around third base to try and score. As Haywood receives the throw, he steps off the bag...turns his back to home plate entirely, casts a disgusted look at the umpire for calling Taylor safe... while HAYES IS RUNNING HOME! HAYES IS THE FASTEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL!!!

-Haywood finally realizes what is going on and makes a perfect throw home...to a catcher that is too far off of home plate to block Hayes from scoring. Haywood's throw beats Hayes, who stupidly hook slides in, leaving himself wide open to the catcher's tag...only the catcher is so far out of position that he is late on the tag (twice in three plays a poorly positioned defender costs the Yankees) and the Indians win.

To recap, the Indians win the playoff on a squeeze bunt in which three different mental errors came in to play. Could you imagine if this happened today? To the Yankees?! The New York press would run 6 months of "choke" stories on the back page, Haywood and The Duke would be traded to the Rangers and the Steinbrenner family would fire the manager, possibly in the dugout.

The point of the comparison is that everyone who watches Major League remembers the Indians winning. What gets overlooked is that the YANKEES CHOKED.

Jacory Harris may have ended up winning the job, but anyone that thinks it was because he dominated the field of play is wrong, just as anyone who thinks the Indians won the playoff without a lot of help from the Yankees is wrong.

I have high hopes for Harris and think he will be a good one. But the jury is still out, and the hype machine may want to tone it down a bit.

One final note. With the passing of Michael Jackson, certainly a well-deserved icon, it is time to recognize the greatest living artist: Stevie Wonder. Wonder may not have the dance moves of Jackson, but there may be no one more musically gifted to ever come along. Below is my favorite Wonder song.

Always guard the inbound passer.