From the Miami Herald University of Miami football coach Larry Coker wanted his offense to produce on Saturday in the Hurricanes' spring game. And it did -- after three quarters of somewhat uninspired play. In the scrimmage's final quarter, the offense got both its touchdowns -- including a 59-yard beauty by Brock Berlin that hit receiver Darnell Jenkins mid-stride as he raced down the Orange Bowl's left sideline. After scattering boos toward Berlin early in the scrimmage, the estimated crowd of 10,000 had something to cheer. Berlin, who hit his final six passes and orchestrated two scoring drives, finished 10 for 16 for 185 yards and the long score. Coker reiterated Berlin has solidified his job as the starter but said there is no definitive No. 2. ''I really have seen what I hoped to see,'' Coker said. ``Brock stepped up and made plays to lead our football team and score touchdowns.'' Senior backup Derrick Crudup completed 7 of 12 passes for 69 yards and tossed the lone interception, though quarterbacks coach Dan Werner said the ball was thrown in the right place. Redshirt freshman Kyle Wright was 6 for 13 for 67 yards. But as he did in the last scrimmage, Wright stayed poised and showed a mighty arm that at times just missed his receivers. His first play was a 37-yard completion up the middle to tight end Greg Olsen. His second pass would have gone for a 33-yard touchdown, but it hit off Devin Hester's fingertips. ''He showed me that he's got the ability to be a great quarterback, and to me, it's just a matter of when,'' Werner said of Wright. ``Whether it'll be this year, I don't know. ``I know this: We're not going to put him in there before he's ready. Again, coach Coker and I will sit down and decide when it is time to put him in. The guy is going to be a great player I think.'' What attributes does Wright have? ''His decision-making, his pocket presence, his team leadership -- those are all the things that we weren't sure about,'' Werner said. ``We knew he could throw. We knew he was big and strong and fast. But you never know about his decision-making until he's actually in there. He's shown that he's got that ability.'' Crudup, who has been unavailable for comment this spring, left the field without talking to reporters. When asked if Crudup considered transferring, Werner said Crudup has always called himself a Hurricane and has never indicated he would leave. The 33-10 final score favored the offense, according to a system that awarded points for everything from touchdowns to first downs to turnovers to holding the offense to three-and-out. But with stars Antrel Rolle (cornerback) and Orien Harris (defensive tackle) among a handful of defensive standouts who played sparingly, and with coaches asking the defense to somewhat scale back, it is still the offense which appears to have room for the most improvement. ''We'll be ready to play Florida State first game out of the box -- no ifs, and or buts,'' said defensive end Bryan Pata. Backup strong safety Willie Cooper led all tacklers with eight solo stops, while five players had a sack apiece. Berlin was sacked twice. ''I felt good out there today,'' Berlin said. ``I felt like I progressed throughout the whole spring, felt a lot more comfortable having a year under my belt, and that's what I expected. This will be a good stepping stone going into the summer.'' Of the Berlin-directed boos, which have become common among UM fans, Berlin said, ``Whatever. It doesn't really matter to me. I just come out and play and do the things I do well. Just make plays, that's all I can do.'' Buck Ortega, the Miamian who has moved from quarterback to linebacker to H-back to receiver to -- finally -- tight end, seems to have found his best position for the Hurricanes. ''I'm happy,'' said Ortega, who led all receivers with six catches for 89 yards. ``I messed up on some plays and still need work, but I was pumped up. I'm going to try to bring energy to help us out.'' • Leon Williams did not start at middle linebacker because of off-the-field issues, said Coker and Williams. ''I had little issues off the field that I had to deal with,'' Williams said. ``It's fixed. It's done. You don't have to worry about me no more.'' • Reserve linebacker Glenn Cook said he sprained his right ankle toward the end of the session. He was helped off the field by trainers and couldn't touch his foot to the ground
It said the boos were early in the scrimmage. The fans are probably still pointing the finger at him for their season last year. He made some of those "what was he thinking?" plays last year that would just make you chuckle. Maybe fate just wanted to give Ken Dorsey a better legacy and Berlin helped him out a little.
I find it somewhat ironic( and sad) that a city like Baton Rouge with 1/20 of the size of L.A. can easily fill its stadium but USC cannot. The same goes for UM with Miami, Florida...Ridiculous...
Who boos any college kid? I would never boo a college kid no matter what and it bugs me when people do. In the pros its different, because they are professionals and thats what they do.
Ignorant people boo ... and they'll be in Tiger Stadium booing Randall should he get the start and don't perform well.
I agree with that statement. One exception that I can remember is the Bama b-ball players taunting the crowd a few years ago. I think they deserved to be booed. I don't know if I've ever booed at a professional sporting event but I don't look down on those who do. I don't think people realize that booing athletes can cause them to play worse (tighten up), even some pro athletes like Steve Francis. They're still human beings. Although I'm kind of hoping for one of the freshman to start against Oregon St, if Randall gets the nod he'll have my full support. If Randall starts and has a couple of 3 and outs, and someone next to me gives him a loud "Boo," I'll definitely have words for them. It's usually the same type of person that is saying "Randall stinks" and "Randall should be traded for Grambling's waterboy" that would boo him at a game.
There is one kid I would have loved to boo in college. His name is Lester Earl, he was the worst best player I ever saw play in an LSU or Kansas uniform. Some of the walkons played better than he ever did.
Lester Earl was never a college athlete. That punk was a pro the second he stepped off the Glen Oaks campus...and maybe even before. Nice career up there at Kansas, Lester. Karma's a b!tch, ain't it?
