Darian Mensah got his first taste of playing inside the stadium on Friday, and the Miami Hurricanes quarterback came away calling the scrimmage both exciting and instructive.
Speaking with the media after the session, Mensah said the team mixed in situational work and live reps for the first time in that setting. He liked the experience, but he was just as quick to point out how much the offense still has to clean up.
“It went great. I think that to get out and play in that stadium for the first time, it was pretty awesome. [We] did some situational stuff, went live for the first time, so, a lot of fun, but a lot to work on as well.”
Mensah also pointed to defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman as the biggest weekly test he’s faced during camp. In his view, the Hurricanes’ defense has been the unit most responsible for making him sharpen his game.
“I think [Defensive coordinator Corey] Hetherman kind of pushes me the most. His defense and just the way he schemes stuff up, he does some really good stuff on that side of the ball.
So, I think just trying to go out and be successful as an offense is probably the most challenging thing against his defense. …
“It just makes you that much better [as a quarterback] for sure. And I think practicing every day against and elite defense will make it easy when it comes to game time. I don’t think you’ll see a lot of defenses who can play like ours, so, yeah, it’ll just make you that much better.”
Mensah also said he has been handling the attention around the Hurricanes by keeping himself centered, sticking to his routine and focusing on the process.
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