First-year Hurricanes impress
With practice opening Saturday, which UM freshmen from a strong recruiting class will earn playing time beyond special teams? We asked 18 returning Canes who worked out with the freshmen this summer to name the two they expect to make the biggest immediate impact.
Predictably, 14 named running back Graig Cooper in their top two. ''He's a mix between Devin Hester and Reggie Bush,'' left tackle Jason Fox said. ''Scary fast,'' offensive lineman Derrick Morse added.
Three other freshmen got multiple votes: former Delray Beach Atlantic offensive lineman Orlando Franklin and ex-Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas receiver Leonard Hankerson (seven votes each) and former Miami Pace High cornerback DeMarcus VanDyke (six).
Though he's behind senior Andrew Bain at left guard, Franklin said, ''I expect to win a starting job.'' Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland said he will have a chance.
UM has depth at cornerback, but some players think VanDyke will break through. ''He has the most speed of the freshmen defensive backs,'' fullback Jerrell Mabry said. ``Once he learns technique, he'll be as good as any corner that comes through here.''
Several said they would have named receiver Jermaine McKenzie, but he's out with a neck injury from a car accident that also injured freshman QB Robert Marve. Now, UM players polled regard Hankerson as the most likely incoming receiver to contribute immediately (ahead of Kayne Farquharson and Daniel Adderley) .
''Hankerson has great hands, jumps to the highest point and brings it down,'' linebacker Tavares Gooden said. (Working with ex-NFL great Cris Carter at St. Thomas certainly helped.)
Meanwhile, highly touted freshman Allen Bailey, who was among the nation's top high school defensive ends, said UM coaches moved him to middle linebacker (where Darryl Sharpton is the first-teamer). Two of UM's expected 19 newcomers are awaiting clearance from the NCAA, Dallas-based running back Shawnbrey McNeal and Hialeah defensive end Adawale Ojomo.
CHATTER
• Right guard remains the biggest mystery early in Dolphins camp, with rookie sixth-rounder Drew Mormino admitting he's surprised to be on the first team ahead of Rex Hadnot. ''Coach sees I can bring toughness and attitude,'' he said. One quick snapshot of Mormino's intensity: As a freshman at Central Michigan, he kept alive a drive by executing a successful block against a Bowling Green lineman -- as he was vomiting on that player.
In May, Cam Cameron said Hadnot was Miami's right guard. Asked Tuesday if that's the case, Cameron was noncommittal.
• Cameron says the Dolphins' lack of experienced defensive line depth isn't a concern, but coordinator Dom Capers said the ''young guys . . . have to produce'' -- none more than promising rookie fourth-rounder Paul Soliai, who has lost 13 pounds the past week and says he's having problems breathing in the humidity. Soliai, who played at Utah, says he's getting most snaps behind defensive tackle Keith Traylor, whom the Dolphins want to keep fresh by limiting to about 25 plays a game. Traylor turns 38 on Sept. 3.
• Marlins GM Larry Beinfest said Tuesday he's ''eager'' to see Alejandro De Aza (due back in August) before determining the offseason plan in center field, though he's pleased with Alfredo Amezaga and Cody Ross. . . . Beinfest is somewhat mystified by the defensive struggles of Jeremy Hermida, last among right fielders in fielding percentage: ''He needs to improve, [but] he's worked very hard at it.'' . . . The Marlins have no idea when reliever Henry Owens will return from shoulder inflammation.
• One Western Conference executive said new Heat point guard Smush Parker ``can shoot threes, finish at the rim and is an excellent on-the-ball defender but lacks a midrange game and gambles a bit too much for steals.''
• Though a sign-and-trade with Golden State involving free agents Mickael Pietrus and James Posey makes sense, the Heat is reluctant because it doesn't want to pay a substantial luxury tax. (Miami already is about $1 million over the threshold.) The Heat prefers to move players already under contract for Pietrus (like Michael Doleac), but the Warriors haven't bitten.
• Some at UM are wondering whether Wake Forest might pursue Canes basketball coach Frank Haith (a Wake assistant from 1997 to 2001) to replace Skip Prosser, who died Thursday. Northwestern hired from within after football coach Randy Walker died last summer, and Indiana will use an interim football coach from within after Terry Hoeppner died June 19.
• Sightings: Michael Vick, dining with brother Marcus and others, requesting (and receiving) a table in a private room at Prime 112, thus avoiding anyone who might have a comment about his alleged involvement in dogfighting.
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