In 27 years of coaching, he has championships at every level, including the 2005 Super Bowl, to prove it. But at 8 a.m. Saturday, Whipple’s past glories will give way to a more pressing matter: "Finding a way to get one more point than Florida State,’’ he said.

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Stephen Plein is a monster of a player, the kid is really really big.

Tommy Streeter has bulked up.

Laron Byrd is not as big as he appeared to be in the pictures. Still very tall tho.

Aug 8: 8 am practice, Media Day 2:30-4:30
Aug 9: 8 am practice
Aug 10: 8 am practice
Aug 11: 8 am practice
Aug 12: 8 am practice (first day in full pads)
Aug 13: 8 am and 3:30 practices
Aug 14: off
Aug 15: 8 am practice (closed to the media)
Aug 16: off
Aug 17: 8 and 3:30 practices
Aug 18: 8 am practice
Aug 19: 8 and 3:30 practices
Aug 20: off
Aug 21: TBA practice (closed)
Aug 22: off
Aug 23: 8 and 3:30 practices
Aug 24: 8 am practice
Aug 25: TBA practice (closed)
Aug 26: First day of classes — no practice
Aug 27: 8 am practice
Aug 28: 8 am practice
Aug 29: off
Aug 30: 8 am practice
Aug 31: 8 am practice

Randy Phillips: "This year, coach Shannon is laid back. They used to call him Hitler or something like that. Just around the locker room. He had to clean the program up.

He also had this to say –

Sean Spence is a great guy. He’s a guy who likes to have fun. That does a lot for me because when you get older, you start thinking about your career on the next level. So things become like a business. Like a job. When you see those young guys running around, making plays, having fun, making mistakes, but still going hard, you be like, ‘Oh, man, it’s like the way high school was.’ You’re the best, running around, making plays, hugging, things like that. We’re back to that. It’s not about the NFL. It’s not about guys wanting to come in and going three (years) and out. It’s not about guys thinking about what they can do to get to the next level. It’s about us going out, trying to win and having fun. I haven’t had fun since the Oklahoma game. I’m having fun now."

It’s just natural [how talented Spence is]. It’s just natural. That’s why he has no problems. A lot of guys don’t have it like that. But when it’s natural, you don’t have to be unnatural. You’ve been doing this. He’s a great player. Instincts are good. Ball-skills are good. He’s just got a nose for it.

Sam Shields has great size for corner.

I still cant get over Hankerson, I haven’t seen a WR here that looks like that in years! I am not exaggerating fellas.

I have come to more realistic terms on my expectations of Jacory. He does throw some passes where you are just like “what was that?” and then the next he floats it in there perfectly.

Some very nice catches being made. WR’s are diving left and right for balls and making grabs.

VT looked like the real deal.

DVD and Brandon Harris had picks off cannon smith and aj highsmith.

just got back from practice and all i can say is its a different team. lots of speed and talent out there. if we can stay healthy (only saw davon johnson come up with a hammy), we should be legit. very excited. jacory and taylor both looked sharp. line looked a little slimmer (i worry about pipho though, not sure he belongs) and sruprisingly DVD and bharris looked pretty good

Davon Johnson? NOooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Streeter looked very big. He is very fluid for that size and made some nice grabs. There were some comments earlier in the week that TS had injured a knee and might be out for a while. He practiced and ran routes like there were no problems. Looks good – big motha. Good combo with Byrd, Hank, Benjamin, and Graham.

Epps also was running around like he had no problems.

I could not take my eyes of VT …Fluid hips, great quickness, and amazing hands for a defensive back ..i liked him before today, BUT WOW I LOVE HIM NOW!

Thompkins looked great! Laron looked good as well. RBs looked really fast, especially lamar miller, Coop looked great, MJ looked good. JJ looked trim but maybe its just without pads on. TEs: Epps, Graham, Gordon in that order. All the QB’s looked mediocre to be honest.

“Don’t sleep on Tayor Cook”

But this sounds worse:

“Jamal Reid injured.”

The Hurricanes worked out in shorts on the Cobb Stadium field for two hours this morning in front of an estimated crowd of 1,500.

And the fans saw the usual first day practice woes: Dropped passes, players who couldn’t finish running drills at the end of the day and fumbled snaps.

The team did mostly individual work, with very limited 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 sessions.

There were two highlights that drew the biggest reaction from fans. The first was a 20-yard pass over the middle by Jacory Harris in 7-on-7 work that was deflected to Dedrick Epps (coming off ACL surgery), who ran it into the end zone. The other also came in 7-on-7’s when Demarcus Van Dyke stepped in front of a walkon receiver and took a Cannon Smith pass back 50 yards for a touchdown.

Other 7-on-7 highlights: Sam Shields had a diving pass breakup of a Harris throw on the left sideline; Leonard Hankerson made a nice grab on a pass from Cannon Smith with a walkon in tight coverage; Tommy Streeter had a long TD grab; Brandon Harris had an interception of AJ Highsmith when Hankerson fell down on his route; Arthur Brown broke up a pass, missing the interception off his fingers.

