Courtesy of Miami Athletics:
The Hurricanes were back on the Greentree Practice Fields on Saturday morning as the final week of spring practice kicked off at Miami.
After the workout, wide receivers coach Kevin Beard and wide receivers Vandrevius Jacobs and Daylyn Upshaw, along with defensive backs Dylan Day and Omar Thornton, shared their thoughts on the day’s workout and how spring drills are progressing.
Here’s what they had to say, in their own words…
Wide receivers coach Kevin Beard
On what stands out about the wide receivers as spring practice continues:
“What stands out is we’ve got a lot of work to do. I know a lot of people see a lot of talent, a lot of new guys and we have a culture here that put us in the national championship game and we came up short. So, the mindset right now is how do we get back and how do we finish the drill? … I believe from 2003 and 2004 and 2005, moving forward, that guys just came here to throw The U up and be a part of something that was great and didn’t really understand what it took to be that. So, right now, we’re just learning how to become great players, great teammates and just continue to build a culture.”
On what he’s seen from transfer receiver Cooper Barkate:
“You know what? Consistency. He understands when he fails, he has work to do and he understands when he succeeds, he still has work to do. And so just knowing that part is really comforting for me as a coach because you want your guys to always keep a chip on their shoulders and never be comfortable and he comes with that.”
On the next step for wide receiver Malachi Toney, now that he’s a sophomore:
“The one thing he has is consistency. With all the success he’s had, he’s still on the JUGS machine every morning at 6:30, 6:45. And the good thing about him is he’s showing guys how it looks. I always say success leaves clues and so, if you want to be successful, you have somebody in the room that’s doing it the right way. If you don’t have your own process, just follow him and copy his process until it becomes your process. So, that’s the thing that I’m always going to push him right now to grow as a leader because I know that he’s trying to control what he can control in his own space. It’s a lot, being that he’s had so much success, but he has to find a way to reach his teammates in a way, like CJ [Daniels] reached his teammates and he had a good example in CJ, so he knows what it’s like and he left clues. Now, he needs to get into that, tap into that.”
Wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs
On his transition to Miami after transferring from South Carolina:
“It’s been great. All the guys … welcomed me in with open arms, just want to see me get better, you feel me? The coaches and all, everyone just wants to see me be the best I can be. So, I love it. The transition has been great. All the guys made it easy for me and I just love being a Miami Hurricane.”
On the competition in the wide receivers room:
“As a whole, we just want to get better. … We know it’s competition every day, but we just want to get better. We want the next person next to us getting better, whoever is going before you or after you. You want them to get better. We just want everyone to be the best they can be so we can all win as a team.”
On quarterback Darian Mensah:
“He’s a total package. He can sling the ball. He makes great decisions. He’s just everything. He’s a quarterback that you want to play with because you know he’s going to give you his all. He’s going to make the throw, you feel me? You’ve got to make the play for him. That’s it. He’s going to give you your chance.”
Wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw
On how it’s felt to practice again after getting hurt late last season:
“Spring practice is going good so far. We’re just trying to finish real strong, trying not to take [any] days off. Coming off my injury, I feel like I did a real good job recovering, getting back stronger and trying to come back even harder.”
On the talent in the receivers room:
“This room can be to the ceiling. We do everything well. We’re blocking well, we’re running routes well. It is up to us to take it as far as we can.”
On getting to work with Mensah and Toney during the offseason:
“That was probably my first week cleared to actually be able to run and stuff, so it was very, very tremendous for me to be out there and get on the field, running routes with Darian for the first time because when they were running routes on the weekends, I wasn’t able to do that. So, that was like a must. And I learned that he’s a very good quarterback. He’s perfect with timing and I was just trying to build that bond more and more.”
Defensive back Dylan Day
On how he’s felt he’s grown since arriving at Miami:
“Three years on the team and two years in [defensive coordinator Corey] Hetherman’s new system, I’m constantly growing. Like I said, [it’s] just stacking days, constantly seeing progress.”
On where he feels he’s seen the most growth:
“Just the mental aspect of the game: watching film, film study, getting deeper into the playbooks, knowing every position. That’s my biggest growth point.”
On what he learned from veteran defensive backs Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas:
“Watching them, I just saw the extra work, all the extra work they put in. That’s really what separated them from everyone else in the country. Seeing that, it definitely motivated me.”
On the competition among the defensive backs:
“It’s going to be a long season again, as we know. So, we know we’re going to need everybody in the room, so we stay together as one unit and that’s just how we compete.”
Defensive back Omar Thornton
On how he feels his skills will work in defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s system:
“Good. All he wants is for you to hit hard. If you hit, you hit, you hit, you’re playing in his defense. So, I feel like Coach Hetherman, he’s really good and I see my skillset fits well in his system.”
On his relationship with former high school teammate Malachi Toney:
“Real close with him. It’s one of the top reasons I came down. He always wanted me to come play with him again. Even outside of football, I stay at his house. Even though I have my own, I go over there, I stay with him. We’re always around each other, talk all the time. Every day we compete against each other. That’s my guy right there.”
