Quick hits and links today. Away we go.

Duke Johnson and Ereck Flowers declare for NFL Draft

This is tangentially related to recruiting, as these players leaving will open up scholarship slots and playing time for incoming recruits. But, if you missed it, Canes All-Time leading rusher Duke Johnson declared for the NFL draft the day after the bowl game, and his HS teammate LT Ereck Flowers did the same a day later.

Dwayne Lawson De-commits from Miami

The only QB in this class, Dwayne Lawson dropped a few weeks ago. This was a long time coming. With Brad Kaaya (and to a lesser degree Malik Rosier) on campus, and 2016 5-star QB Jack Allison (who I think is ALREADY better than Lawson) committed, there would probably not be a time when Lawson or any QB in this class would reasonably be the starter for the Canes.

Lawson is announcing his commitment at the Semper Fi All-American game this weekend. Some of you may remember this is the same All-American game that Brad Kaaya participated in last year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Former UM Commit QB Dwayne Lawson to Announce on Saturday <a href="http://t.co/PJUQCp2W5P">http://t.co/PJUQCp2W5P</a></p>— InsideTheU.com (@InsideTheU) <a href="https://twitter.com/InsideTheU/status/550050045832097793">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote>

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Lawson's final group: Miami, VT, South Florida, and Ole Miss.

My money's on VT for the pick.

Cager high on the Canes

U.S. Army All-American WR Lawrence Cager is playing well during practices in San Antonio, and all the chatter is he'll pick Miami as his collegiate destination on Saturday. The main thing intriguing Cager about playing for the Canes? Teaming up with Freshman All-American QB Brad Kaaya.

Here's an article by SBNation Recruiting analyst Wescott Eberts with more details.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>QB Torrance Gibson warming up with WR Lawrence Cager. <a href="https://t.co/bCcJX8UaWC">https://t.co/bCcJX8UaWC</a></p>— David Lake (@DavidLake3) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidLake3/status/549956765149048832">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>WR Lawrence Cager <a href="https://t.co/FzmDVh6qWu">https://t.co/FzmDVh6qWu</a></p>— David Lake (@DavidLake3) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidLake3/status/549608406404071424">December 29, 2014</a></blockquote>

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St. Louis shows up, shows out

A late addition to the Under Armour All-American game, OL commit Tyree St. Louis came to Orlando and promptly made his presence felt. He dominated his first 2 reps on the day, and continued his dominance throughout the practice sessions. St. Louis, a 4-star recruit, figures to push for playing time early in his career at Miami.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BEAST?src=hash">#BEAST</a> RT"<a href="https://twitter.com/RivalsCamp">@RivalsCamp</a>: Late injury addition Tyree St. Louis getting one of his first few reps in 1v1s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAAllAmerica?src=hash">#UAAllAmerica</a> <a href="https://t.co/cYwieVUwi7">https://t.co/cYwieVUwi7</a>"</p>— Canes Warning (@CanesWarningFS) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanesWarningFS/status/549967455549128704">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canes?src=hash">#Canes</a> commit Tyree St. Louis wins another rep. RT <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNRNFball">@ESPNRNFball</a>: Some spirited one-on-ones. <a href="https://t.co/doW3nYiptg">https://t.co/doW3nYiptg</a></p>— StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheStateOfTheU/status/549969822096687104">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Newcomer Tyree St. Louis with a great job against Byron Cowart. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canes?src=hash">#Canes</a> <a href="https://t.co/dtFW0h6Fk1">https://t.co/dtFW0h6Fk1</a></p>— Derek Tyson (@DerekTysonESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/DerekTysonESPN/status/549982794827722753">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/ArdenKey">@ArdenKey</a> and Tyree St. Louis showdown in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SloMo?src=hash">#SloMo</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAALLAMERICA?src=hash">#UAALLAMERICA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/spinmove?src=hash">#spinmove</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamHighlight?src=hash">#TeamHighlight</a> <a href="https://t.co/qjf3Z4r92S">https://t.co/qjf3Z4r92S</a></p>— All-America Game (@AllAmericaGame) <a href="https://twitter.com/AllAmericaGame/status/549993718246559745">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote>

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Jaquan Johnson is the truth.

