The Miami Hurricanes Upperclassmen Are Probably Not Great

Surprise! You probably already knew this, but the Canes juniors and seniors don't project to be all that great. The latest confirmation comes from Mel Kiper Jr. who today released his top five college juniors and seniors at every position heading into the 2012 season. Out of the 160 players listed by Kiper, only two are Miami Hurricanes. They are:

• Ray Ray Armstrong, rated as the fifth best senior safety
• Dalton Botts, rated as the second best junior punter

So, yes: Miami's second best upperclassmen may be its punter. This will likely be a problem. But Mel Kiper, of course, isn't Oz, and some of his projections will invariably be totally off. But does that apply to the Canes?

Probably not. There is certainly some potential with some of Miami's juniors and seniors, but all told, this is a very thin, very unproven class. Seantrel Henderson could work his way up these draft boards, but he needs to stay on the field first and be able to become the starting left tackle on his own team second. Ramon Buchanan may have a solid senior season, provided he can stay healthy. Curtis Porter is a big defensive tackle with a chance at making some noise, but he also needs to stay healthy. Asante Cleveland has shown flashes at tight end. Vaughn Telemaque is an okay college player. Allen Hurns has had some good games. Stephen Morris is athletic and has a big arm.

This is the class of players that is supposed to be the core of a team, but almost all of Miami's juniors and seniors leave unanswered questions as if they were redshirt freshmen. They will be coached by a much better staff than the one that brought them in, but there's still a lot of work to be done and in a very short period of time. Remember that.