Go ahead, I dare you to listen to all of the reports from the main stream South Florida media about your Miami Hurricanes. Don't try to cover your ears, just open wide and soak in all of the negativity they have to offer, and then if it makes you feel better, embrace it as your own.

It's not so much that the media wants to say the sky is falling on your team, it is that they have gladly and willingly accepted it as a fact that it has already fallen on our collective heads. If you don't believe me then go listen to their podcasts after the Spring Game last Saturday.

One reporter was so negative in his regular Monday podcast that you would think the Canes may not win any games in 2012. He basically said we have no play-makers and not a single player who could start on a top 5 team. And he said it with such ease and confidence that you could hear it in his voice.

I certainly hope he feels better now that he got that off of his chest.

Not to be outdone another reporter went right past ballistic and straight to nuclear on Miami right after the Spring Game. In his digitally recorded report he said that IF the Canes win 6 games Golden should be extended to a LIFETIME contract because it would basically be a miracle.

You would think that any seasoned, experienced, veteran reporter who has access to UM coaches and players would know a thing or two about Spring Football and the purpose that it serves. You might also think that they would reserve their opinions until the Fall practice when the entire 85 man roster is intact and all the players are healthy.

You would be wrong. No, these hard core "reporters" want to go all Tony Montana on Hurricane fans with their guns blasting away as they spray your brains onto the scoreboard at Sun Life Stadium and then walk away and smile while saying: "Look at U now!"

Well I am here to tell you that all is NOT lost my fellow Hurricane fans. There is hope and optimism to be found for THIS season and I am here to tell you why. So lets get started, shall we?

Defense: Tell me how you want it: Do you want to good news or the really good news first?

Here's the good news: The defense was clearly the stronger side of the UM team this Spring, which I might add, is exactly the way things are supposed to be. The tackling was consistently and significantly better than last year. The defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and played well against the run and the pass. The linebackers looked excellent and even had some new found depth with several players showing that they will contribute in 2012.

The move of Denzel Perryman to the middle, a move I was initially openly skeptical about, proved to be without a doubt the best position switch among many made by Defensive Coordinator Mark D'Onofrio this Spring. No fewer than five defenders found new positions this Spring and each one of them made the team better according to what we saw on the field and heard in recent interviews with both Golden and D'Onofrio.

Yet it was the defensive backs that were the surprise of the Spring with solid coverage and a new "attack the ball" mentality that led to them collecting more interceptions and forcing fumbles. Brandon McGee, Thomas Finnie and newcomer Ladarius Gunter all had impressive Springs at CB. Highsmith and Rodgers are clearly pushing Armstrong and Telemaque to become better players at Safety.

Maybe the best news of all is that they will soon be joined by the top rated CB in the Nation in 2012, my new friend Tracy Howard, and a top rated Safety in Deon Bush.

What you didn't know is that Bush has already been spending 3 to 4 days a week on the UM campus learning the defense and working out. Golden said recently that Bush is "An amazing young man" that "studies the game". After some of our recent experiences with former players of the 2008 class and others that sounds very refreshing wouldn't you agree?

Howard, who is still a student at Miramar high school, was quizzed by Golden at the Spring game to see if he was learning his new UM playbook. Howard proved once again that he is an elite talent in all aspects of the game. The exchange at Sun Life Stadium went something like this:

Golden: "What do you do in Tiger 9 defense?"

Howard: "Is it single X or are there two WRs to one side?"

Golden: "Two to one side."

Howard: "Alert double seam."

Golden: "That is exactly what we are looking for. Smart players who intellectually understand and can talk about the game of football."

Is there a single fan or reporter out there who doesn't think these two players, along with LB Raphael Kirby, LB Gabe Terry, DE Jelani Hamilton and DE Tyriq McCord (who are also very likely to play in 2012 for UM) are going to make the Hurricanes a better team this year?

Here is more good news: There are 18 players that did not play this Spring that will play in the Fall. Five who are were injured in the Spring and 13 fresh bodies that will arrive in the Fall and were recruited to play multiple positions specifically for the style of defense run by UM Defensive Coordinator Mark D'Onofrio. Let that soak in and marinate for a while.

