NFL Hall of Famers Ed Reed, Edgerrin James, Jason Taylor converge at spirited UM practice
What do you get when you put three Pro Football Hall of Fame members, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and dozens of fully padded major college football players together on Greentree Field?
A hard-hitting, spirited practice.
The Miami Hurricanes got together for their fifth spring practice session Thursday on Greentree, and gathered among them were NFL greats Jason Taylor, Ed Reed and Edgerrin James. Former safety Reed and running back James played for the Canes, with former Dolphins defensive end Taylor now working for UM as a pass-rushing, off-field analyst.
Reed represents UM as its “Chief of Staff.’’
Everyone, it seemed, was getting after it, as former Canes — including running back Najeh Davenport and former UM defensive assistant coach/former LSU national champion head coach Ed Orgeron — mingled on the sidelines and at times near the players. They seemed to be having a grand time.
Orgeron is in town for Cristobal’s upcoming “U 2022 Coaches Clinic” Friday and Saturday on campus.
After practice, defensive assistants Joe Salave’a (defensive line), Jahmile Addae (secondary), Charlie Strong (linebackers and co-defensive coordinator) and Rod Wright (defensive ends) spoke to the UM media for the first time.
“The program has been phenomenal, to be a part of this, to walk in the doors,’’ said Wright, a defensive end with the Dolphins from 2006 through 2008, and co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach at Texas-San Antonio the past three years. “All the people that when I was growing up in the 80s, seeing them on the wall and a lot of them being at practice [and] in the building... It has been humbling and mind blowing just the type of program this is.
“The culture that is here is still here in the walls. You can feel it. You can feel the energy. The people in the room, the coaches between Coach Cristobal and Kevin Steele and Charlie Strong — you’ve got a lot of head coaches who have done it and been very successful in this business that are on this staff. It has been awesome. You can tell with the kids. They’re embracing us as a coaching staff and culture.”
When asked about having Taylor on staff, Wright said it was “awesome being able to partner up with somebody I already have a relationship with and playing history with.”
“It’s been a dream come true to be able to learn from him, to be able to talk to him, talk through things... And then with Ed Reed and Edgerrin James being out there. I mean if you can’t play hard and be energetic and be excited when guys like that are out here, then you don’t know anything about football, you don’t know the game. It not only fires the kids up, it fires the coaches up. It’s beautiful to see those guys out here.
“Hall of Fame. You don’t get any better than that.”
More, from Wright:
▪ On ends Chantz Williams and Jahfari Harvey: “Those are guys that are ready to break out...They know what the history is of defensive ends here. I told them, ‘You’re not here just to look at the wall and say, ‘Oh, those guys are great.’ Your goal is to be up there, too...I’ve been very pleased with them.”
▪ On early enrollee end Cyrus Moss: “I love the kid. He’s tough. He plays hard. He’s athletic. He’s long. He’s smart. That’s the thing I love the most about him. Normally young kids as true freshmen come in and you have to really get them to pick up the pace in the classroom as far as writing notes when I’m coaching and film study. The guy already writes notes, he’s great with his eyes and he plays hard. I’m very impressed with him and who he is at this point.”
▪ Addae on cornerback Al Blades Jr: “Doing really well. Playing him at multiple positions and forcing him to learn on the run. He’s done a heckuva job.”
▪ Addae on safety James Williams: “Big, long target. When you walk up to him, he’s what you want it to look like. Works his butt off. Very humble kid. The best thing about him is that he is entrenched in what we’re doing. He shows up, he’ll come in and sit in with the defensive staff and watch film while we’re watching, just unwarranted. We have to kick him out and say, ‘Hey, we can’t even have you in here because it’s past the [NCAA] rule [hours limit].’ He’s one of the guys who’s really, really hungry to win.”
▪ Addae on safety Avantae Williams: “...Awesome. Avantae and James are one and the same in that both of them want to be so great.“
▪ Addae on former Georgia CB Tyrique Stevenson, rehabilitating from shoulder surgery but doing some individual non-contact position drills Thursday: “It’s really good to have him around. You could see just a second ago, he’s sitting there with me for 20 minutes and he won’t leave unless I kick him out of the building. So it’s been really fun with him. Really fun.”
▪ Salave’a on defensive tackle Leonard Taylor: ‘He continues to be a student of the game... He’s starting to come around but man, he’s so far from being his polished, final self...He’s being pushed and he doesn’t mind it. We’ve got to continue to embody that spirit.’
Upcoming transfer
Cornerback Darryl Porter Jr., who starred at Plantation American Heritage before going to West Virginia, announced last month he’s transferring to Miami, picking the Hurricanes over the Florida State Seminoles, LSU Tigers and Oregon Ducks.
“We’re getting him and he’ll help us,’’ Addae said. “At the end of the day, he’s not here yet, right? We’ll have to see what that looks like when he gets into the fold. I’ve worked with him in the past, so I’m pretty familiar with who he is and what he’s capable of doing. There’s some things that we’re doing a little different than when I did them when I was coordinating at West Virginia. So that will be different for him. But what we do know is he’s going to be a positive contribution to the program. He’s going to do things the right way, and he’s going to be a guy who has the ability to play at this level early.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 1:50 PM.
