As Dolphins great Mark Duper watched prize pupil Leonard Hankerson and UM's other receivers against Florida State, he marveled at what he saw.

``I have never seen a group of college receivers like that,'' he said. ``If they keep working, these guys will set records. It's like 1984 with the Dolphins, with me, Nat Moore, Mark Clayton, Jimmy Cefalo.''

So far, these UM receivers look worthy of the hype. With competition intense for playing time, they have worked behind the scenes to improve. Consider:

• Hankerson jumped at the chance to work with Duper -- Hankerson's stepfather worked with one of Duper's close friends -- and credits Duper for better concentration. Duper came down from Jacksonville and threw him at least 100 passes a day over a dozen days this summer; Hankerson said they still speak three or four times a week.

``I'm a totally different player now. I didn't take it as serious [before], didn't work as hard.''

When Duper calls to talk, ``At the end, he'll say, `Who has the best hands?' I say, `Me.' He says, `That's what I like to hear!' ''

After Hankerson dropped a pass against Florida State and failed to make another difficult catch, ``Everyone probably said, `That's the old Hank,' '' coach Randy Shannon said. ``But he responded and made key catches [four for 72 yards]. That showed he's matured a lot.''

Said Duper: ``It feels good to know you work with someone and they use it to better themselves. I'm proud of him. No doubt he's got an NFL skill set.''

• Coaches challenged Travis Benjamin to improve his route-running, and he said his offseason work contributed to his big game against FSU (four catches, 128 yards). ``I've come a long way. Everyone knows I have the speed, but I put in all summer to get precise on my route running.'' Receivers coach Aubrey Hill said: ``Some people think of him as a situational player, maybe just deep balls, but he's an every down player.''

• Aldarius Johnson, who arrived at UM at 221, said his weight ``held me back last year.'' So he trimmed down to 200 and worked on technique with Reggie Wayne. ``No doubt he's quicker and faster,'' Hill said. ``Now he actually looks like a college football player when he's blocking.'' He could be idled Thursday with a groin injury.

• UM people expect LaRon Byrd, shaken up against FSU, to develop into a true No. 1 receiver. ``He's like another Larry Fitzgerald -- he'll get anything in the air,'' safety Ray Ray Armstrong said. Byrd said he made a tape of great NFL receivers, and ``I study them two hours a day.''

• Don't forget speedy slot receiver Thearon Collier, who beat out Kendal Thompkins because he made a few more plays in practice, according to Hill. Thompkins played special teams against FSU, but Davon Johnson and Tommy Streeter did not play at all because UM shortened the receiver rotation. Hill said he expects Streeter and Thompkins to get time at receiver this season.

CHATTER

• Even as creative as UM's offense was against Florida State, Jacory Harris said Mark Whipple used only a small percentage of the playbook. Expect new wrinkles Thursday. . . . UM coaches are frustrated with Marcus Forston's inconsistency (no tackles last week). . . .

The Canes will place a tarp over 9,000 seats (upper deck corners; six sections of the club level) at Land Shark Stadium to increase intimacy. Lowest-priced tickets are $19 -- $15 less than some last season.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@