Football Newcomers Complete First Day Of Drills

Aug. 7, 2000

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The 2000 University of Miami football recruiting class worked through two practices Monday at the Greentree Practice Field on the UM campus, officially beginning preparation for the upcoming season. Morning practice began at 9:20 a.m. with an afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Seventeen newcomer signees were joined by a group of walk-ons for the two practices.

“I was very impressed with the conditioning and the work habits of this class today,” said head coach Butch Davis. “As things unfolded today we learned more and more about this class. Every practice divulges more and more.

“They get more confident from one practice to the next. They’re very coachable. They really listen well. I really cannot think of any major negatives with the group to this point.”

The Hurricanes are ranked fifth by the Associated Press in preseason rankings released Saturday afternoon. UM embarks on one of the nation’s toughest schedules this season as the Hurricanes take on three teams ranked in the AP preseason Top 25: No. 2 Florida State (Oct. 7), No. 11 Virginia Tech (Nov. 4) and No. 13 Washington (Sept. 9). The meeting between the Hurricanes and Florida State is the only game slated between two of the nation’s top five teams at this point.

The newcomers have one more practice as a group on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. before getting a day off for Media Day on Wednesday. Workouts resume Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. with the first full-squad workout.

For ticket information for Hurricanes football, contact the UM Ticket Office at (305) 284-2263 or 1-800-GO-CANES. Tickets may also be ordered online at www.hurricanesports.com.