Courtesy of Miami Athletics:
The Hurricanes were back on the Greentree Practice Fields on Saturday morning as spring practice continued at Miami.
After the workout, offensive linemen Seuseu “SJ” Alofaituli and Max Buchanan, along with defensive backs Ja’Boree Antoine and Bryce Fitzgerald, 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…
Offensive lineman SJ Alofaituli
On the competition on the offensive line during spring drills:
“It’s been going good. Just hitting the reset button and just starting over. We’ve got a new group of guys, and I feel like [we’re] just trying to see how everybody works and plays out and I feel very good right now. … Trying to get one percent better every single day.”
On what he learned during his freshman season last year:
“Well, I got to learn a lot just playing in the backfield with Mark Fletcher Jr. and Carson Beck. I got to learn a lot from them just talking to them, and them talking to me about the game of football. But [the] fullback position was very fun for me. I’m just the type of person to just play wherever they want me. If I have to play fullback or guard or center, that’s the type of person I am. So, they wanted me at fullback, and I was down to do it. It was very fun. I wanted to go hit somebody. That’s my job. It’s cool. I like it.”
On assistant head coach/offensive line coach Alex Mirabal:
“He’s a very intense coach, but at the end of the day, he wants the best for you. He gets his message across, and it kind of might hit you sideways, but it depends how you take it, if you’re going to take it the bad way or the good way. And that’s the biggest challenge. He always challenges you every day. How are you going to react? How are you going to react to certain situations? I’m just very grateful for his coaching. He’s a great coach and I love him.”
On what he learned from working with former Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa:
“Man, Sisi was a brother to me, basically. He just took me under his wing and wherever he went, I was at, basically. So, I learned a lot, just being a pro. Coming in as a freshman, I didn’t really know as much as I thought I did. But just watching Sisi, and how he went into every day. … getting here early, getting his body recovered and just going into practice like every day was game day. That was the biggest thing I took for me. And just having the intent to do something every single day, to learn something new every single day; every single rep you do has to have an intent to it. That’s really what I learned from Sisi. He always had a purpose in what he did and that’s the biggest thing for me.”
On reuniting at Miami with high school teammate Elija Lofton:
“Me and Elija Lofton have been playing since youth football, so he’s really been my brother since I was a kid. He was one of my first friends when I moved to Vegas. So, I mean, coming to Miami it was just like, ‘My brother’s over there. I’ve got a brother not too far away.’ We always talk about the old days and all that, but we love Miami. We love what it’s got to do over here and we love the hard work over here.”
Defensive back Ja’Boree Antoine
On how different he feels now, versus when he first arrived at Miami:
“I mean, getting here, it was kind of a rocky start coming off an injury. But right now, just being where my feet are at, coming in each day with a level mindset, level-headed, just ready to work every day.”
On what he learned the most last season:
“Really just being patient, waiting on your turn, really and just stand down and grind. You never know when your number is going to be called.”
On what it’s like for the defensive backs to face quarterback Darian Mensah and Miami’s wide receivers:
“Yeah, each day is an iron-sharpens-iron type of day. Each day uou might lose a rep, but you’ve got to have short-term memory and get back to where you started and be grinding.”
Offensive lineman Max Buchanan
On the offensive line’s potential after losing so many starters:
“The potential is very high. I don’t see there being a big [drop] back from last year’s offensive line to ours. I think it’s going to be right around the same. I mean, we do have some newer guys. We’ve got Jackson Cantwell playing. He’s younger, but he’s amazing. He’s stepped into the role very well. We’ve got some veterans like Ryan Rodriguez and Matthew McCoy, so it really helps bring us all up to the level we need to be at because Matt McCoy did compete last year. He rotated in at left guard, so he know what it means to go to the national championship and what it means to be a Miami Hurricane in the playoffs.”
On what he learned from Miami’s veteran offensive linemen last season:
“Just how to be a Cane, really. Our practices are very intense and we’re competing with each other every day. Even if you don’t think you are, you are. That’s the main thing I took away, just how to be a Cane and practice like a Cane and try to play like a Cane.”
On what it’s like to go against defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s schemes:
“At the beginning, it’s definitely new for all of us. We weren’t getting these fronts, but having it in our face right now in spring ball is testing us and showing us what we need to improve on and what we need to learn and get better at for when we are in season and if these fronts were to come up and if something tricky were to happen and we don’t know the answer to that we could just do it on the fly.”
