** Official 08-09 College Football Thread **

[Cane Till I Die]

I figured that we needed a new one since Spring practices are starting

[Cane Till I Die]

Robert Marve was sifting through old photographs the other night when a feeling of nostalgia enveloped him.

His mind backpedaled to Dolphin Stadium on Dec. 9, 2006, as he connected with Tampa Plant High teammate Derek Winter with 17 seconds left to claim the Class 4A state championship and the subsequent title of Mr. Florida Football.

''It felt like forever ago,'' Marve said wistfully. ``A long, long time ago.''

Marve turned 19 this month, not exactly memory-lane material. But after a car accident and two surgeries postponed his dream of playing quarterback for the University of Miami, he finally starts his second-year sojourn at 3 p.m. Tuesday -- healed left hand ready to take snaps and help deliver bull's-eyes as UM spring football begins.

''I can't wait to put on a helmet and shoulder pads and get knocked around again,'' said Marve, a redshirt freshman who will practice alongside two quarterbacks with less college savvy than himself, and with a Hurricanes squad determined to recover from its worst season in 30 years. ``I want to be put in pressure situations and come up clutch.''

Neither Marve nor the other two rookie quarterbacks, recently graduated Miami Northwestern High star Jacory Harris and Hargrave Military Academy prep-school standout Cannon Smith, will get ''knocked around'' Tuesday, or any day, during closed practice sessions. After a 5-7 season in which departed starters Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman struggled, quarterback hopefuls are a cherished commodity around Coral Gables.

Common sense says that after studying the offense for a year, running the scout team and being part of daily meetings and intense film-room sessions, Marve has the decided edge for the starting job.

Then again, UM coach Randy Shannon chose Freeman over the more-experienced and perceived front-runner Wright as the 2007 starter. Shannon made it clear Friday that he won't name a starter until the fall, when yet another incoming quarterback, Taylor Cook, arrives from Eagle Lake, Texas.

''It's wide open,'' Shannon said. ``Whoever [does] best will get the job.

``It's been kind of fun because those guys are football junkies. They are always around, always watching film, always getting receivers involved, playing catch with each other. Those three guys, it's like they've got a competition, but it's a great competition. They do the net drills, footwork drills, signals together -- and if somebody screws up, they do push-ups. They're always challenging each other to be the best they can.''

CRASHING HARD

Marve and teammates Jermaine McKenzie and Colin McCarthy were in the one-car accident on Interstate 75 in mid-July, when the car hit a guardrail and flipped several times. Freshman receiver McKenzie broke bones in his neck and also redshirted, while Colin McCarthy, a linebacker, sustained cuts and bruises but was not injured badly.

Marve's first surgery a day after the accident repaired his broken left wrist and dislocated ring finger on his left (nonthrowing) hand, and a severe cut that caused nerve damage and ran between his ring finger and pinkie and extended to his palm.

His second surgery, the third week of December, ''released some skin and cut out a scar,'' said Marve's father, Eugene, a former NFL linebacker. ``He had a scar callusing on his hand, and they replaced the skin with a callus-resistant skin graft. It has healed very well.

``Robert's potential abilities have been forecast for a long time. I believe he will fulfill that potential.''

Now up to 205 pounds on his 6-1 frame, Marve said he is back to bench-pressing 225 pounds 10 times and can do everything a healthy quarterback can do. This season, he will wear a glove on his left hand.

''When I had the scar, my hand was really sensitive to touch,'' he said. ``To take a snap hurt really bad; just to get it touched hurt. Any hard contact to my palm would just cut my hand up, and it would start bleeding. But now I can do anything. It feels like a whole different hand now.''

Marve said he is as fast as he has ever been -- ''I have to be a legit 4.5 at least'' -- and is excited about his new cast of receivers and new receivers coach Aubrey Hill, the former Gators assistant. ``He seems like a real energetic, cool guy.''

BRING ON THE GATORS

Marve said he is looking forward to the Aug. 28 opener against Charleston Southern at UM's new home, Dolphin Stadium, the last place he played. And he can't wait to meet the Gators on Sept. 6 in Gainesville.

''It's just a couple hours from Tampa, so everyone will be there,'' Marve said. ``I want to thank God for putting me in this situation.''

At Tampa Plant, Marve surpassed Tim Tebow, Florida's 2005 Mr. Football, for state records in passing yards (4,380), completions (280) and touchdowns (48). In turn, the state's 2007 Mr. Football, Jacory Harris, surpassed Marve's touchdown total by one and finished with 3,445 passing yards.

''Having the other two quarterbacks here has to be good,'' Marve said. ``Any position we have with more than one talented guy means more competition and more working hard, so it's better for the team.''

Marve said his year as a redshirt has been invaluable.

``Everyone says it's just football you have to get used to in college. It's not just football. It's living somewhere different, going to meetings and hearing new language, being with new coaches, going to school.''

Marve's high school coach, Robert Weiner, said the redshirt year probably helped him in the long run.

