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It’s finally here: LSU game week.
Although the Miami Hurricanes coaches spent last week introducing parts of the gameplan to the team, this week has been full-go, as the realization that college football is only a few days away is starting to become clear. After taking Monday off in terms of practice, head coach Mark Richt seems ready to roll.
“Getting into the LSU game, we are excited that it’s finally here. It’s just a few days away now,” Richt said. “Today is Tuesday and we had a Tuesday-like practice. Today is more first and second down-type things. If there are blitzes, blitzes that people might use in first and second down, out in the middle of the grass – the green zone, we call it, between the 20 [-yard line] and the 20 [-yard line] – that was the focus today.”
Richt spent time breaking down how the rest of the week of prep would shape up as UM readies for the Tigers.
“A little bit of short yardage and goal line today as well, when we have full pads on,” Richt said. “Tomorrow will be Wednesday and it will be treated as a Wednesday practice, which is more third downs, third-and-medium, third-and-long, red zone stuff and that’ll be what we do tomorrow.
“Thursday we will have a Thursday practice, which is in shorts and helmets. We’ll be covering kind of a little bit of everything and doing a little one-minute offense, one-minute defense, cover some kicking situations. Then Friday we’re going to be treating it as if it’s another Thursday - another dress rehearsal day. We’ll travel Saturday and then we’ll play, of course, on Sunday. That’s our schedule for the rest of the week.”
Previewing what his team will see from LSU, Richt sees a talented program that has brought in some of the best recruits in the nation and developed them for the next level.
“Great football team… when you watch their film - very physical, fast team,” Richt said on the Tigers. “They recruit as good or better than anybody in the country. They have more NFL players on rosters right now than anybody in America, that’s about three or four years running – there’s always great players there, great coaching. Coach Orgeron has done a wonderful job there of recruiting and motivating his team. Just watching the spring game, you can see the talent base they have and the way they get after it.”
And Richt has not forgotten the last time UM played LSU: in 2005 during the Peach Bowl in which the Tiger shellacked the Canes 40-3. Richt’s experience in the SEC saw him matchup with the Tigers quite a few times, and all the talent LSU possesses is not lost on UM’s head coach.
“Last time Miami played LSU, it was the worst defeat in a bowl game, probably ever, that Miami has had,” Richt said. “The biggest margin of victory in a bowl game for LSU – I think it was in 2005. We know we’re in for quite a challenge. Being a coach in the SEC for all those years, you know what LSU is about. I’ve had a chance to play them a few times. A great challenge, I’ll just say that.”
LSU has been known for their powerful running game the past few years, but after former Tiger Derrius Guice went pro, LSU will have a brand new running back this season. Although LSU has not tipped their hand on who will get the nod to replace Guice, senior Nick Brossette and sophomore Clyde Edwards-Helaire are listed as co-starters on the depth chart. Either way, both are expected to see carries and even though there is limited tape available on the pair, Richt has been gameplanning for LSU’s overall scheme instead of certain guys.
“When you’re facing a running back, you pretty much have to defend the scheme,” Richt said. “They’re going to run certain plays no matter who the running back is. One guy might have a better ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and you might have to make some adjustments there, try to make sure you get a good matchup, not a bad matchup.
“The thing about when you play man coverage, it’s not just defensive backs and receivers. There’s receivers and running backs, and linebackers and safeties – they have to cover people too. You can get yourself in a bad matchup if you’re not careful.”
In the neutral environment of AT&T Stadium that is likely to be slanted towards LSU, the noise will definitely be a factor. Richt has learned from experience that sound trapped in a dome is much different than an open-roof stadium and doesn’t plan on getting caught off guard.
“I think, without question, there will be more crowd noise than we can handle with our verbal cadence,” Richt said. “We’ll be non-verbal. I would say there will be enough people from Miami to do the same. One year at Georgia, we played Boise State in the old dome. They might have had 10,000 people there, and we’re thinking, ‘no problem, we’ll use our verbal cadence and we’ll be just fine.'
“Just the 10,000 made so much noise in that enclosed space, midway through the first quarter, we had to go non-verbal communication. That was a coaching error, just assuming it was not going to be that loud. I was wrong. I’ll never let that happen again.”
**Hurricanes offensive coordinator Thomas Brown feels his offense has continued to bring their A-game in practice throughout the fall and is more than ready for the challenge LSU presents.
“Yeah, they are looking really good,” Brown said on his offense. “We are healthy for the most part. I think we had a really good week of practice, so far. The scout team was so much better. They are really helping us out a bunch. As far as the tempo goes, and the effort goes, we have some better players to kind of go against. It kind of gives us a better look and forces our guys to work a lot harder and be prepared. But I am really excited about our depth, our talent, and see what these guys can do.”
