Central and Booker T. Washington: No. 1 vs. No. 2

The top two teams in the state of Florida will matchup tomorrow night, as Miami powerhouses Booker T. Washington and Central tangle at Traz Powell Stadium. Maxpreps has put together a nice little preview video and story for the upcoming game:



The Miami Herald also has a nice little preview of the game here.

Fans of all three of the state schools have a reason to watch this one with an eye on the future. While the Hurricanes are best represented in this matchup (OL Trevor Darling and RB Joe Yearby of Central, DL Chad Thomas, DL Demetrius Jackson and DB Nigel Bethel of Washington,) both Florida (Central RB Dalvin Cook and junior WR Da'Vante Phillips) and Florida State (Washington QB Treon Harris, Central DT Frederick Jones) also have a rooting interest in this game.

That doesn't even begin to touch on all the future FBS talent in this game, however. Washington WR Lamar Parker is headed for West Virginia. Central DB Deatrick Nichols has already given a pledge to South Florida. There are literally dozens of other players competing in this game, especially among the underclassmen, who will suit up for one of the Big Three schools, or another BCS-caliber program down the road.

In other words, this game is a big deal. In fact, it might be the be the most impressive collection of talent on one field since another matchup between the top two high school teams in the country: Long Beach Poly and Concord De La Salle out of California on Oct. 6, 2001. That game featured future pros Darnell Bing, Winston Justice, Derek Landri, Marcedes Lewis and Maurice Jones-Drew (then just known as Maurice Drew.) Numerous top prospects who went on to attend Michigan, Notre Dame, UCLA and USC, among other top programs also took part in the game. Even Brian Banks, the linebacker who was exonerated on rape charges in 2012 and spent training camp with the Atlanta Falcons this summer, also took part in the game.

Oh, by the way, De La Salle won the game in at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach, 29-15, before an announced crowd of 17,321. Drew accounted for 152 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in a winning effort. The Spartans ran their national-record winning streak to 116 games that night (it would eventually reach 151 before De La Salle finally dropped a contest in Seattle to Bellevue, Wash. in 2004.) The Jackrabbits, it should be noted, had come in to the game having won 57 of their last 59.

In terms of Florida history, the most recent game that comes to mind in the 2006 Class 5A state final between Lakeland and St. Thomas Aquinas. The Dreadnaughts, who won a 45-42 shootout in overtime to clinch the mythical national championship, got a herculean performance from future Florida Gator and Pittsburgh Steeler Chris Rainey, who rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. Lakeland also featured future NFL offensive linemen Maurkice (Pittsburgh) and Mike Pouncey (Miami). St. Thomas Aquinas could claim eventual Chicago Bears safety Major Wright among it's talented roster, which also featured Leonard Hankerson, now a receiver for the Washington Redskins.

So, will the game live up to the hype? Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But it's No. 1 and No. 2. For fans of college and/or football, it's a game worth watching at 7:30 PM on Friday night. If you don't happen to have a date or something.

Al Golden: Friend ... or foe?

First off, let me say I have a lot of respect for the type of coach and CEO Al Golden is. He revived a moribund program at Temple to phenomenal results. So much so, that you could his tenure in Philadelphia likely spurred two head coaching promotions (himself and Steve Addazio) into the ranks of the ACC.

And, hey ... if Andrew Dice Clay is a fan of your work, what's not to like?

However, I've found his recruiting methods quite curious at Miami. SB Nation team site State Of The U took an interesting look at Golden's first full recruiting class following their first year on campus. The results of that 33-man recruiting class, as many pundits projected in February of 2012, have been predictably mixed.

Golden assembled a group that was headlined by a few South Florida stars (DB Deon Bush, DL Jelani Hamilton, DB Tracy Howard and RB Duke Johnson) along with one from Georgia (Raphael Kirby). Golden's staff also showed some savvy scouting by nabbing several other diamonds in the rough from around the state (notably OL Ereck Flowers, OL Danny Isidora, DB Rayshawn Jenkins and WR Herb Waters).

But then, the Jekell and Hyde nature of Miami's recruiting under Golden rears its ugly head. Already, nine members of the 33-man recruiting class have left the program. In just a year. That's more than a quarter of the guys they signed in February of 2012, gone within 18 months. And there appear to be a handful of other players (at least five, by my count) who probably aren't too far from hitting the door as well.

So, here's my question. What's the future of Miami going to be like if Golden is going to continue bringing in classes like this? If he takes the Nick Saban approach, and signs 30 guys every year, I'd say Miami is probably in good hands, personnel-wise (even if they probably could use a few tweaks on the coaching staff). However, if Miami's largely disappointing showing in the Class of 2013 is any indication (just 19 signees, only 16 of which made it to campus), then Hurricanes fans are going to be in for a roller coaster ride during the tenure of Al Golden.

For those who will counter with the Nevin Shaprio stuff ... yes , I get that Miami has the pall of NCAA sanctions hanging over their heads. Surely, that is not helping matters on the recruiting trail any, I get that. But with the feast-or-famine duality of Al Golden's recruiting methods, I still think the jury is out on whether or not he will be able to really turn the Miami program around. Regardless of what the NCAA decides on the future fate of the 'Canes.

8/24 UPDATE: Not even 48 hours after I posted this, the announcement that WR Jontavious Carter is transferring was made public by the SID. That's now 10 players out of 33 (nearly one-third of the class) who are not a part of the roster just over 18 months after signing with Miami. And, as I wrote on Thursday, there are still a few other guys who very likely will not be a part of this program by the time year three begins next fall. Here's a list of the players, and the reasons they are no longer a part of the 'Canes, listed below:

DT Jacoby Briscoe (transfer)
WR Jontavious Carter (transfer)
DB Vernon Davis (transfer)
RB Danny Dillard (transfer)
DT Dequan Ivery (transfer)
WR Angelo Jean-Louis (failed to qualify)
WR Robert Lockhart (transfer)
DE Gabriel Terry (dismissed from team in April)
QB David Thompson (baseball)
LB Josh Witt (concussions)