As the second day of fall practice comes to a close, here's the round up of quotes/highlights from day 1.
First things first. Here's the current two-deep (or so), as reported by Rivals:
OFFENSE
QB Jacory Harris
TB Mike James
WR Leonard Hankerson and Travis Benjamin
TE Richard Gordon
LT Orlando Franklin (Cory White behind him)
LG Harland Gunn (Jonathan Feliciano behind him)
C Tyler Horn (Shane McDermott behind him)
RG Jared Wheeler (Malcolm Bunche behind him)
RT Joel Figueroa (Seantrel Henderson behind him)
DEFENSE
Linebackers: Sean Spence (Ramon Buchanan behind him), Kylan Robinson (Shayon Green behind him), Colin McCarthy
Defensive tackles: Micanor Regis and Josh Holmes
Defensive ends: Allen Bailey and Andrew Smith (Olivier Vernon behind him, and Adewale Ojomo behind him)
Cornerbacks: Demarcus Van Dyke (Brandon McGee behind him) and Brandon Harris (with Ryan Hill behind him)
Vaughn Telemaque was only safety lining up in front
Obviously, some of this is subject to change— tailback most notably, probably also the offensive line— but it gives a good idea of what the initial starting line up will look like. Randy has a history of starting older players but not really playing them much in the actual games— Kayne Farquharson and Khalil Jones come to mind— and that's probably what you're gonna see with guys like Andrew Smith and Josh Holmes slotted ahead of players that are much more talented.
Seantrel Henderson in the flesh. He was there, he was huge.
Sez Randy:
"I was excited because he did some good things today in practice naturally. So it's a start. Right now it was a great start for him. He looks physically fit. But big guys, it takes two weeks for them to get involved in it. The first week is going to be a struggle, the second week they'll feel a little better, the third week they should be in tune ready to go."
Shandel Richardson (one of these days I'm going to accidentally refer to him as Seantrel Henderson, so apologies in advance) has a post up regarding Graig Cooper, who is intent on playing from day one. Personally, I doubt that he will see time against FAMU, but he should theoretically be ready by Ohio State and I expect him to see significant time. I know this because I am a knee doctor. (I am not a knee doctor.) (My opinion is based on the timetable completed last year by Dedrick Epps.)
Chase Ford! I already love this guy. Randy is comparing him to Jeremy Shockey, likely because he's a white tight end from the Texas/Oklahoma area:
Shannon: You know what he reminded me of? (Jeremy) Shockey came out of high school qualified, no one really recruited him. The same situation with Chase. Chase was a high school qualifier, went to junior college and one of my buddies said they have this tight end, I know you guys are low on numbers and he always wanted to be at Miami. We got the tape, transcripts and he came in. He's 6-5, is bigger than Shockey coming out, tough like Shockey, has great hands, now he just has to learn the system.
But maybe he is also a revelatory receiver who will go on to get a bald eagle/American flag collage tattoo, nearly die of alcohol poisoning in Las Vegas and then win a Super Bowl. I mean, we can only hope, right? We at least need someone to replace the Jimmy Graham shaped hole in our hearts.