Mark Richt: Miami Hurricanes Orange Bowl practice reminds me of 2015
Speaking to reporters after practice Mark Richt said that the Miami Hurricanes practices remind him of when he first took over the program in 2015.
Richt took over after the 2015 season. He was observing then Interim Head Coach Larry Scott as he oversaw the Miami Hurricanes getting ready for the Sun Bowl against Washington State. The Hurricanes lost that game 20-14.
Richt’s early start gave him a chance to observe his new program. Scout teams players can often be the backbone of a team. The scout team has to be the opponent in practice and help the players in the rotation get ready for the next game. Many of them will become key players later in their career.
Wide receiver Darrell Langham is the perfect example of that. He entered this season without a career reception. Langham had the two biggest catches of the season to help the Hurricanes win late against Florida State and Georgia Tech.
Richt spoke about how practice is evolving for the Orange Bowl with the official Miami Hurricanes Athletic Site HurricaneSports.Com.
"“It was a good practice,…This practice reminds me of the first day two years ago when I came out here to watch bowl practice and…and thought I was going to be in good shape, but I was sweating like a pig out here.It’s nice and hot and warm, and we had one of those kind of days. It’s the first time we’ve had a Tuesday-type practice in a long time, but I thought they held up good. Scout teamers, I’ve got a lot of respect for them – they did a good job.We helped them out a little bit with a couple more breaks, but the scout teams did a good job. I thought we competed well. I thought guys enjoyed it. I thought we did a good job today. Good start.”"
The Hurricanes rode a four-game winning streak into the Russell Athletic Bowl against West Virginia last season. The finished off the Mountaineers with a 31-14 victory.
That set Miami off on a strong note and created momentum for the 2016 season. It was the beginning of the 15 game winning streak that ended with a loss in the final regular-season game at Pittsburgh.
Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown spoke about the importance of finishing the season strong.
"“I think it would be great for us to finish with 11 wins…It would give us momentum going into the offseason because that’s going to be huge for the future.Not that I really care a whole lot about it, but they base rankings in the preseason off of what you do in the bowl game and what you have going in, so it would be a great step for this program. I think it would be the first time since 2003 since we had won 11 games, so it would be a huge step for us.”"
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With signing day looming over the next few days, the Hurricanes coaching staff can get back to working with the players they currently have and preparing for Wisconsin. The extra four weeks of practice gives the younger and returning players a chance to improve and grow.