As I prepared to watch the Miami-Nebraska game two weeks ago, I became all nostalgic for that 2001 Miami football team, which was easily the best college football team, EVER. I am not sure there is even a legitimate debate that can be had over that fact. Just go look at that 2001 Roster. Just the freshman alone on this team make other teams look pale by comparison. Plus, seeing how Miami's defense finally put together a full game against Duke, put me in full Hurricanes mode.
This got me thinking as to who would be members of the All-Time Miami Hurricane football team. Actually, I have been thinking about this for a couple of years, this week just gave me the impetus to actually sit down and do this. If you think your favorite school can match up with the Hurricanes, show me your 53 man roster, or tell me what team you want compared and I will make their 53 man roster.
The roster is based upon football ability, talent and production, not just at the college level. NFL production counts, and rather highly. Simply, which football players from Miami are the best. The roster is a 53 man roster, with roughly the same position breakdown as a typical NFL team. I will have to make decisions like keep a 9th offensive lineman, versus a pure returner that may not have another role. A 6th defensive end versus a 6th corner or safety, 2 or 3 QBs, etc.
Here is one man's look at the All-Time Miami Hurricanes football team with starters in bold and capital letters.
OFFENSE
QB (3) - JIM KELLY; Vinny Testaverde; Bernie Kosar
Surprisingly, not as strong of a position as you would have expected coming out of Miami, but the starter is still an NFL Hall of Famer.
Jim Kelly is easily the most decorated professional quarterback to come out of the University of Miami. A four time Super Bowl participant, and he was essentially the forerunner to all of today's version of the hurry-up offense that you see all over college and seeping into the NFL via Chip Kelly in Philadelphia. Except now is 2014 and Kelly was doing this back in the 1980's and 1990's. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002 in his first year of eligibility.
Vinny Testaverde quietly has some serious numbers in the NFL with over 46,000 passing yards.
One of the toughest decisions was not who would be the third string quarterback, but rather if the team was going to carry three quarterbacks. For now, that answer is yes and the person is Kosar. The only other real possibility was Steve Walsh, although I understand the love that Canes fans have for Ken Dorsey and his fantastic collegiate won-loss record of 38-2. Kosar makes the team because of his brilliance on the filed. The Dallas Cowboys signed him after Troy Aikman became injured. The first week that he was on the team, the coaches condensed the playbook so that it would be easier for him to learn all the plays to be called that week. In the very first game the coaches accidentally called a play that had not been practiced all week. Kosar threw a 40 yard completion.
RB (5) - EDGERRIN JAMES; Clinton Portis; Willis McGahee; Frank Gore; Ottis Anderson
James finished his NFL career with over 12,000 rushing yards and 80 touchdowns, all the while still being a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield and pick up blitzes to protect the quarterback. His skills allowed the Colts to get rid of Marshall Faulk and not miss much production from the position. With an expected high-flying offense, this squad will start one RB, and three WRs, thus only James is the starter.
Portis finished just shy of 10,000 yards rushing with 75 touchdowns, while McGahee finished just shy of 8,500 yards rushing with 65 touchdowns. Gore has just over 10,000 yards, and still counting, and holds the San Francisco rushing yardage record (10,033+) and touchdown record (60+).
The last spot came down to Ottis Anderson and Alonzo Highsmith, but Anderson takes the spot due to his 10,283 rushing yards and 86 touchdowns, compared to Highsmith's NFL career which was cut short due to knee injuries. Anderson was big in big games, gaining 193 yards in his rookie debut to show the league that he was a running back to whom defenses had to pay attention, and he was named the MVP in Super Bowl 25, gaining 102 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. He is one of four running backs to have scored touchdowns in multiple Super Bowls and win a Super Bowl MVP. And if you needed any more convincing, he is from my hometown.
WR (5) -MICHAEL IRVIN; REGGIE WAYNE; ANDRE JOHNSON; Santana Moss; Eddie Brown
Other than Quarterback and Middle Linebacker, this might have been the easiest position to select the starters. It was made easier by the fact that I chose to start 3 wide receivers. The college and professional careers of Irvin, Wayne and Johnson easily outpace those of their counterparts. Irvin is in the Hall of Fame, Wayne has over 1,00 receptions and 13,000 yards, and still going, while Andre Johnson is a seven-time Pro-Bowler with 933 receptions and counting, and is the only player in NFL history with 60+ receptions each of his first 8 seasons.
Moss has had a deceptively good NFL career with 722 receptions for 10,167 yards and 66 touchdowns in his 13 NFL seasons. Brown only played 7 years with the Cincinnati Bengals, but he amassed 363 catches for 6,134 yards and 41 touchdowns. A speedster, he had 1,273 yards on only 54 receptions, for an average of 23.5 yards per catch, a record that still stands for receivers that have caught at least 50 passes in a game.
