Canes Camp Report: Aug. 14

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Hurricanes continue making their way through preseason camp and after Wednesday’s evening practice, defensive lineman Tyler Baron, offensive lineman Zach Carpenter, running back Damien Martinez and defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor all spoke with reporters.

Here are some of their best quotes after Wednesday’s workout as Miami moves one step closer to its Aug. 31 season opener at Florida.

Defensive lineman Tyler Baron

On adjusting to the Miami defensive line room after transferring from Tennessee:  

“I think it’s really simple. … It’s really competitive, so I think everybody’s just trying to compete against each other and it’s a real healthy relationship. [There’s] no hatred or no envy or anything. It’s just been a really good kind of competitive room. So, it’s just something that it’s easy to get into and easy to try to push yourself to be the best in everything you can.”

On playing alongside fellow defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor:

“Akheem’s a really, really dynamic guy. I mean, he can play everywhere up and down a d-line. It’s just really fun to play alongside a guy that, you know, what’s to make a play as bad as you do. It’s definitely a fun group to be in.”

On what it’s like to line up against offensive linemen like Jalen Rivers and Francis Mauigoa:

“Both of those guys, I mean, they’re two really good tackles each in their own individual way. But they’re just willingness to get better…us going back and forth, talking and just trying to see what they can give me to make me better and then just from my side, just having experiences, telling them [how] they can improve their game. I think it’s been really beneficial, just the relationship. I think it’s something we’re both feeding off.”

Offensive lineman Zach Carpenter

On how the offensive line group has built chemistry heading into the season:

“In the offseason, we got together quite a bit. I think it’s important to build relationships outside of football. Obviously, you need to trust each other on the field, but even outside football, you can’t have those hard conversations with somebody who you don’t really know like that. But I think this camp has been great. We’ve been with each other every day, spent a lot of hours with each other and we’re all on the same page.”

On the offensive line’s growth in camp:

“Obviously, we’re never going to be perfect, but that’s always our goal. Really, for us it’s about growth. Every day, you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse, but you can’t stay the same. So, we’ve been working to make growth, even if it’s marginal, every single day so that by week one we’re ready to go.”

On what makes Miami quarterback Cam Ward special:

“He’s smart. He knows every aspect of this offense. Me and him meet quite a lot so that we can be on the same page because in our communication, we kind of have to know what each other is thinking, what we’re doing. So, to me, his intelligence is probably one of the greatest I’ve been around in a quarterback.”

Running back Damien Martinez

 On how he’d assess his progress during camp:

“I mean, adjusting [smoothly], really just getting closer with the whole team on the field rather than off the field now and just talking more ball with them, just getting finer details down so we can take care of business for the season.”

On the competition in the running backs room:

“Obviously, you know there’s only gone to be one running back on the field at a time. But we really don’t focus on competing against each other, rather just feeding off each other’s energy when we are in practice; just hyping each other up so we can do our job because we don’t want to have a drop off in the game. Someone goes down, next man up. That’s the mentality. You don’t have [any] drop off in the room. So, just feeding off each other’s energy.”

On what he thinks is the strength in the running backs room:

“I think just our bond and our mentality. Like I said, we all kind of have that same mentality. We don’t want to have [any] drop off in the room … Like I said, we always just continue to feed off each other’s energy and make sure we keep the main thing, the main thing … Keeping everybody up, you know? If one drops, that energy kind of affects everyone. We just want to keep everybody up, making sure everybody’s doing their job.”

On pass blocking:

“Pass blocking, I mean, it’s something we work on every day. You know we want to keep the quarterback protected. So, I mean, it’s just something we work on every day. It’s an important part of the game.”

Defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor

On how freshmen defensive linemen Armondo Blount, Marquise Lightfoot and Justin Scott are responding in camp:

“Those young guys are hungry. I love to see it. They’re hungry. They feed off the older guys. Every time older guys make a play, it makes them want to make plays. Every time they see an older guy work hard, practice hard, [and] be physical, it drives them. And I think they’re just trying to learn from us.”

On his return from injury:

“Once I got hurt, I was really just working on small, fundamental things while doing rehab. My feet are no longer an issue. I’ve been working all winter and spring, getting fitted by adidas for different things. I’ve got custom shoes now and I feel great. So, I’m just trying to play to my full potential.”

On how excited he is to get back on the field:

“I’m starving. I can’t wait. I love football. I love to play. I love to play with my guys. I love to compete, man. It’s what I’m made for.”

On what it was like to miss playing time and work back from his injury:

“It was a rough process. It really, it started off sad because the last thing you want is a season-ending injury. So, it started off sad. Then I got angry. And then once those phases passed, I just started to become basically like another coach on the field. It just made me hungry, seeing guys like Rueben Bain, Jr. eat and I love it. I want to be right there beside him, eating as well. So, just seeing my guys ball out, seeing all the talent we’ve got in the room, it just keeps driving me to be better.”

On fellow defensive lineman Rueben Bain, Jr.:

“Seeing Rueben come in last year, you could just – by the way he practices – you could see his hunger and he’s a guy who loves to play. He’s just a student of the game and I love that about him. As soon as he came on campus, and I saw all those different things, I tried to be by his side as much as I could, especially when I went down. I knew he was next up. I just wanted to be there for him and just made sure anything he needed, any questions he had, just feel free to ask me and I can help him to the best of my ability. We grew a tight bond off that and that’s my guy. We’re going to work together.”