''Football is fully engrained in Robert's body,'' Weiner said. ``Robert has a strong, accurate arm, and such good ball preparedness that the ball is back and ready to be thrown in an instant. And he has pocket poise, an ability to move around and turn something bad into something good.

``Those kind of instincts don't change from one level to another.''

Marve said he sees only what's ahead of him.

``I'm looking straight, not left or right or behind me. Hopefully, everyone will see what I'm all about.''

[-JoeBoy-]

Spring football! Bring it on baby!!!!

[georgiafan]

UGA TE Na Derris is leaving after 2 injury years he was a former big time recruit and moving closer to home.

OnlineAthens.com | News | Tight end leaving Bulldogs 02/26/08

[Cigaro]

Whenever Jared Cook enters the draft, I guarantee you he will be the 'Workout Warrior' of that year. He isn't the best tightend, but he's 6'5, 235, runs in the 4.4 range, and 40" vertical. Not to mention his coach is the same guy who produced Vernon Davis.

[Cane Till I Die]

Originally Posted by Cigaro

Whenever Jared Cook enters the draft, I guarantee you he will be the 'Workout Warrior' of that year. He isn't the best tightend, but he's 6'5, 235, runs in the 4.4 range, and 40" vertical. Not to mention his coach is the same guy who produced Vernon Davis.

Sophomore who was thought to be a tight end before running a 4.37 40-yard dash with a team-best 39.5-inch vertical leap prior to spring ball and was quickly moved back to wide receiver... also has excellent size to go with that speed and jumping ability... given the Weight Room Effort Award for the offense following spring drills... enters the fall on the second team at wideout... has made one career start.

Sounds good

[Cigaro]

Originally Posted by Cane Till I Die

Sounds good

He moved back to tight end during the season. Rychelski hopes to have him in the 250 range by season start, so some of his numbers will go down, but with growth and training, he should be back in the same range eventually.

[Cane Till I Die]

Jacory #12, Marve #9, Shannon #55, and AB in the background #11



Aldarius



Marve And Nix



McKenzie



Baby J

[Cigaro]

Kodi Burns and Auburn will tear up the SEC offensively this year. Glad we don't play them.

[Cane Till I Die]

The first practice off the spring is over. What did we learn? Which freshmen are already practicing with the first team? How did Miami's young quarterbacks: Jacory Harris, Robert Marve and Cannon Smith look? Here's a quick collection of notes I gathered...

* Allen "Big Boss" Bailey, who came in as a highly touted linebacker in the 2007 class and moved to defensive end this spring, said he was given a couple of weeks to decide whether or not he wanted to make the move. Ultimately, he said he wanted to do what was best for the team "with seven linebackers here and seven linebackers coming in and a weakness at end." Bailey gained 20 pounds of muscle since arriving at UM a season ago and now weighs in at the 290-pound mark. Bailey said he still has to learn "pass rush reads and learn a couple moves." Bailey said he missed about a month of workouts to remove a bone spur from his left bicep muscle. He said he was practicing with the second team Tuesday behind Steven Wesley and Eric Moncur. He said Antonio Dixon and Josh Holmes were on the first team at tackle.
* Senior linebacker Glenn Cook said he expects a battle between Robert Marve and Jacory Harris for the starting job. "They both have their advantages. They both are talented. They both want to win. It's going to be a battle, it's not going to be easy for either one of them."
* Cook also said freshman linebacker Arthur Brown, the most highly-touted in the 2008 class, is "real raw." "I don't think he got a lot of coaching in high school," Cook said. "So, he's still learning technique. I think he'll be alright. He's a real talented kid." As for freshman Sean Spence, "He's a great athlete whose picked it up a little bit faster. He's a real smart kid. He'll have a chance to play early. I think he's a little more ahead."
* Brown, meanwhile, said he realized there was a lot he thought he was doing right and now he learned he was doing wrong playing the position at Wichita East High. He said he thought he had his fundamentals down tackling, but has now learned he'll have to make some adjustments. Brown said he's gained nine pounds and now weighs 228. He said he's playing at strongside linebacker on the second team beind Sean Spence, who is on the first team at strongside with Cook on the first team at middle. He said Kylan Robinson is also backing Spence up at strongside and Spencer Adkins is the backup in the middle.
* Spence, who played weakside in high school, said he's gained nine pounds and is now up 202. He said he's spent a lot of time with linebackers coach Michael Barrow to pick up the defense.
* Quarterback Jacory Harris said the biggest difference from high school to college is "learning things."
* Freshman defensive tackle Marcus Forston said his biggest adjustment for him has been learning to practice at a fast pace. "We were out here for 1 hour, 45 minutes and I've never worked like this in my life. The tempo -- you're never working. Every station you go to you run to. You tie your shoe, you are behind." Forston said he's behind Josh Holmes on the second team on the right side at tackle. He said he's playing next to Joe Joseph.