Ok, so I lied when I said I was going to do three posts on the Under Armour Combine.  I really meant two.  After sifting through all the stats and info I stacked up I thought, more is not always better, especially with Spring Practice under way and how well my last Combine report went over.  Let's get right to the good stuff.  

The Southridge Boys

I had a nice chat with Southridge head coach Pat Burrows, who was helping run the bench press station.  You know a head coach thinks highly of his players when he starts talking them up to you even after you let him in on the secret that you're a blogger and not a scouting company rep.

When I asked what players of his were at the Combine, without hesitation, he named Gerod Holliman and Andrew Johnson:

 WR Gerod Holliman

Coach Burrows told me that he's been talking to UM about Holliman and Johnson, and that Johnson would have been taking a visit on campus last weekend if not for the Combine.  

Johnson is a DB (5' 10", 170 lbs, which looked right, because we were about the same size).  He told me that he's already been offered by Texas Tech.  He ran a 4.55 in the 40 yd dash, had a 31.5 inch vertical, and did 8 reps at 185 pounds.  Not the strongest, or the fastest, but he did look good in the 1-on-1 drills.  He also told me that USC has been hinting at an offer.  But come on, it's Lane Kiffin, don't believe him Andrew.

Holliman was stronger.  Listed at 6 ft, 180 (which may be a pretty big stretch) he did 16 reps at 185 pounds, but ran a 4.65.  He told me that he did have contact with both Alabama and Florida, but planned on taking a trip to UM soon.

(Just one thing to remember, most of these guys have never done any combine drills before in their life.  Almost every one of them I spoke to said they never ran a 40 before and, if they did, it was always hand-timed and not lasered).  Both looked good, but if I had to put money on it, I would say neither ends up at UM.

The Fastest Man at the Combine

4.33 - That was what Tacoi Sumler, a 5' 8", 150 pound WR from Christopher Columbus, ran.  Right off the top of his head, he told me he already had 13 offers, including Cal, USC, FSU, UF, and UCF.  Notice who hasn't offered him yet? The Canes.  Want to know why?  Size. He's smaller than Santana Moss.  What current Cane WRs are that small now?  Thereon Collier is 5' 10" but pushes 195 pounds.  Either way, Sumler did tell me that Barrow has started to talk to him, but again, I don't think he ends up as a Cane.

The Strongest Man at the Combine

Nile Lawrence Stampler, did 32 reps at 185 pounds.  This kid was a veritable unknown coming into the Combine but not after he left.  A true 6'1", 299 pounds, he ran a 4.9 in the 40 yd dash.  A big, strong, fast defensive tackle. A guy that not a lot of people know about, toiling away at Nova High School (in Davie), this is someone the Hurricanes pride themselves on snatching up, right?  Well, it would have been a good idea, because they lost him.  Going into the combine he only had offers from FSU and Colorado State. The next day he committed to FSU.  Do you know how hard UM recruited? "Not consistently." Exact words.  He would have been a great grab but looks like we missed this one.

The Combine Superstar

You take one look at Ryan Shazier and you can tell he is going to be something special.  6'3", 205 this DE (who will end up playing LB in college) from Plantation impressed everyone who watched him.  So what did he do? 4.44 in the 40 yard dash, 38 inch vertical, and 11 reps at the bench press.  He told me he's been offered by Oklahoma, FSU, UF, and Wisconsin (and he forget to tell me that Spurrier, Tressel, and Charlie Strong have offered him too).  Again, guess who hasn't offered him: the Canes. Stoutland is recruiting him, so if you know him, tell him to recruit harder. This is definitely someone that impressed me, which means Randy Shannon should be blown away.

Some of the Rest of the Recruits

Teddy Bridgewater - was uninspired and uninspiring.  I guess when you know every team in the nation is recruiting you, you don't have to put up great stats.  He did run a few routes as a WR in the 1-on-1 drills, which I thought was interesting.  He also told me that in the off-season he plans on working on taking snaps under center (in case you forgot, Miami Northwestern runs the spread).

Eli Rogers - One of the WRs (5'10", 180) that Bridgewater throws to at Miami Northwestern, told me that he was doing the Combine for experience because he never participated in one before.

At the time of the Combine (last Sunday) he didn't have any offers, but was being recruited by UF, the Canes, Alabama, LSU, and FSU.  Good news: The Hurricanes offered him the next day. Bad news: he wants to leave Miami. He specifically said he wants to leave the area for college.

Phillip Dorsett - A St. Thomas Aquinas WR (5'10", 170) that put up the second fastest 40 time (4.43) and a 36.5 vert.

Dorsett's being recruited by Stoutland and told me he's met and talked with Whipple.  UM hasn't offered him yet, but he said he's expecting one soon.  I would be too, especially if UF, Ohio State, and ND already offered me.  

Wrapping it up

What I took away from the whole event: there are a ton of great athletes in South Florida.  Also, UM needs to start recruiting more consistently. Most of the recruits I talked to said if they were being recruited by UM, they weren't being recruited "consistently" by UM.  Of course, UM may not want them, which I guess could be an option, but of the best players there, barely any were being heavily recruited by UM.  I don't know what that means, if anything, so do what you will with that information.

In case you want to look at pure numbers, here's the link to the entire Under Armour Combine results.