The Miami Hurricanes football team held its first fall scrimmage on Sunday night - it was closed to the public and the media.
Afterwards, coach Manny Diaz summed up his impressions of the Hurricanes first major dress rehearsal for the August 24 opener against Florida.
“We needed it," Diaz said. "I thought our guys competed hard, but just in terms of the game day - getting in and out of the huddle, getting the plays called in, substitution – you can just tell the little differences between a practice when coaches have been in a player’s ear as opposed to when they have to go out here and show what they really know. So between this day and when we scrimmage next Saturday, we’ll be looking for a lot improvement in those areas.”
Of course, the Cane QB battle is at the forefront.
Diaz's take on that front?
“Collectively, I was pleased," Diaz said. "We rotated the three guys with the ones [first string] and twos [second] evenly. Combined they completed 71 percent of their passes, which is encouraging. All three guys led a touchdown drive, which was very encouraging for me. The battle rages on. There’s a lot of stuff mechanically and organizationally we need to correct, but all three guys left with something to be proud of.”
There were some impressive runs by backs like DeeJay Dallas and Robert Burns.
Diaz praised the play of Dallas and also mentioned WR Mike Harley.
“DeeJay Dallas, I thought, ran the ball really well. Also caught a touchdown pass. Really versatile guy, which we’ve already known,” Diaz said. “I thought, in terms of his day running the ball, it was his best day of training camp. In the back end, down the field, Mike Harley looked really dynamic running routes, dynamic when he had the ball in his hands and had some really good runs after the catch. Other guys did some things too, but those two guys stood out.”
The play on the defensive side?
Robert Knowles led all Hurricanes with nine tackles, but it was fellow defensive back Gurvan Hall who may have been the defensive MVP. The sophomore had four stops and picked up a pair of passes, returning one interception for a touchdown.
No information was provided with QB stats or who threw TDs and interceptions.
“Defensively, any time you scrimmage first, it’s your first time tackling," Diaz said. "Can we tackle? Can we get guys down in the open field? I didn’t see any long explosive plays break out due to missed tackles, so I thought that was a positive. We’re looking for some guys to step up in the secondary, so seeing a guy like Gurvan Hall with two interceptions – one was on a pick, the other was on an outstanding break where he made an outstanding play, that we think he’s that type of guy – was really encouraging. Up front, we have to be a disruptive defense. A guy like Mike Pinckney, you see him popping through with a couple tackles for loss, which is right up his alley.”
The team returns to practice on Tuesday - Monday will be a day off.
“This is the most important week of their 2019," Diaz said. "That’s what we’ve told them. Everything they trained for – every weight they lifted, every sprint they’ve run, everything they’ve done – has been for this six-day period between right now and next Saturday. Because after next Saturday, we have to set sail on the 2019 season and not everyone is invited on the boat. If you want to be on the boat, you’ve got to step up this week. You really have to bring it. You have to compete all week. This is going to be a hard week, intentionally. We told them it’s going to be hard. We have to find out ... this is really our last evaluation of separating the ones who like it from the ones who love it.”
