Burns fully recovered from injury

CORAL GABLES — After missing most of the preseason, Miami Hurricanes RB Robert Burns has returned to contact drills.

Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said Burns should be available for the season-opener. He has been sidelined since sustaining a shoulder injury in April.

“He’s full go,” Brown said. “He’s got a lot of ground to make up as far as the mental aspects and also physically as well.” Burns, a freshman, enrolled in the spring. Brown said no one has emerged in the race to earn the starting fullback job. Among those competing are Cesar Castillo, Danny Dominguez and Jack Pope, but all are walk-ons. LB Mike Smith has also gotten reps during the fall but expects to spend most of his time on the defensive side.

“We don’t have [a fullback] on scholarship right now,” Brown said. “We have probably about four or five walkons competing for that spot, so we’ll see what happens.”

According to coach Mark Richt ,WR Darrell Langham has been one of the breakout performers of the preseason. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Langham spent most of last season on the practice squad. His improvement has put him in position to crack the receiver rotation.

“Everything I’ve worked on in the spring, it’s kind of helped out what I’m doing right now in fall camp,” Langham said.

Next game: No. 18 Miami vs. Bethune-Cookman, Sept. 2, 12:30 p.m., ACC Regional Sports Network

Shandel Richardson