Canes Spring Practice Report: March 3
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Just days after 10 of their former teammates were in Indianapolis competing at this year’s NFL Combine, the new-look Hurricanes opened spring drills in the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility and on the Greentree Practice Fields.
After Monday’s practice, head coach Mario Cristobal, linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, offensive lineman Anez Cooper and running back Mark Fletcher Jr. all spoke with reporters and shared their thoughts on the start of spring ball, and more.
Here’s some of what they had to say after Monday’s practice, in their own words…
Head coach Mario Cristobal
On the first day of practice:
“Very productive day. Very productive first day. Again, when we head into spring ball, we always want to really preach, and we want to accomplish advancements in culture. Every year is a different year and nowadays in college football, it’s almost like every year it’s a one-year team because there’s so much turnover. But we practice with energy and with purpose and even though we’re not in pads, with some physicality. But during this time, we always stress technique, fundamentals, culture and we always coach effort, toughness, and discipline [and] communication. You name it, we’re on it …
“But the most, maybe the most important and hardest thing we pushed today was teaching our team how to work. We work to a certain standard here at Miami and the pace of practice shows that, exemplifies that. And there were some spots today where maybe we got bogged down a bit, not much. And it was good to see our guys push through and get ourselves, again, a productive first day.”
On the first impressions quarterback Carson Beck has made since arriving at Miami:
“As positive as you can have, without actually having any kind of participation in live drills. So, the things happen so fast and that one certainly happened a little bit faster and with less familiarity than the previous year. All of that stuff, I would say relationships and leadership, they do take time, but everything initially has been super positive. We’re really excited to see him healthy and working with our guys at full speed.”
On how last season’s ending will motivate this year’s team:
“I think you’ll always carry that. … You always remember the more difficult moments than you do the positive ones. And if you’re any kind of competitor, you carry that with you and you use it to work.”
On Miami’s new defensive coaches:
“What [defensive coordinator Corey] Hetherman does, besides being a great teacher, a great human being, he galvanizes people. He understands very quickly how to assess and then play to the strengths of your team. He’s also by nature a front seven guy with a lot of backend knowledge. And in [safeties coach] Will Harris and in [defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach] Zac Etheridge, as well as [defensive tackles coach] Damione Lewis, you’ve got some really just high level, high-energy, elite teachers that are very, very intense and they’re very intentional. … They approach practice with a purpose, and you could see it in our drill work and the way we chase the ball. I mean, so much of defense is playing really hard in chasing the ball. So, it’s great to see these guys line up [and] communicate with tremendous intensity, [and] just a lot of volume, which was again, a big issue from last year. Again, just really excited about those guys.”
On the freshmen who have joined the program:
“Without a doubt, I think those guys are talented. The best part about what they’ve shown so far is that they’ve come in, they’ve stayed late at night. I’ve seen the wide receivers on more than a dozen occasions at 5:45, 5:30 in the morning, catching [on the] JUGS [Machine] out there. I’ve seen [Herbert] Scroggins, I’ve seen Hayden Lowe, I’ve seen Donta Simpson, I’ve seen Mykah Newton late in those meeting rooms, just taking in all kinds of extra meeting time and knowledge. I’ve seen the same with the offensive linemen and SJ [Alofaituli] and Max Buchanan and Jaden [Wilkerson] and Demetrius [Campbell], Girard Pringle. It’s a really talented class and they’re joining a really talented sophomore class, so I think the level of competition that they’re going to be seeing is going to naturally help them, and we’re looking forward to pushing them really hard.”
Linebacker Wesley Bissainthe
On how much it helps that new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman will also be coaching Miami’s linebackers:
“It helps a lot because he’s in our room, talking to us, getting to know us. When we go to team events, talking to us, getting to know us, asking about us, where we’re from and stuff like that. It helps a lot. Just having a defensive coordinator in our room, and just as well on the field, too, with the defense.”
On the biggest lessons he learned from veteran linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, who is now preparing for the NFL Draft:
“Just how he approaches things, how he approaches the game. That’s what I took, the biggest thing I took away from him. Just how he approaches the game and how he does everything. Just paying attention to that and putting it in my game is most important.”
On stepping into his role as a fourth-year veteran:
“It’s very important. Like I said before, I’ve got young guys watching me. I’ve got everybody watching me, so I’ve got to come in the room, be vocal and be a leader on the defense because the defense is going to need a leader for us to take that next step. That’s what I’ve got to do.”
Offensive lineman Anez Cooper
On how offensive line coach Alex Mirabal is pushing him to improve this season:
“He just tells me to just keep doing what I’m doing, just work on finishing everything off, like I’m doing; he likes all the stuff that I do, like after a play, when I come down, grab the running back [and] I give him an extra yard. He just tells me to stay on path and just keep leading, keep doing what I’m doing. That should be good.”
On new center James Brockermeyer:
“He’s good. He listens. Like, when we get a new center, somebody that hasn’t been around the group, we just try to treat him like family, just make him feel comfortable. But James is good. He’s good a good personality. He talks a lot. He listens. That’s the biggest thing when he comes, he doesn’t just try to like overdo his part. He listens to all the guys that have been there. He takes in coaching. So, that’s good.”
Running back Mark Fletcher
On what he learned from former Miami running back Damien Martinez, who is now preparing for the NFL Draft:
“I’m really just working on my patience, the patience and the art of being a running back. You watch Damien’s film, he’s a very patient runner and that was just something to add on to my game. So, I’m just taking those little things, little things like that and just adding on to my game.”
On what he liked about his performance last season and how he’d like to grow his game this season:
“I mean, I was pleased just to be able to do as much as I could. I had a couple injuries coming back, couldn’t move how I wanted to, but you know, I think I was productive as much as I could [be]. But this year, I just want to take off, take off as much as I can, do better things [than] I did last year, for sure.”
On his goals for the upcoming season:
“Just win. I just want to win. No personal goals for myself, really. I just want to win, and I’ve never been that way, to have personal goals. I know that might sound weird, but I just want to win. So, my personal goal is I can say is just to help my team in any way, shape or form.”
On the team’s motivation after last season’s tough ending:
“We definitely have a chip on our shoulder because, you know, being so close, being right there … the margin for error is very slim. So, yeah, we definitely have a chip on our shoulder. We’ve just got to finish. We’ve got to execute, week in and week out. We can’t take [any] days off. You’ve just got to be locked in at all times. So, we’ve still got that bitter taste in our mouth. We’re coming for it all.”
