@CanesFootball Holds Second Scrimmage at Oxbridge Academy
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The University of Miami football team held its second scrimmage of spring practice on Saturday at Oxbridge Academy in front of over 3,000 fans.
The second scrimmage placed the Hurricanes in full pads and marked the conclusion of week four. The scrimmage also marked the 12th day of spring practice under head coach Mark Richt.
Miami’s special teams unit began the day as the field goal unit took reps from 20 to 50-yards out. Following its special teams work, Miami’s offensive and defensive unit took center stage as they worked in over 70 plays. The Hurricanes closed practice working on third down and redzone situations.
Miami returns to the gridiron on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Greentree Practice Fields for the final week of spring camp. Tuesday’s practice also will mark the 13th day of spring camp.
The Miami football spring schedule will conclude on Saturday, April 16 with the spring game (2 p.m.) at Lockhart Stadium. The game will be aired live on ESPN3. The Hurricanes’ spring game also will be open to the public and will be free for all fans.
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Spring Camp – Scrimmage No. 2
Mark Richt, Head Coach
Opening Statement…
“I think it was good to get it front of a crowd. I think it was good for everybody – coaches and players – just to get a taste of it because it is different when you have a crowd out there. Everything went well on the injury front – other than [Stacy] Coley. It looked like he tweaked his hamstring a little bit. I don’t think it is too severe, which is good. I don’t think we had anything else, which was too severe, which is good. We had a lot of nice plays on both sides of the ball. We got a few cheers for the offense and we got a few cheers for the defense, so that was good. We have a lot of film to review and make some decisions as far as how much progress guys are making and how much progress we’re making as a staff as well, so we have a lot of things to evaluate.”
On the diversity in the playbook…
“We’ll go into spread, we’ll be in the i-formation, we’ll go with two tight ends – I do like a two-back run game. I think we’ll get better with that as we go. It takes a little bit of getting used to from a physical standpoint, but I think we need that as a team, but we ran the ball decent from the spread as well. We threw some screens and we had some play action passes. We didn’t run a bootleg or a naked bootleg play – I’m disappointed in myself in that one, but other than that we called just about everything.”
On the defense…
“We got some good fourth down stops. We got one pick six. The offense had another chance to score and we stopped a touchdown right there in the red area. What we tell all the guys whether its offense or defense is that you got to play the next play whether it’s good or bad. You have to focus. There’s only thing you should be focused in on and that’s your job and the next assignment, but it’s hard. We’re all human, when things go good, we maybe feel too good and when we things go bad we tend to want to go in the tank a little bit. We got to learn to play every down like it’s the most important down that there is and we’re learning how to do that.”
On the sacks…
“There we’re a few. A lot of times the pocket was real pretty and sometimes it wasn’t so nice. Part of that is that Brad needs to get rid of the ball and some of that is the pocket is squeezing in on him and him not wanting to throw the ball up for grabs. The good thing was that he didn’t throw any balls that should have gotten picked. He might have tried to squeeze one those in there that was a little dangerous, but Brad’s pretty good about not putting the ball in harms way. The other quarterbacks – from time to time – have thrown the ball up for grabs and things of that nature. Brad’s had a couple of images like that too, but it’s been very few. I tell the guys that more games have been lost than won, so you have to protect the ball and you have to be respectful of the ball.”
On the competition for the No. 2 spot at quarterback…
“There’s four other guys that we roll. I think each guy had some bright moments and there’s probably some things that they would like to have back, but it’s too hard for me to tell.”
On the play of running back Mark Walton…
“He did a nice job. Mark has really proved that he can make something out of nothing. He’s got good hands coming out of the backfield. He’s got a toughness about him. I think he likes big moments, not that this was a huge moment, but it was the biggest moment of the spring in regards to our practices and being in front of a crowd. I liked the way he responded.”
On whether Mark Walton has separated himself from the rest of the backs…
“It’s too early to tell.”
On playing in front of a crowd…
“I think it means something to them – it really does. If you just have your normal practice and it just seems very routine. All of the sudden, you get on a bus and you travel and you get into a stadium with stands and some fans. You still have to focus regardless of the circumstance, so I think it was healthy for us to do this. Of course next week, it will be more a little bit more like today’s atmosphere.”
On Stacy Coley’s spring camp…
“Stacy’s had a great spring so far period. I’m sad that that [injury] happened to him. He’s really played well and he’s a guy, who’s been a playmaker for this team for a while not just since I’ve been here. He’s a very good football player, he’s been very coachable and teachable and I’m sorry that that happen to him.”
On what the team will focus on during the final week of spring camp…
“Offensively we’ll probably put one minute offense in, which we have not done. We have not put a goal line offense in, which we may or may not do. The rest is just to keep learning and keep taking care of business at school. As soon as the spring game is over they only have one more week of school and then exams, so there is a lot on their plate right now, so I appreciate their efforts.”
On the play of Brad Kaaya …
“Brad is just very coachable and teachable. He’s a pretty unflappable guy. The pressure doesn’t seem to bother him whether it’s in the pocket or it’s the pressure of his role on this team. He’s a very accurate passer. If we protect him, he’s going to hit is target and I’m really impressed with that.”
On the play of Al-Quadin Muhammad…
“He works so hard and I just appreciate his effort and I think it [his effort] has become contiguous.”
