Miami Hurricanes Spring Practice Report - Friday, March 23
March 23, 2001
Spring Practice Photo Galleries
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – Donning shoulder pads and shorts, the Miami Hurricanes practiced for two hours under the sun at the Greentree Practice Field. The practice set the stage for the first scrimmage of the Spring, an 11:30 a.m. event that will be open to the public at Cobb Field Saturday morning.
“We’re coming along pretty well, but our main concern right now is effort and speed,” Coker said. “We want to see everyone give great effort and we’ve seen that so far. We also want to be sure we have people playing at their speed, at full speed, to see what we have to work with.”
Coker singled out receiver Ethenic Sands as one player who has grabbed his attention during the first week of practice. Sands, who played quarterback last year after spending the 1999 season at receiver, has been a star of the early workouts displaying exceptional catching ability and speed.
“Ethenic looks like he’s played receiver his whole life,” Coker said after practice on Friday. “He’s really been impressive to this point and looks like someone who will definitely be a player for us.”
No injuries were reported and the team appears in good physical condition entering tomorrow’s scrimmage. Receiver Andre Johnson remains hobbled by a torn quadricep suffered while running indoor track, but has been practicing.
Friday’s practice marked the resumption of work for the Hurricanes, who took Thursday off. The Hurricanes worked out in front of a large crowd of onlookers including a number of high school coaches from around the nation who are on campus this weekend for the UM Coaches Clinic. Prominent members of the coaching fraternity at Friday’s practice included Mike Stoops, University of Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator and brother of UM defensive backs coach Mark Stoops, and Alex Gibbs, the offensive line coach of the NFL’s Denver Broncos. Both Mike Stoops and Gibbs are in Coral Gables as guest speakers for the UM Coaches Clinic.
“The thing that always has impressed me about the Miami program is the skill and toughness of the players produced here,” Gibbs said. “I’ve coached players from here like K.C. Jones and Richard Mercier and it always has struck me how tough the players here are. Of course, the program has a great reputation for producing excellent receivers and defensive backs, as well. Being here on campus, it’s obvious to me that this is an excellent place for anyone to consider playing college football.”
Miami hits the field again Saturday morning for the scrimmage, which is the final practice opportunity open for public viewing until UM’s FOX Sports Net Canes Fest on Saturday, April 7 at the Orange Bowl. That event kicks off at 9:30 a.m. with a scrimmage highlighting the day starting at 10:30 a.m.
For ticket information concerning Hurricanes football, contact the UM Ticket Office at (305) 284-2263 or 1-800-GO-CANES. Ticket information also may also be obtained online at www.hurricanesports.com.
