CANES OFFICIALLY OPEN FIRST CAMP UNDER AL GOLDEN

CORAL GABLES, Fla.– It’s been a long wait, but the University of Miami’s 2011 campaign officially got underway Saturday morning as Al Golden and the Canes were finally able to get out on the Greentree Practice Fields for the first practice of fall camp.

After meeting with a large media contingent prior to warming up, the Canes took to the field in shorts and helmets under humid conditions with temperatures in the upper 80’s. As scheduled, the session got underway shortly before 8:30 a.m. and wrapped up at 11 a.m. Then it was straight to the cold tubs before heading inside to grab some lunch and begin an afternoon of meetings and film study.

HIGH PERFORMANCE PLAYERSThroughout camp, HurricaneSports.com will highlight some of the best performers in each day’s practice. While there are certainly other players who stood out throughout the course of the session, these student-athletes in particular caught our eye.

Offense
QB #12 Jacory Harris – The senior remained composed in the pocket completing several long range passes, including one for 30 yards to a diving Allen Hurns and another for 22 yards to freshman Phillip Dorsett.

RB #5 Mike James – James carved through the defense with his hard-nosed running style and racked up rushes of 13, 20 and 25 yards to lead the team in rushing yards on the day.

Defense
DB #29 JoJo Nicolas – The senior held junior receiver Tommy Streeter to just two receptions of 10 and 14 yards, while breaking up two passes in a row from sophomore quarterback Stephen Morris, one of which was a near interception.

LB #45 Ramon Buchanan – Buchanan led the linebacking corps with two pass break-ups and what would have been several tackles had the team practiced in full pads.

PHOTO GALLERY: DAY ONE
Click HERE for a photo gallery of some of the action from Greentree today.

GOLDEN BEFORE PRACTICE….

STUDENT-ATHLETES BEFORE PRACTICE
QB Jacory Harris…

RB Eduardo Clements….

DT Marcus Forston….

REVISITING BEHIND THE FACEMASK
Throughout camp, we will revisit some of our favorite Behind the Facemask stories that have been running throughout the summer. Today, we’ll take a look back at LaRon Byrd’s story….

“The U is one of the most prestigious programs in the country. When you think of the U, the first thing you think of is Miami. That landmark, when it was first created, everybody wanted to throw up the U for their university, but there’s only one.”

Behind the Facemask: LaRon Byrd

NEXT PRACTICE
UM will return to Greentree on Sunday for its second practice of camp. As it will be most of August, the Canes are slated to start at 8:20 p.m.

SEASON TIX
Season Tickets for the start of the CLICKING HERE.