The Hurricanes were back on the Greentree Practice Fields on Saturday morning as the final week of spring practice kicked off at Miami.
After the workout, wide receivers coach Kevin Beard and wide receivers Vandrevius Jacobs and Daylyn Upshaw, along with defensive backs Dylan Day and Omar Thornton, shared their thoughts on the day’s workout and how spring drills are progressing.
Here’s what they had to say, in their own words…
Wide receivers coach Kevin Beard
On what stands out about the wide receivers as spring practice continues:
“What stands out is we’ve got a lot of work to do. I know a lot of people see a lot of talent, a lot of new guys and we have a culture here that put us in the national championship game and we came up short. So, the mindset right now is how do we get back and how do we finish the drill? … I believe from 2003 and 2004 and 2005, moving forward, that guys just came here to throw The U up and be a part of something that was great and didn’t really understand what it took to be that. So, right now, we’re just learning how to become great players, great teammates and just continue to build a culture.”
On what he’s seen from transfer receiver Cooper Barkate:
“You know what? Consistency. He understands when he fails, he has work to do and he understands when he succeeds, he still has work to do. And so just knowing that part is really comforting for me as a coach because you want your guys to always keep a chip on their shoulders and never be comfortable and he comes with that.”
On the next step for wide receiver Malachi Toney, now that he’s a sophomore:
“The one thing he has is consistency. With all the success he’s had, he’s still on the JUGS machine every morning at 6:30, 6:45. And the good thing about him is he’s showing guys how it looks. I always say success leaves clues and so, if you want to be successful, you have somebody in the room that’s doing it the right way. If you don’t have your own process, just follow him and copy his process until it becomes your process. So, that’s the thing that I’m always going to push him right now to grow as a leader because I know that he’s trying to control what he can control in his own space. It’s a lot, being that he’s had so much success, but he has to find a way to reach his teammates in a way, like CJ [Daniels] reached his teammates and he had a good example in CJ, so he knows what it’s like and he left clues. Now, he needs to get into that, tap into that.”
Wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs
On his transition to Miami after transferring from South Carolina:
“It’s been great. All the guys … welcomed me in with open arms, just want to see me get better, you feel me? The coaches and all, everyone just wants to see me be the best I can be. So, I love it. The transition has been great. All the guys made it easy for me and I just love being a Miami Hurricane.”
On the competition in the wide receivers room:
“As a whole, we just want to get better. … We know it’s competition every day, but we just want to get better. We want the next person next to us getting better, whoever is going before you or after you. You want them to get better. We just want everyone to be the best they can be so we can all win as a team.”
On quarterback Darian Mensah:
“He’s a total package. He can sling the ball. He makes great decisions. He’s just everything. He’s a quarterback that you want to play with because you know he’s going to give you his all. He’s going to make the throw, you feel me? You’ve got to make the play for him. That’s it. He’s going to give you your chance.”
Wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw
On how it’s felt to practice again after getting hurt late last season:
“Spring practice is going good so far. We’re just trying to finish real strong, trying not to take [any] days off. Coming off my injury, I feel like I did a real good job recovering, getting back stronger and trying to come back even harder.”
On the talent in the receivers room:
“This room can be to the ceiling. We do everything well. We’re blocking well, we’re running routes well. It is up to us to take it as far as we can.”
On getting to work with Mensah and Toney during the offseason:
“That was probably my first week cleared to actually be able to run and stuff, so it was very, very tremendous for me to be out there and get on the field, running routes with Darian for the first time because when they were running routes on the weekends, I wasn’t able to do that. So, that was like a must. And I learned that he’s a very good quarterback. He’s perfect with timing and I was just trying to build that bond more and more.”
Defensive back Dylan Day
On how he’s felt he’s grown since arriving at Miami:
“Three years on the team and two years in [defensive coordinator Corey] Hetherman’s new system, I’m constantly growing. Like I said, [it’s] just stacking days, constantly seeing progress.”
On where he feels he’s seen the most growth:
“Just the mental aspect of the game: watching film, film study, getting deeper into the playbooks, knowing every position. That’s my biggest growth point.”
On what he learned from veteran defensive backs Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas:
“Watching them, I just saw the extra work, all the extra work they put in. That’s really what separated them from everyone else in the country. Seeing that, it definitely motivated me.”
On the competition among the defensive backs:
“It’s going to be a long season again, as we know. So, we know we’re going to need everybody in the room, so we stay together as one unit and that’s just how we compete.”
Defensive back Omar Thornton
On how he feels his skills will work in defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s system:
“Good. All he wants is for you to hit hard. If you hit, you hit, you hit, you’re playing in his defense. So, I feel like Coach Hetherman, he’s really good and I see my skillset fits well in his system.”
On his relationship with former high school teammate Malachi Toney:
“Real close with him. It’s one of the top reasons I came down. He always wanted me to come play with him again. Even outside of football, I stay at his house. Even though I have my own, I go over there, I stay with him. We’re always around each other, talk all the time. Every day we compete against each other. That’s my guy right there.”
