Miami Wraps Up #CanesCamp Practice No. 10
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — From what he has seen through the early days of #CanesCamp on the Greentree Practice Fields, junior quarterback Brad Kaaya is encouraged by the Miami offense.
“Right now, it looks pretty good. We’ll see towards the end of camp, but only one scrimmage has gone by,” Kaaya said. “We have to build more depth and find some more good guys that we can lean on who are twos and threes.”
Friday’s practice was an opportunity to work on short yardage and red zone for both the offense and defense.
Though defense “won” the practice once again, head coach Mark Richt said the familiar result is not indicative of any lopsided practices, but rather a test of the depth on both sides of the football.
“If all I did was watch our ones [on offense], every time our ones were in there, I’d feel pretty good…our twos are going against the number one defense, and they’re swarming them pretty good,” Richt said. “If you just went our offensive ones, on every tape from there, I would say the offense was winning the majority of the days.”
Among those impressive players on the first-team offense is veteran wide receiver Malcolm Lewis, who Richt said has flown under the radar.
“It was about the offseason we had – spending more time going through the routes, getting the timing down pat,” Lewis said about his early success in the new offense.
Now in his fifth year with the Hurricanes, Lewis serves as a leader in the wide receiver room, which has some young standouts.
“We’re very close. They’re young, but they’re ready to compete,” Lewis said. “When they see us lead by example – me, Stacy [Coley] and Braxton [Berrios] – they’ll follow it.”
Kaaya says the connection he feels with Lewis and all the upperclassmen stems from his time at the helm of the offense.
“I’ve known these guys,” Kaaya said. “This is my third year being around most of these guys. It’s coming along pretty well. I know how they run routes, get in and out of breaks and stuff like that. Timing is pretty good with these guys.”
Read on for more reaction from players after Day 9 of #CanesCamp:
Head Coach Mark Richt
Opening Statement…
“Today we worked hard on our short yardage offense and defense, red zone offense and defense, installation down there, which went well. Teaching, learning, still competing. Short yardage, it’s hard to say, but offense probably got the nod on that, at least the ones [first string] did. That may not be true – it was about a dead heat on the short yardage. Defense won the red zone today, and overall, the defense won the day again. I know it’s getting frustrating for the offensive guys, but we have to keep competing, keep executing. A lot of it is execution issues. A lot of it is getting beat physically. I’ll take my share of the blame as well for not putting them in the best position, at times. When you install, you’re kind of calling plays that you’re installing that day. We haven’t really started gameplanning anybody yet. That’s about how the day went.”
On if he has any frustration with the offense…
“At times. It’s a process, I know that. It takes time. You’re working ones, twos [second string] and threes [third string], so it’s hard to get continuity right off the get-go, with that many groups. But if all I did was watch our ones, every time our ones were in there, I’d feel pretty good…our twos are going against the number one defense, and they’re swarming them pretty good. If you just went our offensive ones, on every tape from there, I would say the offense was winning the majority of the days. Defensive ones have been winning, but they’ve been winning by a larger margin, if that makes sense. And that’s why that’s been a difference most of the time.”
On the team’s first-year wide receivers…
“Dayall [Harris] is farther ahead. Ahmmon [Richards] is in pretty decent shape, and there’s Sam [Bruce], by virtue of the fact that he got here later than everybody else…we have some first-year tight ends too that have a ways to go, just learning what to do. There’s so much to master as a tight end in this system. They’re struggling a little bit mentally. When you’re not sure, it’s hard to be physical. The young guys in general are struggling, but Dayall and Ahmmon are a little bit further ahead at receiver.”
On the rotation at running back….
“There won’t be just one featured back. We’ll figure out who the starter and see what kind of shape he’s in. But I feel very comfortable with more than just one or two tailbacks right now. We’ll be fine, we keep them fresh and keep them healthy.”
On the absence of tight end Stan Dobard, defensive back Robert Knowles and fullback Gage Batten from practice…
“Stan had an ankle thing. I think Stan’s was ankle. Knowles, it could have been a hand. He had something to do with his finger, it got jacked up a little bit. [Gage’s surgery] went well, but it will be a little while before he can practice.”
