We recently caught up with the folks over at the Miami blog: The 7th Floor for a little question and answer session in advance of Clemson's contest with the "U" this weekend. You can see their questions and our answers here. Here are their responses to our inquiries:
STS: Jacory Harris is an excellent athlete who has been inconsistent as the starting quarterback at Miami. Harris has been exceptionally good at times and has been the exact opposite at times. Given Clemson gave up a few big plays through the air last week (against Auburn), do you see Harris as the quarterback who will win the game this weekend or can we expect more inconsistent play, particularly in the interception category?
7th Floor:
"...do you see Harris as the quarterback who will win the game this weekend or can we expect more inconsistent play, particularly in the interception category?"
sadly, those two things are not mutually exclusive. we fully expect ja-pickey to win this game on saturday, AND we expect more inconsistent play, particularly in the interception category.
live by the sword, die by the sword.
STS: Miami was extremely successful returning kicks to against Ohio State. Should Clemson concern itself to the point of kicking away from Miami’s deep men or was this just an excellent effort highlighted by the fact that it was a big national game or did Miami just catch Ohio State in the right place at the right time?
7th Floor:
HAHA!! shoe's on the other foot now?!? seriously though, TB3* and miller time* are legitimate threats to take one to the house at any time. kick to them at your own peril. sadly, miami's own local product thearon collier is no longer with the team, after going through some difficult stuff in his personal life. but i bring him up to show you the tape of his return against Va., as you can see from the tape, miami's return game is as much a product of good blocking, as it is speed. naturally, we make up for our awesome special teams blocking and speedy return guys, by having the worst kick coverage in all of college football. so it all evens out in the wash.
*travis benjamin, lamar miller
STS: Miami has looked very good at times and lackadaisical at other times over the past few years. What keeps this team from coming out focused each week?
7th Floor:
cocaine and strip clubs, i assume.
STS: Randy Shannon got a nice contract extension in the off-season. What are your general thoughts regarding Shannon and how much longer will the RS have to get Miami back to the top of the college football world?
7th Floor:
the extension, in & of itself, is meaningless. miami had to give randy the extension, b/c without it, they're handcuffing him in the recruiting game. the real question is "what's his buyout?". off the top of my head, i don't know what his buyout is. but that's the true test of how committed miami is to coach shannon. given how absolutely stacked the ACC is this year, anything less than an ACC title will undoubtedly result in a small but vocal segment of the fan base & alumni breaking out the pitchforks and torches.
STS: Obviously the "U" movie took ESPN and the college football world by storm upon its release. I will admit, it was one of the most entertaining flicks I have seen in years. What was your favorite portion of the film and how in the world did you guys get away with all that excitement in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s?
7th Floor:
personally, my favorite part of "The U" was probably the first few minutes when they delved into just how ridiculous the high school football is down here. i still dont think people fully appreciate just how ridiculous it is. here, i'll give you an example. had you attended a miami senior high school football game in or around 1998/1999, you'd have likely seen marquand manuel (carolina panthers), atari bigby (packers), roscoe parish (buffalo), andre johnson (houston), jamaal jackson (eagles) and the miami heat's starting forward, udonis haslem (who played his high school basketball at miami senior, with the LA Lakers' steve blake) so it was nice to see them show some love & really acknowledge that the high school ball being played down here is a huge, huge, huge part of what made/makes miami "The U"