A day after the NFL draft concluded, the University of Miami Hurricanes who didn't get selected were either finalizing plans to sign as free agents or had already signed.

Former University of Miami offensive guard Tyler McMeans said Monday he would sign a three-year deal as a free agent with the Chicago Bears, and is expected to report to mini-camp next weekend.

''I'm really excited,'' McMeans said. ``Honestly, I was ranked as a free agent, so I pretty much knew it was coming.''

Offensive guard Tony Tella said he had been offered a free agent contract with the Giants and would join fellow Giants free agent defensive end Thomas Carroll and second-rounder Sinorice Moss.

''I'm really happy about my opportunity,'' Tella said. ``They're giving me a chance, so I feel blessed.''

When reached by phone Monday, Carroll said ''things happen for a reason,'' and that he was just glad to have a chance to play for a team close to home.

''During the middle of the seventh round the Giants called me and said if I don't get picked up in the draft, they wanted to sign me,'' said Carroll, whose home is in Lakewood, N.J. ``Within about an hour after the draft, I worked out the deal. Now I get to come back and play close to home. I'm very happy.''

Former University of Miami safety Greg Threat, who led the Hurricanes in tackles in 2004, his junior season, has signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Falcons.

Defensive end Javon Nanton said he has been offered a free agent contract by Oakland, and could be heading to the West Coast, but he said nothing was finalized as of 1 p.m. He said he also got offers from Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit and the Giants.

Defensive back Tanard Davis said he was about to sign Monday afternoon with the Indianapolis Colts.

Kelly Jennings
Cornerback
Univ. of Miami
5:10.7-178
Live Oak, Florida
Suwanee High School
Seahawks Draft Central

Loaded with decisions considering how many highly-rated picks were available when the 31st pick came up, the Seattle Seahawks went precisely where everyone thought – Miami Hurricanes cornerback Kelly Jennings.

A pure cover corner, the 5-10, 178-pound Jennings was one of a number of players to run 4.39 in 40 yards at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February and is expected to help fill a need at cornerback, where Andre Dyson started often last season, but was no re-signed. Jennings, a native of Live Oak, Fla., in between Tallahassee and Jacksonville, appeared in 48 games for the Hurricanes, with six interceptions, four forced fumbles and 13 pass deflections during his career.

“I’m just looking to come in and contribute,” Jennings said. “Right now I just want to come in and show the coaches I’m ready to play ball.”

A member of the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic team, Jennings graduated Miami with a 3.0 grade point average with a degree in finance and is in the process of acquiring a second degree in business management., Jennings started at left cornerback, was a first team All-American choice by Sports Illustrated and second team from the Associated Press and The NFL Draft Report.

Jennings was one of only two players to start every game for the Hurricanes, who led the nation in pass defense and pass efficiency defense. He did not allow a pass reception in games against Florida State, Virginia Tech, South Florida and Duke. One third of his 43 tackles were solo stops and three of them were for losses of eight yards or more. And 10 of those tackles were third down stops.

Jennings also started every game in 200 and four games in 2003.

An exceptional receiver in high school, he caught 43 passes for 720 yards and five touchdowns.

OVERVIEW
Overshadowed by more heralded former teammate Antrell Rolle the last three years, Kelly emerged as one of the top shutdown pass defenders in college football. The speedy, yet slightly built athlete did not allow a reception in three games during the 2004 season. Midway through the 2005 campaign, Jennings has already matched those totals.

The Suwanee High School product started on both offense and defense for one of the top programs in North Florida. He led the team to a 9-4 season and a berth in the state Class 3A playoffs as a senior. He was listed as the fourth-best cornerback on the Florida Times-Union Super 75 list. Jennings also won his school's Scholar-Athlete Award as a junior with a 3.42 gradepoint average.

An excellent receiver on offense, Kelly caught 43 passes for 720 yards and five touch-downs in 2000. Also one of the top defensive backs in the state, Jennings had 41 tackles and one interception at cornerback that season. He snared 26 passes for 386 yards and four touchdowns as a junior in 1999, adding 35 tackles, two interceptions and seven pass deflections.

Heavily recruited by most of the major programs, Kelly chose Miami for its deep defensive
tradition. He redshirted in 2001 and then became a fixture in the secondary in 2002 at right cornerback. Jennings produced 25 tackles (21 solos) with six pass deflections and an nterception that year.

In 2003, Jennings shifted to nickel back, starting five contests. He collected 18 tackles (12 solos) with six pass break-ups and 1.5 stops for losses. Kelly shifted to left cornerback in 2004, starting every game. He finished with 30 tackles (19 solos) with an assisted sack. He also batted away six passes and intercepted two others. Jennings continued to man the left cornerback slot in 2005. The All-American and All-Atlantic Conference pick ranked third in the nation with sixteen pass deflections. He made 43 tackles (30 solos) with three stops for losses and two forced fumbles. He also picked off three passes. In 49 games with the Hurricanes, Kelly started 41 times. He recorded 116 tackles (82 solos) with 1.5 sacks for minus 8 yards and five stops for losses of 18 yards. Jennings added four quarterback pressures and caused two fumbles. He deflected 34 passes and intercepted six
others for 37 yards in returned.

