Campbell goes in second, Gooden in third...

Calais Campbell missed the first round boat but was eventually picked 50th overall - in the second round of the NFL Draft, by the Arizona Cardinals. Did the oversized Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman jump the gun regarding his early exit from The U and entry to the NFL? Sure looks like it... 

Tavares Gooden proved to be the exact opposite - snared up 71st overall by the Baltimore Ravens and early in the third round. Gooden's stock rose after the combine and the under the radar Miami linebacker overachived his way into an early Sunday morning pick. Gooden also returned for his senior season to up his game, as opposed to bailing early and testing the NFL waters. 

Kenny Phillips was the last pick of the first round, extending Miami's first round streak to fourteen straight seasons... but the luster of that has worn off as the Canes' Draft impact has fizzled.

Even coming off of 7-6 in 2006, Miami still pumped out three first rounders last year and a total of five Canes drafted. Disappointing after the run Miami saw earlier in this decade - 2006 (9), 2005 (5), 2004 (9), 2003 (8), 2002 (11), 2001 (7) and 2000 (5) - but still All-World compared to what The U saw in 2008.

Miami bottomed out on the field in 2007 and is gearing up to bottom out in the NFL Draft in 2008 and possibly 2009. "The Streak" should come to an end next season, barring some stellar play from NFL bound upperclassmen.

While Cane fans never want to see the day a kid from The U doesn't make his way into the first round, this program is in serious need of a wake up call. Playing for Miami is about winning national championships and being a top five team year in and year out. It's a stepping stone to the NFL for a slew of kids - but that needs to be secondary to getting one's degree and keeping this program amongst the elite.

Winning ways are going to attract front runners and some selfish "me first" players, as we've seen here and there since Miami's last championship in 2001. The trend really started with the 2004 recruiting class and seemed to be the case over the next few seasons.

The lone upside to 5-7? Knowing that the several dozen kids who signed on last February to make up this top-ranked recruiting class are signing on to rebuild. No one is riding any gravy train at Miami anytime soon. It's time to roll up one's sleeves and put this program back on the map first and foremost. 

As all this Draft news has settled and sunk in, Miami is very lucky Phillips kept the streak alive. KP snuck into the first round based on the program's legacy, the type of players Miami puts into the league and based on his potential versus his resume. The New York Giants like Miami Hurricanes. Sinorice Moss was their choice last year, William Joseph a few years back and Jeremy Shockey has been running game in the Big Apple since 2002.

Phillips made the 'right choice' if you measure his decision by being nabbed in the first round, but safe to say another year at Miami could've made this kid mid-first round material in 2009.

As for Campbell, the 6'8" lineman was somewhat exposed during the 2007 season and in the combine. Of the two highly-touted Canes in this year's Draft, Campbell absolutely should've stuck around for his senior year. #81 could've tightened up his game, mentored younger players (little bro Jason Campbell will battle for a safety positon) and worked on his technique.

I don't know Campbell's history. I don't know if his family needed the money or what his motivating factor was to bail with one year of eligibility remaining. To his credit, Campbell did earn his degree and returning to The U would've strictly been a football decision - but one has to believe another season would've helped CC climb up from that 50th spot at which he was chosen yesterday.

Randy Shannon wants to change the culture at Miami and has oft stated a big part of that is getting upperclassmen to return. A tough sell after 5-7 and no shot at being in the hunt in 2008. When Shannon turns the program around and gets the Canes back to winning ways, maybe guys like Campbell and Phillips stick around. It's sort of a 'chicken or the egg' type situation. What comes first, seniors staying or winning ways returning?

Congrats to Phillips, Campbell and Gooden. Very frustrating to see so few Canes drafted, but that can't take away from those who were. This is just another part of the Miami down-cycle the program has experienced the past few seasons and that tide will turn soon enough.

Tune in over the next few days to see which Canes get picked up as free agents. One has to believe quarterback Kyle Wright and flanker Darnell Jenkins are going to get some looks.

Damn The Facilities!

Miami's facilities suck. Did you get the memo? ESPN made much ado about it during last week's televised 17-14 win over Boston College and since then, every member of the sports media community has ranted and raved about how dilapidated and run down things are inside the walls of The U.

