On Wednesday afternoon, Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz gave his first presser since his COVID diagnosis, saying he’ll be cleared to coach starting on Monday when practice is expected to resume.
“I am feeling a little better, it’s remarkable the wide variety of different stories and experiences of symptoms with this virus,” Diaz said. “I feel fortunate, was in the middle of the gamut. We’ve had people that have gone through it, it’s no fun and it should be taken seriously. Hopefully we’re getting past it. Days are getting better as we’re going on, which is good.
“You don’t spend a lot of time thinking about yourself, have been so hyper in tune to do everything right and, as a program, we feel we really had. If anything, it shows the nature of this virus which we’ve always had a lot of respect for. It finally caught up to us, you can see the numbers, where it’s headed, and it’s hard to stop. All my thought process was on the team and how we’d manage and segue into (playing again). 2020 has been a year of adaptation. This week it’s almost like we had to restart it again like we did in June. We start apart, come back in small groups, smaller type workouts like in the summer. We rebuild the ship again and look forward to getting back out there next weekend.”
As team activities have been shut down for the past week and a half, the players have stayed in shape by doing conditioning work on their own according to Diaz.
“It was fairly obvious at Virginia Tech that we were kind of on the brink, it wasn’t going to take a lot more for us to be unable to play,” Diaz said. “Because of the way you have to quarantine, you’re out one week, it’s hard to play the next week.”
With the Canes expected to resume practice starting on Monday ahead of their tilt against Wake Forest on Saturday December 5th, it is still unclear to the staff if the team will be able to practice normally or if more time will have to be spent on conditioning.
“We keep telling the team it’s 2020, how we prepare for the game will be different,” Diaz said. “We took off nine days for (Hurricane) Irma in 2017, but then we had the whole team back, went to Orlando for a week. This will be different, guys getting cleared Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and even Friday… We have to be creative as a coaching staff in how we prepare.”
As for the active roster of available players for Wake Forest, Diaz expects things to be fluid in terms of players that are cleared to play.
“It will be an evolving roster throughout next week as we get guys back from different types of quarantine, clearance from medical personnel,” Diaz said. “We’ll manage as we have. Some might be able to get walkthrough, some will practice, and we’ll see what we have on Friday and go play… We’re about to go through a week next week that will be unlike any week I’ve had in my coaching career or anyone else on the staff or the team.”
The first version of the College Football Playoff Rankings were released last night, and the 7-1 Canes were ranked #10.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, but we still have games to play,” Diaz said of the ranking. “Our team recognizes there’s another chapter, that we’re not done yet. There’s more to do. And how we finish is all in front of us, I think that’s a story we’ll all remember.”
With the Thanksgiving holiday coming tomorrow, Diaz said he was thankful for where the program is situated at the moment despite all the hardships the team has faced this year.
“As much turbulence as the year 2020 has provided inside the football program and all around the country, we still have a lot to be thankful for,” Diaz said. “To be ranked number 10 on Thanksgiving weekend with all the disruptions, we have something to play for in December. We look forward to getting our team back slowly but surely.”
Wake Forest also postponed their most recent game against Duke last weekend for COVID issues, and the Demon Deacons have faced a lot of the same challenges UM has faced recently.
“It all gets handled at the administrative level,” Diaz said. “They are by accounts going through the same thing we are… Every game we have left is not promised to us. We do have a bunch of guys that want to go back out there and play for each other and for Miami.”
With the NCAA essentially granting players an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, Diaz said no decisions have been made as to any seniors that could potentially come back in 2021.
“Certainly everybody is welcome back,” Diaz said. “What these players had to go through this year, it’s one of the best rules the NCAA ever made. There are some teams that are not going to get four games in. We’re very fortunate we got eight to this point. We’re having those conversations not just with our seniors, but your juniors - getting NFL feedback, letting guys know where they stand. Not just shaping their decision for 2021, but holding a mirror in front of them, `Here’s how they see you, maybe these are things you want to effect in the next couple of games.’ I don’t ultimately expect any decisions to be made anytime soon.”
The offense had a Zoom meeting this morning, and part of it was spent reflecting on the upcoming holiday as well as the season thus far.
“Guys were talking about what they were thankful for,” Diaz said. “Guys that were part of .500 teams, they can see the difference in this team. You want the freshmen to see `Oh, this is what a winning team looks like.’”
Diaz also spoke on the progress he’s seen from his freshman running backs to this point, as both Jaylan Knighton and Don Chaney have made impact plays off the bench this year.
“Those guys are going through the natural development of going through the year, getting into the grind of the season, the day-to-day, wear and tear, and as a freshman how you have to really take care of your body. We still think they have a great future ahead of them.”
