A lack of toughness? The Miami Hurricanes?

UM head football coach Randy Shannon expected his team to buckle its chinstrap for the start of spring practice Tuesday. Shannon says his main priority leading up to the spring game on March 27 is to get tougher. A close second is to finish strong, with Shannon believing UM didn’t have that extra oomph late in games last year.

“It’s going to be physical football this spring,” Shannon said. “We’re really going to get after it.”

The Hurricanes are the second ACC team to open spring drills. Duke started Feb. 14, and the Blue Devils must find a replacement for departed four-year starting quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, one of just two players in ACC history to throw for more than 10,000 yards.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, will be without returning starting quarterback Jacory Harris for spring practice.

Harris has started 14 straight games for the Hurricanes but won’t participate this spring as he continues to recuperate from right thumb surgery he underwent in January to repair ligament damage.

Harris became the first quarterback at UM since Ken Dorsey in 2002 to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. He finished the year 242 for 406 with 3,352 yards, 24 touchdowns and 17 interceptions and was named a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Quarterback Award.

Harris injured the thumb on his throwing hand when he banged it against a helmet during the first quarter at North Carolina Nov. 14. He threw a season-high four interceptions in the 33-24 loss to the Tar Heels.

Harris’ absence has opened the door for three other quarterbacks — last season’s backup A.J. Highsmith, early enrollee Stephen Morris and transfer Spencer Whipple, the son of Hurricanes offensive coordinator Mark Whipple.

Shannon said Highsmith has a slight advantage but the trio will given ample opportunities to impress. Highsmith, a rising sophomore, became the unexpected backup last season when two other quarterbacks, Taylor Cook and Cannon Smith, quit the team on the same day last August.

“We always start from scratch,” Shannon said.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for [Highsmith]. He may line up with the ones on the first day, but everybody has to get better. You can’t stay the same. He knows that, is excited about it. The other two quarterbacks are excited about it. The NCAA gives us two hours a week to meet with the guys and we’ve been meeting with them. They’re kind of biting at the bit. You want to a guy to manage the game, score points, and do what we ask offensively to get it done.”

Shannon, of course, wants his team to get it done in other areas, too.

UM will have plenty of competition across the board on defense as it looks to upgrade a unit that gave up an average of 31 points in its four losses last season. The Hurricanes specifically need to boost a pass rush that ranked just 74th in the nation in sacks.

There are also questions at tight end, center, right tackle and middle linebacker. However, the focus of spring practice, Shannon said, will be to make the team “tougher.” He pointed to defeats during last season’s 9-4 season in which UM lost close games that were decided in the closing minutes.

The Hurricanes ended with a disappointing 20-14 loss to lower-ranked Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Harris was pummeled in the defeat. He was on crutches for at least a couple days after the bowl loss. Harris also strained ligaments in his ankle and knee, plus he slightly injured the foot on his other leg during the game when a Wisconsin defender stepped on it.

“I want to see us take our next step on improving in a lot of different areas,” Shannon said.

“We need to cause a lot more turnovers on defense, cut down on turnovers (on offense). Our running backs did not fumble the football last year, I don’t think a receiver fumbled the football last year. So we do a great job running the football; we have to cut down on other aspects of it.

“And finishing is the biggest thing. Some games we finished strong; some games we didn’t have that extra oomph that last two minutes of the game to get us where we needed to be. At the end of practice we’ll put them in situations that `offense we need this done, defense we need this done.’ And whoever doesn’t get it done we’ll know and we can evaluate on who we can really rely on at those critical times.”

- Jim Henry, Fanhouse.com