Canes Hold First Bowl Practice Saturday at Greentree

Dec. 19, 2009

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The 14th-ranked University of Miami football team returned to the Greentree Practice Fields Saturday to begin its preparation for the Champs Sports Bowl against Wisconsin on Tuesday, Dec. 29 in Orlando.

“It was a good day today,” head coach Randy Shannon said. “We put one’s against one’s the entire time with good enthusiasm and good energy.”

The team practiced for nearly two hours in sunny but cool conditions, with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 60’s in the late morning, early afternoon hours.

“We worked on the fundamentals a lot,” Shannon added. “A lot of individual work, hitting, contact, blocking and things like that. Protecting the football was the biggest emphasis today. When you get in bowl games, if you’re not protecting the football and working on tackling, you can really have a bad day.”

The team is slated to practice three more times in Coral Gables before leaving for Orlando on Dec. 25. Once in Orlando, UM will hold three practices and take part in a number of events leading up to the game on Dec. 29.

After having to postpone Friday’s practice, the `Canes (9-3) will now practice again on Sunday – originally an off day – before holding a walk-through on Monday.

The Hurricanes had spent the last few weeks prior to the official start of bowl practice in the weight room and on the practice fields in voluntary conditioning sessions.

Miami’s match-up with Wisconsin on ESPN is 10 days away.