Miami Hurricanes Staff Faces Difficulty Getting Ready for FB Post Irma
There has been a lot of speculation on what the Miami Hurricanes Football staff has done during their time off during Hurricane Irma. It’s been a difficult task getting the players ready to face Toledo on Saturday.
Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Mark Richt spoke to Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinal about getting his team ready to play after three weeks off. Miami will essentially play two openers this season.
They began the year with a 41-13 victory over Bethune-Cookman September 2. The season then took a turn with the impending doom of Hurricane Irma. Richt and Athletic Director Blake James decided to cancel Miami’s game at Arkansas State for September 9.
Irma was expected to take a direct path over South Florida. Richt did not want his staff and players in Jonesboro, Arkansas or Memphis while Irma could create extensive damage back home.
Both the players and the staff’s family needed them to help get ready for Irma and the cleanup in the aftermath. There were also questions about the players conditioning and nutrition.
There were many accusations over why Miami canceled the game against Arkansas State. Some said it gave them an advantage against Florida State because they would have more time to study tape.
The game against FSU was then postponed from September 16 to October 7. Miami’s campus has been closed for two weeks. Florida State’s campus was also closed the week immediately after Irma made landfall in Florida. Richt spoke out about what his staff was and was not doing during the time off.
"“Part of the issue was we didn’t know who we were going to play next,… Some people thought we’d get some extra time to prepare for Florida State. But we thought the path of the storm was going to do pretty much what it did, and that meant there was a slim chance of playing in Tallahassee [as scheduled Sept. 16]."
The unpredictability meant the players were dismissed until further notice. Some went home as far away as California, some stayed in South Florida to help their families and others evacuated with the team to Orlando. There was not much that could be accomplished during the time off according to Richt.
"“We couldn’t do much, one, because of the storm’s path. Then, two, if Miami got the damage it did get, we thought it’d be nearly impossible to prepare for a game properly. So would we start looking at Toledo, what, three weeks in advance?”"
There was also preparing the players for the mental aspects of seeing some of the destruction that the storm created. Richt said:
"“I told them, ‘Men, some of you haven’t been home in a while. Some of you haven’t seen the damage. I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t have certain emotions about returning and about the storm. It’s OK to go through that process. It’s part of getting back. … But get through that and get ready to play.”"
Miami got back together as a team last Friday in Orlando. They spent Friday running and Saturday in conditioning. Their first football practice since the break was Saturday. Getting his team back in playing shape was as essential as focusing on football specifically.
"“I truly don’t know what kind of football condition they’re in…You can’t simulate a game. Part of opening games is there’s a high level of anxiousness. That zaps some energy from players and coaches.“Well, we’re having two of those kind of games this year. We’re having two first games.”"
Next: Miami Hurricanes Players Discuss Time-Off and Hurricane Irma
The Hurricanes will get a good test from a high-powered Toledo offense. The Rockets run a lot of plays. Keeping the defense conditioned and fresh will be important.