Randall Hill, Yatil Green, Sinorice Moss, were other potential choices, as could be Leonard Hankerson if he somehow blossoms a bit in the NFL, but for now, the wide receiver slots are full.
TE (3) - JIMMY GRAHAM; Jeremy Shockey; Greg Olsen
I must admit, when I first went into this, I thought for sure that I had three and only really three tight ends from which to choose. But when I thought about it, I had to change my mind. Although it is still a fairly easy position to select, with really only four players possible for the three spots. But if I have to justify why Graham is starting, He has 309 catches for 3,945 yards with 42 touchdowns, while Shockey is at 547/6,143/37 . I initially thought that Kellen Winslow would be far and away the third TE, with his 469/5,236/25, however, Olsen will have about the same number of catches after this year is completed (he has 381 now), will be close in yards by the middle of next year (he has 4,180), has already eclipsed Winslow in TDs with 36, and Olsen has a much better attitude. Plus, I need at least one member of the Seventh Floor Crew on this team.
Bubba Franks deserves an honorable mention, so it turns out the position was deeper than I expected, but for now, the TE position was still easy to select, but loaded nontheless.
OL (8) - BRYANT MCKINNIE (T); LEON SEARCY (G); JIM OTTO (C); CHRIS MYERS (G); ERIC WINSTON (T); Orlando Franklin (T-G); Brandon Linder (G); Vernon Carey (T-G)
This was more difficult than I thought, because do I go with the greatest 5 linemen to start, or should I try to pick an actual line? I went with a combination platter. I wish that I could include Ed Newman, as he went to law school at Miami, but that didn't seem right since he played for Duke.
Otto was a no-brainer, easily the best center from Miami of All-Time. He made 12 All-Star appearances, was a 13 time All-Pro, a member of the All-AFL team and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. McKinnie starts because he has had a solid NFL career, including a Pro Bowl appearance and a Super Bowl championship. He might also have been the greatest offensive lineman in college history. Winston is the other tackle because he has had a solid, if not stellar, career, pacing an offensive line that has opened holes for the likes of Arian Foster and Jamaal Charles. Searcy, a longtime left tackle, slides over to guard because I think he has that type of ability to do so. Searcy was elected to a Pro Bowl. At the other guard spot is Chris Myers. Yes, Chris Myers is a center - and a damn good one having been to 2 Pro Bowls already, but he started off a guard. He excelled once moved to center, but his interior blocking ability is something this team needs. His ability to play center should something happen to Jim Otto is key as well.
Orlando Franklin is a behemoth of a man that started off as a right tackle, but was recently moved to left guard by the Denver Broncos. The move was not because Franklin could not handle being a tackle, as sometimes happens with players, but simply because the Broncos felt they needed to get bigger and tougher on the line, and they had three tackles they needed to start - including Franklin - so they found somewhere to put him. Linder is interesting because he has only played in 3 NFL games, starting all of them. This might be my one and only "reach" pick, but this team is short on lineman, and Linder is a starter in the NFL. Vernon Carey had a 8 year NFL career at Tackle and Guard, so we have more flexibility for the squad. An interesting statistic for Carey is that he has 8 fumble recoveries in his career.
DEFENSE
DT (5) - JEROME BROWN; WARREN SAPP; Cortez Kennedy; Vince Wilfork; Russell Maryland
This is easily the strongest position on the team, with all due respect to the running backs. Brown was the heart and soul of a tremendous Eagles defense that included stars like Reggie White, Clyde Simmons and Andre Waters. Had he not been killed at age 27 we might be talking about him as the best defensive tackle ever. Even in a short time in the league he had 29 1/2 sacks and 3 interceptions. Sapp, who ran at 4.69 from the DT position, was a 7 time Pro-Bowler, a 6 time All-Pro, Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 and made the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 1990's AND 2000's. Needless to say he is in the NFL Hall of Fame.
Kennedy was just as good as anybody at his position. He was an 8 time Pro-Bowler; 5 times an All-Pro. He was NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1992, made the NFL's All-Decade team for the 1990's, and if he had not toiled in relative obscurity because of his position and location (Seattle), would likely have been much more decorated. He is also in the Hall of Fame. Wilfork is the absolute definition of the current nose tackle, and is a 5 time Pro-Bowler and a 5 time All-Pro. He has 23 pass deflections in his career to date. Maryland was the first overall pick in the 1991 draft, and led the way for the new-look Jimmy Johnson Dallas Cowboys that focused on speed. Statistically not at the same level as the other four, but he is a two-time NCAA champion and a three-time Super Bowl champion, while being much, much more than just a contributor to all of those squads.