CAREER NOTES
The most experienced member of the secondary and a team leader, Kelly began his career at right cornerback, moving to nickel back as a sophomore before finding a home at left corner during his junior season…Graduated in December 2004 with a degree in finance and is now pursuing a second degree in business management…Did not allow an opponent to catch a pass in three games during the 2004 season, surpassing that total with four shutouts in 2005.

2005 SEASON
All-American first-team choice by Sports Illustrated, adding second-team honors from The NFL Draft Report and Associated Press…All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team pick and the team’s nominee for the Draddy Award, the “Academic Heisman.”…One of only two defenders who started every game, lining up at left cornerback…Paced a secondary that led the nation in pass defense (152.17 ypg) and pass efficiency defense (89.48 rating) and ranked fourth in total defense (270.08 ypg)…Recorded 43 tackles (30 solos) with three stops for losses of 8 yards…Caused two fumbles and intercepted three passes for 36 yards in returns…Ranked third in the nation with sixteen pass deflections… Did not allow an opponent to catch any passes in the Florida State, South Florida, Duke and Virginia Tech…Ten of his tackles resulted in third-down stops, with another coming on a fourth-down play…Served as one of the team’s four captains.

2004 SEASON
Started all year at left cornerback...Recorded 30 tackles (19 solos) with an assisted sack for a 3- yard loss…Deflected six passes and intercepted two others…Did not allow an opponent to catch any passes in the Louisiana Tech, Louisville and Virginia contests… Twelve of his stops came on third-down plays and another on fourth down…Gave up only twelve receptions for 264 yards and two touchdowns.

2003 SEASON
Started four games at nickel back and the Tennessee clash at left cornerback…Made 18 tackles (12 solos) with six pass deflections and one quarterback pressure...Added a 5-yard sack and 1.5 stops for losses of 6 yards.

2002 SEASON
Was a key member of a Miami secondary that had to replace five key players from 2001, yet led the nation in pass defense...Played much of the season with a cast on his left hand following surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament in August...Performed only once (vs. Virginia Tech) without a full cast on the hand...Recorded 25 tackles (21 solos), three quarterback pressures, six pass deflections and had one interception while starting twelve games at right cornerback.

2001 SEASON
Redshirted, playing on the Hurricanes’ scout team as a cornerback.

CAMPUS AGILITY TESTS
4.4 in the 40-yard dash…285-pound bench press…385-pound squat…296-pound power
clean…35-inch vertical jump…31 1/8-inch arm length…9-inch hands.

| COMBINES AGILITY TESTS
4.45 in the 40-yard dash…2.6 20-yard dash…1.55 10-yard dash…Bench presses 225 pounds 17 times…40-inch vertical jump…10’0” broad jump…4.0 20-yard shuttle…31-inch arm length…8 ¾- inch hands.

HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Suwanee (Live Oak, Fla.) High School, playing football for head coach Jay
Rawls…Started on both offense and defense for one of the top programs in North Florida, as he led the team to a 9-4 season and a berth in the state Class 3A playoffs as a senior… Listed as the fourth-best cornerback on the Florida Times-Union Super 75 list…Also won his school's Scholar-Athlete Award as a junior with a 3.42 grade-point average…An excellent receiver on offense, Kelly caught 43 passes for 720 yards and five touchdowns in 2000…Also one of the top defensive backs in the state, Jennings had 41 tackles and one interception at cornerback that season…Snared 26 passes for 386 yards and four touch-downs as a junior in 1999, adding 35 tackles, two interceptions and seven pass deflections.

PERSONAL
Graduated in December 2004 with a degree in Finance and is now pursuing a second degree in Business Management…Son of Ruby and Roy Jennings…Born Kelly Jarrod Jennings on 11/30/82…Resides in Live Oak, Florida.

When you’re a football player for the Miami Hurricanes, you have swagger, attitude, bravado, thugness, and quite possibly, a criminal record.

When you’re a fan of the football players for the Miami Hurricanes, you carry that same attitude, even though all you’ve ever done to deserve it is buy a ticket and rock a 'Canes bandanna.

In Tallahassee, Fla., on Labor Day night, at the charming Doak Campbell Stadium, my swagger turned to stagger. The Florida State Seminoles, occupants of Miami’s woodshed the past six meetings, finally beat the Hurricanes.

I was the unfortunate one to see it happen. LIVE! I had to turn my ’Canes visor to the front and stop wearing it upside down. Suddenly, I would rather be dining with an ex-girlfriend than be enjoying my fantastic seat in Row 13 in the end zone, compliments of Hurricane fan friend Fletcher and family.

Watching the replay of Brian Monroe butterfingering the snap on a game-tying field goal attempt on the big FSU screen was brutal enough. Then having to hear it from roughly 80,000 crazed Seminolians made life more painful than those two minutes in the car when all your preset radio stations go to commercials.

