Defense prepares for dynamic Toledo offense
LAKE BUENA VISTA — Under the hot mid-day sun, the Miami Hurricanes’ defense was hard at work at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in the shadow of Disney World.
The UM defense wasn't sharp during its season opener against a BethuneCookman team it should have dominated and, perhaps more than any other position group on the roster, was eying its second game as a chance to generate positive momentum.
Instead, the unit is trying to get back into game shape and reboot a football season that technically is three weeks old but has only featured one game thanks to Hurricane Irma.
“It almost has a training camp feel to get our minds back on playing a football game,” Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “Once you step off that train, it’s hard, especially as a defense, because you get into a rhythm of contact and hitting and then you don’t do it for nine or 10 days or whatever it was, there is no manual for how to deal with that.”
The message Diaz and the coaching staff have been telling the players this week has been simple.
“It’s like opening a season again,” Diaz said. “It’s not just three weeks without playing. It’s three weeks after playing only one game where really we played very poorly on defense.”
Miami coach Mark Richt isn’t nearly as down on the defensive effort put forth by his team.
“I’m sure he meant that we didn’t play to the expectations that we had for our defense,” Richt said Wednesday. “I think four 10-play drives, the first drive of the game going 7 minutes to open the season, that’s not what anyone expected. … We think we can do better than that, and we expect to do better than that.”
Players and coaches were set to return to South Florida after practice Wednesday, the first time most have been back to campus since the storm made landfall more than a week ago.
The challenge for the UM coaching staff this week has been picking up where the Hurricanes left off after the 41-13 win over BethuneCookman on Sept. 2.
“I think our guys have done a good job the first two practices that we have seen them here this weekend,” Diaz said. “Our strength staff is trying to run the guys and get them back into shape. This is where our depth matters. It has to matter. We have been saying all along, ‘How do you get all these guys in the game?’ This is why you’ve got to get all these guys in the game.”
Richt said he hasn’t seen anything from his players to cause concern.
“If you base it strictly on what we normally see on a Tuesday practice, what I saw yesterday looked normal. It looked typical,” said Richt, who is in his second season leading the Hurricanes. “I didn’t go, ‘Oh man, we’re in trouble.’ ”
Richt said the heat during practices has been a challenge, but his players argue they need to get used to it after their time off.
“It’s good getting back out and acclimated to this weather,” junior defensive tackle Kendrick Norton said after practice, which featured temperatures in the mid-90s with a heat index that felt more like the 100s. “It was good for us.”
Miami is scheduled to face Toledo at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. The Rockets (3-0) play a high-tempo style of offense, averaging more than 75 plays per game this season. It’s something the Miami (1-0) defenders have been keying on all week.
“They’re a team that likes to go fast and to catch you disorganized,” Norton said. “We’ve got to be ready for that on defense.”
Toledo senior quarterback Logan Woodside is ranked second in the MidAmerican Conference in total offense (995 yards) while adding eight touchdown passes with one interception.
“He’s outstanding,” Richt said of Woodside. “His fundamentals are great. He knows the system so well. He knows when and where to go with the ball. He’s the kind of guy that, if you pressure him, the ball is going to come out quick to the right guy.
“He’s one of the best in the country for a reason.”
Norton agreed with his coach’s assessment, adding: “He’s a guy that can make all the throws all over the field. He can pick you apart.”