On how much Miami’s freshmen offensive linemen benefited from being around the team during last season’s playoff run:
“I think that was a very important piece in their development, especially because [of] that o-line that we had last year. [The freshmen] being able to come in while we were in the playoff run and learn from them, it’s huge. Because if they were just coming in at the beginning of spring … that o-line wouldn’t have been here anymore, so they wouldn’t have been able to learn as much from them as they did. But they were there all through December, all through January with us, so it showed. It showed that they wanted to learn a lot.”
On offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell:
“He’s eager to learn. That’s one of my biggest pickups on him. He’s eager to learn. He’s always asking questions. He’s always in the facility. He’s always watching film. He’s not afraid to ask questions either. I would say probably when I first got here, a few times, I was afraid to ask questions. I felt it was going to be looked down on. But he’s not afraid to [ask questions] and it shows that he’s eager to learn. He wants to play.”
Defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald
On the biggest thing he learned last season as a freshman:
“Really just not being selfish, becoming a team player. I knew I had a role and just stayed with it, stayed down for it.”
On what he learned from veteran defensive backs Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas last season:
“Really, just physicality and the mindset, just go in and think nobody can beat you, nobody can stop you and it’s you against you. That’s really it.”
On the importance of being a versatile player:
“It’s really great. Coach Hetherman recruited me [when he was] at Minnesota. He just told me playing a lot of different positions helps you get on the field and helps you in the long run. So, him telling me that, I just took it to Miami and I’m just living it up.”
On which new additions to the defensive backs group are making a big impression during spring practice:
“I’d definitely say Omar Thornton and especially JJ Dunnigan. JJ is just, I’d say, a hidden gem because he’s athletic, probably one of the fastest guys on the team. He came in at 200 pounds and is probably one of the purest safeties I’ve ever seen.”
On finding his voice and stepping up as a leader now that he’s no longer a freshman:
“Really just got to stop being a kid. [You’ve] got to change your mindset. You’re a grown man now, so really just got to do grown-man things on and off the field. Leading by example, talking to them, not letting them do the wrong thing. You’ve got to do the little things, so they key into it.”
On what it’s like to defend wide receiver Malachi Toney in practice:
“It’s amazing. I feel like if you can go against Malachi, you can guard anybody in the country. So, just going against him and him pushing me every day, I feel like it’s just a blessing just to go against him.”
The Hurricanes were back on the Greentree Practice Fields on Saturday morning as spring practice continued at Miami.
After the workout, offensive linemen Seuseu “SJ” Alofaituli and Max Buchanan, along with defensive backs Ja’Boree Antoine and Bryce Fitzgerald, 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…
Offensive lineman SJ Alofaituli
On the competition on the offensive line during spring drills:
“It’s been going good. Just hitting the reset button and just starting over. We’ve got a new group of guys, and I feel like [we’re] just trying to see how everybody works and plays out and I feel very good right now. … Trying to get one percent better every single day.”
On what he learned during his freshman season last year:
“Well, I got to learn a lot just playing in the backfield with Mark Fletcher Jr. and Carson Beck. I got to learn a lot from them just talking to them, and them talking to me about the game of football. But [the] fullback position was very fun for me. I’m just the type of person to just play wherever they want me. If I have to play fullback or guard or center, that’s the type of person I am. So, they wanted me at fullback, and I was down to do it. It was very fun. I wanted to go hit somebody. That’s my job. It’s cool. I like it.”
On assistant head coach/offensive line coach Alex Mirabal:
“He’s a very intense coach, but at the end of the day, he wants the best for you. He gets his message across, and it kind of might hit you sideways, but it depends how you take it, if you’re going to take it the bad way or the good way. And that’s the biggest challenge. He always challenges you every day. How are you going to react? How are you going to react to certain situations? I’m just very grateful for his coaching. He’s a great coach and I love him.”
On what he learned from working with former Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa:
“Man, Sisi was a brother to me, basically. He just took me under his wing and wherever he went, I was at, basically. So, I learned a lot, just being a pro. Coming in as a freshman, I didn’t really know as much as I thought I did. But just watching Sisi, and how he went into every day. … getting here early, getting his body recovered and just going into practice like every day was game day. That was the biggest thing I took for me. And just having the intent to do something every single day, to learn something new every single day; every single rep you do has to have an intent to it. That’s really what I learned from Sisi. He always had a purpose in what he did and that’s the biggest thing for me.”
