Hurricanes Return to Spring Practice
March 20, 2007
Coral Gables – With spring break over, the Miami Hurricanes went back to practice today on the Greentree Athletic Fields.
“It was the first day back and guys flew around a little bit, but we have to get better as a team,” said head coach Randy Shannon. “There were too many fumbled snaps and a couple of big plays on defense that shouldn’t have happened. We have to keep working.”
Last week Shannon traveled the state during the annual Hurricane Club Spring Tour, speaking to Hurricanes fans in seven cities. He commented often on how some of the bigger players on the team started off January getting at 6 a.m. every day to work out and lose weight, and he was asked about that today by reporters. “That lasted for three weeks, and they worked out in the weightroom and ran, extra conditioning, on top of their regular workouts,” Shannon said. “They dropped 10, 15, 20 pounds and they look good and feel better. Some of them tell me they feel better even though they are working more than they normally do. They have to understand this is what it takes to get it done and be more physical. They have to be in shape so they can go the entire time.”
Shannon talked about wide receivers Sam Shields and Ryan Hill, who played as true freshmen last season but now are more experienced. “They’re doing a whole lot better. It’s maturity. It’s a more physical game in college. Those guys are starting to turn it on.
The Hurricanes will practice again at 3:05 p.m. Wednesday. Three remaining practices (all scrimmages) will be open to the public:
— 10 a.m. Saturday in Coral Gables– 6 p.m. Friday, March 30 at Traz Powell Stadium in Miami– Spring game at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 7 at the Orange Bowl
CAMPBELL ON LOMBARDI AWARD WATCH LIST
The preliminary watch list for the Lombardi Award was released today and Hurricanes defensive end Calais Campbell was one of 43 players listed. Last season, as a sophomore, Campbell had 10.5 sacks and was fourth in the nation with 20.5 tackles for loss. He ranked third on the No. 5-ranked defense in the country with 85 total tackles. Michigan defensive end LaMarr Woodley won the Lombardi Award in 2006.
