Miami assistant coach advised recruit to sign with Florida
Rival schools do get along, sometimes.
Normally, when a recruit signs with an in-state school, no one is surprised. In the case of Tedarrell Slaton, a four-star offensive tackle from Plantation, Florida, he received guidance from the coach at another in-state school before signing with Florida.
Torn between Florida and Georgia, the No. 15 tackle in the country sought counsel from an old mentor, Mike Rumph. A former defensive back at Miami, Rumph was Slaton’s head coach at American Heritage High School until 2016 before accepting a job as an assistant coach on then-new Miami coach Mark Richt’s staff.
With Miami not listed in his choices of schools, Slaton asked Rumph which of the two finalists his former coach preferred. Surprisingly, the Hurricane assistant encouraged the star recruit to become a Gator.
“He told me Florida would be a better choice (over Georgia),” Slaton told SEC Country. “He was letting me know that (Randy) Shannon and (Chris) Rumph were good coaches.”
Mike Rumph had a good reason to recommend Shannon. He’s a former coach of his. In 2001, Shannon coached Rumph as Miami’s defensive coordinator. Although it was Shannon’s first year calling the defense, Miami won a national championship, going undefeated with a 12-0 record and a 37-14 Rose Bowl victory over Nebraska.
Shannon was Miami’s defensive coordinator for six-plus seasons and took over as head coach for four seasons after Larry Coker.
Chris Rumph — no relation to Mike — has been Florida’s defensive line coach since 2015. Rumph coached the defensive lines of Alabama in 2011-14 and Texas in 2014-15.
Slaton committed to Florida on Jan. 31 and signed two days later on National Signing Day. Respect among coaches isn’t new, but seeing a coach from a longtime rival like Miami helping Florida certainly isn’t ordinary. Who knows, maybe Randy Shannon and Chris Rumph will help Miami down road in return.
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