Canes Spring Practice Report: March 29
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Hurricanes were back on the Greentree Practice Fields on Saturday as spring drills continued at Miami.
After practice, linebacker Raul Aguirre Jr., offensive lineman Anez Cooper, wide receiver Ray Ray Joseph, and tight end Elija Lofton spoke with reporters and shared their thoughts on the day’s workout.
Here’s some of what they had to say Saturday, in their own words…
Raul “Popo” Aguirre
On new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman and the fact he coaches linebackers:
“It’s wonderful, man. I kept up with him when he was over there at Minnesota, and just seeing what he could do as a coach and seeing how he reacts to things. … I’m up there a lot watching film and seeing how he just handles things. I love it. I think he’s a great coach.”
On what’s expected of linebackers in Hetherman’s defense:
“Play fast. He wants you to be physical, know your alignment. He keeps it very simple. But, you know, being a linebacker, you have to play fast. You have to be smart. You have to be able to communicate. So, he keeps it very simple but doing the little things right. I think [that’s] the policy he keeps with us, making sure we do those little things right. Every day, whether it’s alignment, this thing, making sure we attack those little things to make us the players we want to be.”
On getting some playing time last year and now using that to try and earn a bigger role in the defense this year:
“Being able to learn the things I learned last year, played a lot more and now this year, being able to translate [that and] help out a lot of the, I would say, new guys. We got a lot of transfers, so bonding is big for me right now. Getting the defense tight, getting each other, building that brotherhood, it’s been great so far.”
On what part of his game he’s been working on:
“I would say for me, probably just being more of a student of the game. Watching every little detail, as far as how some of the linemen line up, certain formations, they flip it, do it to the other side. So, just detailing out my game a little more and becoming more of a student of the game. All the normal stuff. I’m trying to get faster, stronger, all those normal things, but I would say becoming more of a student of the game is one thing.”
Offensive lineman Anez Cooper
On the progress the offensive line has made in the spring, especially now that the team is in full pads:
“I think we’ve been looking good, but there’s always room for betterment. I think we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing, be a little more physical and finish, always be like ready to chase the ball and stuff. I think we just do that, and we just keep doing what we’re doing, we should be good. But we’re moving good.”
On how the offensive line is being challenged by the defensive line:
“I think there’s a whole bunch of guys with like different abilities, different sizes, [and] guys that do all different things. I don’t think [anybody] on the d-line is the same. Everybody’s got their own personality traits, and they’ve got their own things that they’re good at. So, I think that by us just going against all those types of guys, we shouldn’t see [anybody] that really can show us nothing our d-line [hasn’t] shown us. I feel like that’s a good thing. We’re practicing against some of the best guys that we’re going to play all year. That’s a good thing.”
On which defensive linemen is challenging him the most:
“Me and [David] Blay, Jr. have actually been going at it like every time we do one-on-ones. Me and him, we go against each other. It’s going back and forth. So, I feel like me and him. And we just talk about stuff after, like what we could’ve worked on. Like, he beats me, he tells me what I could’ve worked on. So, I feel like, yeah, me and Blay. That’s something we do a lot. I feel like Blay is a good challenge.”
On the continuity on the offensive line and with offensive line coach Alex Mirabal:
“I feel like that’s a good thing. We don’t have to go and build a whole bond with somebody new. I feel like Mirabal has been around me since I was in high school, for real. That’s how long I feel like I’ve been around him. I feel like that’s a good thing. [When] you don’t have to change coaches and you’re around the same person, you build a chemistry with them. You already know what he wants before he even says it. There’s stuff, we come out of a meeting, he’ll say something and me, Matthew [McCoy] and [Francis Mauigoa] already know what he’s going to say. I feel like that’s been a good thing that we’ve been around the same coach my four years since I’ve been in college. I feel like it’s a good thing that I’ve been around him and he’s taught me a lot of stuff.”
Wide receiver Ray Ray Joseph
On the opportunity he has now with veterans like Xavier Restrepo preparing for the NFL:
“Honestly, it’s just a blessing and an opportunity. I’m thankful for what [Xavier] Restrepo left me. He left me a lot of guidance and I’m just helping out everybody, just giving it back. Everything Restrepo taught me, I’m teaching the guys; everything all of them guys taught us, I’m teaching them. But man, spring is going great. I love the way the room is looking. We look great, man. We’re working hard. Everybody’s got that hunger, and they’re ready to go.”
On the competition in the wide receiver room:
“Oh, man, it’s just a hunger in there. Like, I feel like that’s what Miami was built on, you know what I mean? You had players sitting behind each other as first-round draft picks. So, I mean, just all of us, [we’re] just hungry, getting out there, no entitlement. We’re just getting after it with them SpaghettiOs. We’re working. We’re working and I’m happy, man. I’m happy for the room. I’m happy for the quarterback room. They’re looking good, too. They’re working hard. We’re all just working hard, trying to bring it all together and just be of one accord.”
On his journey at Miami and playing behind veteran receivers:
“I came in with the mindset to work hard and compete, but honestly, whatever the coaches wanted me to do and needed me to do, I was there to do it. I’m a big team guy, first. I’m not with the selfish stuff. So, I waited my turn and I’m here to help everybody and get everybody together and get everybody on the same page. A lot of people just up and run when they feel like they aren’t getting what they’re supposed to [get]. Me, I’m just loyal, loyal to the program, loyal to the process. I just trusted the process, keeping God first and just working.”
On quarterback Carson Beck:
“Man, I love him, man. He’s a great dude. A great dude, man. He’s for the team. You can go to him and talk. He’s real knowledgeable. He’s got a lot of knowledge. Like, if I go out there and I run something and it [isn’t] as precise, he’ll tell me, ‘Hey, man, listen, on this right here, you could do it like this.’ And man, it works. So, he does a lot, even though he’s watching. He’s doing a lot of coaching and helping us get better. I love it.”
Tight end Elija Lofton
On learning from Miami’s veteran tight ends last season and learning to adjust to the college game:
“I wouldn’t say I wasn’t ready, but I [would] say I had great guys in front of me to learn from and as a freshman, it’s a different ball game than high school. So, you’ve got to come in and learn. I’m grateful I had [Elijah] Arroyo and Cam [McCormick] here so I could learn from some of the greatest people that ever came through here. So, I just learned from them.”
On stepping into the role of leader in the tight end room:
“I want to lead the tight end group because I’m the next one. I’m the oldest guy in the room. I [have to] lead the way.”
On the camaraderie in the tight end room:
“I feel like last year, what made us so good as a group was that we were all close. We all picked each other up. Even I was telling the older guys what they were doing wrong. It was a brotherhood. It’s not really who is a leader and who’s not. It’s like we’re all one team, one group, and we all work together. Everybody helps make sure everybody pushes each other to get better.”
On watching Elijah Arroyo and Cam McCormick compete at Pro Day this week:
“I was super pumped to see them go out there and do it because they were like big brothers to me. Like, they were family. We’re like brothers, so to see my brothers go [pursuing] their dream and go to the next level, it’s a blessing from God.”
