Archive for November, 2010

Recent firing of head coach at the University of Miami, Randy Shannon, turns a lot of attention to the future of UM. Randy Shannon gave the University of Miami four good years of football. After graduating from “the U” and becoming the head coach years later was a dream come true.

Melvin Bratton

University of Miami has always been known to be a power house program when it comes to college football. With the recent departure of coach Shannon I had the opportunity to talk with one of Miami’s greatest running backs to ever come through the program, Melvin Bratton. When asked how he felt about the recent firing of coach Shannon, he had this to say: “Coach Shannon gave four years of head coaching. Randy will be a success as a head coach. He made mistakes on the job, but he also learned from those mistakes. That is why he will be a good head coach somewhere else.”

When asked about the struggles of Miami over the past few years under Randy Shannon, Bratton felt that Randy shouldn’t have hired Randy’s guys.” Meaning friends and ex-teammates. Bratton was very clear with me. He felt like Randy had no one on the staff to step up to him and give him that positive and negative feedback.

Darrell Fullington

Miami is known for their bad boy mentality in the past years; the swagger on the field, the high intensity level, and their showmanship. Bratton said that he went away from what he knows and what he was taught as a player at UM. The bad boy mentality wasn’t there and it showed. “Randy cut and shut the door off for alumni coming back and having relationships with current players.” Growing up in the state of Florida I have always known that Miami has a strong alumni presence when it comes to football. When players finish their senior year they always stay and train for the combine at the University of Miami. That shows that the program and the school support their ex-players and invite them to keep a relationship with the program. This was very shocking to me hearing that Randy shut the door on his fellow teammates which created a division, whether he meant it or not. Former Safety for University of Miami, Darrell Fullington said, “Disappointing one of our own couldn’t lead us back to the top. Out of respect, he’s still family. Family doesn’t always do what you want them to do.”

ESPN’s 30/30 host “The U”, Melvin Bratton, had this to say when asked about who he would like to see as Miami’s next head coach. “If they have the money for Jon Gruden he will be our ideal coach for the job. He has the mentality that works for what Miami needs. I also asked him what he thinks about UM going after UGA’s Head Coach Mark Richt. “No, that’s a bad move. You’re getting back into the same type of coach Randy was, the good boy mentality.”

Those are two big time coaches for The U to go after. It makes sense for Mark Richt to go back to his roots at UM. He’s a Florida boy at heart and it won’t be a bad look for Miami. If Jon Gruden takes the job, so many positives will come out of his hire. The experience, relationships, and success he has built in his coaching career will be an immediate impact on the University of Miami’s program. Other coaches up for UM hire are Texas Tech’s Tommy Tuberville, and Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator Brent Venables. It’s been reported that Gruden has been offered $3.4 million per year.

I have also gotten word that the alumni of Miami will come together and help the university pay for the coach they want, so money will not be a problem as long as they get the production that they’ve been waiting for.

Kelin Johnson Exclusive: Zach Tells Me About His Top Choices

Courtesy of Marc Browning and Kansas.com

Mettenberger’s Butler Community College rolls into the National Title Game at the Citizens Bank Bowl in Pittsburgh on December 5th, as the departed former Georgia would-be starting QB narrows down his choices of which team he’ll play for next season.

This past Saturday Zach passed for 382 yards and six touchdowns, pushing his season total to a school-record 31 TD’s and one rushing touchdown in the Region VI title game at Blackmore Stadium.  The ex-Dawg has been through a lot since his departure from Athens.  He has been working really hard to get back to the top after his lost Bulldog opportunity.

Butler is No. 1 in the NJCAA football rankings and much of the success has came from QB Zach Mettenberger.

When I asked Zach about his season this year, he told me “We have worked so hard for this and all my accomplishments this year are a reflection of the teammates around me. We have one more goal now and that’s to be National Champs.”

Mettenberger has been named the Offensive Player of the year and the Overall Player of the year for the Jayhawk West Conference.  I know hard work always pays off.  It may not come when you want it, but it pays off soon or later!

With 31 TD’s on the year – 2 rushing TD’s, with only 3 INT’s for 2,512 yards. Zach has received offers from Arizona, Alabama, Louisville, Cinncy, LSU, Texas A&M, Ole’ Miss, Arkansas, and Troy.

Mettenberger tells me that LSU, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Arizona are his Top choices. Zach will be on his way to LSU for a visit this weekend and I am sure they will lay out the red carpet from him.

Where do you think he will end up?

I can no longer keep my mouth shut about Cam Newton and the
allegations against him. As an ex- player in the NCAA and having
played for one of the top teams in college football, I take pride in
this game.

I am not happy that Cam has been accused, and practically
convicted in the media, of taking money to play college football. I
am sure that thousands of other alums of college football share these
feelings. For me and many others, football has created life-long
memories, opportunities and blessings. The game has taught me many
lessons. In Pop Warner football I learned keep my mouth shut and
let the play on the field speak for itself.

Cam Newton is an amazing football player and definitely has the “IT” factor. Yes, he has made mistakes before, which has been proven. He left UF and attended junior college. He served his punishment and appeared to have learned his lesson.

This is why the allegations against Newton make me angry:

If the NCAA has known about this since January of 2010, why is it coming out now?

Why does it come out when he is being considered for the Heisman
trophy, which honors the best college football player in the nation.
Why why is it coming out when his team has a chance to compete for
the national championship?
Why are leaks springing now about his academic records at UF that happened two years ago? Why should that matter now? What does that have to do with his current enrollment at Auburn?

I know as an ex-athlete that academic records are confidential. Nobody is supposed to leak that information. The only people who have access to a player’s academic record are his
counselors and his football coaches? So you tell me how it leaked out
of UF?

The Media seems to be bent on bringing this young man down. 
may not take away from the fact that he’s a wonderful football player
but it does significantly tarnish his image. Cam Newton’s image is now
being questioned by the NFL teams and this will hurt his draft stock
immensely. This was a man that had paid for making bad choices and now
seemed to be on the right track. The University of Florida,
Mississippi State, the media and whoever else made these claims should
be ashamed. If a football player broke rules- YES, he should be
punished- but at the same time PROVE IT. There are only unproven
allegations against Cam Newton.

The NCAA knew about these allegations since January. If they have the
evidence to prove them, they should do so. If not, they should “let
the young man enjoy his short time in the spotlight of fame because
tomorrow is not promised to you!

It’s crazy the world we live in, it’s a What have you done for me lately.. so if Cam Newton wasn’t the Star QB he is right now the allegations against him right would still be under the table.

-Kelin

Copyright 2010 Kelin Johnson

Turnover Turnaround Needed!

1. Turnovers…Turnovers…Turnovers are what hurt UGA in last week’s game. They didn’t get enough of them and gave too many up! The Dawgs have to win the turnover battle!

2. Offense needs to get Murray back in the swing of things. Giving him a solid running game will help the passing game and continue to build his confidence.

3. Have fun.. It’s not a huge game against the Idaho State Bengals at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, but the Dawgs need to win two of the next three games in order to be Bowl-eligible. Hard hits, long runs, and bodies flying around on defense.. Making big plays is what UGA needs right now coming off the loss to Florida and will be a huge boost looking ahead to the undefeated Auburn Tigers!

On Kelin Keepin’ It Real Radio this week:

Gil Tyree will be checking in with us from Tallahassee, where FSU hosts UNC.

And UGA great Boss Bailey will be stopping by to talk with me about UGA football.

So check us out at 11 AM EST on Voice America Sports and right here on kelinjohnson.com.