Several Guests Join Hurricanes for Afternoon Practice
Aug. 13, 2010
Video of the Players talking after Practice on Canes All-Access
Coral Gables, Fla. – One down, two more to go. The University of Miami football team endured mid-90s heat and sunny skies with no shade on the Greentree Practice Fields as the `Canes wrapped up their afternoon session of the first two-a-day of the 2010 fall camp Friday.
Players were staying hydrated in the South Florida sun as well as they could as several team managers handed out water. The UM Athletic Training staff was hard at work as well; stretching a number of players making sure cramps would not set in.
The Hurricanes return to their more normal routine with an 8 a.m. practice session Saturday morning and Sunday morning before holding the second two-a-day of camp on Monday.
President Shalala Catches a Glimpse
University of Miami President Dr. Donna E. Shalala, back safely from her trip across seas, caught her first glimpse of the 2010 Hurricanes football team on Friday. President Shalala stood along the sidelines talking with several members of the Hurricanes’ Athletic Department, as well as a few of the coaches and student-athletes in-between drills.
Local Pee-Wee Team Pays a Visit
The Kendall Hammocks Pee-Wee football team paid a visit to the second session of practice on Friday. The team participated in pre-practice workouts with the `Canes, going through some of the drills UM endures before every practice under the direction of Andreu Swasey and the UM Strength & Conditioning program. After practice, the kids even got a chance to get a few autographs and take a couple of photos with QB Jacory Harris, LB Sean Spence and big offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson just to name a few. A priceless moment came when Henderson jumped down and took a photo with some of the much smaller football players as they all flashed the “U.”
Enthusiasm Heats Up on the Field
The heat and intensity of the first two-a-day session was evident early-on as a couple of heated confrontations between members of the offense and defense showed the enthusiasm the team has to begin the year. Several great battles would ensue during practice at a number of positions with players proving their worth on both sides of the ball. Cornerbacks and wide receivers stood toe-to-toe, while defensive and offensive lineman did the same, with everyone vying for a starting job on the 2010 roster.
Defensive Highlights
– Adewale Ojomo, Sean Spence and Brandon Harris swarmed to the ball on rushing plays.
– Spence was solid at his linebacker position all afternoon with good blitzes and dropping back into coverage.
– Micanor Regis and Allen Bailey won the early battle for the defensive line, blowing past offensive linemen Tyler Horn and Harland Gunn. Bailey and Regis combined for a great hit on running back Mike James in 11-on-11 work.
– Freshman defensive back Devont’a Davis made some good plays in the secondary, making good with his time on the field.
– Brandon Harris had an amazing interception on the sideline in 11-on-11 action. Harris was solid all afternoon from his cornerback position, showing great coverage in a variety of defensive packages, as well as coming up for big open-field tackles.
– Fellow defensive back Ryan Hill had an interception return for a touchdown.
– Sophomore linebacker C.J. Holton made a tremendous tackle on running back Eduardo Clements.
– Ramon Buchanan slipped into the offensive backfield several times for pressure and sacks on the quarterbacks with blitzes.
– The entire defensive backfield had lots of solid coverage on the wide receivers, resulting in coverage sacks and tackles-for-loss.
– The backfield included Brandon Harris, Devont’a Davis and DeMarcus Van Dyke.
Offensive Highlights
– Storm Johnson began practice with a long run, assisted by the offensive line opening a huge hole for the freshman to scamper through.
– Aldarius Johnson caught a touchdown pass from Jacory Harris on a long ball fade route.
– Harris hooked up with wide receiver Leonard Hankerson for a nice reception of about 40 yards, beating the defensive coverage of Van Dyke and JoJo Nicolas.
– Quarterback Spencer Whipple completed a long pass to lengthy wide receiver Tommy Streeter.
– Offensive linemen Jared Wheeler and Andrew Tallman opened a huge hole for Whipple to run through.
– Hankerson made an amazing catch on the sideline from Whipple just before falling out-of-bounds.
– Quarterback Alonzo Highsmith, Jr. and Mike James hooked up for a good run-and-catch.
– The second string offensive line gave good protection for the quarterback and opened holes for the running backs, using the blocks of Clive Walford and Billy Sanders.
– Running back Damien Berry ended practice with several good cuts, giving his offensive line time to open holes, and then reading the holes well and exploding through them.
– All units of the offensive line hustled for downfield blocks all afternoon.
