Miami coach Al Golden downplays hiring of FSU offensive coordinator

One of the most curious coaching moves in the ACC offseason did not involve a head coach, although there were three of those, if you count the promotion that Scott Shafer received from ACC newcomer Syracuse.

But, what should people make of James Coley's resignation as Florida State offensive coordinator to take the same post for archrival Miami?

"All the sound bites that go along with James going from Florida State to Miami, that's great," Hurricanes coach Al Golden said recently at the ACC Football Kickoff. "But James grew up in Miami, his wife's from here. He's happy, he's home, he's excited, we're excited to have him.

"I would never put him in a position as a professional to ask him or grill him about what they're doing at Florida State. I certainly wouldn't jeopardize his relationship with anybody up there."

At Florida State, head coach Jimbo Fisher calls the plays. Golden, on the other hand, comes from a defensive background.

Coley replaces ex-Miami offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch , now the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and represents the different coordinator Hurricanes quarterback Stephen Morris has had in four seasons.

"James put Stephen first," Golden said. "James didn't come in and say, 'Hey, this is my offense and this is how we're doing it.' James had all these plays that he wanted to put in, but he kept saying, 'How do you guys call this play because I can change it?' "

Coley was at Florida State for five years, gaining recognition from ESPN as the ACC's top recruiter.

"Maybe I'm a throwback," Golden said, "but, since he's been with us, I've never sat him down in my office and said, 'OK, tell me everything you know.' Maybe I have so much confidence in our program [and] the way we do things that I'm not interested.

"I play golf a couple of times a year. When I do, I play my ball. I don't worry about where your shot went. I can't catch you and win the tournament if I don't play my ball."

Recruiting

Greg Stroman, a 5-foot-11, 160-pound quarterback from Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas , has said he will announce his college decision Saturday. Stroman has narrowed his choices to Duke, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Stroman, a late bloomer who is rated outside the state's top 25 prospects by most services, passed for more than 2,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a junior but is expected to play another position in college, most likely defensive back.

-- Another state quarterback who was being recruited as an "athlete" is 6-foot, 182-pound Trace McSorley from Briar Woods High School in Loudoun County . Before making an oral commitment to Vanderbilt, McSorley had offers from five ACC programs, including Virginia Tech, according to rivals.com

Destinations

Rushel Shell, the University of Pittsburgh running back who rushed for 159 yards last season in the Panthers' 35-17 victory over Virginia Tech, has transferred to West Virginia .

Shell, who will be ineligible for the 2013 season, participated in the first two weeks of spring practice at Pittsburgh before announcing that he was transferring to UCLA.

Shell, whose twin daughters live in Pennsylvania, ultimately decided that the logistics of a move to the West Coast were too challenging. An Aliquippa, Pa., product, he considered a return to Pitt but the Panthers' staff was not receptive.

Pitt earlier had declined to release Shell to speak to Arizona State, where former one-year Panthers coach Todd Graham is the head man.

Connections

Preston Palmeiro , son of former Major League Baseball slugger Rafael Palmeiro, revealed on Twitter that he will play at North Carolina State after being passed over in the MLB draft this past June. ... Virginia has taken a baseball commitment for 2014 from Toms River, N.J., shortstop Jon Meola, son of UVa All-America soccer goalie Tony Meola.

-- The likely starting goalie for the UVa men's soccer team is redshirt sophomore Jeff Gal, a transfer from Creighton, where he was 13-1-1 last year, with the lone loss coming to eventual national champion UCLA in the NCAA semifinals. The Cavaliers' starter for the past two seasons, Spencer Lacivita, is a redshirt candidate as he recuperates from hip surgery.

Making the grade

Of the 228 Radford students who participated in intercollegiate athletics in 2013-14, a school-record 61.84 percent had a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, the high in the Big South Conference for the third time in five years. Radford has finished over 50 percent every year since 2005-06.

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