Miami Hurricanes 2010 Spring Practice Wrap-Up: Final Week and Spring Game

The Miami Hurricanes capped off Spring Practice with their annual Spring Game on Saturday at Traz Powell Stadium.  The spring game itself was action packed and had a barrage of big scoring plays; this was a bit unexpected with Jacory Harris not playing.

The teams were broken up into the first team defense/second team offense versus the first team offense/second team defense. The FTD/STO team won, 58-53, in a come-from-behind victory. 

First Team Offense:  QB A.J. Highsmith, RB Mike James, FB Pat Hill, TE Richard Gordon, WR LaRon Byrd, WR Leonard Hankerson, LT Jermaine Johnson, LG Harland Gunn, C Tyler Horn, RG Brandon Washington, RT Ben Jones.

First Team Defense:  RE Adewale Ojomo, DT Micanor Regis, DT Curtis Porter, LE Allen Bailey, WLB Colin McCarthy, MLB Kylan Robinson, SLB Sean Spence, CB Brandon McGee, CB Demarcus Van Dyke, FS Jamal Reid/Ray Ray Armstrong, SS Vaughn Telemaque.

Second Team Offense:  QB Spencer Whipple, RB Lamar Miller and Damien Berry, WR Aldarius Johnson, WR Travis Benjamin, WR Kendall Thompkins, LT Cory White, LG Jared Wheeler, C Shane McDermott, RG Malcolm Bunche, RT Stephen Plein.

We will look at the stat lines:

Quarterbacks:

                                        ATT        Comp    Yards     TD           INT

A.J. Highsmith                   20           11           131         3              2

Stephen Morris                  21           12           209         2              1

Spencer Whipple               16             7            112         1              0

Running Backs:

                                         ATT        Yards         TD          

Mike James                        10           64            0

Damien Berry                     15           42            1

Storm Johnson                     4           15            0

Lamar Miller                         8           10            1

Receiving:

                                         Recpt       Yards        TD

Kendall Thompkins                8             84           1

Travis Benjamin                    6            171          1

Leonard Hankerson               3              61          2

Daovon Johnson                   3              31           1

LaRon Byrd                          3              26           0

Richard Gordon                    2              22           0

Aldarius Johnson                  2              20           1

Ben Bruneau                        1              17           0

Allen Hurns                          1              11           0

Billy Sanders                        1               9            0

Defense:

                                          Takl        PBU       SACK     INT         FF           FR

Sean Spence                        8            0             0          0           0             0

Brandon McGee                    7            2              0         0           0             0

Vaughn Telemaque               6             0             0          0           0            0

Tyrone Cornelius                  4             2              0         0           0             0

Steven Wesley                     0             0              1         0           1             0

Marcus Robinson                  0             0              1         0           0             0

Allen Bailey                          0             0              1         0           0             0

Ray Ray Armstrong               0             0              0         2           0             0

Colin McCarthy                     0             0              0         1            0             0

Adewale Ojomo                    0             0              0         0            0             1

(Stats and Lineup Cards courtesy of The Miami Herald )

Going into spring practice the team needed to take care of the offensive line issues that plagued them in the Champs Sports Bowl.  Even with the injuries, the team made several new additions, and after several weeks of practice, it looks like there was improvement. 

The offensive line on Saturday only surrendered three sacks; this is an improvement over how things looked earlier in spring practice.

The running game was strong as usual, but it was a bit surprising to see Mike James emerge as the top guy in the back field. Berry will more than likely start once fall rolls around, despite James' strong showing.

Even more puzzling is the lack of carries given to Storm Johnson.

He has been all the rave during the spring, but he received very little work during this scrimmage.  I believe this is a clear sign that they are leaning towards redshirting him.  With strong showings by James, Berry, and Miller, it seems like the logical thing to do.

The offense looks like they are ready to be dominant in 2010, and it looks like Highsmith will win the backup job, although he throws too many interceptions. 

Stephen Morris looks like he is going to be better than the three-star label he was given coming out of high school, as he has been impressive all spring. 

Assuming Jacory Harris can come in and not lead the nation in interceptions again, this team will have a championship offense.  The defensive side of the ball is a different story.

We should temper our excitement at the 58–53 final score. All of those big plays were against our defense in spring ball, and all those big plays were against our secondary.  Although Ray Ray Armstrong came up with two interceptions, there were times the secondary was simply torched by the Hurricanes' receiving core.

It appears that Ray Ray Armstrong is responding to losing his starting job to Jamal Reid, but the coaches seem to be impressed with Reid.  On the depth chart it listed both players as starting at Safety, so it is going to be interesting to see who wins the job eventually.

Travis Benjamin went off on Saturday, posting a huge game.

Now, I could say that Benjamin read my article about the 10 most important Miami Hurricanes for 2010 and took exception at being left off the list.  But I know that is not the case. After the last few weeks of spring practice, I may have to amend that list and add him.

The secondary was without Brandon Harris, but that is no excuse for the poor showing. DeMarcus Van Dyke, Jamal Reid, Ray Ray Armstrong, and Vaughn Telemaque are all starters and out there playing as well.  (As a side, not all those plays were not against the first team defense, and the Hurricanes mixed and matched the defensive personnel on both first and second team.)

At the least, what we can take from it is that the backup cornerbacks are not that good—Brandon McGee and Nate Gholston were picked on by the offense all day.  They are inexperienced players and should get better, but on Saturday they were unable to figure out a way to stop the Hurricanes receivers.

The defense will need to address a gaping hole at middle linebacker; the coaches have put multiple players there to find a solution.  It has not worked. None of the players they tried at that position have done anything to distinguish themselves.

They are hesitant to put Colin McCarthy at that position it seems and that has, by far, been the weakest position on the team all through spring practice.  If they are unable to find a player who can make an impact there, it will hurt our defense once the season starts.

Overall, Spring Practice was a success.

The offensive line issues seem to be on their way to being improved over last season. Although I hesitate to say the problem is completely solved, this is a good start. 

The offense looks solid at every skill position, and for the first time in years, we seem to have great depth at each position, including quarterback. 

The defense seems to be about two or three players away from being a dominant defense again. From all reports, Adewale Ojomo is getting back to his pre-injury form.  If Ojomo can make significant contributions on the defensive line and Allen Bailey becomes a dominant defensive end, then the middle linebacker issue will have minimal impact.

Read this article and many more on The Sports Session: Online Sports Magazine