Podcast: Howard Schnellenberger transformed college football. Put him in the Hall of Fame
Maybe the most thrilling 10 minutes of the Miami Hurricanes’ year happened Monday, in the middle of spring football season, on a day Miami didn’t even practice.
For about 10 minutes, we all thought Jaelan Phillips maybe ran his 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds.
It would have been a transcendent time, virtually assuring the star defensive end his place in the top 10 of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Instead, we actually found out he ran his 40 in 4.56 seconds. It wasn’t nearly as fun, but it was still thrilling enough for us to dedicate close to 30 minutes of this episode of the Eye on the U podcast to pro day and the exploits of Phillips, star tight end Brevin Jordan and star defensive ends Gregory Rousseau and Quincy Roche.
David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Hurricanes beat writer for the Miami Herald, spend most of the episode talking about the NFL Draft, but the first 15 minutes are all about Howard Schnellenberger, and his legacy in South Florida and beyond. It’s ridiculous he’s not in the College Football Hall of Fame, of course, but it’s not just because of what he did with the Hurricanes. His legacy is still felt with the Louisville Cardinals, FAU Owls and across the entire college football landscape because of what he meant for the sport in Florida.
As for pro day, we spend most of the time talking about 40 times. Phillips stole the show, but it might have meant even more for Jordan and Roche.
We wrap things up by talking about Miami’s first scrimmage of spring practices, which featured a breakout performance from wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, and more good news about quarterbacks Tyler Van Dyke and Jake Garcia.
Please continue to subscribe, rate and review as we cruise through spring practice and barrel toward another college football season in Florida.
