Miami Hurricanes Finish their Final Spring Practice

The Miami Hurricanes conducted their last practice of the spring at the Greentree Practice Fields on Thursday. The ‘Canes now get ready for Saturday’s third and final scrimmage at Boca Raton High School. That will conclude Spring Football for this season.

Miami Coordinators, Manny Diaz on Defense and Thomas Brown on offense spoke to the press for the first time since Saturday’s second spring scrimmage. Diaz specifically spoke about defensive lineman Chad Thomas and Trent Harris.

“Yeah, [senior defensive lineman] Chad [Thomas] has been highly productive, making a lot of plays, a lot of disruptive plays in the backfield,” defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said when asked about the defensive line. “[Senior defensive lineman] Trent Harris is doing what Trent Harris does. He always seems to fill up the stat sheet with a lot of positive things for the defense. Heady guy and is always going to be where he is supposed to be.”

“Then you have [sophomore defensive lineman] Joe Jackson and [redshirt junior defensive lineman Demetrius Jackson]. Joe, you know, flashes with his potential but there is so much more to it.”

Diaz’ counterpart, Brown spoke about the maturation and growth of his receivers this spring.

"“Tight end wise, I think [sophomore] Michael Irvin [II] has probably made the biggest jump…” he said. “I think Michael Irvin has made the biggest jump, when it comes to the tight end room, of being consistent of knowing what to do, how to get lined up and executing the stuff we ask those guys to do.”“Receiver wise, definitely by far [redshirt junior wide receiver] Darrell Langham,” Brown said. “I think, obviously last year, coming in with a new staff and seeing a guy with that type size, I mean, he is not the most dynamic from a speed stand point, but thinking he could be a bully type of receiver because he has the body to.“So I think obviously it was more of a mental deal for him last year, just being able to believe that he can play as big as what he was and having confidence,” Brown said. “And he has been a great surprise, in my opinion, when it comes to the receiver room and it has probably stood out almost every single time we step on the football field. Of playing like he is a big man and not like he is 5’8, like he is my height trying to play receiver. Use your size, use your length, use that ability to overpower some smaller DBs and make some plays.”"

Irvin didn’t accumulate any stats last season. With the departure of former Tight End David Njoku to the NFL two years early, the Hurricanes are going to need to count on Irvin at Tight End. Miami returns Christopher Herndon IV at tight end. There is not much experience behind Herndon.

Although will be entering his fourth season on campus, Langham has not gotten much game experience. He has yet to record a reception. Langham redshirted as a freshman in 2014. He got into the game against Florida A&M last season but spent most of the season on the practice squad.

The departures of Njoku, Stacy Coley and Malcolm Lewis provide a lot of opportunity to the returning receivers on the roster. They will have to compete with incoming freshman Mike Harley, Jeff Thomas and DeeJay Dallas for playing time.

Rising junior defense back Michael Jackson spoke about what he and his teammates are looking forward to on Saturday.

"“We can just show that we fly around to the ball, and we really have fun playing with each other. That if one guy makes a play, that you will see 10 other guys out there having fun with him,” Jackson said."

Next: David Njoku Shatters ESPN Sports Science Records

Jackson and his secondary mates will hope to make a big impression on Saturday. The secondary and who will be the starting Quarterback once the Hurricanes take the field September 2 for the opener against Bethune-Cookman are the Hurricanes biggest questions this offseason.