Hurricanes

UM quarterbacks and the defense are benefiting from full contact scrimmages.

CORAL GABLES — Mark Richt understood he was taking a risk making his quarterbacks live in Miami’s first scrimmage Saturday.

But even after a shoulder injury to redshirt freshman Jack Allison, the Hurricanes coach said allowing his signal callers to face pressure from Miami’s defense was the right call, especially with a generally inexperienced group of players trying to lead the Hurricanes offense.

“My goal is to learn as much as I can about these guys who are competing for the most important job on the team. The way we were going, I wasn’t getting a lot of clarity,” Richt said on Tuesday after the Hurricanes wrapped up their 10th of 15 spring practice sessions. “If the quarterback can prove that he has mobility, he can stand in there and throw a strike when people are bearing down on him here and there, that’s part of football. If you’re a pocket passer, you’re going to get hit when you’re in the pocket. If you run, you might get hit. It’s part of football.

“How do guys react to that? … There’s so many things you can learn about a guy. If you wait until Game 1, and you base your decision on everything but true reality in football, you might be making the wrong decision. Then the guy’s in there, and you realize, ‘He can’t really handle it, when the bullets are flying.’ Now I have to make a change after Game 1 or after the first quarter, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, he can’t handle it.’ I certainly don’t want anybody getting hurt, but I felt it was the best shot for me to learn some of the things I need to learn about these kids.”

Allison, who is competing with Malik Rosier, Evan Shirreffs, Vincent Testaverde and Cade Weldon for the job vacated by the NFLbound Brad Kaaya, did not participate in the portion of Tuesday’s practice that was open to reporters.

But Richt, who classified Allison’s shoulder injury as bruise that could sideline the quarterback on a dayto-day basis, said the redshirt freshman has been working with Miami’s athletic training staff since Saturday and has seen his range of motion increase over the past two days.

As to how things will go in Miami’s next scrimmage set for later this week, Richt said he was still undecided about whether to let the quarterbacks face pressure again.

One of his top young defenders, though, noted the exercise wasn’t just beneficial for the quarterbacks.

“It was very, very exciting. It tested them just like it tested us,” said linebacker Shaq Quarterman, a freshman All-American last season. “We had to learn how to stay in coverage when they scrambled and they had to learn how to scramble. It was a good measuring stick for us.”

Running backs getting healthy

Miami’s running backs group has seen its depth tested after the departures of Joe Yearby and Gus Edwards, as well as an injury to freshman Robert Burns, who has been on campus since January.

The former Gulliver Prep standout hurt his shoulder early in the spring and hasn’t returned to practice, leaving Miami with just two healthy scholarship backs in Mark Walton and Travis Homer.

Tuesday, Richt said he believes Burns, who was plagued with injuries during high school, will be healthy in time to play this fall. Fellow back Trayone Gray, working back from a knee injury that sidelined him all of last season, is making progress, too.

AL DIAZ/MIAMI HERALD Quarterback Jack Allison has had more range of motion in his shoulder over the last couple of days since he bruised it in Saturday’s scrimmage.