A Look Back at the 2011 Miami Hurricane Recruiting Class Part 3

Opening Thoughts

We move to the final installment, the last chapter of the 2011 Recruiting Class for the University of Miami. The first two iterations analyzed a few players who have and will leave a lasting impression in the UM record books (namely Denzel Perryman.) There were also many who simply did nothing once they got here or if they even stepped foot on the UM Campus period (i.e Kevin Grooms).

Lets take a gander at the bottom six of the eighteen in this recruiting class. Will they do better than the first 2/3s? We'll have to see!

Eddie Johnson, ?, #43 ILB, Atlanta Georgia, ***

The recruiting piece unfortunately gets off to a not so happy start when looking into the story of Eddie Johnson. The linebacker came to UM rated as a solid three star prospect and promptly redshirted his first year at UM. During his first year of playing he was a tackling machine once he was inserted into the starting lineup towards the middle part of the 2012 season. In 2012 he finished with 59 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and one sack.

However, as you can see in the link above, his player information ends after that season in the UM record books. The reasons were numerous, unfortunately. He started getting into trouble and at one point was suspended a few days before game day (that awful 41-40 loss to UVa a few years ago).

After his sophomore season ended however he left the team and it was believed he enrolled at Hinds Community College. The news after this event gets murky. From the best I can tell.. It looks like he played three games for HCC and then either left the school or didn't play the rest of the season. I couldn't find any information on what happened after his one season at HCC..

2014 Recap:

I again tried to look up information on Johnson for 2014 and again came up empty. Looks like he may be out of football. If anyone has any more knowledge of his whereabouts or achievements last season please feel free to post in the comments below.

Taylor Gadbois, RS Soph., #160 OT, Dallas Georgia, ***

Before I get started.. Yes, I realize that says "Dallas Georgia" and no, it's not a typo, ha.

Gadbois actually spent his first season out of high school at a Post Graduate School, Fork Union Military Academy (FUMA). He honored his verbal a year later and was redshirted in 2012 at UM. In 2013 he contributed mainly on special teams as well as was used sparingly along the offensive line rotation, he never started.

In 2014 he looked to become a cog in the offensive tackle rotation and possibly start if called upon. UM had an above average offensive line the last few seasons chalked full of upper classmen so it was thought that he would slowly gain more and more PT...

2014 Recap:

Unfortunately Gadbois spent most of the 2014 season on the training table and in the rehab facility in comparison to his on field production. A knee injury in the Duke game caused him to miss most of the season.

Currently he is still rehabbing and looks to get on the field later in spring practice. Gadbois looks to again compete for time at right tackle and possibly start next season if his knee is back up to 100%. Due to the amount of starters lost to graduation and the NFL draft he has a good chance of at the very least serving as a valuable backup next season assuming he doesn't outright win a starting spot.

Corey King, RS. Jr., #180 DT, Boca Raton Florida, Not Rated

If only the weight room success translated to actual on the field success then King would have been the quintessential diamond in the rough recruit. However (seems like I'm writing that a lot lately), it simply hasn't been the case. King made his first start against Notre Dame his redshirt freshman season but had very little impact the rest of the season tallying just 13 tackles. In the 2013 season King had even less of an impact. He played in three games and finished the season with one tackle which was recorded against Savannah State in mop up duty.

2014 Recap:

Well... It looks like King had zero impact on the field during the 2014 season for the Canes. I though he had transferred from the program to be honest with you. I checked the 2015 roster on the Canes official homepage and there he is, listed, so I guess he's still on the team. We'll all have to see if he makes an impact in the 2015 season but so far he has done very little to assist along the defensive line. After doing further research it actually looks like, as of right now anyways, he's listed as the third team "defensive tackle" (they also use nose guards). In laymens terms, he's listed as the Canes' fifth or sixth best interior linemen heading into the 2015 season.

Thurston Armbrister, Sr., NA ATH, Boca Raton Florida, Not Rated

Fact: Thurston Armbrister came to Miami as a late arriving signee. Since he has been on campus he has transformed from a safety's physique (about 190 lbs.) to an outside linebacker for UM (up to 236 lbs). Another fact: ESPN's Recruiting Center knew so little about Armbrister they spelled his name wrong and didn't scout him.

When the great debate is made about if a player needs to redshirt or should play right away Armbrister's story is one seen unfortunately too often at UM over the last five years or so. Due to depth issues, specifically because of players being kicked off the team (Eddie Johnson, Gionni Paul, etc.) or injuries he's had to play sparingly too early on in his time at UM, specifically during his freshman season. Because of this he now is a senior when he should probably be a redshirt junior so that he could have another year of eligibility for his learning to continue at a steady pace.

During his sophomore and junior seasons he was used heavily in the linebacker rotation. This was in part to his stellar play on special teams and again due to attrition amongst the linebacking corp. He's had a productive career at UM totaling 73 tackles over the course of two seasons (freshman season he recorded no stats). Again, you just kind of wonder what he could be if he had yet another year to be seasoned in the defense instead of being thrown into the fire...

2014 Recap:

Armbrister was a revelation the first half of the 2014 season accounting for four sacks in the first three games. He started every single game for the Canes at outside linebacker last season and in the end finished with 56 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Not a bad senior season for a guy who was not rated by many recruiting services. He now turns his sights to the NFL draft where he could possibly be a late round draft pick.