See for yourself.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Quan is so good RT <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidLake3">@DavidLake3</a>: DB Jaquan Johnson vs WR Lawrence Cager <a href="https://t.co/0OhljJoEbR">https://t.co/0OhljJoEbR</a></p>— StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheStateOfTheU/status/549678506637275136">December 29, 2014</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>DB Jaquan Johnson vs WR Darius Slayton <a href="https://t.co/uJiHX8qg0O">https://t.co/uJiHX8qg0O</a></p>— David Lake (@DavidLake3) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidLake3/status/549613273742835712">December 29, 2014</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>DB Jaquan Johnson press coverage vs WR Deon Cain <a href="https://t.co/xKokrKnVC5">https://t.co/xKokrKnVC5</a></p>— David Lake (@DavidLake3) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidLake3/status/549612304955088897">December 29, 2014</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>DB Jaquan Johnson vs Darius Slayton <a href="https://t.co/br6oqJ1UzZ">https://t.co/br6oqJ1UzZ</a></p>— David Lake (@DavidLake3) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidLake3/status/549974359075717120">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote>

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Man, I can't wait until he's on campus.

Tim Irvin announcing on Saturday

3-star ATH Tim Irvin is set to announce his college destination on Saturday during the U.S. Army All-American game. Irvin is trending heavily toward Texas at the moment. Here's another article from SBNation Recruiting analyst Wescott Eberts for your consumption.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>No. 20 DB Tim Irvin <a href="https://t.co/KeSLUyanvd">https://t.co/KeSLUyanvd</a></p>— David Lake (@DavidLake3) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidLake3/status/549616563096391680">December 29, 2014</a></blockquote>

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Devonaire Clarington is as well

4-star TE Devonaire Clarington will be announcing at the U.S. Army All-American game as well. For those who have followed these articles over the last couple years, you know that Clarington has transferred 5 or 6 times in HS. I don't see any chance he either picks Miami or qualifies if he does. I also think that Clarington is a better prospect at DE than TE, but that's another discussion.

Nonetheless, Clarington's final group will be Miami, Florida, LSU, and Texas. SBNation Recruiting Analyst Wescott Eberts has yet another article for you to read.

Other blips on the radar

RB commit Jordan Scarlett is looking good in practice for the U.S. Army All-American game 2 days in.

DT target Rasheem Green should be arriving at his All-American game on Wednesday. His travel was delayed.

LB target John Houson (Green's HS teammate) has been playing well through a couple of days of practice as well. Here's a vine of his coverage skills in warmups: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Coveted <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ESPN300?src=hash">#ESPN300</a> LB John Houston Jr. working on his footwork at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAAllAmerica?src=hash">#UAAllAmerica</a> practices. <a href="https://t.co/71bnyTQ2CR">https://t.co/71bnyTQ2CR</a></p>— Jeremy Crabtree (@jeremycrabtree) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremycrabtree/status/549949400777506816">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

To close, a question....

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/TheStateOfTheU">@TheStateOfTheU</a> can we close strong with all the negativity surrounding the program, whats ur take?</p>— Jason Wilson (@JwAces_Canes) <a href="https://twitter.com/JwAces_Canes/status/549964967605440514">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote>

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Honestly, at this point, closing strong (most of the above mentioned players, keeping all of the top recruits currently committed, and maybe pull a surprise at the end) seems far fetched. Coming off a 6-7 season, losing the last 4 games the way we did, and all the other things that have been talked about in this space and many others don't really lend to positive momentum for Miami right now.

In my mind, there's really 2 ways of thinking about this recruiting class from here until signing day:

1. Optimistic (cautiously, because more than that is ridiculous right now) and hopeful that the staff can close decently and the players come to campus and help to turn around the on-field struggles.

2. Pessimistic (this will be the one most choose to follow) and hopeful that the staff loses more recruits than it gets, the on-field struggles continue, and the coaching staff is relieved of duties either during or after the 2015 season.

We are in the middle of a storm. The current outlook is bleak. But, how you choose to think about things going forward is up to you.

But, as for this class finishing strong? It's possible in a vacuum. And it COULD happen in reality, depending on your definition of "strong".

I'm just not sure I would count on it happening.

More updates as the week progresses.