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Hurricanes trimming practice times

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The Associated Press

Published: November 4, 2009

CORAL GABLES An end-of-season swoon doomed Miami a year ago. With injuries piling up, Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon thinks he's found an insurance policy against that happening again.

His plan: Seeing if making practices shorter keeps No. 16 Miami in games longer.

Starting Tuesday, the Hurricanes trimmed about 45 minutes from practice, with the new template calling for sessions to last only one hour. They'll still lift weights, and Shannon reserved the right to extend practice if work isn't done at the speed he demands. But with at least nine key players either ailing or out for the season - and none of them expected back this week - something had to give, he said.

"We're still going to condition hard and practice fast," Shannon said. "But like I told the coaches, a combo block is a combo block. A veer is a veer, a lead is a lead. If we don't know it now ... We've got to be sharp, crisp and fresh to try to get it done. We can't sit back and try to reinvent the wheel. We've got to know our assignments and just go turn it loose."

Miami (6-2, 3-2 ACC) hosts Virginia (3-5, 2-2) on Saturday. The Hurricanes desperately need a win to keep hope of catching Georgia Tech in the Coastal Division.

"It'll work with our bodies not being as worn down as they have been," QB Jacory Harris said. "We have some very physical practices. People get nicked up in practice and you don't want those little injuries affecting you in games. It's going to be fast, but at the same time, it's only an hour, so it'll give us more time to rest."

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