After the assistant coaches talked to the media following Thursday’s practice, UM switched things up a bit. Instead of letting a group of players talk to the press, Miami decided to give their new support staff a chance to share what he’s been up to these past 3 months, beginning with strength coach David Feeley.
“I think the strength level is good, I think these guys can really run,” Feeley said. “When they take off, they take off a little differently than from the other places I’ve been. These guys are on a mission. They want to make something happen here. They really do."
Redshirt freshman DE Gregory Rousseau has impressed Feeley the most with his passion for the weight room.
“He’s as good a worker as he is a person,” Feeley said. “He comes in and he grinds every single day.”
On freshman early enrollee OL Zion Nelson, who arrived in January at 242 pounds, Feeley says he is up to 271 right now.
“Zion is doing pretty well for himself,” Feeley said. "It's a two-year plan to get him to a better weight."
Feeley added that Jahfari Harvey is up to 234 pounds right now from his 225 listed weight.
“The freshmen, once they get here in a great structured program, their gains are huge at the beginning,” Feeley said.
Miami will have a month of voluntary workouts before summer workouts begin at the end of May.
“A lot more running will be involved in the program - you have to have a great base of stamina, we’ll work on a lot of speed in the summer,” Feeley said.
Feeley also pointed to Corey Gaynor as a weight room leader along with Mike Pinckney and Shaq Quarterman.
**Miami’s new director of player personnel Andy Vaughn had a connection to head coach Manny Diaz after the pair previously worked together at Middle Tennessee State. Diaz was so impressed by Vaughn’s work that he brought him to Miami to help him assemble an elite roster.
“Really what we’re looking for is guys who can translate (Diaz’s) vision of what a Miami Hurricane should be over to the field - the passion for the game of football, the willingness and ability to compete, the toughness, all those things he talks about,” Vaughn said. “The main things we’re looking for - competitiveness, toughness, passion, how much does he love playing football? It takes a different kind of guy to be successful here. If we can find a guy that has those qualities, I think we’ll be alright.”
After leaving Middle Tennessee State, Vaughn has also run the personnel and recruiting departments at Nevada, Nebraska, and most recently Arizona. He took some time to discuss the differences between those places and what he’s seen at Miami thus far.
“Not many places I’ve been you’re going to have multiple 5-stars just pop in every day for practice,” Vaughn said. “Everywhere else I’ve been, you have to find those guys and talk them into coming on campus. You can probably walk out here on the street, throw a rock and hit a couple of them. The quality of talent nearby in this area makes it a little bit easier, but everyone in the country knows that so we have to fight more battles than maybe other schools would because this is our home turf, we have to protect it. Everybody knows this is where the players are. We have to build those relationships, cultivate those relationships with the coaching staff - make them realize `You don’t have to go somewhere else to represent someone else’s city when you can do that here.’”
Addressing how active Miami has been in the transfer portal, Vaughn feels it is a valuable tool that can help UM add more players that fit their mold.
"It's a group effort. The portal can be a really good thing if you manage it the right way," Vaughn said. "We have to make sure those guys fit the Miami profile, what a Hurricane should be. As long as we figure those things out early in the process it can be a very valuable thing. We're on there every day, know what we want, what we're looking for, positions of need that we have."
Vaughn also added that Paradise Camp will be held at some time in late June, instead of late July, to accommodate for an early start of fall camp due to the UF opener being moved up.
“I think the strength level is good, I think these guys can really run,” Feeley said. “When they take off, they take off a little differently than from the other places I’ve been. These guys are on a mission. They want to make something happen here. They really do."
Redshirt freshman DE Gregory Rousseau has impressed Feeley the most with his passion for the weight room.
“He’s as good a worker as he is a person,” Feeley said. “He comes in and he grinds every single day.”
On freshman early enrollee OL Zion Nelson, who arrived in January at 242 pounds, Feeley says he is up to 271 right now.
“Zion is doing pretty well for himself,” Feeley said. "It's a two-year plan to get him to a better weight."
Feeley added that Jahfari Harvey is up to 234 pounds right now from his 225 listed weight.
“The freshmen, once they get here in a great structured program, their gains are huge at the beginning,” Feeley said.
Miami will have a month of voluntary workouts before summer workouts begin at the end of May.
“A lot more running will be involved in the program - you have to have a great base of stamina, we’ll work on a lot of speed in the summer,” Feeley said.
Feeley also pointed to Corey Gaynor as a weight room leader along with Mike Pinckney and Shaq Quarterman.
**Miami’s new director of player personnel Andy Vaughn had a connection to head coach Manny Diaz after the pair previously worked together at Middle Tennessee State. Diaz was so impressed by Vaughn’s work that he brought him to Miami to help him assemble an elite roster.
“Really what we’re looking for is guys who can translate (Diaz’s) vision of what a Miami Hurricane should be over to the field - the passion for the game of football, the willingness and ability to compete, the toughness, all those things he talks about,” Vaughn said. “The main things we’re looking for - competitiveness, toughness, passion, how much does he love playing football? It takes a different kind of guy to be successful here. If we can find a guy that has those qualities, I think we’ll be alright.”
After leaving Middle Tennessee State, Vaughn has also run the personnel and recruiting departments at Nevada, Nebraska, and most recently Arizona. He took some time to discuss the differences between those places and what he’s seen at Miami thus far.
“Not many places I’ve been you’re going to have multiple 5-stars just pop in every day for practice,” Vaughn said. “Everywhere else I’ve been, you have to find those guys and talk them into coming on campus. You can probably walk out here on the street, throw a rock and hit a couple of them. The quality of talent nearby in this area makes it a little bit easier, but everyone in the country knows that so we have to fight more battles than maybe other schools would because this is our home turf, we have to protect it. Everybody knows this is where the players are. We have to build those relationships, cultivate those relationships with the coaching staff - make them realize `You don’t have to go somewhere else to represent someone else’s city when you can do that here.’”
Addressing how active Miami has been in the transfer portal, Vaughn feels it is a valuable tool that can help UM add more players that fit their mold.
"It's a group effort. The portal can be a really good thing if you manage it the right way," Vaughn said. "We have to make sure those guys fit the Miami profile, what a Hurricane should be. As long as we figure those things out early in the process it can be a very valuable thing. We're on there every day, know what we want, what we're looking for, positions of need that we have."
Vaughn also added that Paradise Camp will be held at some time in late June, instead of late July, to accommodate for an early start of fall camp due to the UF opener being moved up.
