Hurricanes Cut Short Afternoon Practice

Aug. 21, 2002

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami Hurricanes practiced twice on Tuesday at the Greentree Practice Field on the UM campus. The Hurricanes practiced in full pads in the morning before returning for the afternoon session in shells and shorts. The afternoon session, while a successful one, was cut short due to threatening weather conditions.

“Although we cut it short this afternoon we had a good day of work and got a lot done,” said Coker. “We really worked on the passing game today and I was pleased with everything. We’ve got some people banged up who are out and, while it’s a concern, it’s not unusual to be fighting this at this time of year.”

Players who missed the afternoon practice included tailback Jarrett Payton (strain of the erector spinae muscle in the middle back) and a trio of defensive ends: Andrew Williams (knee swelling), John Square and Jerome McDougle (strained pectoral). Coker said Square showed signs of an irregular heart beat and has sat out practices since Saturday’s scrimmage, in which he suffered some heat-related problems of a minor nature.

The Hurricanes will conclude two-a-day practices on Wednesday. The team will have a morning practice on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at Greentree before a scrimmage at the Orange Bowl scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Orange Bowl scrimmage is closed to the public and there will be no media access before or after.

The Hurricanes begin the 2002 season Saturday, August 31, versus Florida A&M at the Orange Bowl. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

For ticket information for Hurricanes football, contact the UM Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-CANES or contact your nearest TicketMaster location.