Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Burns sidelined
Shoulder likely to shelve running back for opener.
CORAL GABLES — Miami Hurricanes freshman running back Robert Burns will likely miss the first game of the season because of a shoulder injury.
Coach Mark Richt said all signs are pointing toward Burns not being healthy by the opener Sept. 2 against Bethune-Cookman.
“Burns, I don’t think he’ll be ready for Game 1,” Richt said. “I don’t think so. We’ll see. I don’t know how soon he’ll be ready to get into a contact drill. Today is no contact, but you start putting pads on and thudding each other up, and we either have to put a green [non-contact] jersey on him and trust that our guys won’t thud him, or just get him out of the drill. We have to decide if we’re not smart enough to thud a guy in a green jersey.”
Burns missed most of the spring because of shoulder issues. He was a three-star recruit at Miami Gulliver Prep but was sidelined by injuries most of his junior and senior seasons. Last year he only had nine carries.
Without Burns, the Hurricanes could turn toward freshman DeeJay Dallas for depth in the backfield. Dallas was recruited as an athlete but spent the spring playing receiver. He played multiple positions as a senior at Glynn Academy in Georgia but could shift to running back if needed.
“We’re going to make sure [DeeJay] knows enough about how to pass protect and how to run … he didn’t [practice at running back], but further along the line when we install, he’ll do a little bit of that. But he made some great plays at wide receiver today. We’re going to have a hard time not letting him do that,” Richt said.
RB Homer solid
Even with a depleted backfield, Richt said he is confident the duo of Mark Walton and Travis Homer can shoulder the load.
Homer used the spring to solidify himself as the backup to Walton. Last year Homer played mostly special teams but is ahead of Trayone Gray on the depth chart.
“He’s very confident in what we’re doing and how we’re doing it,” Richt said. “He’s doing a nice job. He’s ready to be a solid backup to [Mark] Walton. And if you’re playing [secondstring] running back, you’re playing a bunch. We expect him to play a bunch unless someone rolls by him. [Gray] is starting to get his feet under him. We’ll see how it goes.”
Irvin off early
Sophomore tight end
Michael Irvin II left practice early, but Richt would not disclose the reason.
When asked whether it was a heat-related issue, Richt said he didn’t want to go into specifics.
“We’ll know more [today],” Richt said. “He may be practicing. There was just something we had a suspicion of that you just have to keep him out of the drills. We’ve got to make sure he’s healthy before we get him out there.” Freshman linebacker
Waynmom Steed and offensive lineman Zalon’tae Hillery also did not practice.
Waiting on Ford
The Hurricanes are still holding out hope for freshman defensive lineman
Jonathan Ford, who has yet to qualify academically.
A Dillard graduate, Ford was rated as the nation’s No. 24 defensive end by Rivals.
“He’s still in the running,” Richt said. “It’s kind of what we said a year ago on
[Dionte] Mullins. We’re still hopeful he ends up getting in. The thing that’s different this year is that summer school is deeper into practice than it was a year ago. If he just makes it, qualifies, we’ll be very happy. We still have hopes that he will and we believe that he will.”