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Miami OLT
Bryant McKinnie
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Duane Starks had just returned to his hometown of Miami, Fla., fresh
from signing a five-year, $23 million free-agent contract with the Cardinals. The former
Ravens cornerback, who has 20 interceptions in his first four NFL seasons, was realizing a
dream hatched on the nearby University of Miami campus eight years ago.
"Back then, I looked up to Robert Bailey (a 10-year NFL veteran),
those guys that always came back and gave us a helping hand," said Starks, the 10th
overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft by Baltimore. "When you are a young guy, you want
to be like a professional. When you have pros coming back, working with you, giving you
pointers, that gives a young guy a lot of determination to do their best."
Hurricanes don’t forget where they came from. Starks, Edgerrin
James, Leon Searcy and Ray Lewis make their presence around South Beach commonplace during
the NFL offseason. In January, when underclassmen had questions about their league worth,
it was Starks on the other end of the line, now playing the role of Bailey, his mentor.
"I believe anyone is ready coming out of the program at Miami as a
junior," Starks said. "That has turned out to be true in most cases. Looking
back, Edgerrin James, Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp, they left early and are very successful in
the NFL."
In the last 15 years, Miami has produced 25 NFL first-round picks, more
than any other college. Florida State (18), Tennessee (17), Ohio State (17) and Florida
(16) also have had solid showings. In the 1990s alone, the University of Miami had 12
players selected in the first round after 10 Hurricanes had been first-round picks from
1980-89.
At the beginning of the 2001 NFL season, Miami had 37 active alums in
the NFL, including four — DT Damione Lewis, LB Dan Morgan, WR Santana Moss and WR
Reggie Wayne — who came off the board in the first round of the ’01 NFL draft;
three in the top 16 picks.
Job placement could be even greater this year for coach Larry Coker.
After winning the national championship with a perfect 12-0 march, Miami’s domination
is far from over. As many as six ’Canes might be first-round picks.
"I’m going to say (we can) get five," OLT Bryant
McKinnie said, projecting the number of Miami first-rounders this year. "We’re
trying to break a record. They got four last year; we want to get five."
Said one NFL personnel director: "They definitely have four with
McKinnie, (Edward) Reed, Jeremy Shockey and (Phillip) Buchanon. (Clinton) Portis has a
chance too. He may be a middle-of-the-second round guy right now, but if (RBs) T.J.
Duckett and (William) Green go real early, Portis is a good bet to get in the (first)
round."
McKinnie, CB Phillip Buchanon, TE Jeremy Shockey and SS Edward Reed are
ranked either first or second by Pro Football Weekly at their respective positions and
widely considered locks to be snagged in the opening round. Portis and CB Mike Rumph
project as early second-round picks who could slip into the first round.
"We’re not winning championships because we’re
lucky," Miami ORT Joaquin Gonzalez said. "We win with talent and because we work
very hard. The other thing is our practices. You’ll see (DT) William Joseph go
against (ORG Martin) Bibla. Buchanon goes up against Andre Johnson. These are guys you
know are going to the NFL. We very rarely faced a team with the type of talent we saw in
practice, week in and week out. Saturdays were kind of easy for us."
Portis rushed for 1,200 yards and scored 11 touchdowns as a junior and
is projected to be one of the first four or five backs selected. The 5-foot-11 Portis
doesn’t have great size for an every-down back, so his toughness is a pleasant
surprise. However, despite blazing speed, Portis didn’t break many long runs, and
that’s a concern to some NFL clubs. FB Najeh Davenport is the best at his position,
and Rumph, Bibla and Gonzalez are also possible early picks who turned heads at
Miami’s pro timing day. Buchanon and Portis, who along with Shockey, left school as
juniors, were clocked under 4.5 seconds in the rain that day. Typical speed for a
Hurricane.
"Nobody ever surprises you when you come down here,"
Chiefs’ head coach Dick Vermeil said. "You expect to see talent, and you see
talent."
The prize of the Miami class is McKinnie, based mainly on potential.
