Former NFL star working with Canes receiver. And updates on recruiting, Schnellenberger
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Monday:
▪ Preston Williams was a rookie hit for the Miami Dolphins last season after he spent several offseason weekends working out with former All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
And now UM receiver Mike Harley Jr. hopes to reap the same benefits from working with the ex-NFL star.
Harley is in Atlanta now, but he and Marshall have spent a lot of time training together in South Florida this offseason, doing on-field work (including route-running), plus conditioning and weight work.
Marshall took a liking to Harley when Harley was a standout high school player at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas.
Buffalo Bills receiver Stefon Diggs and new Denver Broncos and former Alabama receiver Jerry Jeudy (who played at Deerfield Beach High) also have been working with Marshall.
Harley, who’s a mature, grounded young man, also has spent time working out with players from Clemson and other schools in Atlanta, while taking online UM classes.
Williams told me last year that Marshall is adept at helping develop young receivers.
“He told me the ins and outs of the league, how to use my body frame against defensive backs,” Williams said. “He was real positive with me. I’ve been watching him since I was a little kid. I’m glad Fitz [Ryan Fitzpatrick] hooked me up with him.”
Marshall, 36, was a Pro Bowl selection six times, including the second of his two seasons with the Dolphins (2011), and a former first-team All Pro. He last played in the NFL in 2018 and is a commentator on Showtime’s “Inside The NFL.”
▪ When we wrote recently about how 89-year-old former Miami Marlins manager Jack McKeon is keeping safe — and sane — during a pandemic, we also reached out to Howard Schnellenberger, 86, who’s holed up at his Boynton Beach home with his wife Beverlee.
Schnellenberger texted that he’s fine but not up to talking because he’s coughing a lot. Thankfully, he hasn’t been diagnosed with COVID-19.
He instead attributes the coughing to cigar use. “It comes and goes,” he texted.
“All good,” he said of his health. “Thanks for checking.”
With the passing of Don Shula, Schnellenberger is the only living member of the Dolphins coaching staff from the 1972 perfect team.
He also, of course, guided UM to its first national championship, providing the groundwork for what would be 20 years of (mostly) dominance under five different head coaches.
He belongs in the College Football Hall of Fame and it’s a travesty that he’s not.
He led Louisiville, which had been a moribund program, to a 10-1-1 record in 1990.
He started the FAU program from scratch and was 11-3 by his third year and 9-3 in his fourth.
And his UM work was exceptional. The 158-151-3 record as a college head coach doesn’t stand out, but that doesn’t take into account the fact that anybody would have lost initially at Louisville and coaching an “expansion team” with FAU.
▪ Rivals ranks UM’s D’Eriq King the fourth-best quarterback to transfer this offseason, behind J.T. Daniels (Southern California to Georgia), Jamie Newman (Wake Forest to Georgia) and K.J. Costello (Stanford to Mississippi State).
“King had an amazing season at Houston a few years ago, and he can really drive defenses crazy with his ability to extend the play,” Rivals national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said. “He should take the Miami offense to the next level and will make the Hurricanes much more dangerous because of what he can do on the run.”
▪ Player acquisition tidbits: UM is still awaiting word from Houston Cougars graduate transfer right tackle Jarrid Williams; 247 Sports reported Miami is the front-runner… Four-star Miami Palmetto receiver Brashard Smith, rated by Rivals as the 50th-best receiver in the 2021 class, named a top five of UM, UF, Auburn, Oregon and Tennessee... UM has had mixed success with legacy kids, but the Canes are in hot pursuit of Plantation American Heritage Class of 2022 cornerback Earl Little Jr. He already has been invited to the 2022 All-American Bowl.
▪ ESPN’s Todd McShay lists UM’s Greg Rousseau 13th among college football players who are eligible for the 2021 NFL Draft.
“Rousseau is tall, long and quick off the edge,” McShay said. “He had 15.5 sacks last season for the Hurricanes, which ranked No. 2 in the country behind Chase Young, and he totaled 19.5 tackles for loss,” which was tied for seventh.
Rousseau is a defensive end at UM, but McShay lists him as an outside linebacker for NFL purposes. He’s the top-rated defensive end/outside linebacker on McShay’s 2021 board.
▪ Quick stuff: With the NCAA extending its recruiting dead period through July 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic, UM’s popular Paradise Camp for recruits — held annually in June — probably won’t be held. The Hurricanes also were planning to host individual camps for recruits on June 5 and 12; those also cannot be held....
Former UM running back Lorenzo Lingard received an NCAA waiver making him immediately eligible to play at UF. Freshman offensive lineman Issiah Walker, who transferred from UF to UM, is also expected to seek a waiver to play in 2020...
Not only were some football players summoned back to campus last Thursday for physicals, but basketball players were, too. Coach Jim Larranaga told WSVN-Fox 7’s Steve Shapiro that his players can begin voluntary workouts this month, but they are not yet permitted to use indoor courts.
UM has outdoor basketball courts that will be available to players.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 2:47 PM.
