Hurricane Freshmen WR's Continue to Impress, Defense Taking Shape

The practices are closed until the opener against Charleston Southern on Aug. 28, but the players and coaches say enough after them to piece together some adequate news and notes about how they've gone. Here's what I've gathered:

* In yesterday's 7-on-7 drills, freshman wide receiver LaRon Byrd caught two TD's, continuing his string of mightily impressive performances. Fellow true freshman Davon Johnson supposedly made two jaw-dropping catches and even hurdled over two defenders on his way to a TD. It looks like Johnson is working his way into the discussion of top freshman wide receiver of the summer, along with Byrd and Travis Benjamin.

* Senior Bruce Johnson is far and away the top performer at cornerback in August, and it's a foregone conclusion that he'll start the year. Based on the early results, it looks like junior Chavez Grant will start on the other side. Demarcus VanDyke and Brandon Harris look to back up Johnson and Grant.

* Meanwhile, on the defensive line, as ends Eric Moncur and Allen Bailey continue to be held out for precautionary reasons, redshirt freshman Adewale Ojomo is turning heads. He is fast, has gotten significantly stronger since last season, and has found himself in the backfield a lot more than Hurricane offensive line coaches would like. His emergence is good news for depth at the defensive end position (beyond Ojomo, Moncur, and Bailey, there really are only three players - Steven Wesley, Marcus Robinson, and Andrew Smith).

* As for the defensive tackles, freshman Micanor Regis is impressing. He and former Northwestern standout Marcus Forston are locks to play major minutes this season, barring injury.

* All in all, the defensive is said to have dominated the last few practices. They are adept at creating turnovers and havoc in the backfield with surprise blitzes. Defensive coordinator Bill Young, who burst on the scene last year leading the Big XII champ Kansas Jayhawks defense, is making his mark early and instilling a more aggressive style to the defense which was Charmin soft in 2007.

* 16 days.

Canes Find Rising Stars in Byrd & Benjamin

Looking at the list of Miami Hurricane wide receiver commitments for 2008 a month ago, two names would have stood out - Aldarius Johnson and Tommy Streeter, both from Miami Northwestern High and both among the top 15 at their position coming out of high school. But as fall practices have progressed, those aren't the two names that Coach Randy Shannon consistently singles out for accolades (and Shannon isn't one for doling out accolades anyway).

No, the two that Shannon cannot stop effusing over are LaRon Byrd and Travis Benjamin. They were the #60 and #42 ranked high school senior wide receivers in the country last year, according to rivals.com. Although they both garnered some notable offers from college football powerhouses, they received nowhere near the attention and focus as Johnson and Streeter. In yesterday's practice at Coral Gables, Benjamin nabbed 3 TD's, including one off of a reverse and another of 50 yards. Byrd has a big, physical frame, but also has unlikely speed for a man of his size (6-foot-4), clocked last year at a 4.46 forty yard dash. In case you're wondering, Benjamin was recently clocked at a 4.26. Many are comparing him to Santana Moss and Roscoe Parrish - the next great slot man at the U.

It will be interesting to track Byrd and Benjamin's improvement. They are already one of the surprising developing storylines at Hurricanes practice.

At Long Last...A UM Football Practice Report!

I feel like Rip Van Winkle awakening from a long and deep slumber, peering outside the window of my cavernous abode, and seeing the very brightest of sunshines for the first time in months. The happiest five months of the year are upon us - college and pro teams are holding spirited practices and there was even an NFL exhibition game last night (okay, so maybe that's not so exciting). The Canes, meanwhile, have held two practices. Here is the latest buzz from the Greentree Practice Field in Coral Gables:

* Perhaps the biggest question mark heading into the fall was at wide receiver, where Miami is counting on an awful lot of true freshmen to lead them. The newcomers did not disappoint. The stud of the group was the 6-foot-4, 211 pound LaRon Byrd, from Louisiana. Sporting the #47 and snatching balls out of the sky with scary regularity, Canes fans had a vision of another "playmaker" who wore the same number - Michael Irvin. His size is considerable, his speed more than adequate, and his hands well advanced for his relative inexperience. Two more newcomers who shone were Travis Benjamin and Davon Johnson. Benjamin dazzled with his speed (he clocked in Saturday at 4.26 in the 40 yard dash) while Johnson drew raves with his elusiveness. Both have the makings of excellent slot receivers and/or kick returners.

* The most intriguing question was who was getting a leg up in the QB race between redshirt freshman Robert Marve and true freshman Jacory Harris (from two-time state champion Northwestern). By all indications, both were good, and already at this young stage in the careers outperforming last season's starters Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman. That is welcome news, but honestly not very high praise, considering that Wright and Freeman seemed to be among the worst one-two quarterback punches in the country last season. Marve seems to have the slight edge because he's had been around one more season, studying film and learning from Wright and Freeman's (abundant) mistakes. Harris is said to have one of the more beautiful and effortless passing motions you will ever see. Both are leaders and competitors, so it should be interesting. Third-stringer Cannon Smith, who can be seen in the new movie "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" (this is no joke), has made big strides since the spring, improving his arm strength and poise considerably (though probably not enough to enter into the conversation of who will start on August 28 against Charleston Southern).

* Marcus Robinson, rated the #4 outside linebacker in the Class of 2008 by rivals.com, has been moved to defensive end because of depth concerns. He's one of the biggest incoming linebackers, and actually played some end in high school. Head coach Randy Shannon says that he should make an immediate impact as a third-down, pass rushing end. Wunderkind Allen Bailey sat out of the two practices, still recovering from a torn pectoral muscle.

* At defensive back, another thin position, Sophomore cornerback Demarcus VanDyke had a few pass breakups and looks to have bulked up a bit since last season. Brandon Harris looked fast and fierce. True freshman free safety Ramon Buchanon was getting plenty of reps this weekend, and VanDyke called him and fellow true freshman safety Vaughn Telemaque "ballers".

* I bought my tickets for the Charleston Southern game, and derived more joy from the experience than any man my age should.