Miami Hurricanes News and Notes — Today, the Hurricanes will practice for the first time under Manny Diaz. It’s about time

— Hasn’t it felt like ages since Mark Richt was leading this program? It has been almost three full months since Richt’s sudden retirement and Diaz sent shock waves through the college football world by immediately leaving Temple to lead the school he had just left. Since, Diaz has captured headlines left and right with constant victories that had nothing to do with the physical game of football.

He has proven that he can be a champion of the off-season, but tomorrow the Miami Hurricanes will trot into the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility and, for the first time under Manny Diaz the head coach, play some actual football.

The Hurricanes will practice twelve times between today and April 18th and have three scrimmages in between. The first scrimmage will come after their eighth practice and will be played Saturday, April 6th. It will be closed to the media and fans.

The second scrimmage will be open to the fans and will be on Saturday, April 13th at Traz Powell Stadium. The last scrimmage, which serves as the finale of the Hurricanes spring football, will be held on Saturday, April 20th at Camping World Stadium in Orlando — the same place the Hurricanes will take on the Gators to open the 2019 season on August 24th.

— In other news, quarterback Cade Weldon announced that he has entered the portal and will be taking his talents elsewhere. Cam Underwood has the story from yesterday’s announcement.

It is a little strange that after all this time, Weldon and Diaz just now agreed that it would be best if he transferred. Could Diaz have been holding onto Weldon in case Tate Martell was ruled ineligible so there were three quarterbacks on scholarship on the roster? Does Weldon’s decision to transfer indicate that the Hurricanes got some positive news regarding Martell’s eligibility?

It’s also possible that the two have nothing to do with one another, but the timing of his transfer (the day before spring football starts) is noteworthy.

Regardless, the 2019 Miami Hurricanes are taking the field for the first time as a team today and football is officially BACK.