In 11-on-11 work at the end of practice there were three fumbled snaps out of the 18 plays run by the offense. And the offense also had another fumble when a receiver put the ball on the ground after a short reception.

Highlights of 11-on-11’s: Aldarius Johnson made a nice catch of a Jacory Harris pass on the right side for a gain of 15 yards; Micanor Regis made a nice play when he hit Mike James in the backfield for a loss of two; Andrew Smith had a sack of Cannon Smith.

• In injury news freshman Jamal Reid left practice early after appearing to strain a leg muscle while backpedaling in defensive drills. Davon Johnson also couldn’t finish the day’s work and had an ice wrap around his hamstring before limping to the locker room at the end of practice.

Players that didn’t complete running at the end of practice: Jermaine Johnson, Steven Wesley, Matt Pipho, Travis Benjamin and Ben Jones. Jeremy Lewis tried to fight through and walked on the side to complete the running with his teammates urging him on.

• In early inside run drills only one carry broke through the line – that came from Lamar Miller, who burst free up the middle.

• The opening practice stretch depth chart:

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

QB Jacory Harris; RB Javarris James (he split first team reps with Graig Cooper in drills); WR Leonard Hankerson (only WR in the first two lines – perhaps a message to other receivers they need to earn their place … in coming out drills the first team receivers were constantly changing, and the two receivers to get the initial first team snap after stretching were Hankerson and LaRon Byrd); TE Dedrick Epps; OL (L to R) Jason Fox, Orlando Franklin, AJ Trump, Joel Figueroa, Matt Pipho

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

QB Taylor Cook; RB Graig Cooper (he took the first snap in initial drills following stretching); TE Richard Gordon (he got the first snap with the first team after stretching); OL (L to R) Ben Jones, Brandon Washington, Tyler Horn; Harland Gunn; Jermaine Johnson (Note that fullbacks Patrick Hill and John Calhoun did not line up in places)

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

CBs DeMarcus Van Dyke, Brandon Harris and Chavez Grant all lined up in first line with safety Randy Phillips (projected starter Vaughn Telemaque stood in back of the lineups); DEs Adewale Ojomo and Steven Wesley (Eric Moncur was in the back and took second and third team snaps during drills as he comes off injury); DTs Josh Holmes and Allen Bailey (Marcus Forston shared first team reps in drills); LBs Sean Spence, Darryl Sharpton, Colin McCarthy

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

CBs Sam Shields and Brandon McGee lined up with safeties Jared Campbell and Joseph Nicolas; DEs Olivier Vernon and Marcus Robinson; DTs Marcus Forston, Joe Joseph; LBs Ramon Buchanan, Arthur Brown, Jordan Futch

RANDY SHANNON Q&A AFTER THE FIRST PRACTICE

Q: How was the opening practice?

Shannon: Typical day No. 1. There were some little things. There’s always the first sloppy day. But for the most part guys flew around more than I expected. It was a good sign.

Q: Talk about the atmosphere with around 1,500 fans here.

Shannon: It’s kind of you like this atmosphere because it’s almost like a game type deal where you can see who can handle it a little bit. Distractions – are you going to get amazed by this? Some guys can’t handle it. For the most part I thought it was good how they handled it.

Q: Talk about Randy Phillips.

Shannon: He did a good job today. We put him at a couple of different positions. He’s a veteran, and he handled it well. He’s a veteran that guys look up to. I said when you were a freshman at the University of Miami, Travis Benjamin was in seventh grade. He’s kind of the grandfather, has taken that role right now.

Q: Talk about Dedrick Epps.

Shannon: Dedrick is fine. He was running around today. It wasn’t like he missed a beat. We’re excited to have him back.

Q: What about Eric Moncur?

Shannon: He ran around today, was fine. He bounced around, had some fun.

Q: Do you still get up for a first practice after all these years?

Shannon: Not really. When you get gassed up is when you get in pads. Right now the offensive line, defensive line, you can’t tell who is who. They don’t hit anybody. The receivers you can tell certain things, but when you put on pads, get knocked around, you know.

A few other thoughts and notes from Day One:

…..Freshman Jamal Reid sustained the first injury of the season. The defensive back from Mayo appeared to injure a calf muscle while back-pedaling. Receiver Davon Johnson missed the last part of practice after coming off the field limping and favoring his left leg.

….The crowd was fairly quiet, but let out a big roar after redshirt freshman Tommy Streeter made a nice catch.

…..There is nothing more painful to watch than 6-foot-9, 349-pound Ian Symonette trying to complete his post-practice sprints.

…..Among the more interesting position battles this fall will be for the No. 3 tailback job. Freshmen Mike James and Lamar Miller have gotten a lot of attention, but I think converted defensive back Damien Berry will win the spot over James, Miller and sophomore Lee Chambers.

……Former ‘Cane Najeh Davenport watched practice.

…..UM will hold Media Day this afternoon.

Was at today’s practice with some of my boys and this is what I saw (Keep in mind this is day one of practice).

Defense: DB is my major concern so I watched the DB’s for the first 45min.

