Live Blog Recap: Miami Hurricanes Spring Game
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.- Al Golden’s first spring season as head coach of the Hurricanes is in the books as Green defeated Orange, 30-17, behind three touchdown runs from Lamar Miller.
Here is a recap of the days events, running in reverse chronological order.
2:01 p.m.- That’s it folks. Green 30, Orange 17. Teams are meeting at midfield and fans are heading to the exits. Was a fun day. The return of the 2001 championship team, 11,000-plus in the stands and an memorable performance by Lamar Miller on the field.
That’s it for the live blog. We’ll have a full recap of the day’s events – including highlights, interviews and much more – up shortly on HurricaneSports.com.
1:59 p.m.- Well, so much for that comeback. On a fourth down, Olivier Vernon and Adewale Ojomo get into backfield and whistles are blown as QBs are off-limits from getting hit. Green ball at the 50, up 13 with 1:35 to play.
1:55 p.m.- We’re in the final few minutes here. Orange had the ball on their own 35, down 30-17. Jacory in at QB and he just got loose for a 20-yard scramble to move inside of the Green zone. Things could be getting interesting here….
1:48 p.m.- Orange gets in the endzone on a one-yard touchdown run by Mike James. Green now holds a 30-17 lead with 6:47 to play. Green has the ball at their own 22. Stephen Morris in at QB.
1:42 p.m.- We’re into the fourth quarter now with Orange driving. Quietly, Allen Hurns is having a nice day. Six catches for 64 yards. He’s been a big part of this drive as Orange looks to cut into Green’s 20-point lead.
1:37 p.m.- Green just scored again and guess who? Lamar Miller with his third touchdown on a one-yard run. This is becoming a blowout and Miller is the reason….10 carries, 166 yards, 3 TDs. Impressive afternoon to say the least.
1:31 p.m.- This isn’t official yet, but Lamar Miller has to be the MVP of today’s game. Miller just broke off a 64-yard touchdown run after a 70-yarder earlier in the contest. Still in the third quarter, Miller has nine carries for 165 yards on the ground. Green leads 24-10.
1:24 p.m.- Wieclaw field goal moves the Green’s lead to 17-10 with 7:21 to play in the third. Spencer Whipple came out as the QB of both teams to start the second half.
1:17 p.m.- The 2001 National Championship team was just honored at the field at halftime. Standing ovation from the crowd. Pretty cool scene having the likes of Ken Dorsey, Andre Johnson and Bryant McKinnie all back together….second half about to get underway here.
1:12 p.m.- UM’s spring award winners were just announced at halftime….
305 Walk On Award: Erik Lichter
Presented to the best or most improved Non-Scholarship player for the spring practice period.
Defensive Most Improved Player: James Gaines
Presented to the most improved defensive player for the spring practice period.
Offensive Most Improved Player: Malcolm Bunche
Presented to the most improved offensive player for the spring practice period.
Special Teams Most Improved Player: Andrew Swasey
Presented to the most improved special teams player for the spring practice period.
1:06 p.m.- Right before the half, the Green team went back ahead on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Morris to Kendal Thompkins…Thompkins had a few big catches on the drive to lead to the score. Halftime score: Green 14, Orange 10
12:58 p.m.- Pick six by Sean Spence….puts the Orange up 10-7 with two minutes to play in the half.
12:55 p.m.- Official attendance — 11,274. Great turnout for a memorable event. Nearly 20,000 this spring if you include first two scrimmages. Unbelievable support by the Canes fans out there.
12:52 p.m.- Back-to-back interceptions by the defense, first by Thomas Finnie (Orange), then by Andrew Swasey (Green). Orange has ball at their own 40. Five minutes to play n the half. Green leads, 7-3.
12:40 p.m.- Just as soon as Orange gets on the board, Green’s first play from scrimmage is a 70-yard run by Lamar Miller for the first touchdown of the game.
12:38 p.m.- Orange drive stalls but Jake Wieclaw puts UM on the board with a 30-yard field goal. Highlight of the drive was a long pass from Jacory Harris to Allen Hurns.
12:34 p.m.- First quarter is over and we’re still scoreless. However, Orange is deep into Green territory.
12:32 p.m.- Running backs moving Orange down the field…first it was Storm Johnson through the air, now its Mike James on the ground. Loaded backfield for the Orange team.
12:24 p.m.- After the Brandon McGee interception, the Green team was moving down the field until a third down sack by Micanor Regis forced a field goal attempt that was missed. Travis Benajmin and Lamar Miller each had big plays on the drive.
12:16 p.m.- Back-to-back big plays by Orange – a long run by Storm Johnson followed by a pass from Jacory Harris to Tommy Streeter – had them nearly into the red zone but Brandon McGee picked off a pass in the endzone to end the scoring threat.
12:13 p.m.- Orange goes 3-and-out on their first possession…Green does the same as Sean Spence records a sack on Stephen Morris on third down.
12:04 p.m.- We’re about to be underway here with the orange on offense first. Stands are still filling up quickly.
11:49 a.m.- The players are out on the field warming up and the starting line-ups are in. Here they are….
ORANGE
QB – Jacory Harris
RB – Mike James
WR – LaRon Byrd
WR – Tommy Streeter
WR – Chad Barnes
TE – Chase Ford
LT – Malcolm Bunche
LG – Brandon Linder
C – Shane McDermott
RG – Jared Wheeler
RT – Jermaine Johnson
LE – Marcus Robinson
DT – Curtis Porter
DT – Luther Robinson
RE – Olsen Pierre
OLB – Travis Williams
MLB – Sean Goldstein
OLB – Sean Spence
CB – Thomas Finnie
FS – Eduardo Clements
SS – Ray-Ray Armstrong
CB – Lee Chambers
GREEN
QB – Stephen Morris
RB – Lamar Miller
WR – Kendal Thompkins
WR – Travis Benjamin
WR – Shawn O’Dare
TE – Blake Ayles
LT – Ben Jones
LG – Harland Gunn
C – Tyler Horn
RG – Brandon Washington
RT – Jermaine Barton
LE – Olivier Vernon
DT – Jeremy Lewis
DT – Micanor Regis
RE – Adewale Ojomo
OLB – Ramon Buchanan
MLB – Jordan Futch
OLB – Kelvin Cain
CB – Keion Payne
FS – Andrew Swasey
SS – Tyrone Cornileus
CB – JoJo Nicolas
11:22 a.m.- A lot of activity on the field now. Recruits, cheerleaders, former players, coaches, media members, trainers….a lot going on. No sign of the players yet though as they remain in the locker room. Just an FYI – the game will be replayed tomorrow (Sunday, April 17) at 5 p.m. on CSS. WQAM will have the game live on 560 AM and www.WQAM.com.
10:58 a.m.- We’re still about an hour away from the game and the entire team just wrapped up an hour-long autograph session with fans. A lot of people are already out here, either out in the parking lots tailgating or inside the gates taking part in all of the BankUnited Canesfest activites around the stadium.
On our way up to the press box a few minutes ago, the great Ken Dorsey was working his way through the crowd and as you can imagine, he was quite a popular guy. A lot of famous faces are here today and Dorsey is certainly right up there with the best of them in Canes’ fans eyes.
