Canes Find Rising Stars in Byrd & Benjamin

Looking at the list of Miami Hurricane wide receiver commitments for 2008 a month ago, two names would have stood out - Aldarius Johnson and Tommy Streeter, both from Miami Northwestern High and both among the top 15 at their position coming out of high school. But as fall practices have progressed, those aren't the two names that Coach Randy Shannon consistently singles out for accolades (and Shannon isn't one for doling out accolades anyway).

No, the two that Shannon cannot stop effusing over are LaRon Byrd and Travis Benjamin. They were the #60 and #42 ranked high school senior wide receivers in the country last year, according to rivals.com. Although they both garnered some notable offers from college football powerhouses, they received nowhere near the attention and focus as Johnson and Streeter. In yesterday's practice at Coral Gables, Benjamin nabbed 3 TD's, including one off of a reverse and another of 50 yards. Byrd has a big, physical frame, but also has unlikely speed for a man of his size (6-foot-4), clocked last year at a 4.46 forty yard dash. In case you're wondering, Benjamin was recently clocked at a 4.26. Many are comparing him to Santana Moss and Roscoe Parrish - the next great slot man at the U.

It will be interesting to track Byrd and Benjamin's improvement. They are already one of the surprising developing storylines at Hurricanes practice.