Spring practice is upon us which means we get our first look at the 2026 Hurricanes who will aim to go one step further than last year’s squad who fell just short in the national championship.
I always preface these observations with the fact that it’s from a very small sample size, as well as performance and momentum can vary throughout spring and fall.
With that said, here’s my observations from the opening practice at Greentree:
- It just looks right with Mensah, he looks the part physically and impressed with his throws today. Mature and seemed to connect with recievers well.
- In his new #1 jersey, Toney appeared to put on some good size. More muscle on the frame which didn't detract from the speed at all.
- Speaking of speed, incoming freshman Vance Spafford and South Carolina transfer Dre Jacobs lived up to their expectations of flying around the field. Spafford in particular paired his speed with some fluid routes in one on one work.
- The wide receiver room as a whole looks transformed physically - Milan Parris and Cam Vaughn both had impressive hands catches with their towering frames.
- Freshman QB Dereon Coleman put on some good weight as he adjusts to college ball. Lightning quick release is still there, just needs to work on timing and progressions at the next level.
- Like the WR room, the DB room looks incredibly physical. Both Xavier Lucas and Damari Brown had strong showings. For Brown it's all about staying healthy as the traits and talent are all there.
- The DB room as a unit were extremely physical at the LOS, jamming receivers and causing havoc throughout the route. This could incur some penalties moving forward, but I liked seeing the DB's right on top of the receivers who themselves were running good routes.
- One of the more impressive battles was Duke WR Cooper Barkate making a nice play over Lucas, I really love how obvious it is that Barkate understands leverage and how to get open.
- It was hard to see some of the offensive/defensive line work, but I saw a couple of good runs from Girard Pringle after hitting a nasty jump cut. A great problem to have with so many talented backs.
- The size of our offensive line is still no joke, Cantwell is a unit.
- Lastly, lots of punt blocking and special teams work
Will try and focus more on some of the trenches next time out!
