Time to grind: UM’s Manny Diaz on D’Eriq King management, depth chart, practice changes
University of Miami leading receiver Mike Harley spoke longingly about how much he will appreciate that first fall camp practice Friday night with the “wind blowing” and all that adrenaline on Greentree Field. He spoke about warning “the young guys, ‘Don’t get overly excited. Don’t get into your feelings...’’’
But what really got Harley going was being asked about his close friend and quarterback D’Eriq King’s impending return to the practice field for the first time since King tore the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus of his right knee Dec. 29 at the Cheez-It Bowl.
“He’s like a dog that’s ready to eat,’’ Harley told the Miami Herald. “Let him off the leash because he’s ready to let loose, man. He’s been through so much and he’s ready to show the world what he’s really about.’’
The world has already seen what King, one of college football’s top returning players, is about, and approves.
But when King hits Greentree at 6 p.m. Friday, there will be an intricate plan of what he is expected and not expected to do, including a pitch count, so to speak, to ease him into what will be his sixth and final season of college football.
“D’Eriq doesn’t have to put a cape on and do anything special,’’ UM coach Manny Diaz told the Herald on Wednesday. “Just get back out there and back to being D’Eriq. It will just be exciting to have him back on the field again.”
When asked how extensively King will be managed differently, Diaz said, “We’ll find out. The management part you find out somewhat as camp goes on. Is there some soreness? It’s just part of dealing with it. You can be 100 percent and now getting back into your movements.
“Coach [Rhett] Lashlee and I talked about that,’’ Diaz said of his offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. “We’ll have a plan for his reps. But I know D’Eriq. He’s going to want to be out there with his guys.”
So, should fans assume King will be limited?
“There’s no assumption of limitation,’’ Diaz said. “There’s just an assumption of being smart with him in terms of the amount of reps.’’
NCAA-mandated changes
King won’t be the only one easing into practice. The first two weekend practices, open to the media but not the public, will have the Hurricanes in shorts, jerseys or T-shirts and helmets, Diaz explained. It’s part of the NCAA’s rules that initially limit contact until it’s gradually added to the sessions.
In May, the NCAA’s Division I Council made changes to football preseason practices, including prohibiting activities such as drills that encourage or create straight-line contact like UM’s Big Cane Drill. That drill was UM’s version of the popular “Oklahoma Drill” in which two fully padded players surrounded by rowdy, cheering factions (orange jerseys vs. white jerseys at UM) go mano y mano to display their toughness.
The maximum number of contact practices has been reduced from 21 to 18, with full-pad days limited to nine. Additional limits on full-contact practices include no more than two consecutive days of tackling.
The changes were precipitated by “a number of data points that suggest the preseason practice period may lead to a disproportionate amount of concussions and head impact exposure,’’ the NCAA said.
Diaz told the Herald that “full contact is defined by taking people to the ground’’ and that “not many people were practicing that way for three straight days anyway, so there’s not really a dramatic difference. And not having drills like the Cane Drill, I mean we’ve adapted through the years. There have been different things in the game that have changed, but everybody wants to still see the product look the same on Saturday.
“As coaches you adapt and adjust and get the guys ready to play.’’
Depth chart
Don’t expect a depth chart, Diaz said, until the week of the Sept. 4 opener against defending champion Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“I don’t want anybody to think they’re a No. 1 [position player] until we probably get to Bama week. This is going to be a very open competition all over the field.’’
Harley said he stressed to the young players who will be making their Greentree debut to “hydrate properly” and “attack every day with your best effort.’’
And most certainly “do not get your feelings hurt, because coach is going to coach you hard,’’ Harley told the youngsters. “That happened to me and the younger guys in my class. But we learned how to handle it.
“Knowing coach is telling us he loves us helps.’’
Said Diaz: “It’s what you’d expect, a step up in competition and the speed of the game. You can’t get discouraged.’’
Diaz said the coaches, like the players, are excited, and what he ideally wants to see this weekend “are the older guys picking up where we left off in the spring.’’
As for the freshmen who weren’t at UM during spring practice as early enrollees, such as five-star prospect Leonard Taylor at defensive tackle and five-star prospect James Williams at safety, Diaz said it’s his “first chance to see them move around and learn what information they can retain.
“I think we have a good group and they’ll be ready.’’
