Miami Football Spring Practice Primer: Schedule, Storylines and More
Miami football spring practice is here. The action kicks off Monday, March 2 when Mario Cristobal meets with the media after the practice. Before the Hurricanes return to the gridiron, here’s what you can expect to hear from Cristobal’ team over the next six weeks.
Spring Schedule
The Hurricanes will conduct 15 practices in the months of March and April. It typically culminates with a Spring Game at Chase Stadium, but not this year, the Canes will be playing there Spring game right beside Greentree at Cobb Stadium where the Hurricanes soccer team plays and also where the Track and Field is.
The Hurricanes will practice Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week, then take a week off for UM’s spring break. Once the helmet-only practices are out of the way, they’ll return with a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday morning routine through April 13.
Spring Storylines
Cam Ward Develops Early Chemistry — The Hurricanes’ new QB1 is ready to roll. Cam Ward was a dynamic player at Washington State, but will he be able to keep that up now with Mario Cristobal at Miami? We’ve seen QBs drop in production under Cristobal’s watch, so that’s something to watch this season.
New Leaders on Defense — Kamren Kitchens was the voice of the UM defense for like 2 years. The torch has now been passed to former Blue Chip recruits: Markeith Williams, Mishael Powell and Savion Riley.
Defensive Line is no Joke — Don’t be surprised if this becomes one of the best position groups on the team in 2024. The pieces are in place and Miami could make a run again at being a top-10 defense due to what is available in the trenches. Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry has stability with a high ceiling on the line of scrimmage. That could go a long way.
Top Positional Competitions
Safety — Kamren Kitchens and James Williams early departure for the NFL Draft forced Miami to hit the transfer portal to find two new starting safeties. While Markeith Williams and Jaden Harris compete for the field spot, Savion Riley (Vanderbilt) and Mishael Powell (Washington) made the move to Coral Gables to play right away. Who will emerge from the early battle on the boundary?
Cornerback — Daryl Porter and Damari Brown each earned starts at the position last fall, Miami lost Damari’s older brother Davonte to the portal, so it would be interesting to see who will step up into this position.
Quarterback 2 — We know that Cam Ward will be taking the first snaps for the Hurricanes this year, but what happens if he goes down with an injury? It happened to Miami last year against Florida State. With Ward clearly being the head starter, it’s the right time for Jacurri Brown and Judd Anderson to prove they can be a quality backup in 2024.
Trinton is the owner of CanesToday. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, he is a freshman in high school and wants to graduate from the University of Miami