The photo above was taken in the supposedly "run down" Hurricane Strength and Conditioning Complex at the Hecht Athletic Center. The 11,500-square foot facility is barely five years old and is double the size of the old weight room.

It's stocked with the latest in strength and conditioning equipment and is the focal point of Miami's annual NFL Pro Timing Day each spring.

In the off-season, it's a who's who of the NFL. Former Canes show up in droves to work out here. Santana. Sinorice. Edgerrin. Reed. Vilma. Gore. McGahee. Wayne. D.J. Parrish. Kenard. Clinton. Ray-Ray. Bubba. The Playmaker. Shockey.

You name 'em, they're here - and when they show up, they usually don't come alone. Several former Canes have been known to recruit current NFL teammates to spend their off-season training in Miami at The U.

Call me crazy, but if things are so run down and in need of a facelift how come so many NFL superstars spend their time training here instead of at their respective franchise's multi-million dollar facilities? I'll tell you why. Because things aren't as bad as the media are making them out to be and in this case, a winning tradition, attitude and mindset outweight the bells and whistles.

Can Miami compete with the likes of Oregon and their facilities? Not unless a Hurricanes alum has Nike money. Literally. Swooshes and all.

Phil Knight has donated over $50M for the Autzen Stadium renovation and the most state of the art locker rooms in the sport. We're talking plasma screens at every locker and fingerprint biometric locks. This place is straight out of a science fiction movie.

But it's also home to no tradition, history or success. If you want a PlayStation 3 and a once a decade Rose Bowl birth, be a Duck. If you want to earn a ring, head to The U.

"Do you want one of these?" That's what former Miami offensive coordinator Gary Stevens would tell recruits as he extended a hand with a 1987 National Championship ring on it.

Nice locker room? Expanded stadium? Plasma TVs and high-tech fingerprint operated locks? To hell with 'em. At day's end, recruits have to ask themselves one question.

Do they want a ring?

When world class bodybuilders train, where do they go? A candy-ass health club where they hand you a plush towel and lemon-flavored water as you walk through the electric sliding door? Hell no. They get down and dirty and go to and old school gym.

Rocky III ring a bell? Stallone's character was fat and happy as the world champ. He living a cush lifestyle and was caught up in all the frills which come with being a pampered champion.

When Clubber Lang whooped his ass in that first fight, Rocky Balboa did some soul searching. If he was going to get back on top, he needed to get back to his roots. He and Apollo Creed left Philly for a gritty part of LA to train.

Down and dirty and old school, Balboa got knee-deep in it and found himself as there are no distractions when training hard and focusing on the task at hand. While this was simply a movie, people connected with the concept. Strip away all the "filler" and get down to business.

In this day and age, you can wow an 18-year old with a PS3 - but you can win him over with a proven track record. Miami has that edge over everyone else in the modern era.

Kirk Herbstreit mentioned that the Orange Bowl needed a new coat of paint. That and much more will be taken care of. $150M has been allotted by the City of Miami for a full on renovation which officially starts in 2007 an will be complete by the 2009 season opener.

Are the locker rooms as bad as people make them out to be? Hardly. The recent Football Locker Room Improvement dramatically upgraded the team's Hecht Athletic Center facility.

The project includes 105 new maple players lockers, 36" X wide X 24" deep X 88" high with stainless steel hardware and a clear coat finish; 19 maple coaches' lockers; 4 double display cabinets and an expansion to the equipment room.

Will anyone start confusing Miami's facilities with Oregon's anytime soon? Of course not. But a prettier set up for the Ducks won't make them Hurricane-like champs anytime soon, either.

Southern Cal is another program knocked for their facilities, yet it's hardly a chink in the armor of the Trojans current dynasty. Facilities also didn't stop the Canes from tallying up five titles since 1983 and a 34-game win streak between 2000-2003.

The sport's two greatest dynasties this decade and both are supposedly in the bottom 1/3 regarding their facilities.

If that doesn't tell you all this talk is blown out of proportion, nothing will.


.:Canes305:.