#CanesCamp Notebook (August 5)
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes held their first practice of the 2014 preseason camp at the Greentree Practice Fields on Tuesday afternoon.
Every member of the Hurricanes was fully integrated on Tuesday, except for quarterback Ryan Williams, who is still working his way back from ACL surgery. Williams did participate in some individual throwing drills, but did not take part in the team portions of Tuesday’s practice.
The Hurricanes were in helmets and shorts on Tuesday, the first day of a mandatory NCAA five-day acclimatization period. Miami will be back in helmets on Wednesday before adding shoulder pads on Thursday and Friday, and transitioning into full pads for Saturday’s practice.
On the first day of practice, Miami’s defense featured ten players in black jerseys: Anthony Chickillo, Antonio Crawford, Dallas Crawford, Trent Harris, Tracy Howard, Ufomba Kamalu, Raphael Kirby, Earl Moore, Darrion Owens and Denzel Perryman.
The Canes offense had 11 players donning orange jerseys on Tuesday: Phillip Dorsett, Jonathan Feliciano, Ereck Flowers, Danny Isidora, Duke Johnson, KC McDermott, Shane McDermott, Ronald Regula, Beau Sandland, Clive Walford and Herb Waters.
There were highlights on both sides of the ball Tuesday, but the defense closed out practice by winning both 11-on-11 periods.
Sophomore Artie Burns and senior Anthony Chickillo scored for the Canes, with Burns jumping a route for a pick-six and Chickillo snagging an interception for a touchdown after showing burst in his pursuit of the quarterback.
Other highlights on defense included senior Olsen Pierre batting down a screen pass on third down to get the defense off the field and solid coverage downfield by senior Ladarius Gunter and junior Antonio Crawford.
Offensively, senior Jake Heaps worked the middle of the field with the tight ends, zipping a pass into a tight window to connect with Clive Walford for a first down.
Freshmen quarterbacks Brad Kaaya and Malik Rosier also flashed impressive talent. Kaaya found senior receiver Rashawn Scott multiple times, while Rosier moved the offense down field by distributing the ball to the running backs and tight ends.
Freshman wideout Braxton Berrios closed out the practice with a pair of impressive plays. The elusive Berrios used his speed and quickness to weave past Miami defenders for a 15-yard gain on a wide receiver screen. A few plays later, Berrios took an end-around and juked his way past several Canes to gain over 20 yards.
Miami returns to the Greentree at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday for its second #CanesCamp session. For the latest information on Miami Hurricanes Football, follow @MiamiHurricanes on Twitter and the official blog for Hurricanes Football, www.theufootball.com.
