HURRICANES RETURN TO THE PRACTICE FIELD

Aug. 23, 2007

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – – The Miami Hurricanes football team returned to the Greentree Practice Fields Thursday afternoon for their first practice since the start of classes on Wednesday. UM practiced for nearly two hours in full pads.

“We worked a little bit on Marshall,” UM head coach Randy Shannon said, referring to the September 1 season opener against the Thundering Herd. “We still did our normal practice. We got done quickly and worked fast. The guys were enthusiastic. We had a couple of mistakes here and there, but for the most part, we were upbeat and guys flew around.”

Miami held it final scrimmage of the preseason Monday before having a short 45-minute practice on Tuesday. UM took Wednesday off for the start of classes. UM had its second-longest workout of the week on Thursday. Miami will practice at 3:00 p.m. Friday and will take Saturday off.

“It was good that we came out here with a little change instead of waking up early in the morning,” Shannon said. “Now they are coming in the afternoon. They’re going to class and will be on their feet a little bit. They have to make that adjustment, but they will adjust fine.”

Shannon said senior running back Charlie Jones will likely missed a minimum of three weeks. He also said that cornerbacks Randy Phillips and Carlos Armour have returned to practice.

Shannon is expected to release the team’s first depth chart on Tuesday.

Offensive Line Still Coming Along
Miami is still rotating guys at center. Sophomore A.J. Trump along with seniors Derrick Morse and John Rochford have seen playing time there. “The more we can get guys on the field that are rested, the better we’ll be on offense,” Shannon said. “Just like we’ve done for years on defense, we want to rotate guys. If we’re able to rotate guys where they’re playing 35-40 snaps a game instead of 80 snaps, we’ll be fresh and can down break teams. If you’re able to have depth along the offensive line, you’ll take it and run with it. Most teams in the country want that. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Nine Days Until Season Opener
Hurricanes fans can purchase single-game tickets, a four-game Mega-Plan or season tickets through the month of August. Single-game tickets are $47 each, while the Mega-Plan, which includes a reserved ticket to the Texas A&M game and three other home games of choice, is $160 per pack ($7 savings per ticket ). Season tickets start as low as $190, which is only $27 per game. Tickets can be purchased at www.hurricanesports.com or by calling (305) 284-CANES in Miami-Dade or (800) GO-CANES outside of Miami-Dade. The Hurricanes open the season on September 1 against Marshall in the Orange Bowl.