Canes Return to Work After The Miracle in Durham

By Joe Zagacki

After Saturday's wild finish against Duke -- the Cornfest, the Great 8, the Miracle of Durham or whatever name is attached -- the Canes went back to work today.

The temperature made it a November morning feel, like a training camp day in August.

"The guys had a lot of energy and a positive attitude about moving forward," Coach Larry Scott said. "We played with a passion and energy that we wanted and now we have to raise that to another level and we're going to push that as hard as we can."

Quarterback Brad Kaaya moved a step closer to returning to playing. He did practice but is still going through concussion protocol and hasn't been officially cleared to play against Virginia. He looked good, but he is still being evaluated by doctors.

If Kaaya can play, Miami must protect him from a fierce pass rush. Under defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta, Virginia is a heavy blitz team. They bring pressure on the quarterback nearly 70 percent of the time.

The Miami defense is zeroing in on stopping running back Taquan Mizzell, Virginia's leader in both rushing and receiving.

"We stressed to our guys today that Virginia is 4-1 against us in the last five years," Scott said. "They have to understand this is a good ballclub coming here and always rise to the occasion against us."

The Canes will wear special uniforms honoring the military on Saturday: black jerseys with orange numbers on top of black pants with black and silver helmets.

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Listen to the Hurricanes take on the Cavaliers this Saturday on Miami Sports Radio 560-WQAM.