Another day on the field for Spring Practice, another chance to get a recap from Head Coach Mark Richt. Here’s what the head man had to say today, courtesy of UM Athletics:

On the returners at the cornerback position…

“The guys that are here are competing hard. We actually had a nice day at the cornerback position today. [Michael] Jackson made some really great plays today that I was impressed with. I think he had a couple pass interferences too, and we’ve got to cut that out, but he had a tremendous interception on a ball that I thought was for sure about a 30-yard gain. He just backed up a little bit, leaped and snagged it. It was really a great rep for him.”

On Tuesday’s practice overall and his general impressions…

“I thought today was the hottest day, and I thought we tested them the most. Just pushing through being fatigued in regards to effort, but also in regards to your assignments. When guys get tired, they tend to not go quite as hard, because they’re fatigued, and they don’t think quite as well…that’s the whole key to football: can you think when you’re tired? Can you think when you get knocked around a little bit? Can you think and perform when you go down 17 points in the first half? That’s overcoming adversity when people talk about adversity. When we’re talking football adversity, we’re definitely not ready for that. Not offensively, anyways.”

On the role of veteran wide receiver Braxton Berrios…

“He’ll be in the game, so he’ll get balls thrown to him. Again, so much is predicated on what the defense does. If he’s a slot receiver, you’ve seen us throw 50 bubble routes, those quick little deals. If the defense lines up the right way, the ball goes to him. If they line up a different way, we’ll hand the ball off. Other times it just depends on how the defense lines up and the same thing is true for some of our routes. We have a progression to go from this guy, to this guy to this guy. A lot of that depends on whether that’s a one-high defense or a two-high defense. A lot of times the coverage will dictates who gets the ball in this system…most of the time.”

On watching the wide receiver position develop, given the incoming freshman talent…

“They’re a lot like N’Kosi [Perry], in my mind – before we start nailing down who is starting, I want to see what these young guys can do. Even at the wide receiver position, and every position, most everything is not nailed down until probably after that second scrimmage going into scrimmage [number] three in the fall. We have a pretty good idea of where we’re going to put them, but that could change depending on what everyone else does.”

On the return of wide receiver Lawrence Cager from injury…

“Cager looks good. The thing about Cager is when he’s running routes and he’s making adjustments on the balls that aren’t perfect, he looks like he has no fear back there at all. He hates his brace but he needs to wear his brace. Sometimes guys look very tentative, and he doesn’t look tentative, which is good. He has been running full-speed and he has been changing direction, but we don’t want contact right now. We’re just trying to be careful. I doubt [he’ll have contact] this spring. There may be a time somewhere down the line where [athletic trainer] Vinny [Scavo] and the doctors look at him again, but I don’t think we will.”

On the return of running back Trayone Gray from injury…

“As far as will he get in there [this spring]? I don’t think Trayone will get in there.”

On the momentum of the 2018 recruiting class…

“Nothing is done until signing day. We know that. Until a guy comes midyear or until a guy signs, it’s all hopeful. But I do think we have the right kind of people who are choosing to commit because they love the place, not because we’re trying to push them into it or coerce them into it. They’re excited about what’s happening and they want to be here. At least they feel that way today. We’ll see how it goes as we go.”

On if recruiting gets easier when landing multiple verbal commitments…

“We all know those kids know each other. They like each other. They want to play on the same team with a lot of these guys they know are great players and great people. A lot of your commitments become your best recruiters. I think we had a lot more of that energy right now than we did a year ago.”

On the excitement of players committing …

“We like it. Last night obviously was an exciting night for all that kind of stuff. I think the fans like it, I think the kids like it. Recruiting, when you’re having success – or, at least, perceived success - it’s fun.”

On the wording of specific tweets…

“It’s mostly me. Sometimes I’ll ask somebody when I’m a little dry. But it’s mostly me figuring it out [laughs].”

On holding Pro Day Wednesday on the Greentree Practice Fields…

“I’m excited for it. We have 15 guys that will be here. We’re allowing all the guys that played here at Miami, that are in their first draft-eligible year, those are the guys that are going to be here doing it. As a matter of fact, I’m about to have lunch with just about every one of them, kind of a pregame meal. I’m going to tell them how much we love them and appreciate them and wish them the best.”

That’s what CMR had to say. What about you? Leave a comment and keep the conversation going.

Go Canes