B. Harris and DVD both look great. Both have added some size, both were playing with a ton of confidence and just looked very comfortable. C. Grant looked OK as usual. None of the young CB’s did anything to impress me (on day one) and as reported earlier Jamal Reed was noticeably limping and had to leave practice. Looked to me like an ankle but I’m not a doctor. S. Shields looks pretty good out there. I think he might have a roll in the nickel or dime packages. Don’t think he can pick up the nuances of one-on-one coverage in one year but I think he can make some plays in the nickel and dime packages if he is allowed to work a zone/open area. He obviously has a nose for the ball.

On the safety front R. Phillips and VT looked solid as did JoJo. For everyone that was hyping Ray Ray: Forget about him starting game # 1. I know its day one but he looked like a deer in headlights. Dropped SIX passes during drills, looked lost and confused. Let’s hope he picks it all up and adjusts to the speed of the college game quickly.

LB’s looked solid and it was nice to see C McCarthy running around at full speed. He looks like he’s been putting in the work this off season. Spence looked solid and Buchanan looked BIG. Kids gonna help this year on special teams and as a solid back up LB. Unit should be solid if they stay healthy.

DL: Forget it, this group is loaded and looks scary good. Allen Bailey looks Huge as always and looks like he is 100% healthy. M. Robison has put on some major muscle and looks like he’s ready to take the next step. Ojomo looks jacked up as well and should be solid. We have 3-4 guys at each position. This should be the best unit on the D by far.

Offense: They didn’t show much on day one. Whip was yelling and screaming at the guys trying to get them lined up correctly. Looks like he wants these guys to learn the playbook inside and out (the way it should be).

QB: Jacory looks solid, done deal, the 100% leader and starting QB. Cook looks OK. Has the rocket arm we all know about. Appears to be learning how to finesse the ball to guys coming out of the backfield and on the short routes a bit better than last year. Cook seamed hesitant to squeeze balls into tight coverage. When his guys were covered he tucked it in and ran with it. Cannon Smith: don’t want to be an as*hole but . If Jacory and Cook go down we are done.

RB: Solid all the way around. Coop looks solid, JJ looks great, fast and strong. As always if if if he stays healthy watch out! All the young guys looked solid (Miller, James) and Berry looked solid as well.

TE: Epps looks really good. Looked like he was going full speed. Was cutting nicely, caught the ball well, and worked in 7 on 7’s and 11 on 11’s. Should be ready to go. Gordon looks OK. T. Johnson looked pretty good too. He has put on some serious pounds (all muscle) and caught the ball nicely. J. Graham looks really good and caught the ball well. Let see what happens with him when the pads go on. PS…..Looks like Whip is going to use a double TE set allot with one back and two WR’s. They lined up like that 7-8 times.
PS 2: Plien (big kid)and Sanders will be no help this year IMO. They looked lost, goofy and I was not impressed with either. I hope I’m wrong on this one……

WR: SOLID………They all looked good. Watch out for T. Streeter. He looks like he is ready to contribute this year. Davon Johnson got hurt as reported. I thought it was a cramp but the way he was holding his hamstring has me worried.

OL: Not much to report. They look BIG and healthy. Let see who the top 5 guys are come game one. The only thing I noticed was the T. Horn just can’t snap the fu*king ball.

• Shannon praised safety Randy Phillips.

“Big man did a good job today,‘’ Shannon said. ``We put him at a couple different positions and he handled it well. He’s a guy the team looks up to — he’s a leader of the defense. I told him the other day, `Listen, when you were a freshman at UM, [sophomore receiver] Travis Benjamin was a seventh-grader.’ I said, `You’re the grandfather of the team,’ so he’s taking that role.

I was very encouraged by what I saw today. The team in general appeared very well-conditioned and looked ready to get to work. Here are some things that stood out:

QB — Jacory really looks good. Very consistent. I think Cook, while still inconsistent, is doing much better. He made some real nice throws today. Smith and Highsmith are just too short in my opinion

RB — nobody doesn’t look solid. I don’t see how Berry sees the field. Chambers jumped out at me. Miller just isn’t as far along as the other guys. I think he has to make the team as a kick returner right now

WR — Hankerson looks great. I really think he has a breakout season Didn’t drop ball today. Collier has trimmed down looking to compete with Thompkins, who continues to look very good to me, and Travis Benjamin, who didn’t do much. Byrd looked a little sluggish to me today. Streeter looked good but his big test comes when pads go on. Davon Johnson tweaked what looked like his hamstring.

OL — guy that jumped out at me was Jermaine Johnson. I think he will give Pipho a real battle this fall and could start at RT. Brandon Washington is the other backup who looks most ready to play. Beyond that, depth looks pretty rough,

TE: Epps looked about 70% to me. Coaches are counting on him though. There just isnt much else at TE that they know they can count on. I dont think those Ray Ray Armstrong to TE rumors are totally out of the question. Big issue is whether Ray Ray is quick enough to be a safety. LB would seem his most likely destination, but you never know. Anyway, back to TE, we wont really know on Graham until the pads go on. He clearly is a project. Coach Pannunzio was in his ear almost every play making sure he knew what to do before the fact. Richard Gordon will be servicable but I think we have seen won’t be great. Plein will be a OL by spring. Sanders to me is guaranteed redshirt.