The consensus at Miami is that the Hurricanes showed promise of a great future with their performance in the spring, but whether that great future will be in 2008 is doubtful.

That's because so many newcomers, including true freshmen, look to have to play key roles next fall, and there very likely will be some growing pains.

Miami had nine signees take part in the spring drills after enrolling early.

Some, like wide receiver Aldarius Johnson, linebacker Sean Spence, linebacker Arthur Brown, defensive tackle Marcus Forston and fullback John Calhoun, look to be immediate contributors, and that list could grow in the fall.

When you throw in redshirt freshmen like quarterback Robert Marve, wide receiver Jermaine McKenzie and tailback Lee Chambers, plus sophomores like defensive end Allen Bailey, offensive linemen Orlando Franklin and Joe Figueroa, receiver Leonard Hankerson and defensive tackle Josh Holmes, that's a pretty big youth movement -- especially with only eight players with at least seven starts returning.

For now, probably the most important thing the young players have given the program is competition across the board.

"The competition is great," says Marve, who looks to have the edge at quarterback over true freshmen Jacory Harris, Cannon Smith and Taylor Cook when fall camp opens. "We have competition at every level -- receiver, DBs, DL, all across the board. Everyone on the team is good."

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