“I am feeling a little better, it’s remarkable the wide variety of different stories and experiences of symptoms with this virus,” Diaz said. “I feel fortunate, was in the middle of the gamut. We’ve had people that have gone through it, it’s no fun and it should be taken seriously. Hopefully we’re getting past it. Days are getting better as we’re going on, which is good.
“You don’t spend a lot of time thinking about yourself, have been so hyper in tune to do everything right and, as a program, we feel we really had. If anything, it shows the nature of this virus which we’ve always had a lot of respect for. It finally caught up to us, you can see the numbers, where it’s headed, and it’s hard to stop. All my thought process was on the team and how we’d manage and segue into (playing again). 2020 has been a year of adaptation. This week it’s almost like we had to restart it again like we did in June. We start apart, come back in small groups, smaller type workouts like in the summer. We rebuild the ship again and look forward to getting back out there next weekend.”
As team activities have been shut down for the past week and a half, the players have stayed in shape by doing conditioning work on their own according to Diaz.
“It was fairly obvious at Virginia Tech that we were kind of on the brink, it wasn’t going to take a lot more for us to be unable to play,” Diaz said. “Because of the way you have to quarantine, you’re out one week, it’s hard to play the next week.”
With the Canes expected to resume practice starting on Monday ahead of their tilt against Wake Forest on Saturday December 5th, it is still unclear to the staff if the team will be able to practice normally or if more time will have to be spent on conditioning.
“We keep telling the team it’s 2020, how we prepare for the game will be different,” Diaz said. “We took off nine days for (Hurricane) Irma in 2017, but then we had the whole team back, went to Orlando for a week. This will be different, guys getting cleared Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and even Friday… We have to be creative as a coaching staff in how we prepare.”
As for the active roster of available players for Wake Forest, Diaz expects things to be fluid in terms of players that are cleared to play.
“It will be an evolving roster throughout next week as we get guys back from different types of quarantine, clearance from medical personnel,” Diaz said. “We’ll manage as we have. Some might be able to get walkthrough, some will practice, and we’ll see what we have on Friday and go play… We’re about to go through a week next week that will be unlike any week I’ve had in my coaching career or anyone else on the staff or the team.”
The first version of the College Football Playoff Rankings were released last night, and the 7-1 Canes were ranked #10.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, but we still have games to play,” Diaz said of the ranking. “Our team recognizes there’s another chapter, that we’re not done yet. There’s more to do. And how we finish is all in front of us, I think that’s a story we’ll all remember.”
With the Thanksgiving holiday coming tomorrow, Diaz said he was thankful for where the program is situated at the moment despite all the hardships the team has faced this year.
“As much turbulence as the year 2020 has provided inside the football program and all around the country, we still have a lot to be thankful for,” Diaz said. “To be ranked number 10 on Thanksgiving weekend with all the disruptions, we have something to play for in December. We look forward to getting our team back slowly but surely.”
Wake Forest also postponed their most recent game against Duke last weekend for COVID issues, and the Demon Deacons have faced a lot of the same challenges UM has faced recently.
“It all gets handled at the administrative level,” Diaz said. “They are by accounts going through the same thing we are… Every game we have left is not promised to us. We do have a bunch of guys that want to go back out there and play for each other and for Miami.”
With the NCAA essentially granting players an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, Diaz said no decisions have been made as to any seniors that could potentially come back in 2021.
“Certainly everybody is welcome back,” Diaz said. “What these players had to go through this year, it’s one of the best rules the NCAA ever made. There are some teams that are not going to get four games in. We’re very fortunate we got eight to this point. We’re having those conversations not just with our seniors, but your juniors - getting NFL feedback, letting guys know where they stand. Not just shaping their decision for 2021, but holding a mirror in front of them, `Here’s how they see you, maybe these are things you want to effect in the next couple of games.’ I don’t ultimately expect any decisions to be made anytime soon.”
The offense had a Zoom meeting this morning, and part of it was spent reflecting on the upcoming holiday as well as the season thus far.
“Guys were talking about what they were thankful for,” Diaz said. “Guys that were part of .500 teams, they can see the difference in this team. You want the freshmen to see `Oh, this is what a winning team looks like.’”
Diaz also spoke on the progress he’s seen from his freshman running backs to this point, as both Jaylan Knighton and Don Chaney have made impact plays off the bench this year.
“Those guys are going through the natural development of going through the year, getting into the grind of the season, the day-to-day, wear and tear, and as a freshman how you have to really take care of your body. We still think they have a great future ahead of them.”