On reuniting at Miami with high school teammate Elija Lofton:
“Me and Elija Lofton have been playing since youth football, so he’s really been my brother since I was a kid. He was one of my first friends when I moved to Vegas. So, I mean, coming to Miami it was just like, ‘My brother’s over there. I’ve got a brother not too far away.’ We always talk about the old days and all that, but we love Miami. We love what it’s got to do over here and we love the hard work over here.”
Defensive back Ja’Boree Antoine
On how different he feels now, versus when he first arrived at Miami:
“I mean, getting here, it was kind of a rocky start coming off an injury. But right now, just being where my feet are at, coming in each day with a level mindset, level-headed, just ready to work every day.”
On what he learned the most last season:
“Really just being patient, waiting on your turn, really and just stand down and grind. You never know when your number is going to be called.”
On what it’s like for the defensive backs to face quarterback Darian Mensah and Miami’s wide receivers:
“Yeah, each day is an iron-sharpens-iron type of day. Each day uou might lose a rep, but you’ve got to have short-term memory and get back to where you started and be grinding.”
Offensive lineman Max Buchanan
On the offensive line’s potential after losing so many starters:
“The potential is very high. I don’t see there being a big [drop] back from last year’s offensive line to ours. I think it’s going to be right around the same. I mean, we do have some newer guys. We’ve got Jackson Cantwell playing. He’s younger, but he’s amazing. He’s stepped into the role very well. We’ve got some veterans like Ryan Rodriguez and Matthew McCoy, so it really helps bring us all up to the level we need to be at because Matt McCoy did compete last year. He rotated in at left guard, so he know what it means to go to the national championship and what it means to be a Miami Hurricane in the playoffs.”
On what he learned from Miami’s veteran offensive linemen last season:
“Just how to be a Cane, really. Our practices are very intense and we’re competing with each other every day. Even if you don’t think you are, you are. That’s the main thing I took away, just how to be a Cane and practice like a Cane and try to play like a Cane.”
On what it’s like to go against defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s schemes:
“At the beginning, it’s definitely new for all of us. We weren’t getting these fronts, but having it in our face right now in spring ball is testing us and showing us what we need to improve on and what we need to learn and get better at for when we are in season and if these fronts were to come up and if something tricky were to happen and we don’t know the answer to that we could just do it on the fly.”
On how much Miami’s freshmen offensive linemen benefited from being around the team during last season’s playoff run:
“I think that was a very important piece in their development, especially because [of] that o-line that we had last year. [The freshmen] being able to come in while we were in the playoff run and learn from them, it’s huge. Because if they were just coming in at the beginning of spring … that o-line wouldn’t have been here anymore, so they wouldn’t have been able to learn as much from them as they did. But they were there all through December, all through January with us, so it showed. It showed that they wanted to learn a lot.”
On offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell:
“He’s eager to learn. That’s one of my biggest pickups on him. He’s eager to learn. He’s always asking questions. He’s always in the facility. He’s always watching film. He’s not afraid to ask questions either. I would say probably when I first got here, a few times, I was afraid to ask questions. I felt it was going to be looked down on. But he’s not afraid to [ask questions] and it shows that he’s eager to learn. He wants to play.”
Defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald
On the biggest thing he learned last season as a freshman:
“Really just not being selfish, becoming a team player. I knew I had a role and just stayed with it, stayed down for it.”
On what he learned from veteran defensive backs Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas last season:
“Really, just physicality and the mindset, just go in and think nobody can beat you, nobody can stop you and it’s you against you. That’s really it.”
On the importance of being a versatile player:
“It’s really great. Coach Hetherman recruited me [when he was] at Minnesota. He just told me playing a lot of different positions helps you get on the field and helps you in the long run. So, him telling me that, I just took it to Miami and I’m just living it up.”
On which new additions to the defensive backs group are making a big impression during spring practice:
“I’d definitely say Omar Thornton and especially JJ Dunnigan. JJ is just, I’d say, a hidden gem because he’s athletic, probably one of the fastest guys on the team. He came in at 200 pounds and is probably one of the purest safeties I’ve ever seen.”
On finding his voice and stepping up as a leader now that he’s no longer a freshman:
“Really just got to stop being a kid. [You’ve] got to change your mindset. You’re a grown man now, so really just got to do grown-man things on and off the field. Leading by example, talking to them, not letting them do the wrong thing. You’ve got to do the little things, so they key into it.”
On what it’s like to defend wide receiver Malachi Toney in practice:
“It’s amazing. I feel like if you can go against Malachi, you can guard anybody in the country. So, just going against him and him pushing me every day, I feel like it’s just a blessing just to go against him.”
