By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes will host their annual Spring Game Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, giving Canes fans their first look at the team in 2018.
Head coach Mark Richt is honoring Carol Soffer and the Soffer Family, who donated the $14 million lead gift for the Carol Soffer Football Indoor Practice Facility by naming the two teams participating Saturday Team Carol and Team Soffer. Richt has been pleased with his team’s progress this spring, but he is excited to see how the Hurricanes respond in the Spring Game.
“It means a lot to us,” Richt said. “Can you function when the pads are on and we are tackling? I got a bunch of receivers that look really good in shorts. When the pads come on, they don’t look quite as good. Then you put the pads on and you tackle, it’s not the same guy. Can you function – not just that position, all positions – in a true-game-type situation? Now, can you function when a lot of people are in the stands watching as well? It’s a little bit more pressure. Even the punter and the kicker, there won’t be a rush, but there will be a lot of people watching. Those will be pressure kicks by virtue of the fact that there will be people in the stands, so how do you handle a lot of people watching? Does it change how you think? Does it change how you perform?”
Parking lots open at 3 p.m., with the gates set to open at 5 p.m. and kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m., but here is a quick rundown of who and what to watch for at the 2018 Spring Game.
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACKS
Returners: Malik Rosier, N’Kosi Perry, Cade Weldon, Augie DeBiase
Newcomers: Jarren Williams
What they’re saying: “He’s definitely pushing Malik. Jarren Williams is pushing Malik. Cade [Weldon] is pushing Malik. Everybody is pushing Malik, you know? And Malik is pushing Malik, that’s what’s great.” – Quarterbacks coach Jon Richt on the quarterbacks
RUNNING BACKS
Returners: Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas, Robert Burns, Trayone Gray, Crispian Atkins, Michael Parrott, Jack Pope, Danny Dominguez
Newcomers: Lorenzo Lingard
What they’re saying: “Obviously since Day 1, DeeJay has been a very competitive football player. When he came in initially he was playing receiver, playing running back. We’ll still use him out of the backfield at times, as well. But he has put on good solid weight. He has bulked up some but can still run and stay in good condition. He had some nice, physical runs today. I’m kind of pleased with the progress DeeJay is making. And he’s trying to be more of a leader, which is good – we need more leaders.” – Offensive coordinator / running backs coach Thomas Brown on DeeJay Dallas
WIDE RECEIVERS
Returners: Mike Harley, Jeff Thomas, Lawrence Cager, Dayall Harris, Darrell Langham, Ahmmon Richards, Evidence Njoku, Marshall Few, Elias Lugo-Fagundo, Calvin Carrie
Newcomers: Brian Hightower, Daquris Wiggins, Will Huggins, Brian Miller
What they’re saying: “He’s doing a good job. He has played a little bit of inside lane and outside lane, just to get him some at bats, get the ball in his hands. He has done an unbelievable job. In the scrimmage, I think he had three catches, three explosive plays, two touchdowns. The kid has been really electric for us. He’s competing and Mike Harley is pushing him.” – Co-offensive coordinator / wide receivers coach Ron Dugans on Jeff Thomas
TIGHT ENDS
Returners: Michael Irvin II, Brian Polendey, Nicholas Ducheine
Newcomers: none
What they’re saying: “I’ve told them that spring is about competition. You have to compete against yourself. Are you getting better from the day before? Are you competing against yourself? Then you have to compete against the guys in your room. Everybody knows that we have the cats coming in, so they need to put money in the bank right now. They need to put reps in the bank right now, because the guys coming in the fall are going to get their opportunity. These guys know that. They need to take advantages of the opportunities they have right now.” Tight ends coach Todd Hartley on the tight ends
OFFENSIVE LINE
Returners: Tyree St. Louis, Tyler Gauthier, Navaughn Donaldson, Hayden Mahoney, Jahair Jones, Corey Gaynor, Zach Dykstra, George Brown, Jr., Zalon’tae Hillery, Kai-Leon Herbert, Bar Milo, Tre Johnson, Zachary Lerman
Newcomers: Delone Scaife, Jr., John Campbell, Jr.
