MIAMI NOTEBOOK: RELAXED, FOR NOW.Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer Miami spent its first day in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, acting as if anything but a national championship will be at stake seven days from now, when the Hurricanes play Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. The Hurricanes arrived at their Century City hotel gradually, with some players checking in Tuesday, others trickling in Wednesday before noon, and the coaching staff and more players arriving on the team charter after that. Two freshmen from Texas, defensive back Marcus Maxey Marcus Jacolby Maxey (born February 2, 1983 in Navasota, Texas) is an American football defensive back free agent of the NFL. Maxey was selected in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of the University of Miami. and offensive lineman Tony Tella, didn't show up at all after getting bumped off their flights from Houston. They should arrive today. Finally, when the Hurricanes hit the Coliseum field for a brisk 36-minute workout, it was mostly an exercise in hilarity, as offensive linemen ran pass routes and caught passes from just about everyone except quarterback Ken Dorsey Kenneth Simon Dorsey (born April 22, 1981 in Orinda, California) is an NFL quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. Dorsey is a former college football star at the University of Miami, where he was a Heisman Trophy finalist in both 2001 and 2002. . So it wasn't surprising that first-year coach Larry Coker Larry Coker (born June 23, 1948 in Okemah, Oklahoma) is the former head coach at the University of Miami from 2001 to 2006. He was fired by the University of Miami on November 24, 2006 following a 6-loss season. He is currently a television analyst for ESPNU. had a ``What, me worry?'' mentality after his team's first practice since Dec. 22. ``It's a fine line,'' said Coker, still clad in the suit he wore on the flight from Miami. ``You want to be relaxed and play relaxed. We had nine days of practice before we got here, and we didn't feel we needed to be guns-to-the-wall on the first day. This was just a running, conditioning day.'' Even the absence of two key offensive contributors couldn't sour Coker's mood. The Hurricanes on Thursday lost starting fullback Najeh Davenport Najeh Trenadious Monté Davenport (born February 8, 1979 in Raleigh, North Carolina) is an American football running back who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Davenport was cut by the Green Bay Packers on September 2, 2006, following a four-year affiliation with the to a broken foot, and Monday, they found out No. 3 wide receiver Ethenic Sands will be suspended for the game. Sands, who had 26 receptions and one touchdown this season, was arrested Sept. 22 for disorderly intoxication intoxication, condition of body tissue affected by a poisonous substance. Poisonous materials, or toxins, are to be found in heavy metals such as lead and mercury, in drugs, in chemicals such as alcohol and carbon tetrachloride, in gases such as carbon monoxide, and and resisting arrest resisting arrest n. the crime of using physical force (no matter how slight in the eyes of most law enforcement officers) to prevent arrest, handcuffing and/or taking the accused to jail. without violence, but Coker has said the suspension was unrelated, and that the receiver will be back for the 2002 season. Davenport's absence could be more troubling in that he was a valued receiver, blocker, and runner. And Davenport's replacement, redshirt freshman Willis McGahee Willis Andrew McGahee (born October 20, 1981 in Miami, Florida) is an American football running back in the National Football League. He played for the Buffalo Bills from 2003 to 2006. , lacks experience and is a more natural tailback. ``We lose a good player, but we have depth at that position,'' Coker said. '' (Sands' absence) will have an impact, because he was a good receiver for us all season long. But we have good players there, too.'' Miami will work out in full pads today before meeting the Cornhuskers at Disneyland for a full afternoon of activities. ``It felt great to be out here,'' said quarterback Ken Dorsey, who returned to the Coliseum for the first time since he took a recruiting trip to USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. . ``We just went out and messed around today, had a little fun.'' Coker wasn't exactly in midseason form, referring to Nebraska's Heisman Trophy Heisman Trophy Annual award given to the outstanding college gridiron football player in the U.S. The trophy was instituted in 1935 by New York City's Downtown Athletic Club and was officially named the following year for the club's first athletic director, the player-coach winning quarterback, Eric Crouch, as ``Tim Couch'' and then ''Tim Crouch'' before correcting himself. Butch Davis, whom Coker replaced as Miami's coach, coaches the real Tim Couch with the Cleveland Browns. --McKinnie optimistic: Offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, the Outland Trophy winner, participated in conditioning drills and likely will practice at full speed today for the first time since undergoing surgery to remove chips from a knee Dec. 3. McKinnie, who injured his knee in the second half of the Virginia Tech victory, said he had a full range of motion and should be 100 percent by game time. --Color coordinated: The Hurricanes elected to wear white jerseys in the Rose Bowl. Coker said the white jerseys ``look real nice with the Rose Bowl logo.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Daryl Jones, Miami's top receiver, goes through a drill as the team works out at the Coliseum. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion