New-look Canes Open Spring Practice
By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – To Corey Gaynor, this day, was about redemption.
For Zach McCloud, it was about a fresh start. And to Mike Harley, it all just felt so different.
After a season that didn’t go as any of them had hoped, the new-look Hurricanes opened spring practice Monday morning, returning to Greentree for the first time since last December.
There were, as one might have expected, new faces everywhere.
Coaches tasked with implementing a new offense did their best to teach. Eager freshmen just weeks removed from their arrivals on campus mixed with their veteran teammates, hoping to make an impression. And a handful of high-profile transfers – including quarterback D’Eriq King, defensive end Quincy Roche and kicker Jose Borregales – did their best to execute while they, too, adjusted.
And yet, it was some of Miami’s veterans who couldn’t help but embrace the symbolism that came with this first practice, this first chance to run new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s system, this first chance to be on the field as the newly born 2020 Hurricanes.
“There are so many bright attitudes, just ready to get out there. Nobody’s thinking about last season in the sense that it’s dragging us down. It’s a clean slate,” said McCloud, a redshirt senior linebacker who is expected to anchor the defense and provide invaluable experience and leadership after the departures of Shaquille Quarterman and Michael Pinckney. “But at the same time, we’re so ready and so hungry for an opportunity to get better and not repeat what happened before. We want to be all that we can be, together, as a group.”
Added Gaynor, a redshirt junior offensive lineman, “This is redemption, essentially. We’re out here every day and we’re working hard. … There are a lot of kinks and bumps and bruises that come with learning a new offense, but we’re going to grow through it. And I’m happy with what we did today, effort-wise. It was awesome.”
How quickly the Hurricanes can work through the challenges of learning a new offense will most certainly be one of the biggest storylines of the spring – and beyond.
Last fall, the Hurricanes struggled at times to move the ball and inconsistency at the quarterback position took its toll as Miami finished 6-7.
To address those issues, coach Manny Diaz worked to bring Lashlee – the former offensive coordinator at SMU – to Miami. And with that move, the Hurricanes added a coach who last fall, presided over a unit that finished the 2019 season ranked in the top 10 in both total offense and scoring offense.
Monday, Lashlee was seen – more than once – exhorting and encouraging his quarterbacks. And his players, at a variety of positions, did their best to keep pace in their first day of executing a no-huddle offense.
“Practice went by fast,” said Harley, a senior receiver. “We just really saw how it’s a quick tempo and how all that extra work we did in the winter, training, is going to translate on the field. … It was non-stop. Coaches in one ear, quarterbacks telling you what to do, linemen screaming. It was just pick up, pick up, pick up. You have to lock in mentally to get it down pat. It wasn’t bad for the first day, but we want to all be great as a unit, from quarterbacks, running backs, o-line, tight ends, receivers. … We’re just making the best of our opportunities, getting to know the plays, getting on point, getting the bond right with the offensive coaches.”
Miami’s defensive players may not be learning an entirely new scheme, but they face challenges of their own, from dealing with the losses of veterans like Pinckney, Quarterman, defensive end Jonathan Garvin, cornerback Trajan Bandy to having to now defend a high-tempo offense on a day-to-day basis.
Defensive end Greg Rousseau, whose 15.5 sacks last year ranked second in the nation and helped him earn recognition as the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, smiled when asked after practice if he’d been able to get his hands on a quarterback, given how things had changed.
And like several of his teammates, he’s confident the changes Miami has made will make a difference this fall.
“There’s a new energy out there. It’s a high-octane, fast-moving offense and it’s really great to go against, for our defense,” Rousseau said. “We have to get lined up quick, get the call. It’s been really great so far. All the dudes are just embracing everything. It’s a new season for us, [we’re a] new team. We’re ready for all the challenges. We’re out here working every single day, grinding, just to get better every single day.”
As to whether he was pleased with how his team responded on the first day of practice, Diaz was encouraged. He saw energy. He saw players embracing the challenges they faced. And for Day One, that was a positive.
“We mentioned to our team today that a team is a collection of people and the behavioral choices they make. By nature, if you change the people on the team, you’ve changed the team. If you change the choices that those people make, then you change the dynamic of the team,” Diaz said. “There’s just a different set of guys than it was a year ago. It’s a different staff than it was a year ago. To me, regardless of whether last year finished good, bad or somewhere in between, everyone in the country is starting off 0-0. I know it’s cliché, but it’s still true.”