What they’re saying: “Right now, Jahair is doing a good job. He’s stepping up, his play is starting to reflect his ability and he’s got to continue to get better, but he’s done a good job at left guard.” – Offensive line coach Stacey Searels on Jahair Jones
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE
Returners: Gerald Willis III, Scott Patchan, Demetrius Jackson, Tyreic Martin, Pat Bethel, Jonathan Ford, Jonathan Garvin, Joe Jackson
Newcomers: Gregory Rousseau
What they’re saying: “I feel great about the group. Good kids. Obviously, we lost a bunch of guys last year. Got to get our numbers up. Looking forward to [getting] those guys we’ve got coming in over the summer, to build depth. I’m hoping those guys are ready to come in and compete, get ready to play. We’ve got a great room.” – Defensive line coach Jess Simpson on the defensive linemen
LINEBACKERS
Returners: Shaquille Quarterman, Michael Pinckney, Zach McCloud, De’Andre Wilder, Waynmon Steed, Terry McCray, Charles Perry, Bradley Jennings, Jr., Mike Smith, Thomas Burns, Shawn Walker,
Newcomers: Derrick Smith, Romeo Finley, Darian Stephenson
What they’re saying: “The first thing he must do is be tough, that’s what we say in all of our defense, ‘your toughness will play.’ What we try to do here in Miami – and we are blessed with speed here in south Florida – is try to get the fastest player on the field, and Derrick Smith and Romeo [Finley] are athletic coming from the safety room. We want to get the most speed out there and if they are going to play with physicality, it’s going to help our defense immensely.”Outside linebackers coach Jonathan Patke on the “striker” position
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Returners: Trajan Bandy, Jaquan Johnson, Amari Carter, Jhavonte Dean, Robert Knowles, Shledrick Redwine, Michael Jackson, Tyler Murphy, Colvin Alford
Newcomers: Gilbert Frierson, DJ Ivey, Gurvan Hall
What they’re saying: “He’s been on the outside for the whole camp but for the last two or three days he’s starting to go backinto work in nickel. I mean Bandy is pretty good wherever he is. When he is 100 percent, he’s playing fast. He is a blessing wherever he’s at, but he is starting to get comfortable with both roles. Last year, he kind of fell in love with the nickel spot, but this year I think he going to be able to do both for us.” – Cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph on Trajan Bandy
“Honestly, I am very pleased with Sheldrick. In my opinion, he’s had the best spring he’s had since he has been here. Him and Michael [Jackson] are far above all the DBs we have. You know, they’re practicing. Obviously, Jaquan [Johnson] is taking that class so he is not here the whole time, but Jaquan is doing a great job in terms of just finishing up his degree, which is what you want. Sheldrick is just lights out, killing it right now, I am really proud of him. He has had one bad day and that is the one thing I always talk to him about. Sheldrick has to play consistently every single game for us to be good. And I always tell this to seniors, ‘if you’re going to be a really good senior and have a great senior year and you can change your life after this is over, you have to play great in spring and you have to play great in training camp and that will equal to a great senior season, always, forever and it will never be different. I am really proud of him. Amari [Carter] is coming along, he’s doing a good job.” – Safeties coach Ephraim Banda on the safeties
SPECIAL TEAMS
Returners: Turner Davidson, Marco Baeza, Jordan Butler, Sam York, Jacob Muñoz, Zach Feagles, Jack Spicer
Newcomers: none
What they’re saying: “We’ll have a lot of candidates to return the ball. I don’t think people really appreciated how good Braxton Berrios was at returning the football. ‘Hey, we need more touchdowns.’ Just check the stats, the kid was top 10 in the country two years in a row…replacing that is going to be really tough. But we do have some guys we’re working out and we’ll have some guys come in the fall who we’ll work out as well. I still think we’ve got some time to determine that.” – Special team coordinator Todd Hartley on the kick and punt returners
