The Miami Hurricanes continued Spring Practice on Saturday morning. Coach Mark Richt spoke after practice, and you can read his comments here:

For more about Saturday’s practice, here is the practice report courtesy of UM Athletics:

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes took the field for their third spring practice on a sunny Saturday morning at Greentree. But it was their first practice in pads, and head coach Mark Richt liked what he saw from both an effort and technique perspective.

“I was very pleased,” Richt said after the session. “We try to take pride in how we practice as far as our energy level and our hustle and getting off the ground when we get on the ground – things like that, it was good.

“We call it ‘thud’ – thud is full speed without tackling and without blocking below the waist. I thought we did a real good job with that -- very few times were guys on the ground. It’s a good sign of knowing what you’re doing, it’s a good sign of athleticism, it’s a good sign of people just paying attention.”

Spring ball can be hectic when you’re trying to distribute reps among 100 players but that’s also why Richt feels these sessions are so essential to the growth of a football team.

“Everybody’s getting reps,” Richt said. “And it’s part of the reason why practice is a little bit sloppy because you’re trying to get that many guys reps. We’re getting a hundred guys repetitions. It’s hard to get everybody doing it just right and that’s why we do it. That’s why there’s spring ball. The few that don’t think spring ball is valuable are missing the mark because there are so many things they can learn right now.”

If the younger Hurricanes want to find a teammate to emulate on the practice field during March and April they should look no further than running back Mark Walton.

“Mark is a machine,” Richt said. “Mark loves football. He loves to compete. He loves to do things right. If you just watch him practice, either as a coach, a player or a fan, you’d love it because he’s just that way every day.”

As part of Saturday’s practice, the Hurricanes hosted a youth football coaches clinic. The coaches who participated had the opportunity to watch practice, eat lunch with the team and then attend a chalk talk session with the Miami coaching staff.

There were also a handful of former players on hand, including quarterback Brad Kaaya and tight end David Njoku, who are preparing for Miami’s Pro Day next Wednesday.

“I like it when former players come, period,” Richt said. “A lot of the guys who just finished up and are getting ready for Pro Day are hanging around here for their Pro Day on Wednesday. We always welcome former players to come, the pros who work out here in the offseason or if they’re finished with their football careers and just want to come back and check out a practice and be around family, we love it.”

The Hurricanes return to the practice field Tuesday for their second week of spring football.

INTERVIEWS

As per usual, there was media availability after today’s practice. Here are the transcripts from those Q&A sessions. Note: will post videos if/when they’re available.

QB coach Jon Richt

Overall thoughts on the start of spring practices…

“It’s going great. We are out here competing, getting after it every day. Our guys have really come out and have done a good job of knowing what to do. The first three installs are in. So they are starting to have more and more. The defense is starting to show more and more. Our guys are doing a great job.”

On first impressions of the quarterbacks…

”Pads affect a lot of people on this field, but right now we still have our black jerseys on, so we don’t get hit. Now, once we start scrimmaging we might make these guys live. Which then you will get to see what the physical aspect of the game will do to them. But right now, really it is still the same game. They are having to make decisions based off where the defense is aligned and what they are doing post snap, pre snap. They are doing a great job with it.”

On having five quarterbacks to split reps up with…

“Oh for sure, for sure. You still have a lot of reps just like [head] coach [Mark] Richt talked about in one of these earlier interviews. You still have your ones, twos and threes. But it is still a lot to spread around these guys. We are trying to make it as even as possible, especially through the installs where we haven’t necessarily done a lot of reps on any particular play. Try not to judge anyone too early and get too many ideas in our head.”

On Cade Weldon…

“He is doing a great job. For a freshman, he is doing an awesome job. He is buying in. You know, it is hard to come in to here, just like those other guys had to do last year, and figure out what exactly we want and how we want them to do it. And he has done a great job of doing it that way. And he is doing a great job of having good composure at the line of scrimmage. He is doing a great job.”

On Malik Rosier…

“Malik has done a great job. When it comes down to it, he is a very athletic guy with a great arm. And if he does the right things with his decision making process, which he has done so far. As I said, we have only had three installs. So far, he has done a great job handling the offense, running the tempo, keeping the tempo up and still making the right decisions on every play. So he has done a great job.”