Any team looking for a prototypical offensive tackle in the draft starts with McKinnie and
Texas ORT Mike Williams. McKinnie, 6-8, 343, isn’t as polished as past linemen yet
he’s equally impressive.
"You come look at guys. McKinnie, he’s a guy you can just
look at," Cardinals head coach Dave McGinnis said of his initial meeting with Mount
McKinnie. "He filled the door up. Leonard (Davis) was one of those deals last year
when he walks in the room and you stand up. Then Joe Greene stands up and starts measuring
his hand up against a guy, and its pretty even — you shut the door and try to keep
him."
McKinnie has not allowed a sack (he has a 94-inch wingspan) since his
move to left tackle as a freshman at Lackawanna Junior College (Pa.). "Not even in
practice," McKinnie scowls. "Ask my coaches."
Said Miami assistant head coach and OL coach Art Kehoe: "(Bryant)
has become such a colossal talent; more than I could have ever imagined. The thing is,
he’s going to get a lot better. His upside, because of his size, girth and skills, is
amazing ... maybe limitless."
McKinnie has played far less football than Williams and even Bibla and
Gonzalez, who came in together in 1997 when Miami went 5-6. Until his junior year in high
school, McKinnie marched on a football field only when playing the bass drum in the
Woodbury (N.J.) High School band.
"Bibla does do certain things better than Bryant at times,"
said Kehoe, an assistant at Miami for 17 years. "But I truly believe I could coach
another 50 years and never see somebody with the gifts Bryant has.
"In pass protection, he does two things as well as anybody,
regardless of size. He keeps his head out and his feet apart. When you are at that level
and you consistently keep your head from getting involved and your feet apart, you are
damn hard to beat."
Clearly, McKinnie isn’t flawless. NFL clubs are confident
additional training will iron out any existing rough edges, and some are projecting the
mammoth tackle could be off the board as early as the second or third pick.
"I don’t feel threatened," McKinnie said. "I like
the challenge. I’ve got confidence I’m going to perform well. We work hard down
there (in Miami). They have seen me play the last two years. They know what I can do. I
hope to be in the top five."
Elsewhere, the Hurricanes’ secondary helped hold opponents to a
measly 131.8 passing yards per game last season and had 28 interceptions.
"You can line up and win some games in the NFL with the safety
(Reed) and two corners (Buchanon and Rumph) right off the bat," Dolphins vice
president of player personnel Rick Spielman said.
Rumph — who didn’t have an interception as a senior and at
6-2, 205 could move to safety in the NFL — fell in the eyes of league personnel men
when Buchanon chose to forego his senior season. "I knew the consequences of him
coming out," Rumph said. "And I told him, ‘If I were you, I would come out.
If I had the stuff that you had this year, I would come out.’ He made a wise
choice."
While Rumph plays wait-and-see, Buchanon ponders just how high he may
go — and if he can pass top-rated Texas CB Quentin Jammer.
"I think I can go be a shut-down corner," Buchanon said.
"Where I come from, you make plays (at) this position or you don’t. I make
plays."
Buchanon had five picks last season and also returned punts for an
average of 14.3 yards with two touchdowns.
Like Rumph, Reed, who totaled 17 interceptions as a junior and senior,
comes with some size concerns. At 5-11, 205, he doesn’t have safety size, but he
lacks great speed needed to play cornerback. Though Reed is confident he’ll play
safety at the next level, he said it has little to do with size because he has displayed
the ability "to play at any level." Reed’s top competition at safety is
coming from Oklahoma’s Roy Williams, who could be a top-five pick.
"(Roy) is more of a get-down-in-there, probably more of a
hitter," Reed said. "I’m more of a free safety. I can hit, make plays. I
think I’m more versatile than Roy."
Shockey is 6-foot-6 with powder-soft hands and 4.6 speed. He had 40
catches for 519 yards and seven touchdowns in a well-balanced offense last season. In a
deep TE class, NFL clubs had their eyes and ears on the big target all season. Shockey
said he knew his stock was high before he made the decision to leave school.
"I had a chance to be a first-rounder," Shockey said.
"It’s hard to pass up an opportunity like that."
An opportunity many Hurricanes are familiar with. |
