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Message: [QUOTE="CuseLegacy, post: 1742705, member: 469"] [URL]https://accsports.com/teams/miami/roster-depth-is-richts-priority/[/URL] Two of the biggest observations to come out of the University of Miami camp is that: 1) Mark Richt has made a wonderful first impression on former players. 2) The current Hurricanes lack depth and the loss of a player in a vulnerable area will mess up their 2016 season. On the last weekend of the Hurricanes’ spring practices and scrimmages, Miami invites former players to take part in an alumni gathering Friday before the Saturday scrimmage. That includes coaches. Howard Schnellenberger, who coached Richt and won Miami’s first national championship, said his former player has brought an enthusiasm and energy he hasn’t seen in the program the past few years. Darin McMurray, who played with Richt his final two seasons, said he’s same person who treated freshmen well when he was a junior. “Great teammate and a great leader,” he said. More than 200 players attended Friday’s dinner and social and again, Richt made a great impression. “He led us in prayer and said this is the start of us coming together,” McMurray said. “He had current players sitting with former players. And he said, ‘I will be here until everyone leaves.’ When we left, we were ready to run through the tunnel, even though most of us can’t anymore. People are very excited with what he’s going to do at Miami.” McMurray also senses the current players will respect Richt. After Saturday’s spring scrimmage, Richt huddled with them afterwards and told them to keep their grades up and stay out of trouble. The reason is simple: He just doesn’t think his team has a lot of quality back-ups yet. “I think our biggest issue is depth, really,” he said. “When you play two and three teams, you think, ‘Oh, we look so thin.’ When all you need is one team out there, the depth feels more comfortable. If we stay healthy and take care of our business in the offseason, we’ll be fine. But we get injuries in a couple of spots, it’ll hurt. We’re not as strong as we need to be with numbers.” The No. 1 spot Miami can’t lose a player is Brad Kaaya. He’s not only one of the nation’s best quarterbacks but there’s a big gap between he and his back-ups. If he goes down, the season could be a disaster. Malik Rosier, who filled in well in a game at Duke, appears to have regressed. Offensive tackle and cornerback are other areas where depth is low. The area that pleased Richt the most is that he felt players responded well to him and his coaching staff. Of Richt, Kaaya said he couldn’t see himself finishing his career with a better coach. “They didn’t bow their neck at anything,” he said. “They took coaching and guidance. They tried to do what we’re asking them to become.” [/QUOTE]

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