Dalton Botts, GRADUATED., NA Punter, Woodland Hills California, Not Rated

Botts came to UM via the JUCO route and filled in nicely after the immortal Matt Bosher left for the Pro ranks. Some would say he had a good, if not above average run as the UM Punter. He never truly had one good year where he built on his previous success; both seasons had their bright spots. In his junior year he averaged 42.7 yards per punt (in 2012 he average 40.5) and a season long of 62 (in 2012 his long was 56) which were both his career bests. In his senior season though he had 23 punts downed inside the 20 yard line (2011 he had just 11). Each season he was asked to achieve different in game strategies and relatively speaking, he did quite well.

Post attending UM it doesn't look like he has gone on to be a pro kicker or punter. A practice squad visit with the Saints looks like the only call he got but he hasn't kicked in the pro's.

Ryan Williams, RS Sr., NA QB, University of Memphis, Not Rated

Williams had a long and winding road to the University of Miami. He starred at Miramar High School and in his senior year won the State Championship. Even though he was Mr. All World in high school he wasn't setting the recruiting trail on fire due to being primarily a pocket passer and not having an elite arm when throwing the deep ball. Due to his short comings in the vertical passing game he decided to go to lowly Memphis where the opportunity for early playing time was available.

At Memphis he quickly won the starting QB position as a  true freshman and never gave it back, he started 10 of the 12 games in his one and only season for the Tigers. During his one season at Memphis they were a dumpster fire and finished the 2011 regular season 2-10 with wins against Austin Peay (1-AA) and Tulane (a notable doormat). With the atrocious performance that season coupled with the previous season going 1-11 a new coach was brought in who decided to run a spread-option offensive attack. Due to Williams' ability noted above, he decided to transfer because he believed at Miami he could run a prostyle attack which would suit his skill set better than languishing at Memphis.

Since coming to UM Williams has been a backup quarterback subbing in when Stephen Moris was injured or coming in when the games became laughers. He was looking forward to taking the reins of the offense in 2014 but a torn ACL has delayed those plans, for now.

2014 Recap:

You feel bad for Williams. Post his injury Brad Kaaya set foot on campus and lit the ground on fire with his play. Williams only saw the field in mop up duty in 2014 and was never considered the starter post the injury. In the upcoming NFL draft Williams might go the way of training camp invitee as a possible 4^th stringer for a franchise but who knows, maybe he can land on an active roster as a backup. We'll have to see come July and August.

Antonio Kinard, So., POST GRAD OLB, Youngstown Ohio, ***

If Ryan Williams had a circuitous road to Miami, Kinard had what seemed like a gauntlet to even play football in college. Kinard was supposed to be a part of the Michigan 2010 recruiting class but he didn't have the grades to qualify. Due to that he decided to go to Hargrave Military Academy to get his grades up and be able to get into Ann Arbor the following season. However, in 2011 Coach Rich Rodriguez was fired and all of a sudden Kinard needed to look for another University to try and play for. Miami contacted him and he decided to join the 2011 class.

About this time four years ago Kinard was about to step onto the practice field at UM but his academic transcript wasn't portraying what UM thought it should have been. Due to the academic questions he was released from his scholarship. Kinard decided to head home and work for his Dad's Wine Store in South Carolina. What was thought to be a short term job turned into a several month period with Kinard working for his father.

Eventually he was able to find a home at Arizona Western College and due to the fact he took several years off he's still only a rising sophomore for the team. Last season he tallied over 100 tackles so he's showing well.. It's just... well.. Arizona Western..

2014 Recap:

After having a superb season at Arizona Western he looked to transfer again to a 1A school and it looks like he landed at Cincinnati for the upcoming season. He'll look for immediate playing time next season along a really bad Cincinnati defensive unit that was ranked near the bottom in many categories last year.

Closing Remarks

Honestly, there isn't really much to say besides making only negative comments about this class. You can see the breakdown below. Yes there were a few players that left an impact on the program but far too many players were misses. By misses I mean did nothing for the program.. Some of the players still have a year of eligibility left so we'll have to see how they finish out their careers.. Just... yeeeesh..

All Conference Player(s)

-          Denzel Perryman (LB, ***)

Starter

-          Anthony Chickillo (DE,****)

-          Phillip Dorsett (WR, ***)

-          Olsen Pierre (DT, ***)

-          Matt Goudis (K, ***)

-          Thurston Armbrister (S, NA)

Backup

-          Dallas Crawford (CB,RB,S, ****) -at one point was a starter for Duke when he was injured.

-          Corey King (DT, NA)

Injured, Out for Year

-          Rashawn Scott (WR, ***) - shoulder/clavicle

-          Taylor Gadbois (OT, ***) - knee

-          Ryan Williams (QB, NA) - knee

Transferred/Kicked Off Team

-          Jalen Grimble (DE, ****) - Oregon State

-          Gionni Paul (OLB, ***) - Utah

-          Thomas Finnie (CB, ***) - Bethune-Cookman

-          Ricardo Williams (DE, ***) - Marshall

-          Eddie Johnson (OLB, ***) - Places unknown..

Did Not Make it to UM

-          Kevin Grooms (ATH, ****) - Marshall then kicked off team for breaking laws

-          Antonio Kinard (LB, NA) - Transfering to Cincinnati

Graduated

-          Dalton Botts (P, NA)