When it comes to defense, the names you hear most are linebacker Sean Spence, defensive tackle Marcus Forston, safety Vaughn Telemaque. Having players as such brings a smile to coach Randy Shannon's face, but none are what he considers the three keys to the defense being a success.

Last year UM realized youth could get it only so far. The `Canes need experience, too, which is why Shannon feels big years from defensive end Eric Moncur, linebacker Colin McCarthy and safety Randy Phillips are a necessity for a successful defense. All are seniors, with Moncur entering his sixth season and Phillips his fifth.

"They bring leadership back on defense," Shannon said. "With those three guys, you've got some guys who have been in the fire of some tough games. We need them."

All have proved they are capable of playing at a high level before injuries slowed them. Moncur was once considered a potential NFL player until a sports hernia slowed him last season. McCarthy had a strong sophomore season, but has been hampered with shoulder problems. Phillips, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, is the most experienced member in the secondary. Shannon says all are 100 percent healthy and should be ready for the start of fall camp.

As their college careers wind down, they are set to make one last run at helping restore UM's tradition. But more importantly, their presence allows them serve as mentors to younger guys like Spence, Forston and Telemaque. They will all benefit from playing alongside experience instead of more youth.

"It's like one of the greatest blessings I've ever had ... being granted another year," Phillips said during yesterday's interview session. "I finished school, I graduated and now I'm back just for football. I'm just getting a chance to really show what I can do because I haven't been on the field in a year and a half."

"There's 1A and 1B."

Similar to their plan to trim the WR rotation, the Hurricanes want a similar change in the backfield. The reason is because they would like more consistent threats at the skilled positions. UM hasn't had a 1,000-yard rusher since Willis McGahee in 2002.

"You've got to have a 1,000-yard rusher," Shannon said. "Like when we had (Clinton) Portis and Edgerrin (James). We had guys stacked up behind each other, which is why we had 1,000-yard rushers each year. We've got our depth now, and we can achieve that."

Shannon feels the experience of Cooper and James could help re-start the pipeline. The early nod goes to Cooper simply because he is the more versatile of the two. New offensive coordinator Mark Whipple has already said he wants to get the tailback more involved in the running and passing game.

Don't rule out James just yet, because injuries have slowed his progress the past two seasons. If he remains healthy, everything changes. He's a player on a mission to prove he can revert to the form that made him one of the nation's top freshmen in 2006.

The real question is who earns the No. 3 spot. Behind them are Lee Chambers, Damien Berry and freshman Mike James. Newcomer Lamar Miller is likely to be used on special teams while getting acclimated to college. All should be ready to step in once Cooper and James depart.

Of those fighting for playing time, Mike James and Berry probably have the best shot of earning third-string. James, an early-enrollee, was impressive during the spring. As was Berry, who ran for more than 100 yards in the Spring Game. It was his best effort since moving from defensive back last offseason.

"He's improved a lot," Shannon said of Berry. "He's still got a lot of things to pick up on as far as being the total package. From last year to now, he's a totally different person."

Last year, the problem was evident.

None of the wide receivers would say it, but there was concern with the deep rotation among them. The Hurricanes used as many as 10 receivers during games at some point last season. Now, the coaching staff has finally admitted it played too many and will make a change this season.

"Last year we had so many young guys," UM coach Randy Shannon said. "We just had to play so many guys at so many positions."

Youth was Shannon's reasoning. He felt he had to develop as many as possible.What he didn't realize was frustration would set in among the talented newcomers. It wasn't strictly a playing-time issue. Shannon said the players were simply learning too much, too fast. Several of them played all three wide receiver spots, but look for them to specialize in one position this season.

"You can't have one guy come in here and learn three of four different positions and three or four different personnel groups," Shannon said. "You just can't learn that fast."

With the bulk of the receivers playing their first year of college football, Shannon now feels he can easier evaluate. The experience should enable he and wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill to determine who deserves playing time.

"Everyone talks about the receiver position," Shannon said. "We’re not going to go in there and play eight or nine receivers. It’s going to be like any other team in America. We’re going to have  five or six guys and have the guys you go to and make plays with."

The question is how the staff will weed out the weak links. UM has one of the deepest wide receivers units in the ACC. Aldarius Johnson and LaRon Byrd made great strides as freshmen, but Travis Benjamin, Thearon Collier and Davon Johnson also had their moments. Then there's the addition of Tommy Streeter, who missed last season with injury.

The dwindling process won't be an easy one.

UM will have players available next week, and I'll post some quotes.

See ya.

Dunbar (Wash. D.C) High School linebacker Javarie Johnson made his decision Thursday. The 6-foot-3, 208-pounder also had offers from Maryland, Michigan and Michigan State. Johnson is on pace to graduate early, so expect him on campus in January if he maintains his commitment.

Several analysts say he is likely to switch to defensive end in college, but his high school coach Craig Jeffries recently told the Detroit News Johnson wants to play linebacker. He runs the 40 in 4.5 seconds.

Johnson plays at the same high school that produced San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis and Miami Dolphins first-round pick Vontae Davis.

He was just finishing a long run in his Baltimore neighborhood. The hard work has already began.

McClinton, arguably one of the best player in UM history, will embark on his NBA career after being taken Thursday by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round with the 51st overall pick.

"I'm ready," McClinton said. "It's time to get going."

McClinton didn't seem disappointed he was drafted so late. There were talks of him going to the New York Knicks in the first round, but he slipped later than expected in the second. He started to get a little on edge after not hearing his name, at one point leaving his family downstairs to be alone in his room. When he got word of being selected, he ran outside and sprinted up and down the block.

"It was crazy," he said. "I just heard so many things, hearing the Knicks are going to take you at No. 29. But you don't know anything until it happens ... "In the second round, it doesn't matter. It's all the same, it's still the second round."

