After sluggish start, ’Canes turn it up on practice field
CORAL GABLES — The 10th-ranked Miami Hurricanes football team was back on the practice field Tuesday in preparation for a matchup with No. 6 Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30.
The Orange Bowl, while always a prestigious bowl, is not exactly where UM and Wisconsin hoped to be, considering each was conference title game victory away from playing in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Some of that lackluster feel may have showed early in UM’s Tuesday’s practice, the first one in pads since the ACC Championship Game loss to No. 1 Clemson. Players appeared lackadaisical, going through the motions during the brief portion of practice reporters are allowed to view. However, that seemed to change after coach Mark Richt gathered the team together to mix a few expletives into his speech and got players fired up as they split into positional drills.
Then, the players’ intensity seem to rise.
“He just reminded us who he is and what kind of defense we stand for, so I think we’re all right,” senior cornerback Dee Delaney said. “For the defense, I think practice went all right. We’ve just got to fix the minor things, but as far as energy, I think we brought it toward the end of practice.”
An early lull is understandable. It was, after all, the Hurricanes’ second practice — according to UM, the team practiced lightly on Sunday — that followed a two-week layoff. The time off came after back-to-back losses and as players dealt with final exams. Players also went through drills in weather hotter than your average December morning.
“This practice reminds me of the first day two years ago when I came out here to watch bowl practice. Had my blue jeans on and my dress shirt, thought I was going to be in good shape, and I was just sweating like a pig out there,” Richt said. “Nice and hot and warm, and we have those kind of days. First time we’ve had a Tuesdaytype practice in a long time. I thought they held up good.”
One thing Richt noted when he brought the team together was that Wisconsin will come into Hard Rock Stadium thinking its physical brand of football will bully the Hurricanes.
Offensive coordinator and running backs coach Thomas Brown can attest to that. He was as the Badgers’ running backs coach in 2014.
“They make you play a tough football game, make you play in a phone booth,” Brown said. “If you’re not ready for it, it’s going to be a tough challenge, a long day.”
A big question going into the Orange Bowl will be: Which Malik Rosier will show up for the Hurricanes?
Will it be the one that came out efficient — or at least clutch when he needed to be — in leading the team to the 10-0 start? Or the quarterback that completed less than 50 percent of his passes in losses to Pittsburgh and Clemson, including two interceptions against the Tigers?
His center likes what he’s seen out of him in practice, and it seemed as if Rosier’s energy spread through the team to get it out of that early lull.
“I think his mental state is good. You see him at practice today — he’s throwing darts,” junior Tyler Gauthier said. “He’s making everyone go at a faster pace. You could see that leadership role is still really good in him and you can see he still has the competitiveness to him.”
Added Brown: “He’s positive, really good practice, preparing well, pushing the guys.”
A hot topic going into any bowl game is whether non-senior draft-eligible players will declare for the NFL draft following the game.
Richt said he has had “zero” communication with such players as junior defensive tackles RJ McIntosh and Kendrick Norton.
“No one has informed anybody of anything,” Richt said. “No one should make any decision too soon. We’ve got time to talk about it for them to get all the information they need to make a good decision.”
When Norton was asked Tuesday if he’ll forgo his senior season to enter the draft, he dismissed the question.
“I’m just worried about getting ready for Wisconsin this week right now,” he said.
dfurones@ sunsentinel.com