Hurricanes Hold First Football Scrimmage of Spring Practice
March 23, 2002
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The Miami Hurricanes held their first full-scale scrimmage of the 2002 Spring Practice for almost two hours Saturday morning at Cobb Stadium on the University of Miami campus.
The scrimmage took place in typical Miami weather with temperatures near 80 degrees under sunny skies. Sophomore tailback Willis McGahee spearheaded an explosive running game against the first team defense, but the UM stop troops also had their share of highlight moments, as well.
“This was a real important scrimmage for us because we are right in the middle of spring practice,” head coach Larry Coker said. “A scrimmage like this one really gives you a good idea of where we are as a football team. A lot of decisions on players can be made from days like this.”
Coker saw some positive signs from both the offensive and defensive units, the first time the 2002 squad has been extensively put through its paces.
“Overall, I thought the scrimmage was very good,” Coker said. “We ran the ball well today and our passing game was pretty crisp. It’s obvious that we are a lot farther along at the receiver positions than we were a year ago. The defense was really moving to the football. Our new guys in the secondary took some lumps, but also made a lot of plays. I thought our offensive line showed what it could do by helping us make some good gains on the ground.”
The Hurricanes rushed for 131 yards on 51 attempts (2.6 avg.) and one touchdown. UM quarterbacks passed for 301 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, completing 17-of-37 attempts. Overall, Miami offensive units moved for 432 yards on 88 plays, averaging 4.9 yards per snap.
McGahee led all rushers with 111 yards on 11 carries (10.1 avg.), including a 56-yard run for a touchdown. Jarrett Payton gained 37 yards in 15 attempts. Senior quarterback Ken Dorsey completed seven of 15 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown without throwing an interception. Second-teamer Derrick Crudup was good on three of eight passes for 60 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Dorsey started the day with a 65-yard bomb to split end Andre Johnson for a touchdown. Johnson caught the perfectly thrown pass just beyond the outstretched arms of cornerback Alfonso Marshall for the scrimmage’s first touchdown.
Johnson led all receivers with 91 yards and a touchdown on two catches. Tight ends Kellen Winslow and David Williams had a scrimmage-best three catches apiece. Winslow gained 35 yards on his receptions, including a 15-yarder for a score from Crudup. Williams took his three grabs for a total of 24 yards.
Transfer Brock Berlin, working with the scout team, connected on another picture-perfect touchdown bomb with receiver Roscoe Parrish for a 65-yard score. Berlin ended the day completing 3-of-5 attempts for 78 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt freshman Buck Ortega completed four of nine attempts for 25 yards.
Top defensive players included safety Sean Taylor (four tackles, one interception and a pass break-up), tackle Williams Joseph (three tackles, one for a loss) and cornerback Marcus Maxey (seven tackles, one for a loss, one pass break-up).
Saturday’s scrimmage marked the midway point of Spring Practice for the Hurricanes. Miami has seven of 15 practices remaining in 2002 Spring Football that will conclude with the annual Fox SportsNet CanesFest Spring Game at the Orange Bowl. All Spring Practices are open to the public.
Fans can join the team at the Orange Bowl on Saturday, April 6, for Fox SportsNet 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.
Listen to audio from players and coaches following the scrimmage.
2002 SPRING SCRIMMAGE #1Saturday, March 23, 2002
OFFENSIVE STATS
TEAM STATISTICS:
RUSHING: 51 carries, 131 yards, 2.6 avg., 1 TD
PASSING: 17-37, 301 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
TOTAL: 88 plays, 432 yards, 4.9 yards per play
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
PASSING: C-A PCT. YDS LONG TD INTKen Dorsey 7-15 .467 138 65T 1 0Brock Berlin 3-5 .600 78 65T 1 0Derrick Crudup 3-8 .375 60 26 1 1Buck Ortega 4-9 .444 25 14 0 0Totals 17-37 .459 301 65T 3 1
RUSHING: ATT YARDS AVG. TD LONGWillis McGahee 11 111 10.1 1 56TJarrett Payton 15 37 2.5 0 11Quadtrine Hill 4 15 3.8 0 9Frank Bayless 4 5 1.3 0 4Buck Ortega 6 -2 0.0 0 16Jeff Malley 2 -7 0.0 0 0Brock Berlin 4 -8 0.0 0 0Derrick Crudup 5 -20 0.0 0 0Totals 51 131 2.6 1 56T
RECEIVING: REC YARDS AVG. TD LONGKellen Winslow 3 35 11.7 1 15David Williams 3 24 8.0 0 14Andre Johnson 2 91 45.5 1 65TKevin Beard 2 35 17.5 0 20Kyle Cobia 2 24 12.0 0 21Roscoe Parrish 1 65 65.0 1 65TWillis McGahee 1 13 13.0 0 13Alex Duk 1 7 7.0 0 7Jason Geathers 1 4 4.0 0 4Jarrett Payton 1 3 3.0 0 3Totals 17 301 17.7 3 65T
KICKING: FGM FGA PCT. Field GoalsTodd Sievers 1 2 .500 44, 47G
DEFENSIVE STATS
# Player UT AT Total TFL FR INT PBU Sacks58 Jarrell Weaver 1 2 394 William Joseph 2 1 3 1-(-1)6 Antrel Rolle 2 1 3 1-(-1) 222 Kelly Jennings 1 0 125 Alfonso Marshall 1 1 2 298 Cornelius Green 3 0 3 3-(-9) 2-(-8)26 Sean Taylor 2 2 4 1-0 117 D.J. Williams 2 1 393 John Square 3 1 4 3-(-9) 2-(-8)75 Vince Wilfork 1 0 1 1-(-2) 1-(-2)49 Darrell McClover 1 3 4 1-(-6) 1-(-6)50 Roger McIntosh 3 4 744 Leon Williams 4 2 6 1-(-1) 1-024 Marcus Maxey 4 3 7 1-(3) 195 Jerome McDougle 2 0 2 1-(-7) 1-(-7)51 Jon Vilma 1 1 297 Larry Anderson 1 0 156 Santonio Thomas 2 0 2 2-(-7) 2-(-7)96 Miguel Robede 2 1 3 2-(-2) 2-(-2)92 Orien Harris 2 0 2 2-(-10) 2-(-10)57 Javon Nanton 1 1 2 1-(-1) 1-(-1)41 Tim Kelly 0 1 131 Tranard Davis 0 1 190 Thomas Carroll 1 0 1 1-(-2)36 Maurice Sikes 3 1 437 Jean Leone 1 1 246 Michael Langley 1 0 1
