The Rundown Take
Leonard Taylor, Jake Garcia and the Class Manny Built: U Talk Breaks Down the 2021 Signees
With E Gray out handling business, Devin ran a Friday night solo dedicated entirely to Miami's freshly signed 2021 recruiting class — all 21 signees, ranked nationally in the top 10-11. The panel and callers went name-by-name on who's going to move the needle, and Larry Frank Jr. dialed in for his signature segment with a full positional breakdown.
Key Takeaways
- Miami signed all 21 committed recruits in the 2021 class, headlined by five-stars Leonard Taylor (DL, Miami Palmetto) and James Williams (S), plus long-awaited pocket quarterback Jake Garcia out of Grayson High.
- Devin's pick for the class's biggest long-term impact player: three-star linebacker Deshawn Troutman, who he says will outproduce the higher-rated names once his tape gets watched.
- Larry Frank Jr. splits his projection two ways: offensive lineman Michael McLaughlin for immediate 2021 impact, Jake Garcia as the long-term face of the program once D'Eriq King moves on.
- Larry Frank breaks down Rhett Lashlee's SMU tape and argues Garcia, not King, is the ideal fit for Lashlee's pass-heavy scheme — with Tyler Van Dyke also in the mix for a real quarterback competition down the road.
- Panel consensus: cornerback remains a glaring need the staff will have to fix in the transfer portal, with James Williams and Avantae Williams both floated as position converts.
The Sign-Off Segment: Who's the Guy?
Devin opened his own vote with Leonard Taylor as the obvious headline name — "everybody I've talked to says he's a program changer" — but kept circling back to Troutman as his sleeper, praising his sideline-to-sideline speed and instinct on tape over pure star rankings. Caller George Diaz backed Taylor as the safe pick; caller Josh Ayers agreed Taylor or Williams was the "obvious" answer. Pablo Tarantino pushed a name of his own, defensive lineman Alan Hays ("Trapman"), insisting the linebacker room needs more juice behind Tyler Johnson and Troutman.
Larry Frank's Take: Garcia Over King, Long Term
Larry Frank Jr. delivered the night's deepest dive, walking through Lashlee's old SMU film to explain why King — despite carrying the 2020 offense — isn't the optimal fit for an air-raid-influenced scheme built around isolating receivers on islands. He projects McLaughlin as an under-the-radar Year One starter on the offensive line, and pegs Garcia as the eventual QB1 once King departs, with Van Dyke pushing him in a real competition. He also flagged wide receiver as the class's strongest unit — Rashad Smith, Romello Brinson and Jacolby George all drawing praise — and noted DC Sam Bandy is again being connected to the Utah State job.
"I think this good class is the foundation — last year's class was the spark that was going to spark the change, but this is the foundation that's actually going to be that change."
Holiday Sign-Off and Rival Trash Talk
The show closed on the usual mix of family business — shoutouts to sponsors and alumni ran long before kickoff — and closed with Cuban Kane and George Diaz needling Larry Frank and E Gray over their Falcons and Dolphins. Devin confirmed there's no Monday show with Christmas coming, promising to return after New Year's with word on Miami's bowl opponent and a full holiday well-wish to the U Talk family.