Larry Coker On The 2001 Hurricanes
March 20, 2001
On taking over as Miami’s head coach and his goals for the Spring Practice:
“Taking over as head coach at a school such as Miami is a tremendous challenge, but also an excellent opportunity and this year’s team is certainly one any coach would like to lead. We’ve got some outstanding players coming back, but that’s not to say we’re set across the board. There are definitely some questions to answer this spring and some positions where we need people to step up. In addition to adjusting to a new staff and building a chemistry on the team like we had last year, the top priority this spring is replacing some players who left their mark on the program. That’s never easy.”
On replacing Miami’s outstanding Senior Class from 2000:
“That group of seniors may go down in UM history as one of the most memorable ever to come through this program – and that’s saying a lot. Obviously, you can’t count on having the quality of character, leadership and talent that group had with every group of seniors. But it set a tremendous example for the players to follow. They know the bar is set high here – not just on the field but in their daily work habits. That’s what we can build upon.”
On quarterback Ken Dorsey and the situation at backup quarterback:
“Ken became a very strong leader for us last year and he needs to continue to develop as a leader. He will have the responsibility of bringing our young receivers along, much like the veteran receivers did during his early days as a starter. So you could say he’s come full-circle. Derrick Crudup has obvious talent and is a player we need to develop this Spring,” Coker said. “Prasek has developed from a walk-on to a scholarship player who can help us out. But we’re pretty thin behind Ken and we need someone to become a capable player for us in a backup role at quarterback.”
On Miami’s situation at the receiver positions:
“I’m not concerned about our talent, but I am concerned about molding those guys into our offense. We’re losing people who are the hardest to replace. Reggie Wayne, Santana Moss and Andre King were good players for a number of years.
On the offensive line:
“I think our depth in the offensive line is better than we’ve ever had. The key now is Sherko Haji-Rasouli, Ed Wilkins, Vernon Carey, Joe Fantigrassi and Joe McGrath have to continue to develop into players for us. Also, Scott Puckett has played center and some guard. So, if he’s good enough at center we could conceivably move Romberg to back guard. There are still some things we could do. We’re set at both tackles, but the depth of talent and experience we have allows us the possibility of doing some things with the people we have.”
On the defensive line:
“The defensive end positions are in better shape for us than they’ve been in a long time because you have starters coming back in both Cornelius (Green) and Jamaal (Green). Add to that Jerome McDougle and Andrew Williams and you have four players there we feel like can definitely play for us. Matt Walters has always been a technician for us and a smart player who gave great effort, but he’s really started to develop as a total football player. William Joseph is a classic Miami defensive lineman – a guy who is hard to handle physically and has the ability to be very disruptive in the middle. Then there’s Vince Wilfork, a guy that can play inside and is very explosive and has a lot of skills. Of course, Santonio Thomas is like Vince in that he came here as a highly recruited player. Santonio played a lot last year and has a bright future.”
On the linebackers:
“No position is absolutely settled at linebacker, but we have a lot of talent and depth across the board there. We’ll play the best players available, regardless. So, that puts pressure on Howard and Chris to keep their games intact and improve, as well. We’re looking to them for increased productivity this season. The biggest void we have to fill is the leadership void Dan Morgan leaves us and that’s a tough thing to do. Chris and Howard can really make an impact there because of their experience. D.J. will be in the hunt at ‘Will’ linebacker and he will compete for playing time immediately.”
On consensus All-America safety Ed Reed:
“Ed’s a tremendous leader and a go-to guy for our football team, an inspirational leader for our team. He’s going to be a big factor for us back there. He’s very sharp, always knows where everyone is, and that leads to him being such a confident player.”
