Ready to Work

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Cam Ward admits he had a hard time falling asleep.

On the night before the Hurricanes returned to Greentree for their first official practice of preseason camp, Ward’s excitement level was through the roof. And so, sleep was hard to find.

Still, once the quarterback got on the field Wednesday morning, there was plenty of energy – for him, his teammates and Miami’s coaches.

“It was fun. It was anxious, just excitement,” Ward said. “I was ready to get this first day started and get it over with, so I’d actually have some film to watch, of the team and myself. We had a lot of good things, but we also have some things we’ve got to clean up.”

The quarterback wasn’t the only one eager to see how Miami looked on the practice field.

The Hurricanes have spent the better part of the summer going through their off-season program, with player-led workouts and conditioning sessions taking center stage.

On Wednesday, Miami’s coaches were the ones leading the Hurricanes through drills, and they were eager to see what kind of progress has been made since the end of spring.

But even with those coaches teaching and correcting, head coach Mario Cristobal noted it’s important that Miami’s veteran leaders continue setting the tone for their teammates, through camp and beyond.

“I think it’s important to note that just because the coaches are here now and we report to camp, [it] doesn’t mean that it stops being player-led,” said Cristobal, a two-time national champion offensive lineman now in his third season leading his alma mater. “The best thing a coach can do is really prepare and conduct an organized and challenging practice. You know, scripting, the details of individual technique and fundamental work, angles, leverage numbers … all of those things are really important. But at the end of the day, it’s still got to be [player]-driven. Because we chase guys up and down the field, you probably see we’ve got coaches come out just dripping in sweat. But it’s got to come from within and we’re getting really good push. We’re getting really good results … with internal leadership and solely based on and focused on getting better.”

That accountability, that directive for players to continue stepping up and leading is one more than a few Hurricanes are embracing.

On Wednesday, veteran offensive lineman Jalen Rivers stressed the importance of competition and making sure no one on the line – or anywhere on the field – becomes complacent.

Ward praised the performances of more than a few of his youngest teammates, including freshman receivers Joshisa “Jojo” Trader and Ny Carr.

And senior linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, who had a team-high 82 tackles last season, made it clear he’s not content to rest on his laurels and wants more from himself, and his teammates this year.

“Just [get] better every single day, you know? Critique yourself on every rep from today, watch the film and just try to get an edge,” Mauigoa said. “Treat every single practice like game day, so, watching film on the offense and try to get an edge on that.”

Now, with a month before the Hurricanes are scheduled to open the season with an afternoon showdown against rival Florida in Gainesville, Mauigoa and the rest of Miami’s veterans want to make sure all of the Hurricanes understand what’s at stake over the next few weeks.

The goal is to continue growing, improving and building the chemistry needed to win.

To that end, Ward – a transfer from Washington State who threw for 6,963 yards and 48 touchdowns in his two seasons with the Cougars – has made it a point to spend time with Miami’s offensive lineman away from the practice facility.

Rivers noted that won’t end now, just because practice has started. Ward, meanwhile, stressed the need for him to continue perfecting his timing with Miami’s offensive playmakers, including receiver Sam Brown, who transferred to Miami in late April.

“That’s very important. You’ve got to know who you’re blocking for. You’ve got to know the guy that you’re playing with,” Rivers said. “That camaraderie that we did throughout, really the spring and the summer, it hasn’t stopped. We’re still going to do it and it’s going to continue because you’ve got to keep building that relationship with your quarterback, with anybody on the team.”

Said Ward, “We got a lot of time to work this summer when he got here, so me and [Brown], we have great chemistry right now. I would probably say the only thing that me and Sam have to work on is he needs to see me late. That’s with checks … just last-minute stuff, because we do a lot of last-minute stuff [at] the line of scrimmage. … He’s a great route runner. He wins versus man coverage. He’s great versus zone. He knows windows. That’s all you could really ask for in a receiver.”

From building chemistry to learning more about each other to competing and finding consistency, the Hurricanes all know the work they do over the course of the next month will go a long way into helping them be the kind of team they – and their head coach – believe they can be.

And they say they’re more than ready to continue doing that work.

“We’ve got to be consistent. That’s one thing we have to pride ourselves on, no matter what the case is,” Ward said. “Whether we have guys down due to injury or being sick, we’ve got to be consistent. There should be no drop-off from the ones to the twos to the threes. That’s the biggest thing for us in camp.”

Said Cristobal, “I don’t think there’s ever an expectation outside [from] anyone, anywhere that could ever match the expectations from within. I mean, if you played at the University of Miami – especially during the time when Miami was reigning college football – your expectations, your experiences, your hardships, your good times, your rough times, your moments of getting knocked on your butt and having to get multiple surgeries, your experiences being part of a brotherhood that’s been unmatched, your expectations are going to be absolutely through the roof. The daily expectation is even more important. And that daily expectation is to give every ounce of what we have as a staff to every single player on this roster, as a coach, as a mentor, as a teacher. That’s our focus.”