With 19 returning starters, the Miami Hurricanes have a lot of experience entering the 2021 season. The veteran Miami football players are able to mentor the young players during spring practice. The early enrollees were able to have their first experience at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday night.
The Miami Hurricanes held their second spring football scrimmage at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday night ahead. Miami will have their spring game on Saturday that will be televised by the ACC Network. Only invited guests will be allowed to attend. This is the first spring game in South Florida for Miami since 2018.
The Hurricanes did not have a spring game in 2020 due to COVID-19 and their 2019 game was in Orlando due to a scheduling conflict with Hard Rock Stadium. In a video released on Friday following the scrimmage, head coach Manny Diaz was pleased with the way his players reacted to playing at Hard Rock Stadium.
Playing under the lights at Hard Rock creates a different atmosphere than the first scrimmage which was held on the Greentree Practice Field on the Miami Coral Gables campus. Several of the younger players challenging for more playing time in 2021 had a chance to prove themselves on the Hurricanes home field.
"“I thought they reacted very well, Friday night under the lights. It’s just a different atmosphere than what you see on Greentree Practice Field or any other places that we get to travel to scrimmage. You especially see it in the younger guys. The game moves a little faster out there and it was a little tough on them.But I think everybody, as the night wore on, got comfortable in the environment and it ended up being a pretty good tug of war.”"
Young Miami Hurricanes quarterbacks Jake Garcia, Peyton Matocha and Tyler Van Dyke getting snaps under the lights at Hard Rock Stadium should help them gain confidence for the future. Simulating a regular-season game is good experience for the Miami football team. The players became more acclimated to Hard Rock Stadium.
The spring game will have an 11 AM brunch kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday. The game will obviously not be under the lights, but the added dimension of being televised by the ACC Network should make it feel more like a regular-season game in the fall. This is the first Miami spring game televised since 2018.