That's right I said: EIGHTEEN players! That is seven more players than actually start the game. That is most of your depth and several players who will likely be on the 2-deep roster right there.

Of the five that were injured two were potential starters in Ramon Buchanan and Shayon Green along with young but promising backups LB Josh Witt and DT Corey King.

Those 18 players will obviously add to the always desired depth and competition for starting spots. We all know that competition is what drives performance among the older, more established players who do not want to get passed by the young talent arriving on campus.

Offense: How do you try to run an offense with basically two healthy WRs and a couple of green Freshman QBs? How do you try to evaluate an offense that is running less than 50% of their playbook and intentionally trying to be as vanilla as possible? Well that is basically what you saw this Spring from the Hurricanes and Offensive Coordinator Jedd Fisch.

Yes, yes I know we all wanted to see big plays and lots of scores and maybe most of all we wanted Ryan Williams to be the second coming of Ken Dorsey in his first real action as a Miami Hurricane. But as a wise old rocker named Mick Jagger once sang:" U can't always get what U want."

Williams, a Sophomore who played as a Freshman at Memphis before transferring to UM last year, was a bit of a disappointment to those Miami fans who had already projected him as the starter in the Fall over the returning, strong-armed Stephen Morris.

What all three quarterbacks that were available this Spring proved was that the guys named Williams, Dewey and Crow are not ready for prime time - not yet. What they also proved is that none of them looked out of place or appeared to lack the skills and talent to play at this level. That is encouraging and bodes well for the Fall when Morris returns from his minor back injury to compete with the other QBs after a Summer of learning and growth for the younger QBs on the roster.

With WR Allen Hurns banged up and still recovering from injury, the Hurricanes were left to play most of the Spring with two just healthy wide receivers in Phillip Dorsett and Rashawn Scott. Scott simply turned out to be the biggest surprise and the most sensational player on the offensive side of the ball. Not too shabby if you ask me.

This Fall there will be as much of infusion of talent at the wide receiver position as there will be at defensive back which is saying quite a lot. The Fab Five arriving on campus this Summer are: Malcolm Lewis, Jontavious Carter, D'Mauri Jones, Herb Waters, Robert Lockhart.

Yes, I know they are all Freshman, and yes not all of them will be All-Americans in their first season in Coral Gables. But any fan or reporter has to admit that adding that much size, speed and talent will be a huge boost to the currently depeleted UM receiving core in the Fall of 2012.

At running back Miami is searching for the replacement for the departed lamar Miller who opted for the NFL draft. To be fair, the Spring did not produce any player who stood out as the answer at this position. There is the dependable team leader in Mike James, the tough but only moderately productive Eduardo Clements and the speedy and elusive Dallas Crawford.

What most Miami fans do not know is that during the public scrimmages Crawford was not used as he is in the private practices on Greentree Field. There are several surprises involving Crawford, and even possibly another player (who shall go unmentioned), that await opposing teams and UM fans come this Fall when the games actually matter.

Trust me on this.

Arriving in Coral Gables this Fall at the running back position is the highly under-rated and often over looked Danny Dillard. Dillard is nothing less than my sleeper recruit of the 2012 class. Write this down: This man-child is big, strong and fast and will turn heads come this Fall.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there is some kid, what's his name, yeah some young stud that goes by the name of Randy "Duke" Johnson who might also have something to say about the RB position this Fall.

So cheer up Hurricane fans and stop with the negativity. Do not bury your head in your hands but instead hold your head up high and have a little hope and faith in Al Golden.

Now please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that this team is going to add another trophy to the already crowded case that holds Miami's other five but I am saying that this coach, these players and this 2012 team as a whole will be just fine.

And don't forget that much more talent and depth (albeit young and inexperienced) are on the way. Ten members of the large and highly regarded 2012 class have already enrolled at "The U". Seven more are expected on May 17th and the rest are scheduled to be on campus on June 28.

That is when it gets real and the men will get separated from the boys.

There are no excuses being made in Coral Gables.

And neither should there be.