There is no lack of brashness when it comes to football players out of "The U." For years, the Miami Hurricanes ruled college football and ruled the NFL in perhaps even more impressive fashion, consistently sending piles of prospects to the pros.
It's petered off a bit lately (even though Al Golden's six-win Canes team sent seven players to the NFL this year!) but former Canes standout and new Colts wide receiver Andre Johnson told WQAM in Miami he thinks a team comprised of all Hurricanes could win the Super Bowl.
"Yeah I really think you can [win a Super Bowl],” Johnson said. "If you put a team together and all of the guys are in their prime, yes, I think you could get it done."
Asked about putting the group together RIGHT NOW -- not dudes in their prime, but right now, including Ray Lewis and Ed Reed for some reason -- Johnson didn't waffle.
"I think you could put something together that would get you there," Johnson said. "I think you can put a team together that can get it done."
Johnson's own team in Indy is basically all U players already. There's Johnson, Frank Gore, Philip Dorsett, tight end Erik Swoope and two coaches in Rob Chudzinski and Chuck Pagano from Miami.
We talked about just how realistic Johnson's All-U Super Bowl claims are on the latest Eye on Football Podcast (never miss an episode by subscribing via iTunes):
That's a pretty good head start. But let's construct a team real quick based on all Miami Hurricanes players and see how it would do.
QB --
Oh well see right here we have ourselves a bit of a problem. THERE'S NO QUARTERBACK.
Not literally, but almost. Certainly a dropoff from the "best quarterback in the NFL." The closest thing is either:
1) Ken Dorsey/Vinny Testaverde. One (Dorsey) is the quarterbacks coach of the Panthers, while the other (Vinny) last played for the Panthers in 2007. Don't tell me he couldn't suit up tomorrow and game-manage some team.
2) Jacory Harris. Currently playing in the CFL.
3) Stephen Morris/Ryan Williams/Jake Heaps. All undrafted free agents in the last two years on NFL rosters.
None of these are good ideas, but technically we could try and win a Super Bowl with Stephen Morris.
Onto the rest of the roster ...
RB -- Frank Gore/Lamar Miller/Mike James -- Strong backfield!
WR -- Andre Johnson/Philip Dorsett/Allen Hurns/Travis Benjamin/Tommy Streeter/LaRon Byrd/Reggie Wayne/Devin Hester/Santana Moss -- Steep drop off but a dangerous depth chart nonetheless. Again, who's throwing to them?
TE -- Jimmy Graham/Greg Olsen -- Best tight end combo in the league. Trade one dude for a QB.
OL -- Ereck Flowers/Orlando Franklin/Chris Myers/Eric Winston/Jason Fox/Seantrel Henderson/Brandon Linder/Jon Feliciano/Shane McDermott -- Throwing some bodies out here via PFR and Wikipedia, but we've got enough to field a full offensive line.
DL -- Calais Campbell/Allen Bailey/Olivier Vernon/Vince Wilfork -- Surprisingly weak group of guys.
LB -- D.J. Williams/Jon Beason/Sean Spence/Denzel Perryman -- Plenty of linebacker bodies here (not even counting Lewis!) so maybe we go 3-4 with this bad boy?
DB -- Sam Shields/Antrel Rolle/DeMarcus Van Dyke/Brandon Meriweather/Brandon Harris/Kenny Phillips -- Pretty strong group here actually.
So, does this team win the Super Bowl? Probably not. Maybe it contends in a weak division and maybe it makes the playoffs. But the quarterback problem is a real one and it's gonna keep this team from contending.
Still an impressive showing from The U. Now if only they could turn the college team around.