South Florida stars key Miami's stellar recruiting haul

Things are looking up for Randy Shannon and the Hurricanes after they hauled in one of the nation's top recruiting classes. Doug Benc/Getty Images

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Little went right for Miami in its first year under Randy Shannon.

There was the 51-13 loss at to Oklahoma, the program's most lopsided defeat in nine seasons. Then there was the Hurricanes' last game at the Orange Bowl -- where they won three of their five national championships and once held a 58-game winning streak -- when they suffered their worst shutout loss in 71 years in the stadium, 48-0 to Virginia.

Shannon finished his debut season at 5-7 (2-6 in the ACC), which left Miami out of a bowl game for the first time in a decade. The defense, which Shannon had overseen for the previous six seasons, gave up more points (312) than any Hurricanes unit since 1984.

So of course, it should only stand to reason that a season full of frustrations ends with a recruiting class that was ranked No. 1 by ESPN, third by Scout.com and fourth by Rivals.com. Much like Notre Dame, which was second in Rivals' rankings after going 3-9, the Hurricanes were able to overcome a historically woeful campaign by cleaning up on the recruiting trail.

"If you're 5-7 and you can get some good student-athletes, some good football players to come here, you're doing pretty good," Shannon said.

The 33-player class includes the nation's top-ranked defensive tackle, Marcus Forston from Miami Northwestern, and three of the top-five outside linebackers, led by Arthur Brown, who is already enrolled in school and will participate in spring practice.

Shannon credits the impressive haul to the staff focusing on the type of players "that have a lot of passion for the game, a lot of passion for the team and a lot of passion for the University of Miami." But he might as well say it was a dedication to dominating his own backyard.

When Shannon took over for Larry Coker, the Dade County native made it clear that the Hurricanes would be zeroing in on the fertile South Florida area that delivered many of the key players during the heyday for "The U." He made some headway with last year's 19th-ranked group, which included 10 local players, but he made a statement this Signing Day. The Hurricanes signed 19 players from the area, with eight of them coming from Miami's Northwestern High, which has gone 30-0 the past two seasons.

As much as having two of the game's top recruiters in recruiting coordinator/defensive line coach Clint Hurtt and linebackers coach Micheal Barrow aided in the 'Canes' class, Shannon was quick to praise his unheralded weapon in selling prospective players: Miami president Donna Shalala.

"She talked to every student-athlete that came in on his visit and she was basically one of our top recruiters because she sold the school and sold the goals of what this university is all about," Shannon said.

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