DE (5) -TED HENDRICKS; CALAIS CAMPBELL; Dan Stubbs; Olivier Vernon; Allen Bailey
OK, so I cheated with Ted Hendricks a bit, in that he played primarily linebacker for the Oakland Raiders, but he did play defensive end at Miami, and could easily play end in a 4-3 or outside linebacker in a 3-4. This also gives the team a lot of flexibility. Think of a 3-4 with Wilfork as the nose, Kennedy as a strong side end and Sapp as a weak side end, with Hendricks lining up outside of Kennedy for pass rushing capability. Hendricks is an 8 time Pro-Bolwer and a 9 time All-Pro, and a 4 time Super Bowl Champion, not to mention that he is in the NFL Hall of Fame. Campbell is a legitimate contributor on a darn good defense for the Arizona Cardinals. He has 36.5 sacks since 2008, but his real specialty is batting down passes. Admittedly he is not that strong of a player for an "All-Time" team, but this is generally a position of weakness for the Hurricanes.
Stubbs finished with 51 1/2 sacks in his 11 year career on generally pretty good defenses with the 49ers, Cowboys and Bengals. Vernon and Bailey have both shown promise in their limited time in the NFL, but Vernon has really started to come along in his second year in the league.
LB (6) -RAY LEWIS; DARRIN SMITH; JESSIE ARMSTEAD; Jon Vilma; DJ Williams; Rocky McIntosh
For a school that is much more of a linebacker school than it has ever been given credit for (I mean Penn State is called "Linebacker U", really?), this lineup may seem somewhat of a surprise. But let me break it down for you a bit.
Lewis is obvious, and he will hold down this middle spot for as long as he wants. 2,061 tackles in his pro career, 41 1/2 sacks with 31 interceptions have led to 13 Pro Bowls, 10 All-Pro teams, 2 Defensive Player of the Year awards and 2 Super Bowl championships. This was easy. Smith and Armstead are probably the shockers, but we need players that can play outside linebacker. Smith is a weakside linebacker that finished his NFL career with 788 tackles, 24 sacks, 11 interceptions, and 2 Super Bowls. Armstead was called upon to play everywhere in his career, mostly with the New York Giants, and he finished with 991 tackles, 40 sacks, 12 interceptions and 2 Super Bowls as well. That is 6 Super Bowls among the starting linebackers. Plus Armstead played on that Dallas Carter team that defeated Odessa Permian in Friday Night Lights. He also stated that he went to Miami because out of all the big schools recruiting him, they were the only team that had the number 1 jersey available for him to wear. That story epitomizes a great Hurricane.
Now with the backups, Miami alums just don't have the flexibility to have 2 middle, 2 strong-side and 2 weak-side backers, since most of the talent was in the middle. So Vilma and Williams make the team. Vilma should be obvious, with his 871 tackles, 10 1/2 sacks, 12 interceptions, 3 Pro Bowls and 1 Super Bowl. He was Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2004 and led the entire NFL in tackles in 2005. Williams has been much better than you probably thought. So far he has 852 tackles, 22 1/2 sacks and 2 interceptions, and will likely make a run at 1,000 tackles next year. Plus, playing middle linebacker for the Bears, as he has the past two years, is a pretty coveted position. He could probably move outside if he absolutely had to.
McIntosh is likely the head scratcher for you. His numbers are good, not great, with 530 tackles, 9 sacks and 4 interceptions in his 9 years, but only started two games his rookie year, so he basically lost a bit of time there. What also makes him a good pick is that he played outside in a 4-3, and inside in a 3-4 defense, so the team has some flexibility with him on board. We could also move Ted Hendricks back to outside backer if the team needed to do so.
But Pepster, what about all the other great linebackers from Miami? How come they aren't on the team. Well, Jon Beason is making a run at the squad, with his 676 tackles in one less season than McIntosh, but his 2010 season was his worst statistically, and that season was when he had to shuffle between inside and outside linebacker. This team needs more than just inside linebackers, as Lewis, Vilma and Williams are already on the team, so "Big Beast" didn't make the cut. I guaranty that if their is an injury at linebacker, Beason will be promoted. Dan Morgan was simply hurt too much to have an effective NFL career, and it looks like Colin McCarthy, who was good but by no means a standout in college, is heading down the same route. Michael Barrow was productive as a middle linebacker, but never stayed more than 4 seasons at any club. Dan Conners was second team All-AFL.
So while there is talent that does not make this team, I am sticking with the six I chose, Lewis, Smith, Armstead, Vilma, Williams and McIntosh.
CB (5) RYAN MCNEIL; SAM SHIELDS; Phillip Buchanon; Antrel Rolle; Duane Starks
This is probably the weakest link of the team, and probably also leaves you with several questions. I will start with the starters. I admit, when thinking of doing this column I had forgotten all about Ryan McNeil, which is weird because he played in the same high school conference as my high school (I was not there at the time). He played 11 seasons in the NFL, amassing 696 tackles and 31 interceptions. He led the league in interceptions in 1997 and was selected for 1 Pro Bowl. Shields is currently a starting cornerback for the Green Bay Packers, and is in only his 5th year, but has already made 13 interceptions to go along with 163 tackles. Shields is interesting because he primarily played WR at Miami, converted late to CB, went undrafted, and is basically still learning the position.
