CORAL GABLES - The Miami Hurricanes hosted its annual spring game at Cobb Stadium for the first time in the Mario Cristobal era.
Held on the afternoon of April 13th, the final spring football moment - also known as Practice 15 - featured some nice plays from the White and Orange teams in the first half.
Let us start with quarterback Cam Ward. The apparent QB1 displayed poise in spots, highlighted by connecting with wide receiver Xavier Restrepo for a big gainer and a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaiah Horton.
At 11:18 of the first quarter, kicker Andres Borregales made an extra point, giving White a 7-0 lead.
No more scoring action took place in the first quarter, but quarterback Jacurri Brown made his presence felt on his first touch. He tucked the football for a big run to help put the Orange team in position to tie the game.
At the 13:14 mark of the second quarter, Brown would find tight end Jackson Carver for a 22-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field.
This was followed by an extra point by kicker Abram Murray to tie the game up at 7-7. White got back to work with Ward leading the way. It wasn’t long before Ward found the end zone again, this time to Restrepo on a 12-yard touchdown pass.
With an extra point by kicker Will Rocha, White got back out in front 14-7 at the 8:34 mark of the second quarter.
Just before the half, Emory Williams connected with Shemar Kirk for a big gain on a pass over the middle that Kirk took for about 60 yards to get the Orange team in scoring territory. Williams would finish the drive with a touchdown pass to Ray Ray Joseph.
On a drive led by Ward, the White team added a field goal from 38 yards to take the lead into the break.
The second half was light with a running clock, and no tackling was allowed. The highlight of the half was Demetrius Freeney picking off freshman Judd Andeson for pick-six.
Takeaways
- Ward is as good as advertised. He stepped up in the pocket and made some great throws. He seemed to have full command of the offense, and Restrepo and Horton seemed to be his two favorite targets.
He completed 19-of-24 passes for 324 yards throwing for three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
- Restrepo was the go-to guy on money downs, making excellent catches on the sideline and having tremendous body control.
- Freshman tight end Elija Lofton was featured running back in this game. Lining up in the backfield most of the time when he was in the game. He ran for first downs, but his usage at running back will likely decrease when Mark Fletcher and Ajay Allen are fully healthy.
- The offensive line did a decent job in protection as the quarterbacks, in several moments, had plenty of time to throw the football.
- The running game really did not get going much, but Chris Wheatly-Humphrey seemed to be the most effective when he carried the football running for a few first downs.
- Mishael Powell and Wesley Bissainthe were the defenders that diagnosed plays the most during the spring game.
- The athleticism of Raul Aguirre and Cameron Pruitt at linebacker was apparent. Both players provided big hits in spots on Saturday.
- Reese Poffenbarger seemed to struggle the most among the top four quarterbacks. Brown had the fewest reps of the four but appeared to make the most from his limited opportunities.
- Linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor, running back Ajay Allen, and defensive lineman Elijah Alston were some notable players who did not record any reps but dressed. Jacolby George wore a red no-contact jersey.
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