Miami Hurricanes’ straight-talk message to their receivers. And Larranaga addresses future
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes off the second day of spring practice on Tuesday:
▪ When UM offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee met with the media a month ago, he made the point that the Canes receivers “haven’t done anything.”
So what does he think of his group a month later, two days into spring practice.
He said that initial view still holds but “they’ve got ability. They’ve got a skill set hopefully we can develop and help them grow. First two days, all of those guys have done a good job of attacking what we’re trying to do. We’ve got a long way to go. They’re buying in. Hopefully those guys can step up and do things.”
UM will give Dee Wiggins and Mark Pope every opportunity to earn major roles, alongside the most veteran member of the group, Mike Harley. But they will be gifted nothing, and UM will use the inexperienced receivers (redshirt freshmen Jeremiah Payton and freshmen Xavier Restrepo, Michael Redding and Daz Worsham) if they clearly outperform the older players.
Safety Amari Carter said “a lot of” the new receivers “are really fast. Not much of a falloff from guys that just got here and guys that have been here like Mike Harley.”
Worsham and Wiggins both made long catches during practice on Tuesday. Wiggins knows he must improve after an average sophomore season.
“We all need to take our game to another level,” Wiggins said.
Pope, meanwhile, continues to work on his route running, which has been an issue at times.
“Mark Pope is one of those dudes who if he’s running 20 miles per hour and he breaks off a route, he’s not going to drop to 15,” cornerback Al Blades Jr. said. “He’s still going to be 19 mph. There are some receivers physically gifted who can do that.”
Restrepo, who figures to play in the slot, also has made an impression, drawing comparisons to former UM receiver Braxton Berrios.
“He’s real quick, real shifty, probably one of the fastest guys on the team already,” Carter said. “He’s explosive. How he plays, catching the ball, looking the ball in, the extra yards after catching the ball I see the resemblance [to Berrios].”
▪ UM’s players are enjoying the new offense.
“I love it; I love it,” Wiggins said after the second day of spring ball. “It’s not confusing. It’s not as confusing with like everybody moving around [which was a staple of last year’s pro-style offense under Dan Enos]. It’s get in your spot and just go.”
Another positive in Wiggins’ eyes: “Way more deep shots [than last season]. You have to take advantage of it. Everybody feels comfortable with the offense. We just have to buckle up for the tempo and let’s go. The intensity is very high now. It’s no breaks” between plays.
▪ The upshot of this new offense from a defensive standpoint, Blades said, is “it’s going to make game days 10 times easier. Then we can show off even more of our skill. It has your brain racing. The better you get at thinking fast, when game day comes, it will slow down. And physically, it’s getting us more conditioned. We’re working on hand signal communication.
“Last year, we went through an offense that made us think. This year we are going through an offense that’s taking away the process of thinking. Now you have to think fast.”
▪ Quick stuff: Tate Martell threw two interceptions on Tuesday. I would be surprised if N’Kosi Perry isn’t D’Eriq King’s backup… Freshman offensive tackle Jalen Rivers got some work at guard, with freshman Chris Washington getting work at right tackle… Speedy freshman running back Jaylon Knighton is impressing everyone...
Cam Harris predicts UM’s offense will jump from 24.6 to 35 points per game... Diaz invited Michael Irvin to speak at UM’s annual Alumni Team dinner for spring ball, on April 3. Meanwhile, Irvin’s son, tight end Michael, remains out of spring practice, for undisclosed reasons.
▪ UM basketball coach Jim Larranaga, 70, said two difficult seasons haven’t diminished his enthusiasm for the job and he intends to remain Hurricanes coach.
“I love coaching,” he said Monday. “I can’t see myself doing anything else. I have no interest in ever retiring. I don’t know what the heck I would do. I know my wife would not like it. The bottom line is I see my job as one of being a helper.”
He mentioned how his former players frequently tell him the positive impact he had on their lives.
“I just got text message from Angel Rodriguez telling me the same thing,” Larranaga said of the former UM guard. “As long as I can be relevant in the lives of these young men, I will try to be.”
▪ Larranaga blames the past two seasons on UM being incorrectly and unfairly linked to an FBI probe which cost the school several quality recruits.
After leading UM to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, UM was 14-18 last season and is 14-14 this season with home games remaining against Virginia and Syracuse, plus the ACC Tournament.
“These past two seasons were in my opinion the direct result of the FBI investigation,” Larranaga said. “It impacted our recruiting dramatically and it left us short handed to the point that we don’t really have a sophomore class. That makes a big difference.
“What it has really required of me is to just be very, very patient, to kind of understand the circumstances we are dealing with and how to overcome them. The best thing for me is I’ve got a great staff and they work really, really hard and they are helping us put the pieces in place that will get us back much more competitive next season and a great group of kids that are trying really hard. We just have not had enough ammunition.”
UM has a commitment from five-star Maryland-based small forward Earl Timberlake - who would join the team for next season - but he has not yet signed.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 12:54 PM.