Buchanon had 388 tackles and 20 interceptions in his 10 years in the NFL, and Starks had 345 tackles and 25 interceptions in his 10 years in the league.
Starks and Shields have won Super Bowls, as did Antrel Rolle. Rolle is an interesting pick because he never flourished in the NFL until he was moved to safety. However, no other corners really deserve to make this team, and having Rolle on the squad means we can carry one less safety, allowing us to keep an extra offensive lineman, and extra linebacker, or even an extra special teams player. This selection is about roster flexibility, but it is also about talent. And Rolle has talent, with 714 tackles, 23 interceptions, 3 Pro Bowl appearances and 2 All-Pro selections to his credit.
Although not selected to the team, a special mention needs to be made to Jim Dooley. Dooley played both ways at Miami, receiver and cornerback, something he also did in the pros. His professional career would have been better, but he spent two years of his prime serving in US Air Force. Upon completion of his playing days, he became a coach for the Chicago Bears where he was known for his innovative "Dooley Shift". All the Dooley Shift did was bring in a third cornerback on obvious passing downs. Yep, that's right, Dooley invented the nickel package.
S (4) - ED REED; SEAN TAYLOR; Bennie Blades; Darryl Williams
I know that I do not have to justify Ed Reed at all, but he had 643 tackles, 64 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and 13 touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl 9 times, to the All-Pro team 8 times, won the Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, and won a Super Bowl.
Taylor on the other hand, needs some justification. Given the parameters that I was selecting Miami's best players, not just the best at Miami, means that NFL play is very important in this selection process. Taylor only had 4 seasons due to his untimely murder. But anyone who saw him play instantly knew how great he was. In his 4 seasons he made 2 Pro Bowls and 1 All-Pro team. More importantly he was named to the Redskins Ring of Honor as well as named one of the 80 greatest Redskins of all time. That is enough for me.
The only primary argument that can be had is Bennie Blades over Sean Taylor as a starter. Blades finished his career with 772 tackles, 14 interceptions and 11 fumbles. He also made a Pro-Bowl. Blades was fantastic, he just was not Sean Taylor.
Darryl Williams is the forgotten man of this secondary. In his 10 NFL seasons, he finished with 876 tackles, 31 interceptions, 9 1/2 sacks and made 1 Pro Bowl and 1 All-Pro team.
Normally a team would carry at least 5 safeties, but because of Antrel Rolle's versatility, this team will only carry 4, because Rolle can slide into a safety role in need be. This gives me flexibility in naming an additional player. I have not decided who that will be yet, but it will either be a 9th offensive lineman, an additional special teams player, or I might just go with the best player not selected. Stay tuned.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K (1) CARLOS HUERTA
Huerta is the only kicker as far as most Hurricanes and Hurricane fans are concerned. Even though he did not have much of an NFL career (4 of 7 FGs with 2 XPs), he did have a pretty stellar, albeit short, career in the CFL, where he finished the 1995 season with 228 points, including 5 field goals in the Grey Cup victory. He still holds Hurricane records for most extra points, most field goals and points.
P (1) JEFF FEAGLES
Feagles played 22 seasons in the NFL - participating in each and every game during that time - finishing with records for the most punts, most punting yards, and most punts inside the 20. He is a 2 time Pro Bowler and was once an All-Pro to go along with a Super Bowl Championship. Perhaps Pat O'Donnell can make a challenge to this position in a decade or so, but until then - it is all Feagles.
RET (1) DEVIN HESTER
Was there ever any doubt? The NFL's all-time leading returner in terms of kickoff returns for touchdowns, punt returns for touchdowns and total return touchdowns. Enough said.
MISCELLANEOUS (1) - Jon Beason
Thanks to the roster flexibility afforded to us by Antrel Rolle and the fact that Santana Moss and Eddie Brown could easily return kicks if necessary (as could Phillip Buchanon), we have an extra roster spot left over. I initially thought that could go to a 9th offensive lineman, but there was not a 9th lineman that deserves to be on this team, and since multiple lineman can play multiple positions, we don't need an extra lineman. We also could of gone with a 6th defensive end, but Bill Hawkins and his 5 sacks in 4 years, Greg Mark or Kevin Fagan didn't seem to be the right caliber either.
But there is one person not on this team that easily belongs, even if I could not make him fit into the initial 52. And that is "Big Beast". C'mon, those who know me already knew I could not leave out a member of the Seventh Floor Crew if he was otherwise deserving.
Sing it with me: What's your name? Big Beas. What you do? Skeet skeet. How you do it? ....
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