Now practicing in full pads, Hurricanes upping intensity heading into season
And on the seventh day of practice, the Miami Hurricanes put on full pads.
Now, the real work can truly begin.
After four practices without pads of any sort and two more in shells (just shoulder pads and helmets), the Miami Hurricanes held their first practice in full gear on Thursday.
With that comes a better chance to truly evaluate where the Hurricanes stand heading into their marquee season opener on Aug. 31 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
“From an effort standpoint and a physicality standpoint, we did take a step forward,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said after practice Thursday. “We were a little bit sloppy down the stretch and then regained our focus and finished practice strong. All in all, we’re seeing the reps paying off. We need to push these guys. We have to practice in pads. We have to be physical. We have to scrimmage. We certainly don’t want to get anybody hurt, but football is what it is. It’s all about blocking and tackling, throwing, catching and executing at a high level and doing it with discipline and doing it with high levels of technique and fundamentals.”
Cristobal has been around the block before. He’s entering his fourth season leading the Hurricanes and 14th overall as a head coach after stops at FIU (2007-2012) and Oregon (2018-2021). He has a system in place for how he wants to operate leading into the season.
“One thing that’s interesting is we like to see a certain install, a certain scheme at least twice,” Cristobal said. “These are high-level athletes and rep one might not be exactly what you want to look like, but they can adapt and they can almost auto-correct. Plus, with the amount of time you spend walking through and teaching, you’re going to get some better play, too, so by the second time around when it’s live action, you should feel better about it. Or [even if you feel] not so good about it, it gives you a better indication.”
The next big indication will come on Sunday, when the Hurricanes hold their first scrimmage of camp. Cristobal said the goal is to get things to the point where “when you’re playing football, you’re just calling it and playing” and “you’re not trying to make it too complex.”
“But again,” Cristobal said, “it’s all about what the coach has set up. The best thing we could do for this team is to conduct elite practices day in and day out. Really simulate the game, the actual game itself as much as we possibly can. I’m talking to the exact detail on an indie drill, a five-on-four, a two-on-two, a one-on-one, whatever that may be because that gives us our best chance to number one, prepare them and to help them get better and give us a great assessment.”
This and that
▪ In a wide receiver room that went through an overhaul following the departure of its top four players (Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George, Isaiah Horton and Sam Brown), two true freshmen continue to stand out in Josh Moore and Malachi Toney.
Moore, at 6-4, is UM’s tallest receiver and has shown a blend of speed and size throughout practices. He’s competing with CJ Daniels, Keelan Marion, Joshisa Trader and Ny Carr for a role as one of Miami’s outside receivers.
Toney is primarily competing to be the Hurricanes’ slot receiver, a role that could go to him, Tony Johnson or Ray Ray Joseph, but could also get time outside.
▪ Cristobal said the competition at kicker between Texas transfer Bert Auburn (66 for 86 field goals in four seasons with the Longhorns) and FAU transfer Carter Davis (4 for 11 on field goals in three years at FAU but solid work on kickoffs) is “tight.”
“Strong legs with experience,” Cristobal said. “Obviously our snapper and holder, we think really highly of those guys so they’ve been instrumental in helping these guys get better at kicking. We also kicked off [at practice Thursday], which is a huge part of winning the job as well. Who could kick it out the end zone if possible on every opportunity, but it’s tight. It’s tight and we’re going to put them in every pressure situation every day as best we can and we’ll figure it out before game one.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2025 at 3:06 PM.
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