QB Malik Rosier

On his exploits in the weight room…

I mean [director of strength and conditioning] coach Gus [Felder] is doing a great job, so is [director of football nutrition and performance] Kyle [Bellamy], with our body composition. That is like a big thing, because I think I might gain one pound, if that. But the thing about it is my body fat has been tremendously going down. And they are doing a good job of giving us fruits, giving us smoothies, giving us Muscle Milk after we work out, making sure we get that protein back in our system. So we can build muscle and cut fat down. The weight room is going great, even for all the quarterbacks, [redshirt freshman quarterback] Jack’s [Allison] gained weight, Evan’s [Shirreffs] gained weight, [freshman quarterback] Cade [Weldon] is coming along. They are doing a great job in the weight room with us.”

On getting some reps at the No. 1…

“I mean, it has something to do with trust, and it also just has to with me being older than everybody else. That gave me that leeway to go with [junior running back] Mark [Walton], to go with the ones. I mean, Evan [Shirreffs] has been in there to a lot, Evan is throwing to Ahmmon [Richards], too. It is just a quick rotation we are doing right now, but I think they kind of trust me because I did win the one spot last year and just being older right now.”

On Cade Weldon…

“He is good, he is coming along. He gets so frustrated, because he was like me in the spring [last year]. Struggling just couldn’t get it. The defense is moving so fast. The offense, you are trying to learn it, is so fast. Like I told him, just take it one play at a time. If you don’t know, back up, wait a second. If they yell at you and scream and shout, that’s good. But as long as you know what you are doing before every snap that’s the biggest thing he needs to learn. And honestly once he figures out what he is doing, he is doing a great job. He is completing balls, he is going through the right reads, checking to the right guys. Weldon is coming along very well.

QB Jack Allison

First impressions on practice…

“Going good. We are all working hard, and just working to do the installs. We are all doing pretty well.”

On competing for the No. 1 quarterback spot…

“I mean, last year I took it serious, too. And now it is just knowing that it could be you, so we are all just working hard, making sure we are doing the right thing.”

On what he would like to show the coaches...

“Just that I know the playbook through and through, I know what I am doing out there and I am confident.”

On how he has matured…

“I think just knowing the guys, being around the guys. Just having confidence under center and just knowing what is going on and knowing what to do.”

On improvements mechanically…

“I have gotten bigger, my feet have gotten better. Just mechanically, of course, you are going to get better as the years go by.”

QB Evan Shirreffs

On the start of spring practice and the quarterback competition…

“It is definitely nice competing for a starting job with my fellow quarterbacks. It is really nice to just be out there and competing every single rep.”

On the difference between this year and year’s past…

“It’s not too different, like last year was for the backup job, this year is for the starting job. But we are all working just like we did last year. It’s not like we had to pick it up now because we have been working ever since the Richts have been here, ever since we stepped foot on campus.”

On the format of practice…

“Everyone is just splitting reps. It is an open competition, so one guy may have a good day but that doesn’t mean he is going to have more reps the next day. It’s the same number of reps every single day, just showing the coaches what we have.”

On how he has improved…

“I have put on a little more weight. I think I am physically more ready to be on the field, if asked to be out there. And just knowing the playbook obviously. They installed everything, last year it was new to everyone, and now we are going through the installs for the fourth or fifth time. Just getting everything down.”

On being one of the vocal leaders…

“I feel good. I have been here with most of these guys. I’ll be a redshirt sophomore, so some guys have only been here one year longer than me, and of course [sophomore wide receiver] Ahmmon [Richards] had a breakout season, last year, and he is younger than me. But I feel good and I think everyone on the team is looking for one of us quarterbacks to step up and be that leader. “

EXTRAS

Here’s a video report on Day 3 by Peter Ariz of CanesInSight.com

A daily report by Christy Cabrera-Chirinos of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

A daily report by Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post, pinch-hitting for a flu-ridden Matt Porter

A daily update by Susan Miller Degnan of The Miami Herald

A daily report by Christopher Stock of InsideTheU (FREE article)

That’s it for today, kids. Have a good one.

Go Canes