Miami Resumes Spring Practice
March 19, 2002
Listen to audio from Coach Coker
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami Hurricanes football team officially returned from Spring Break to resume Spring Football Practice with a two-an-a-half hour workout Tuesday afternoon at the Greentree Practice Field on the University of Miami campus.
“We are a long way from being a good football team right now, but that’s no real surprise for this stage of the spring,” said head coach Larry Coker. “We’ve got plenty of work to do and I think that was obvious today. We had a good Spring Break, but we need to get back to work.”
The Hurricanes practiced in shorts and shoulder pads during the workout that featured extensive scrimmaging. Tailback Frank Gore suffered an unspecified knee injury during a collision with safety Sean Taylor early in the practice. Taylor was shaken up, but continued practicing while Gore was sidelined for the remainder of the day. Head Coach Larry Coker said the extent of the injury would not be known until a complete evaluation takes place on Wednesday morning. Gore rushed for 562 yards as a true freshman in 2001, averaging 9.1 yards per carry.
In other injury news, defensive end Andrew Williams was held out of contact with a quadriceps injury and fullback Talib Humphrey missed the practice with a concussion. The prognosis for a return for both players is unknown at this time. Also, Coker announced that January enrollee J.R. Mounts, who joined the team prior to spring practice after a five-year professional baseball career, has left the team.
The Hurricanes will continue Spring Practice Wednesday with a workout scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. at Greentree. All Spring Practices are open to the public until further notice. With Tuesday’s practice, Miami has 10 of 15 practices remaining in 2002 Spring Football that will conclude with the annual FOX SportsNetCanesFest Spring Game sponsored by the Miami Herald at the Orange Bowl on the morning of Saturday, April 6.
Fans can join the team at the Orange Bowl on Saturday, April 6, for CanesFest and get an early peek at the Hurricanes in action during their annual Spring Game. Fans who purchase season tickets that day can select seats for the upcoming season, which features home games against Florida State and Virginia Tech. In addition to the game, players and coaches will be available for autographs and fans can tour the Hurricane locker room. Enter The Miami Herald contest to catch a pass from Ken Dorsey, kick a field goal against Todd Sievers or return a punt from Freddie Capshaw at www.hurricanesports.com. Gates open at 8 a.m., festivities begin at 8:30 a.m., and everything is free.
