Steve Kim:The Wright Stuff?

Published May 5, 2005

The Wright Stuff?

It was a month ago at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale that the Miami Hurricanes held their annual spring game in front of a cozy crowd of around 7,000.

For players and fans alike it was a way of expunging the bitter taste of last year?s un-Miami-like mark of 9-3 and turning the page to 2005.

And it was quarterback Kyle Wright who not only stole the show on that warm afternoon, but he made the off-season much more bearable for the Cane Nation. Forget his stats that day (they've been repeated ad nauseum and there's nothing more overrated in football than statistics derived from scrimmages). But what struck observers was Wright's command of the game, his ability to let plays develop, read progressions and consistently make the correct decisions.

In short, he just looked like a Miami quarterback. One who could take over games, win a Heisman, and one day pose with Paul Tagliabue sporting the always-mismatched combination of a ballcap and a $3,000 Italian suit in New York City.

What was supposed to be a closely-contested quarterback competition between he and Kirby Freeman ended up being Reagan-Mondale - a landslide. Although Larry Coker didn't make that announcement official until last week, anyone who saw the spring game knew that Miami had found its field general for 2005.

His name is Kyle Wright.

In many ways Wright represents a new era of Miami football. Brock Berlin ended up being a serviceable signal caller for the Hurricanes in 2004 ? nearly winning ACC Player of the Year honors - but in many ways he was Bill Guthridge replacing Dean Smith, taking on the nearly impossible task of filling Ken Dorsey's huge Nikes. Berlin, for all his guts and fortitude, always seemed like a square peg to a round hole. A theater performer trying to make it on a sitcom. A thrower more suited to the shotgun spread than to Miami's balanced pro-style system.

But in steps Wright who is one of the most highly decorated quarterbacks to ever come into the program from the pass-happy land of California - where two things are abundant, fake breasts and tall, statuesque, big-armed prototype quarterbacks. And from what we've seen so far this isn't going to be Bill Turkowski or Bryan Fortay. In fact, insiders will tell you that he has as much talent as past UM gunslingers like Testaverde, Kelly, Kosar and Erickson.

And it will be on his right arm that the future and the legacy of one Larry Edward Coker will be decided. Oh, it's not all on #3; it would be nice if he could get just a little bit of blocking. But if he can give this program the type of quarterbacking that it used to have on a consistent basis during the Gary Stevens era, then the demise of this program will have been greatly exaggerated.

This isn't a misplaced transfer like Berlin or a moonlighting shortstop like Kenny Kelly, Wright is as ?can't miss? as they come in the recruiting crapshoot. If Miami can't get him to produce, what does it say about our current offensive regime and its ability to develop quarterbacks?

Quick, since Gino Torreta graduated in 1992 - with a national title and Heisman to his credit - how many All-American quarterbacks has UM had?

One.

That?s half the number that Marshall - yeah, the Thundering Herd - has had, with Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich. UM hasn't been 'QB U' for a long time.

Since Stevens, the patron saint of Miami Offensive Coordinators, left Coral Gables after the 1988 campaign, UM has failed to consistently develop quarterbacks while pumping out a veritable assembly line of NFL standouts at nearly every other position.

What's happened to the quarterback spot at UM reminds me of what happened to the heavyweight division after Muhammad Ali finally called it a day. From there a rather forgettable crew of heavyweights, like Greg Page, Michael Dokes, Mike Weaver, Pinklon Thomas, Trevor Berbick and Tony Tubbs would come around the block and be called 'champions' for about 15 minutes at a time during the 1980's.

At Miami, post-Torreta, we saw the likes of Frank Costa, Ryan Collins, Ryan Clement, Scott Covington, Kenny Kelly and Berlin. Add to that list the long-forgotten names like Alan Hall, Steve Kelly, Chris Walsh and TJ Prunty.

That makes Dorsey the Larry Holmes in all this.

Wright has the type of talent that can elevate a 9-3 team into one that gets into a BCS bowl. One that can get a staff to get out of the antiquated Coker-T from midfield on first and ten, one that will give a coordinator enough confidence to have the temerity to actually throw the ball on second and ten and one that will put every defense on its heels.

Make no mistake about it, Wright's performance this upcoming season will either solidify or weaken Coker's hold on the head coaching job at UM. No, I'm not saying that another sub-par season will get him fired, but it will serve as an impetus for him to make staff changes (most likely on the offensive side of the ball) at the behest of Sheriff Donna Shalala. And you know who is next after a head coach axes an assistant or two, right?

But if Wright should play the kind of football that is expected of him, then calls for Coker's head will suddenly cease (well, OK, they'll decrease) and a guy like Dan Werner could suddenly be among the hottest head coaching candidates in the country.

Or he could become Rob Chudzinski. It will depend on the performance from that kid from Danville, California.

It's as simple as that, because contrary to popular belief, Coker has recruited well and there is talent all across the board. The defense should be much improved from a year ago and despite the loss of Frank Gore and Kevin Everett to the NFL, UM does not lack in weaponry on the flanks. Yes, Art Kehoe needs to find a guard or two, but this is Miami - the standards remain high.

This is the quarterback that Coker recruited; the one that he believed could carry UM to another national championship. Ultimately, he could be the one player on which his legacy depends.

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