Playing in a marquee matchup to start the season always gives practices some extra juice and Brown says it’s about time that the UM staff sees what their team is really made of.
“I am excited about it. I think our guys are excited about it,” Brown said. “I think it is a great opportunity for us to come out on prime time TV, only game on TV. Everybody is going to be watching to see how those guys respond and show up. I think we are ready for the moment. I am also excited to see how good we are out the gate.
“It won’t take long to see if we are really good or not because if it is all hype or not hype, you’ll learn that in a hurry. But I tell our guys all the time that we don’t coach scared. I don’t want those guys to play scared. Even from a coaching standpoint when it comes down to who is going to play or who doesn’t play. If you trust a guy, put them into the game. I don’t care if they just got here, or if he has been here four years. If he can help us win, and you trust him, put him in the rotation.”
The Canes come into the 2018 season ranked in the top 10 in both preseason polls for the first time since the 2006 season. With a high ranking comes high expectations, as well as the idea that some guys may be feeling themselves a little too much. Brown said while the older guys can easily handle that pressure, he does harbor some concern for the younger players on the team.
“I think it is kind of natural for, I would say, most of the young guys, than the older guys [to read into rankings],” Brown said. “The older guys should be able handle it, block it out. The new guys, everything is new for them. So every experience they have, the first time they run out on the field, the first play they have, whether it be special teams or offense, is going to be new for them.
So, we will kind of see how those guys handle it. We will base it all off of what they do in practice. If you can’t show up when it is a Saturday night scrimmage against our defense, I’m definitely not going to expect you to show up against LSU on Sunday night.”
Miami is coming off a three game slide to end last season and is determined to not let that swoon continue into their 2018 season. One of the Canes' mantra’s this season?
“Learn how to handle success,” says Brown.
“I think being able to handle success is harder than being able to handle failure. I think people get motivated when they get down, they’re getting beat up, or they’re losing. Or I think when everyone is patting you on your back, and telling you how good you are and you see your name in the paper, and these highlights, it is easy to kind of get comfortable as the fundamentals go away. So hopefully those guys learn from that. But if they didn’t learn from that, the talent will help learn from that. Because, if you want to be complacent, we will have somebody replace you and he will play in your spot. I think that is the biggest difference.”
Although the Miami Hurricanes coaches spent last week introducing parts of the gameplan to the team, this week has been full-go, as the realization that college football is only a few days away is starting to become clear. After taking Monday off in terms of practice, head coach Mark Richt seems ready to roll.
“Getting into the LSU game, we are excited that it’s finally here. It’s just a few days away now,” Richt said. “Today is Tuesday and we had a Tuesday-like practice. Today is more first and second down-type things. If there are blitzes, blitzes that people might use in first and second down, out in the middle of the grass – the green zone, we call it, between the 20 [-yard line] and the 20 [-yard line] – that was the focus today.”
Richt spent time breaking down how the rest of the week of prep would shape up as UM readies for the Tigers.
“A little bit of short yardage and goal line today as well, when we have full pads on,” Richt said. “Tomorrow will be Wednesday and it will be treated as a Wednesday practice, which is more third downs, third-and-medium, third-and-long, red zone stuff and that’ll be what we do tomorrow.
“Thursday we will have a Thursday practice, which is in shorts and helmets. We’ll be covering kind of a little bit of everything and doing a little one-minute offense, one-minute defense, cover some kicking situations. Then Friday we’re going to be treating it as if it’s another Thursday - another dress rehearsal day. We’ll travel Saturday and then we’ll play, of course, on Sunday. That’s our schedule for the rest of the week.”
Previewing what his team will see from LSU, Richt sees a talented program that has brought in some of the best recruits in the nation and developed them for the next level.
“Great football team… when you watch their film - very physical, fast team,” Richt said on the Tigers. “They recruit as good or better than anybody in the country. They have more NFL players on rosters right now than anybody in America, that’s about three or four years running – there’s always great players there, great coaching. Coach Orgeron has done a wonderful job there of recruiting and motivating his team. Just watching the spring game, you can see the talent base they have and the way they get after it.”
And Richt has not forgotten the last time UM played LSU: in 2005 during the Peach Bowl in which the Tiger shellacked the Canes 40-3. Richt’s experience in the SEC saw him matchup with the Tigers quite a few times, and all the talent LSU possesses is not lost on UM’s head coach.