On the progression he has seen from defensive back Ryan Mayes…
“Good. He’s the kind of guy that, like anybody else, you have to do things on a consistent basis. Even sometimes when you’re getting an interception here and there, it’s exciting, but also you have to make sure you’re in position to make a play if somebody decided to make a double move or something like that. You can’t be reckless, but his picks have been pretty calculated. Very good breaks on the ball. A couple of times the quarterback threw the ball behind the receiver, which gave him that opportunity, as far as the picks. But overall, I think he’s having a really good camp.”
On working with the team’s quarterbacks and his son, quarterbacks coach Jon Richt…
“I’m enjoying it. They’re a really good group of guys. They take it real serious. We’ll have moments when we enjoy each other’s company and have a little fun, but when it’s time to get down to business, they do a good job. I don’t have any issue with anybody as far as focus or just trying to take care of business.”
On what he expects from wide receiver Stacy Coley this fall…
“I see a guy who is in shape. I see a guy who is focused. I see a guy who wants to be great. I see a guy who came back for a purpose. He wants to help the team win, but he also wants to be in as good of shape as he can with his future as a football player, which I think he has. He has done all the things we’ve asked him to do. He’s always had a little soft tissue stuff – hamstring, whatever it is. He did an unbelievable job all summer. I’m not going to sit here and say he can never pull a muscle, but he really hasn’t been bothered by it so far because of how hard he has worked all summer long.”
Quarterbacks Coach Jon Richt
On what it was like to have his father give him an opportunity to coach…
“It was great to know that he had the faith in me at such an early age to get the job done. His trust means a lot to me.”
On whether he knew that he wanted to be a quarterbacks coach…
“At first yes – I thought I was going to do that. Once I got older – I actually got married as a sophomore in college – I kind of got the picture that once I got older, I was going to be around as much [if I was a coach], so I tried to do something else first and that lasted about five months. I was in the mortgage business for about five months and then very soon after that I was back on the field coaching and working with some guys from the NFL Combine, so it wasn’t long.
“I knew what I wanted to do – I love it. The hours don’t matter when you are doing something that you love to do, so that’s what it is all about.”
On freshman quarterback Jack Allison…
“Jack has a great arm and he has a great release. One of the things that Jack has done is that – he was a high school kid that should have been at prom and it looked like it out there. He was little over his head, but Jack did an awesome job of coming to work over the summer, learning exactly what to do, gaining confidence and now you can tell that he is supposed to be out there. He’s supposed to be out there competing and it’s really awesome to see a guy like that take control of what he is doing and learn what to do and be confident.”
Quarterback Brad Kaaya
On how he thinks the offense has been progressing through the first nine days of camp…
“Pretty good. Right now, it looks pretty good. We’ll see towards the end of camp, but only one scrimmage has gone by. We have to build more depth and find some more good guys that we can lean on who are twos and threes.”
On what he took away from the team’s first scrimmage…
“Just have to take better care of the ball. There were too many turnovers, and just have to start better. On the first play from scrimmage, there was a fumble off a quick flat. Starting any game that way, on the first play there’s a fumble, it’s hard to gain that momentum back.”
On his third year working with the team’s receivers…
“It’s good. I’ve known these guys. This is my third year being around most of these guys. It’s coming along pretty well. I know how they run routes, get in and out of breaks and stuff like that. Timing is pretty good with these guys.”
On working with coaches Jon Richt and Mark Richt in the quarterbacks room…
“It’s been awesome. They’re both good football minds. Jon is like an extension of his father. He’s pretty legit, knows all his stuff. He was in an NFL system for a while with the [Buffalo] Bills, which brings all kinds of stuff to the table. Like I said, he’s almost an extension of Coach Richt.”
Wide Receiver Malcolm Lewis
On working with quarterback Brad Kaaya in a new offensive system…
“It was about the offseason we had – spending more time going through the routes, getting the timing down pat.”
On what it means to take on a leadership role among wide receivers…
“Just knowing what to expect. Just tell the guys, you never know when it’s your last play so go hard every play.”
On if he has seen younger wide receivers lean on him for guidance…
“In the receiver room, we’re very close. They’re young, but they’re ready to compete. When they see us lead by example – me, Stacy [Coley] and Braxton [Berrios] – they’ll follow it.”
