Calvin, Hoping to speak to a NCAA expert on that very subject soon.

Lee is right. Manziel is the only redshirt freshman. Other two are true freshmen.

Temporary brain fart on my part regarding Malcolm Lewis. I don't know why I confused his injury with Ramon Buchanan for a second. It happens I guess.

Hey guys. I understand some of your frustration because the blog talks about how well the Seminoles are doing in South Florida. But the truth is the truth. I spoke to several recruiting analysts this week who all told me FSU has been doing a great job down here putting themselves in position to take not only some of the top uncommitted kids in the area, but also a few UM commitments -- Alex Collins, Trevon Darling, Keith Bryant, Artie Burns, etc. Look, I've covered recruiting for many years down here. I know a lot of schools across the country come down here and get local players. Miami can't get everyone. But the fact FSU could potentially come in here and scoop up the top player in Miami-Dade in 2013 and 2014 and several other top-end talent in the county is noteworthy. No Miami didn't really go after the 3 2013 players FSU already has as commitments from down here. But the Canes certainly want Matthew Thomas and Denver Kirkland and they certainly don't want FSU or another schools to take who they already got committed. Look, FSU has four of the top eight juniors in Dade already committed to them. Lets assume the show was on the other foot for a second. What if Miami had four of the top 8 players in Tallahassee committed would that not be noteworthy? Again, it's FSU week. I'm writing a recruiting story that works for both teams. Like it or not, this is a story.

I will answer all questions in the Live Q&A on the Cover It Live program. That means any and all questions -- yes, Pee Wee too.

Guys, I'm going to start answering questions in the CoverItLive chat room above. Please take a moment to sign in there. I will grab questions from here and just copy and paste them above. Thanks.

Seeing as how close we came to losing to BS and GT (I know, that sounds negative), but still won, compared to last year where we lost 6 close games, is this just karma repaying us for the pain of last year, and we have another four close wins coming our way? I keep hearing that the injuries we have are significant, but we keep winning. Did the competitive spring truly give us alot of 1a and 1b string players where other schools have a far weaker second string? Posted by: Golden Age | September 26, 2012 at 03:34 PM A: I think what you saw Saturday was a step forward in terms of attitude and confidence. This team knows it can win tough games now. Does that mean UM is ready to win the Coastal Division? I don't know about that. But strides were made internally in terms of players buying in, etc. As for the injuries, not having Perryman hurts, but Jimmy Gaines did a nice job filling in. I don't think there is a lot of separation in terms of the 1st and 2nd team -- so that's why you see so many people rotating. Is that necessarily great? No. You want more elite players across the board.

With all the freshman playing and thevway coach golden cares about his player, ie hugging lewis when he got injured, is this having any effect with top recruits? Posted by: Fbdr24 | September 26, 2012 at 03:11 PM A: I don't know if it has an immediate effect, but it will long term. That's an image Golden and UM can always put out there. I know from speaking to parents whose players are on the current team many were impressed. I would think any parents whose kids are considering UM that it only helps.

Could you post a list of canes who graduated or left early who made NFL rosters. Thanks Posted by: Cgoins | September 26, 2012 at 03:05 PM A: Off the top of my head -- I know Marcus Forston is with the Patriots. Adewale Ojomo made the 53-man roster for the Giants. LaRon Byrd is with the Cardinals. Obviously Sean Spence (Steelers), Olivier Vernon (Dolphins), Lamar Miller (Dolphins), Travis Benjamin (Browns) were all drafted. I'm forgetting a couple others. Not sure if Tommy Streeter and Brandon Washington are still on rosters or not. Have to look them up.

Manny, what are you hearing in terms of recruiting? Specifically the pursuit of Defensive tackles. It's been a while since we've had a stud at that position and with the limited number of scholarships we have going into next year, I'm wondering what strategy Golden has in place? Who is he targeting? Posted by: Ted | September 26, 2012 at 03:04 PM A: Obviously, coaches aren't allowed to talk to us about who they are recruiting. But right now UM has one defensive tackle commitment -- Keith Bryant, a 6-2, 306-pound kid from Delray Beach Atlantic. I know Maquedis Bain from nearby University School also remains a possibility. At this point, UM does have some good young defensive tackles at the program. Earl Moore is somebody Golden has continued to rave about. I think unless UM goes the JUCO route, there is no quick fix for their problems at tackle. Just growing pains.

Manny, from what you've seen at practice, do the Canes have the same edge they had prior to the GA Tech game, so as not to fall flat against NC State? Posted by: IMAWriter | September 26, 2012 at 02:50 PM A: Golden complained today about the effort in practice. I think it's natural to expect a bit of a drop off this week. That's why I think it's important for the Canes to get some support from the crowd this week. No matter what, a good crowd gets you fired up.

Hearing the reason Henderson might have a concussion is because he might have been involved in a car accident. I'm trying to confirm it for a reliable source.

Good catch Glags. Mental fart on my part.

Who do U think will make an IMMEDIATE impact from this recruiting class? And who do U expect to red-shirt? Posted by: SOUP | January 26, 2012 at 11:45 PM A: Duke Johnson will be your starter by Week 5. Ereck Flowers could get into the mix at tackle if Seantrel Henderson's health woes continue. Deon Bush will be your nickelback. Ladarius Gunter will be your dime back. Tyriq McCord will come in on third down rush situations. Raphael Kirby will be in the mix at linebacker. Josh Witt will play on special teams. Malcolm Lewis and Robert Lockhart will catch passes and serve as 4th and 5th WRs. Herb Waters may be used on kickoff returns. Outside of that -- a whole lot of redshirts.

