It’s been about a week since spring football ended at Greentree. The withdrawals, though not as harsh as in January, are definitely felt during the long, hot summer days ahead of August camp. How are you going to get through the next few months? Honestly, I don’t know. All I can do is say good luck as you embark into the off-season and offer some tips as your spiritual guide.
May
This is where we’re at right now. The euphoria from a great spring still lingers, and twitter feeds are filling up with RTs about “donk ridin” and “the block is hot” warnings. I suppose that means recruiting has been going aight. With so much enthusiasm building and no proper outlet for it, we have the perfect conditions for the rise of the amateur analyst. Phrases like these will soon be common parlance in the streets and on the boards:
“Southeast Contact Sports Quarterly Web Edition has Miami preseason ranked #8. Safe to say them Canes are back baby!”
“Hands down the best front seven since 2001. We want Bama!”
“With this schedule I just don’t see Miami losing a game. Did you book your flight to the Sugar Bowl yet?”
“No chance we lose to Florida State this year”
Full disclosure, these are all phrases I have said and will say again as my Miami hubris has no bounds.
Overall, May is a manageable month because you can still taste the football on your lips. Every team is 0-0 so embrace the debate and lick those chompers. Just don’t forget to call your mom on Mother’s Day.
June
June is rough; we all know this. By this point football is a faded memory, and a person can only stomach so much baseball. Recruiting is mostly quiet to dead, so the best you can do is stay woke trying to piece together conspiracies on any silent commitments.
Here are some fun activities you may try as distractions:
- Go outside and Play 60. Heart health is important!
- Go check out a library book. Reading is brain exercise!
- Go watch the twelfth Transformers movie. But no spoilers please!
- Take lots of naps!
So yea…good luck with June.
July
Nothing has been officially announced by it’s likely that Paradise Camp 2.0 will happen in July. For a couple days, Coral Gables will be the Mecca for elite high school talent and NFL legends. No doubt there will be a slew of reports as to who stood out, who fell flat, and how many new commitments Miami expects to add following the camp. Basically, during Paradise Camp you’ll be able to walk anywhere on campus, throw a rock in any direction and hit a blue-chip recruit. But don’t actually do that because that’s assault.
Also in July, maybe you’ll get some leaked information from the happenings in the weight room. Who is adding 30 lbs to their bench press? Who shaved off .03 seconds from their forty? Gee, I sure hope 560 lb squat max is enough to beat UNC this year…that’s good stuff you guys.
August
OK you made it. You’re rounding the final turn. Fall camp starts, and daggummit if the kids are out there working then you better be too. You’ve got to be gameday ready, so start hitting these drills.
Drill #1: Brush up on your roster knowledge. You can’t be that guy bellowing “GUUSSSS” when you see a #7 trotting on the field. He doesn’t play here anymore! Nothing is more embarrassing than #82 catching a touchdown and you’re asking “who is that?”. Don’t be that guy.
Drill #2: Start browsing the web for some hot Canes swag #threestripelife. Fresh new ClimaLite polo, add to cart. Sebastian the Ibis socks, add to cart. Replica jersey generically screen printed with #1 even though everyone knows it’s a Mark Walton jersey but you can’t officially say that because it’s illegal to use a student athlete’s likeness for monetary gains…add to cart. Maybe get yourself that nice Hurricanes grill cover you’ve always wanted. We won a bowl game last year, so treat yo’ self!
Drill #3: Do a gameday scrimmage no later than August 26th, and treat it like the real thing. Make sure you get a good night’s rest on gamedayeve cause Saturday morning your alarm clock is ringing Hell’s Bells. Throw on the gameday garb, fire up the gameday playlist, responsibly enjoy your favorite gameday beverage, and queue up the DVR with some old 2016 game film. Choose a happy game like Pitt or Duke. Practice the Cane spell out, your favorite curse words, bathroom break timing, and rep it to perfection because before you know it Bethune-Cookman is rolling into town for real.
I know there’s a long road ahead, so just wake up every morning and focus on winning each day one at a time. Before you know it, the smoke will be going off, the Band of The Hour will play, and all will be right with the world again.