Cristobal Touts Defensive Improvement After Miami's First Fall Scrimmage
Photo: James Williams; Collier Logan, AllHurricanes.com
The energy level was high on the Greentree Practice Fields on Saturday night, as the Miami Hurricanes held their first fall scrimmage of the fall.
The defense continued the momentum its built up throughout camp. UM head coach Mario Cristobal was impressed by the group's performance against a high-powered Miami offense.
"We're getting guys on the ground, Our angles are better. Our pad level is better. Our eyes are more discipline, that's the biggest thing," Cristobal told Miami Athletics after the scrimmage.
"If you know how to leverage the ball ... if you clearly understand where your help is, you're going to do really well because you can play fast. If you don't, you're guessing, and if you're guessing in football, you got a problem."
The scrimmage gave Miami's quarterbacks an abundance of game-like reps and presented them with areas to improve in moving forward.
Still, the signal-callers and the rest of the offense were still able to rack up yards and execute chunk plays.
"We made explosive plays ... some that were there to be had," Cristobal said.
There was also an emphasis on special teams and making sure that players can handle different kick-off and punt coverages.
"We do have some guys that are athletic, that are explosive, that can cover a lot of ground," Cristobal said. "Also really good punt protection. We've got big jumbo bodies that can protect and also get there and also help us in coverage."
The Hurricanes will look to clean up their mistakes during their third week of fall practice in preparation for their first game of the season on Sept. 3 against Bethune-Cookman.
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Luke Chaney is a contributing writer for Sports Illustrated-FanNation's AllHurricanes.com, covering recruiting and Miami Athletics. You can also find Luke on WVUM 90.5 FM as a play-by-play broadcaster. He is also the Sports Editor for The Miami Hurricane. Follow Luke on Twitter @luke_chaney4.