'Iron sharpens iron': Miami players discuss practice intensity

The Miami Hurricanes have an opportunity to take its program turnaround to the next level in Manny Diaz’s third season as head coach. After starting with a 6-7 record in 2019, the Hurricanes were a force in the ACC last season, finishing with an 8-3 record after falling just short to Oklahoma State, 37-34, in the Cheez-It Bowl.

Miami opens up this season at No. 14 in the AP Preseason Poll, and its Week 1 contest could very well be the program’s most important game of the year: a matchup against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

As Miami prepares to face Alabama, the Hurricanes’ hard-nosed, tough practices have made the players ready to face the tall task of the Crimson Tide.

“Iron sharpens iron, you know, the best of the best,” senior wide receiver Mike Harley said. “I’m going against a first-rounder every day. … We’ve got a couple guys like that. I learn things from them, and they learn things from me, but at the end of the day, I’m going to bust [their] ass because I know the other guy on the other team is not going to spare him.”

Perhaps Harley has a point. The third team All-ACC selection is facing some of the ACC’s best defenders day-in and day-out, despite having not yet played an opponent. He was Miami’s top wideout last season, starting in nine of 11 contests and racking up a team-high 799 receiving yards on a team-best 57 receptions, coupled with seven touchdowns, tied for the most on the team.

Harley thinks the difficult practices are making him a better receiver and preparing him for the season opener. His teammates only echoed that sentiment.

“Right now, the O-Line is my worst enemy,” senior defensive end Zach McCloud said. “Practice has been intense, so it’s going to be interesting to see how we take that up a notch.”

McCloud has gotten better as the years go on, and he enters the season — his sixth as a Miami Hurricanes lineman — with high hopes. And while he thinks practice could translate to Miami taking it “up a notch,” the Hurricanes might have to take it up several notches to match the play of No. 1 Alabama.

Diaz has been doing his best to simulate an in-game environment throughout fall practice, hoping the student-athletes are ready for the season opener. His players discussed the toughness of each practice, and Diaz was not shy in admitting that preseason was designed to be that difficult.

“Yeah, that is your enemy; that is your opponent,” Diaz said. “It’s a weird idea where that’s your teammate, but that’s a guy you’re battling every day. The best competition makes the best players. You’re competing with the guys at your position for starting jobs, and the only way to get it is by beating the guy across from you.”