Take it down a notch, Nate...

Louisville linebacker Nate Harris is running his mouth this week. I was going to let it slide, but I haven't seen anyone else call him out the past 48 hours, so I'll chime in here.

For those who don't recall, Harris was 'this close' to becoming a Cane back in February 2002. Larry Coker and staff were ready to welcome the former Miami Edison High star to the program, until he went down for armed robbery. One week before high school graduation, Harris decided to pull a stick up on a few men playing checkers on a street corner.

This lapse in decision cost Harris six months in boot camp, two years at a JC in Kansas and ultimately, a shot at playing for Miami - his dream school. Two years house arrest and three years probation and boot camp were the final verdict, in lieu of a year behind bars and probation.

To his credit, Harris has finally cleaned up his image - albeit, four years too late for Miami. The 16 gold caps in his grill have been removed, the corn rows have been shorn and this Butkus Award candidate has done a full on 180 with his life. Kudos to Harris for seeing the light before it was too late.

That said, I take issue with his comments towards The U.

Harris is pissin' and moanin' this week as Miami travels to the Bluegrass state to take on Louisville. He's taking pot shots at the Canes, which go a little beyond standard bulletin board material.

Simply put, Harris is getting personal.

Regarding Miami's decision to admit troubled linebacker Willie Williams two years after snubbing Harris:

"They gave him a chance, but they didn't give me a chance. That's the big thing to me and my family, and that's what's really burning me up inside to get ready for this game.

Once I got in trouble, they never called my mom, they never called none of my parents, none of my family members, my coach. Once I got in my situation, they just left me alone and took my scholarship away . . . [but] I've put the past behind me and I'm ready for this game."

First of all, Nate - the comparisons to Willie Williams are off base. True, Williams had a checkered past and Miami gave him a shot - but he had kept his nose clean for years before coming to Coral Gables.

Sure, he hugged a girl against her will in Gainesville and set off a fire extinguisher - and while stupid, both can be chocked up to high school hijinx. As for his prior record, Williams had stolen some car stereos and pulled some other childish stunts.

It's a wee bit different from jacking two men on the side of the road months after Miami had already extended a scholarship your way. Your refusal to see it that way is nothing more than sour grapes.

Everyone feels Harris is reformed, but part of turning things around is knowing when and where to blame ourselves. This displaced frustration towards the University of Miami is off base. Harris needs to look in the mirror and truly understand why his scholarship offer was revoked. Miami didn't turn its back on him. He turned his back on Miami when he pulled a gun on two innocent men.

Harris' comments don't end there. The standard bulletin board fodder is there as well with comments like, "Everybody knows they're not the Miami team they used to be. They still have their swagger... they still have great players, but they're not producing the way they used to."

Maybe not, Nate... but why not wait until Sunday morning to make those comments? Beat Miami this weekend, make some plays and you can talk for a lifetime. Shooting off your mouth beforehand? Why even give an underdog something to ruffle its feathers about.

True, Miami has dropped off a bit the past few seasons. We can't argue that. But you also know that this sleeping giant can awaken from a slumber at any given moment. We're still the Canes.

Last year the college football community turned its back on Miami the week of the Virginia Tech match up. The result? The Canes' most complete game in three years - a dominating 27-7 beat down.

If there's ONE program out there which other teams shouldn't start a war of words with, it's The U.

I give Nate Harris all the credit in the world for his turnaround. He deserves all the success and praise coming his way right now. He's living proof that people can change and for the record, I do wish he was a Cane. I also wish Willie Williams had learned a little something about flipping the script. Harris would've been a good role model.

That said, a kid from the streets of Miami like Harris should know better than to blame the program or take cheap shots at the Canes lining up across the field from him this coming Saturday.

'"Yes, we take it personally,'' UM receiver Darnell Jenkins said.

"That makes everyone on the offense be like, 'Who is this guy to be talking about us like that when we haven't played the game?' So that makes a bull's-eye on him. Everyone is after him, even me. He criticized us real bad. We took that personal."

Yet one more interesting subplot when #17 Miami heads to #12 Louisville this weekend. Tune in at 3:30pm ET to see how it all plays out.


.:Canes305:.