Back on Greentree

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Carson Beck couldn’t help but smile broadly.

After eight months of not playing football, after recovering from offseason elbow surgery and enduring the rehabilitation process that came with it, the quarterback was exactly where he wanted to be Thursday morning – on the Greentree Practice Fields with his new Miami teammates.

Beck, who joined the Hurricanes in January after spending the first five years of his college career at Georgia, wasn’t able to participate fully in spring drills earlier this year.

And while he was cleared to throw during Miami’s player-led workouts once the spring ended, Thursday marked Beck’s first full practice as a Hurricane.

Needless to say, he was plenty excited to get to work – even if it took him a little bit to find his rhythm.

“I mean, it’s the first time I’ve played live football [with] helmets in eight months, so, it was really exciting to get back out on the field,” said Beck, who threw for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns last season before getting hurt in the SEC Championship Game. “My arm felt absolutely juiced. Probably the first like, 20 throws, that thing was humming out. And then halfway through practice, I think I finally settled in. I thought the ending of the practice for the offense was really, really good once we started to get to the team periods.”

Said Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal of Beck’s first day, “Really productive. … He himself will tell you maybe his first rep or two might have been off by a little bit, and then by the middle of practice, really, really impressive. And probably even more impressive than that is his desire to get upstairs after a shower and getting cleaned up. …  getting on that film and getting those corrections done to advance quicker and quicker. He’s played so much football. He’s seen so much, and he really understands our concepts well. But he had a very productive first day, as did the rest of the quarterbacks.”

Beck, of course, wasn’t the only Hurricane eager to get back on the field and start preseason camp.

More than a few of the veterans who were a part of last year’s 10-win season noted Thursday’s practice was the first step into helping the Hurricanes continue their steady improvement since Cristobal returned to lead his alma mater three seasons ago.

And after just missing last year’s ACC Championship Game and College Football Playoff, those veterans said they felt like Miami has something to prove – particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

“Guys know what we were last year, and they know that we want to change everybody’s mind, change everybody’s perspective on what this defense is,” said defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor, who totaled 32 tackles, 5.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, a forced fumble and six quarterback hurries in 13 starts last season. “I think everybody’s working together to change that. I’ve taken on the responsibility of trying to become a leader and bring guys together, but it’s not only me. It’s [defensive lineman] Ahmad Moten Sr. It’s [linebacker Mohamed] Toure. It’s [linebacker Raul] ‘Popo’ [Aguirre Jr. ], a bunch of guys just collectively coming together and just trying to change the narrative of this defense.”

Added fellow defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr., “Stick together and stay disciplined…last year, I feel like we kind of lost track of that. They brought that up to us in the meetings, how we ended out the year last year. Like I was telling the team, we’ve just got to be consistent from the first game to the last whistle of the season. Just be the same person, same player, every day.”

The Hurricanes will have their first chance to show off their new-look team on Aug. 31 when they welcome longtime rival Notre Dame to Hard Rock Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

High-profile matchups against instate rivals Florida (Sep. 20) and Florida State (Oct. 4) loom not long after.

But on Thursday, there wasn’t much talk about any of Miami’s opponents.

Instead, the Hurricanes say their focus remains on the day-to-day work of improving and getting better for all of the challenges that await this season.

“There’s always going to be excitement as it relates to that and I mean, the whole world knows when we’re playing and who we’re playing Game One,” Cristobal said. “That really can’t have any bearing on how we approach a certain part of our process as well. We’ve got to be really good at what we do first, understand that the goal and all the other games that go with it, they’re all tied to what we do right now. And I don’t think that’s hard.

“I think this is a very process-oriented team. One thing that was commented on yesterday was this is the most we’ve seen players take it upon themselves to do extra work before, after, both in the offseason, in the workday. It’s a very competitive, hard-working group. I think they understand we pound it, to ad nauseum, how important it is just to be where our feet are right now. And when that time comes, 10, 11, 12 days out [from the opener], we’ll be all over that. But to get there and for those 12 days to be really, really effective, we have to get really good at what we do first.”

That work of getting better at what Miami does will continue Friday, and for the next three weeks. With one practice already behind them, the Hurricanes said Thursday they’re ready for all that comes next, on Greentree and beyond.

“We’ve been just all looking at the same goal,” Bain said. “We’ve all got the same goal, just winning.”

Said Beck, “I’m super excited to continue to keep working. Honestly, it’s all gone by so fast. I can’t even believe that I’ve already been here for seven months. Honestly, just [want] to try to enjoy every day, take it day by day, and be the best leader I can be, the best quarterback I can be.”