What about Tracy Howard? Posted by: SOUP | January 26, 2012 at 11:39 PM A: Right now I'm thinking he goes to Florida if he takes the emotions out of things. Howard isn't an emotional guy when it comes to decision making. Right now, Florida is his clear choice. Only way Canes get him is if he's absolutely blown away by his visit and his mom all of a sudden has a change of heart too. I give Canes a 15-20 percent chance.

MLB and QB? What do we have there? Posted by: SOUP | January 26, 2012 at 11:36 PM A: Two most important positions on the field. I'm worried. Let's start on defense. I don't like what UM is bringing back in Kelvin Cain and Jimmy Gaines. Neither of those guys is special really. Perryman could move over there. I think the hope is Gionni Paul becomes the long term answer. We'll see. At QB, I'm not impressed with either Preston Dewey (didn't play great competition in Texas) or Gray Crow (footwork is really bad scouts say). David Thompson is extremely talented and athletic, but also a baseball star. Don't know if QB is where he is best served. So, it's Stephen Morris and Ryan Williams for the next 2+ years. Hope UM lands a good QB next year.

Q: Manny, why is everyone so enamored with Golden? I hope he excels here but I just dont get the hype. Seems to me he is starting off the same way as Shannon, getting average results and recruiting well. I hope I am wrong but I am interested in getting your take. Thanks Posted by: Gibby | January 26, 2012 at 11:36 PM A: If there is a reason to believe in Al is that he's a well organized planner and good recruiter who had success turning a bad program into a decent one. This is obviously a different project. He needs to take a mediocre program right now and get it back to elite status. It's not an easy job. I'm going to reserve judgement of how its going until after this coming season. If we don't see improvement from any of the kids who were in secondary and third roles this past season, worry. But I suspect guys will improve.

What's up guys? Had to run some errands and put my daughter to bed before I could get freed up. Any questions?

Lewis is not going to ucla. Its just a free trip. the kid is staying in FL. Manny should know this. Northup is probably gone, but we got othrr players at his position. And howard could go to usc. uf and fsu aren't slam dunks. Posted by: jon | January 24, 2012 at 05:30 PM A: I agree. I don't think Lewis will stray. But he is taking a trip. Same for DE Tyriq McCord, who is reportedly going out to USC. Those seem to be the 3 to watch in case they stray. Otherwise, it should be business as usual on NSD.

OK guys. Hit me up on Twitter whenever you want. See ya later.

Manny would it be possible fo Aj to fix his grades by the end of the school year and get in or is the only way he can get in is prep school?Posted by: Canes21 | December 01, 2011 at 11:04 PM A: Again, just going off what I was told, UM basically told him he wouldn't get in this year because of his transcripts. So, at the earliest, probably a January entry.

Manny, I don't know if you know anything about the prep-school route, but can a recruit with forseeable admission issues such as AJL enroll at a prep-school early to get a jump start on the admission process at UM? Or do the prep-schools have a deadline for admissions for the 2011-12 school year? Posted by: CaneRock | December 01, 2011 at 10:59 PM A: I seriously don't know enough about the process to give you a good answer there. Sorry. I think only way AJ ends up at UM at this point is if nobody else wants him. And that's not going to happen. He'll end up at Marshall or Western Michigan or some place like that.

Manny, Miller, Streeter, Vernon, how many declare early for the NFL and how many are coming back? You can give me a probability for each if you're not sure which way you think they're leaning. I've got Miller and Vernon going with Streeter staying because Blackmon at OSU and Jeffreys and S. Carolina will make it a better choice for him to return with them out of the 2013 draft. Posted by: orange 'n green in the vein | December 01, 2011 at 10:58 PM A: Miller is the only one that makes sense. Olivier Vernon didn't do anything worthy of being drafted. 4 real games? Olivier is talented, but a hard sell right now. DE is always a loaded position in the NFL Draft. Can't see him leaving. Streeter is staying.

Navarro...OK, here it is the TOUGH question: If U were the head coach at UM what changes would U make this off season? Posted by: 86Cane | December 01, 2011 at 10:53 PM A: I like Art. I wouldn't have the balls to fire him or anybody for that matter. But the OL play didn't impress me. Same with the DBs. Do you fire a guy after one bad year? Or do you give them a chance to work with a unit for 2 years and judge them then? I think this team is so devoid of quality depth right now it's hard to really judge any of these assistant coaches fairly. Too many guys suspended, injured. Give this staff a second full year together and then re-evaluate.

Manny- are Leggett's problems just with UM or with the NCAA clearinghouse? If its the latter, wouldn't he have problems with all schools? Last question- it sounds like Leggett and his school appreciated UM's honesty with this, am I reading this wrong? Posted by: j.w. | December 01, 2011 at 10:53 PM A: From what I gathered from his coach just UM. He seems to think AJ would get through the Clearinghouse fine. It's UM academic admissions that would be the issue. That's why the DBs coach visited Leggett and told him the truth. I think they did appreciate the honesty. Remember, Al isn't just recruiting for this year. South Miami has some talented underclassmen too. By being up front and honest, he avoids a problem in the future.