Miami Football 2012: Latest News, Updates and More from Spring Practice

What type of year is this going to be for the Miami Hurricanes?

Defensively, they return seven starters, but only four starters remain on the offensive side of the ball from a year ago. Those losses include their starting quarterback, running back, wide receivers and a couple of offensive linemen.

While the team has a fantastic recruiting class coming in, this is still a season that has a lot of question marks heading into the spring.

The good news is that Miami has six months to prepare, and those steps will come with several spring practices and a spring game. The Hurricanes are already several practices deep, as they began on March 3, ahead of their spring game on April 14 at 2 p.m. ET.

Miami will try to build on a disappointing 6-6 season and earn its first double-digit winning total since 2003, but it won't come easy for head coach Al Golden and company.

Stay tuned for all your latest updates, news and more involving your Miami Hurricanes throughout spring practice.

Safety Vaughn Telemaque Remais a Backup

Vaughn Telemaque was a starter in the defensive backfield last season, but if the season was to start today he wouldn't be. Instead Ray Ray Armstrong and Kacy Rodgers would handle the duties at the safety position and Telemaque would have to deal with a backup role. 

"

At the end of the day, we’re not really responsible for the depth chart. Defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio said according to the Palm Beach Post. They are. We just grade them every day. They’re nameless and they’re faceless from that standpoint. They either have a plus or a minus on a play, they either finished or they didn’t finish, they either made a tackle or they missed a tackle – they grade themselves.

"

The senior safety finished last season with 59 tackles and had an interception in the first game of the season against Maryland. He also has the most starts of any player on the team, but he's obviously doing something wrong in practice to where he lost his job.

“Coaches want to see an improvement,” Telemaque said.

C.J. Holton and Shayon Green Will Miss the Rest of Spring

This spring really can't get much worse for the Hurricanes as the injuries continue to pile up. This time it's running back C.J. Holton and defensive end Shayon Green that will miss the rest of spring practice due to injuries they suffered last week. The good news is that the injuries aren't that severe and both are expected to be back by the time fall rolls around.

Holton is a redshirt senior who spent majority of his time on special teams and Green is a redshirt junior who finished with seven tackles last year. Although both players may not exactly be top contributors, head coach Al Golden did say that Green was one of the most improved players on the defensive side of the ball.

"Shayon really went from being a tough, rugged guy to a guy who was making plays, had some luck, was healthy," Golden said. "I know it's a setback for him, but he's so tough. I think he'll overcome this. This is not a major deal."

Al Golden Talks Spring Practice

With a recent interview with ESPN writer Andrea Adelson, head coach Al Golden talked about spring practice a bit and where his team is heading.

Asked about losing so many key players and leaders from last year's team, Golden responded that there have been several other players that have stepped up.

"

So far it’s been good. Mike James and Eduardo Clements at running back, Stephen Morris at quarterback. (Brandon) Linder on the offensive line has been very good. David Perry at tight end has been a nice surprise for us. Allen Hurns at wideout has done a nice job with the leadership. Defensively, (Ramon) Buchanan will be a leader for us, Ray Armstrong will be a leader for us, Jimmy Gaines has been and will be a leader for us. It’s been positive in terms of that. We just have to continue to develop leaders and give them opportunities to lead.

"

Golden also spoke about the direction his team is going and what type of team he believes he has right now after losing many key players during the offseason.

"

We have a long way to go. I just think before these other 23 players come in, because 10 are here now, you have to assess where you are at every position and see how they come out of it. We have a long way to go to get through spring ball, and then from April 14 until Aug. 5 there’s a great opportunity for them to grow and develop. It’s too early to assess where we are right now as a team.

"

Jon Feliciano Injured

Much like many teams that hit the field for the first time in months, they get hit by the injury bug. For the Hurricanes, they suffered a huge injury along the offensive line with Jon Feliciano expected to miss the rest of sprig practice with an injured knee. 

Feliciano is a sophomore who started eight games at right tackle last year and is expected to become the starting left guard this season. 

"Our deal is always to play the best five [offensive linemen] and, right now, he's one of the best five," coach Al Golden said of Johnson.

This now means that freshmen Ereck Flowers and Taylor Gadbois will see a lot more reps throughout the spring will Feliciano recovers from his injury.

"There's a silver lining there," Golden said of Feliciano's injury, "We know Feliciano has game experience and we're getting some other guys ready to play."

Keion Payne Dismissed from Team

Sophomore cornerback Keion Payne has been dismissed from the team for "violation of team rules". Payne was a high school standout at St. Thomas Aquinas High School and was redshirted in 2010, before playing in two games last season.

He began spring practice No. 2 on the depth chart at the cornerback position, and is expected to transfer to another school.

Miami Will Hold Their First Scrimmage March 24

Miami has already kicked off spring practice, but the good stuff will begin soon. The Hurricanes will hold their first scrimmage on Saturday and players and coaches couldn't be more excited. 

"I'm as excited as you guys to see how they do in that atmosphere," Golden said. "That's one of the reasons to do it. Learn how to pack your bags, go somewhere and perform. Hopefully we get a great crowd, not just high school coaches and prospects, but fans from the Hialeah community."

One of the main battles to pay attention to is at running back with Mike James and Eduardo Clements battling for touches with Lamar Miller preparing for the NFL draft.

"That scrimmage right there is to see who's going to be the top guy right now. Clements said. We use every scrimmage for competition and I feel like guys going into this first scrimmage are ready and feeling like they're competing for a job."

March 12 Update on the Quarterback Position

Miami has just recently kicked off its spring practice, and there is already big news surrounding the quarterback position. The Hurricanes have already lost last year's starter Jacory Harris, but they were expecting Stephen Morris to be the guy that stepped in for 2012.

Not so fast. As Miami begins practicing again, he's stuck on the sidelines watching.

Morris recently underwent back surgery to help fix a chronic back problem that he's been dealing with since last December.

"From what I understand, there's no such thing as a minor back surgery," Miami head coach Al Golden said in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

There's no timetable for when he'll be able to return, but the coaches hope that he'll be ready by the time the season starts. Golden said:

"

He's moving around well. He'll be an active participant with us on the field. He'll call plays in the huddle and make sure he's audible, and enunciating and coaching for us. He just won't be able to throw for a while. We're going to be cautious with him. We don't want to go too fast with him.

"

With Morris not able to give it a go right now, transfer quarterback Ryan Williams is now No. 1 on the spring depth chart, while true freshmen Gray Crow and Preston Dewey are right behind him. Williams threw for over 2,000 yards and 13 touchdowns as a true freshman for the Memphis Tigers.

The quarterback position was a concern heading into the spring, and now there are even more questions than before.

Updates

This slideshow will continued to be updated with the latest news, quotes, position battles and more throughout spring practice. Stay tuned for everything involving your Miami Hurricanes.