“Last time Miami played LSU, it was the worst defeat in a bowl game, probably ever, that Miami has had,” Richt said. “The biggest margin of victory in a bowl game for LSU – I think it was in 2005. We know we’re in for quite a challenge. Being a coach in the SEC for all those years, you know what LSU is about. I’ve had a chance to play them a few times. A great challenge, I’ll just say that.”
LSU has been known for their powerful running game the past few years, but after former Tiger Derrius Guice went pro, LSU will have a brand new running back this season. Although LSU has not tipped their hand on who will get the nod to replace Guice, senior Nick Brossette and sophomore Clyde Edwards-Helaire are listed as co-starters on the depth chart. Either way, both are expected to see carries and even though there is limited tape available on the pair, Richt has been gameplanning for LSU’s overall scheme instead of certain guys.
“When you’re facing a running back, you pretty much have to defend the scheme,” Richt said. “They’re going to run certain plays no matter who the running back is. One guy might have a better ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and you might have to make some adjustments there, try to make sure you get a good matchup, not a bad matchup.
“The thing about when you play man coverage, it’s not just defensive backs and receivers. There’s receivers and running backs, and linebackers and safeties – they have to cover people too. You can get yourself in a bad matchup if you’re not careful.”
In the neutral environment of AT&T Stadium that is likely to be slanted towards LSU, the noise will definitely be a factor. Richt has learned from experience that sound trapped in a dome is much different than an open-roof stadium and doesn’t plan on getting caught off guard.
“I think, without question, there will be more crowd noise than we can handle with our verbal cadence,” Richt said. “We’ll be non-verbal. I would say there will be enough people from Miami to do the same. One year at Georgia, we played Boise State in the old dome. They might have had 10,000 people there, and we’re thinking, ‘no problem, we’ll use our verbal cadence and we’ll be just fine.'
“Just the 10,000 made so much noise in that enclosed space, midway through the first quarter, we had to go non-verbal communication. That was a coaching error, just assuming it was not going to be that loud. I was wrong. I’ll never let that happen again.”
**Hurricanes offensive coordinator Thomas Brown feels his offense has continued to bring their A-game in practice throughout the fall and is more than ready for the challenge LSU presents.
“Yeah, they are looking really good,” Brown said on his offense. “We are healthy for the most part. I think we had a really good week of practice, so far. The scout team was so much better. They are really helping us out a bunch. As far as the tempo goes, and the effort goes, we have some better players to kind of go against. It kind of gives us a better look and forces our guys to work a lot harder and be prepared. But I am really excited about our depth, our talent, and see what these guys can do.”
Playing in a marquee matchup to start the season always gives practices some extra juice and Brown says it’s about time that the UM staff sees what their team is really made of.
“I am excited about it. I think our guys are excited about it,” Brown said. “I think it is a great opportunity for us to come out on prime time TV, only game on TV. Everybody is going to be watching to see how those guys respond and show up. I think we are ready for the moment. I am also excited to see how good we are out the gate.
“It won’t take long to see if we are really good or not because if it is all hype or not hype, you’ll learn that in a hurry. But I tell our guys all the time that we don’t coach scared. I don’t want those guys to play scared. Even from a coaching standpoint when it comes down to who is going to play or who doesn’t play. If you trust a guy, put them into the game. I don’t care if they just got here, or if he has been here four years. If he can help us win, and you trust him, put him in the rotation.”
The Canes come into the 2018 season ranked in the top 10 in both preseason polls for the first time since the 2006 season. With a high ranking comes high expectations, as well as the idea that some guys may be feeling themselves a little too much. Brown said while the older guys can easily handle that pressure, he does harbor some concern for the younger players on the team.
“I think it is kind of natural for, I would say, most of the young guys, than the older guys [to read into rankings],” Brown said. “The older guys should be able handle it, block it out. The new guys, everything is new for them. So every experience they have, the first time they run out on the field, the first play they have, whether it be special teams or offense, is going to be new for them.
So, we will kind of see how those guys handle it. We will base it all off of what they do in practice. If you can’t show up when it is a Saturday night scrimmage against our defense, I’m definitely not going to expect you to show up against LSU on Sunday night.”
Miami is coming off a three game slide to end last season and is determined to not let that swoon continue into their 2018 season. One of the Canes' mantra’s this season?
“Learn how to handle success,” says Brown.
“I think being able to handle success is harder than being able to handle failure. I think people get motivated when they get down, they’re getting beat up, or they’re losing. Or I think when everyone is patting you on your back, and telling you how good you are and you see your name in the paper, and these highlights, it is easy to kind of get comfortable as the fundamentals go away. So hopefully those guys learn from that. But if they didn’t learn from that, the talent will help learn from that. Because, if you want to be complacent, we will have somebody replace you and he will play in your spot. I think that is the biggest difference.”