The ’Canes had driven the ball from their 3-yard line to the Seminoles’ 2 in about nine minutes under rookie QB Kyle Wright. Moronics then took hold. So inept was the play calling from coach Larry Coker and offensive coordinator Dan Werner, I can’t bring myself to repeat it.

Let’s just say if you’re ever searching for a good way to waste nine minutes, drop them an e-mail for suggestions.

Upon the shanking of the snap, the FSU fans began chanting some unflattering things at Miami fans. I’ve been to a few Yankees-Red Sox games, but nothing prepared me for this berating. Masses and hoardes, cloaked in their garnet and gold, spewing venom. Chanting. Screaming. Chopping. And they don’t even sell alcohol inside the stadium!

The best thing I could do was make fun of Seminole fan acquaintance Kevin, who had the stroke of good fortune to have a sister on the golf team get him the tickets. (However, he must have stolen her stuffed animals once too many times as a child because she got him seats in the 'Canes section.)

I’ve been booed at Yankee Stadium. I’ve been snubbed by Jeremy Shockey. I’ve been glared at by Jose Offerman – freaking Jose Offerman! – but how does one respond when an entire city revolts against you?

If you’re a ’Canes fan, you walk out with your head held high, your hat to the back, your shorts sagging just a bit. And you curse back!

Then, you just pray you'll make it to your car without medical supervision.

Remember the good old days, when the Miami Hurricanes were the guys you'd never want to bring home to meet your mother?

They were regarded as villains. Outcasts. Pariahs. Reprobates. When they played at Notre Dame, someone printed T-shirts that read "Catholics vs. Convicts." Sold like lottery tickets.

Nobody but the polls had a good thing to say about the Canes. If they showed up at your door, you kept them outside on the porch. When they left, you counted the good silver.

But now look at them. All dressed up, with maybe someplace to go. The Miami debutantes.

The Atlantic Coast Conference is wooing them as if they were prom queens.

The Big East can't bear the thought of losing them.

Miami's football program was once portrayed as Sodom and Gomorrah. Now it is considered the key to the future of two leagues. A rather odd position for a team that has trouble selling out its home games.

But they are now respectable, behaved, admired, and always near the top of the polls. If the Hurricanes leave for the ACC -- taking Syracuse and Boston College with them -- Big East football turns into a sideshow. Or collapses.

If Miami moves, the ACC hits the jackpot, though it takes some effort to imagine a traditional conference rivalry between, say, Clemson and Syracuse.

Times have changed. Once, nobody would join the Hurricanes for a walk around the block. Now, Syracuse and Boston College will follow them anywhere ... even if it's to Wake Forest.

The college landscape waits to see which direction the Hurricanes will smile. They can sort through their offers, punch a few numbers in the calculator, decide where the milk and honey is. They are like a free agent pitching ace.

The Big East can only hope. This is the unsettling world of college alliances, where a basketball team from Connecticut will have its future affected by a football team from Florida.

Not that Miami and the ACC have ever shown much eagerness to meet on the field. Take away Florida State, and the Hurricanes have played only three games in 15 years against ACC teams. They haven't seen Clemson since 1956, North Carolina since 1963.

This would be a marriage conceived by financial officers, and consummated by bowl payouts.

Tranghese is a little touchy at how his league is in threat of being burgled, pointing out that most other famous conference expansions did not involve a raid.

"Go back through history," he said. "Penn State (to the Big Ten) was an independent. Miami (to the Big East) was an independent. Florida State (to the ACC) was an independent."

And he is appealing to Miami's memory. He has brought up a vow reportedly made some time ago by university president Donna Shalala that her school was committed to the Big East.

But then, Shalala was in Bill Clinton's Cabinet for eight years. Secretary of something or another. Once you've punched a clock in Washington, D.C., changing your mind to follow the cash becomes easy.

Miami figures to make an additional $1 million a year if it jumps the ACC. Maybe more.

"Is that worth providing a body blow," countered Tranghese, "to a group of schools who were there when nobody else wanted Miami?"

He's kidding himself, of course. This is college athletics. Money talks, and history walks.

And the Miami Hurricanes, once loathed as fighters, now get fought over. The most popular fellows in college football.

With less than two weeks until the Peach Bowl, the University of Miami's practice Saturday not only was one of the final sessions before leaving for Georgia, but it also was one of the last chances to impress recruits.

This weekend is one of the busiest recruiting weekends of the year for the Hurricanes, as several of the top high school players in the nation made the trip to Coral Gables.

Among the players visiting Miami were Ian Symonette, an offensive lineman from Houston, running back Emmanuel Moody from Coppell, Texas, and Gerald McCoy, a defensive lineman from Oklahoma City.

Coker said the recruits were given a tour of the campus after practice. From there, it was off to dinner before heading to Coker's house for the evening. He also said each of the recruits was pared up with a player from the team.

''Normally, the players kind of get together and have a lot of fun,'' he said.