McClinton calls San Antonio a good fit because he will be joining a veteran team. He can learn from point guard Tony Parker, and shouldn't have a problem finding open shots with all the attention on Tim Duncan, and newly-acquired Richard Jefferson.

"It was the best fit for me in just about every way," McClinton said. "They just made a good trade to get Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan is dominant in the post and I'll be learning from Tony Parker. I think it's a good opportunity."

McClinton doesn't know when he will fly to San Antonio to meet with the team. He was expected to leave shortly, but that was delayed because coach Greg Popovich has to attended a family wedding.

Well, part of that is no longer speculation.

The Knicks purchased the No. 29 pick from the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday for $3 million. That leaves the possibility of New York grabbing McClinton. This would be huge because it's guaranteed money for McClinton.

Of course, this is all just rumors and hearsay now. Most of it depends on how the draft unfolds. The Knicks, who also hold the eighth overall pick, are also high on former FSU guard Toney Douglas.

We'll see tonight.

If the Knicks do choose McClinton, how's this for the nickname: Big Apple Jack.

Despite being a two-time All-ACC player, some of so-called experts have left McClinton off their draft boards. At least five say he will go undrafted in tonight's NBA Draft in New York. Others have him going anywhere from No. 36 (Detroit) to No. 56 (Dallas).

Here's a quick rundown of where 10 popular mock drafts have McClinton being taken:

NBADraft.net: Undrafted
MyNBAdraft.com: No. 43 to Miami
Draftexpress.com: No. 46 to Phoenix
Draftempire.com: No. 50 to Utah
NBAdraftdepot.com: No. 56 to Dallas
CollegeHoops.net: Undrafted
TheDraftReview.com: Undrated
HoopsWorld.com: No. 36 to Pistons
RealGM.com: Undrafted
NBAdraftpress.com: Undrafted

McClinton, who is in Baltimore with family, shouldn't worry too much if he goes undrafted. It just means he will have to find a way to impress in the NBA summer league. That should give him every opportunity to make an NBA roster.

"No matter where's picked, he'll be on someone's summer league squad and will have a chance to impress that way, particularly with all the European scouts in attendance," ProBasketballNews.com writer Tony Mejia said. "A somewhat similar player, Georgia Tech's Anthony Morrow, earned himself NBA living by shooting the lights out throughout the summer league process."

Things changed for him, and the rest of the players from the 2004 and 2005 recruiting classes, when the coaching staff began to unravel. In response to those critical of the Hurricanes' recent recruiting woes, Jones said it was difficult to play during those years.

UM fired five assistants after the 2005 season. Then coach Larry Coker was canned in 2006. Since Randy Shannon took over in 2007, there have been four assistants who were fired or left for other jobs. That, Jones said, was too much for any player to handle.

"The guys that came in 2004 and 2005 got mixed up in the whole coaching change," Jones said. "I mean, I'd been through three or four offensive coordinators and (three) running back coaches. You've got to be consistent. You've got to develop some players at some point. I felt like if they would've kept the same coaching staff, a lot of guys would've ended up differently."

Jones said among the downfalls was a decrease in family atmosphere as pressure mounted when wins weren't being produced.

"When I first came to Miami, I think the coaching was fine," said Jones, rated the nation's No. 5 running back while at South Dade High School. "There was no problem with it. We were learning something new everyday .... "They were always preaching family this and family that, but after coach Coker left, it wasn't a family. Everything changed. A lot of guys felt they were screwed over."

Jones transferred to Memphis after the 2007 season, saying he had become tired of all the change. He felt the constant staff movement factored into the struggles of the veteran players. Jones was demoted in the spring of 2007. He started the first three games of 2006 before losing out to Javarris James, a freshman at the time.

"Graig Cooper came to the University of Miami in the spring of 2007, and [the new coaches] put him first on the depth chart the first day of spring practice," Jones said. "Nobody had seen him play. I mean, they had only seen him on film."

Jones said many of the older players felt they were being forced out during Shannon's "cleanse" of the program.

"When coach Shannon came in, he wanted to start all over and he wanted to start from scratch," Jones said. "The guys he recruited, he wanted to build off them. In the process, he screwed over a lot of upperclassmen."

Jones said he felt he could've helped the team in 2008 when James was hurt, leaving the bulk of the late-season load on Cooper. The Hurricanes had to play seldom-used Lee Chambers in the Emerald Bowl. Chambers did respond with a solid game. Jones rushed for 262 yards and six touchdowns last year at Memphis.

"You just can't get a kid off the street [freshmen] and expect them to come in and play against guys that have been in college for three or four years," Jones said. "They kind of put up a fight, but in the end, the older guys are going to win and I felt it showed during games."

They recently released the odds on the schools most likely to commit the next NCAA violation. It was a Top 25 the `Canes are probably thrilled to not be part of. And who says UM hasn't cleaned up its image.

Odds on which school will commit an NCAA violation next:

USC 8-1
Ohio State 9-1
Florida 10-1
Ole Miss 10-1
Florida State 12-1
Michigan State 12-1
Alabama 13-1
Michigan 13-1
Georgia 12-1
Iowa 14-1
Tennessee 14-1
Georgia Tech 14-1
Oklahoma 15-1
Virginia Tech 15-1
Mississippi 15-1
Cincinnati 15-1
Texas A & M 15-1
Boston College 16-1
Oklahoma State 17-1
Texas 18-1
Texas Tech 18-1
Missouri 18-1
TCU 20-1
UCLA 20-1
Cal 20-1

And here's the best part. There are even odds on if the next Florida Gators arrest will be a felony or misdemeanor:

Misdemeanor 5-9
Felony 7-5