The goal is to continue growing, improving and building the chemistry needed to win.
To that end, Ward – a transfer from Washington State who threw for 6,963 yards and 48 touchdowns in his two seasons with the Cougars – has made it a point to spend time with Miami’s offensive lineman away from the practice facility.
Rivers noted that won’t end now, just because practice has started. Ward, meanwhile, stressed the need for him to continue perfecting his timing with Miami’s offensive playmakers, including receiver Sam Brown, who transferred to Miami in late April.
“That’s very important. You’ve got to know who you’re blocking for. You’ve got to know the guy that you’re playing with,” Rivers said. “That camaraderie that we did throughout, really the spring and the summer, it hasn’t stopped. We’re still going to do it and it’s going to continue because you’ve got to keep building that relationship with your quarterback, with anybody on the team.”
Said Ward, “We got a lot of time to work this summer when he got here, so me and [Brown], we have great chemistry right now. I would probably say the only thing that me and Sam have to work on is he needs to see me late. That’s with checks … just last-minute stuff, because we do a lot of last-minute stuff [at] the line of scrimmage. … He’s a great route runner. He wins versus man coverage. He’s great versus zone. He knows windows. That’s all you could really ask for in a receiver.”
From building chemistry to learning more about each other to competing and finding consistency, the Hurricanes all know the work they do over the course of the next month will go a long way into helping them be the kind of team they – and their head coach – believe they can be.
And they say they’re more than ready to continue doing that work.
“We’ve got to be consistent. That’s one thing we have to pride ourselves on, no matter what the case is,” Ward said. “Whether we have guys down due to injury or being sick, we’ve got to be consistent. There should be no drop-off from the ones to the twos to the threes. That’s the biggest thing for us in camp.”
Said Cristobal, “I don’t think there’s ever an expectation outside [from] anyone, anywhere that could ever match the expectations from within. I mean, if you played at the University of Miami – especially during the time when Miami was reigning college football – your expectations, your experiences,…
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