Colleges

Two quarterbacks, one job at stake at Miami

By wire services
Published April 9, 2005

CORAL GABLES - Miami's annual spring game typically amounts to little more than a glorified scrimmage.

Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman might see it a little differently.

Neither has been anointed as the Hurricanes' starting quarterback, and today's end to spring practice marks the final formal opportunity to do any on-field lobbying for the job.

"This is a spring I'll always remember for the rest of my life," said Freeman, who redshirted last season. "We've been working really hard. We put in a lot of time, a lot of effort. Although Kyle wasn't new, we started from scratch and (today) we're just going to unleash it."

Coach Larry Coker said he has not settled on a starter, does not have a front-runner and does not know when he will choose.

SOUTH FLORIDA: Senior Antonio Searcy, listed this spring as starting nose tackle, has switched to offensive guard. If Searcy can solidify a starting position, the Bulls could shift senior Frank Davis to tackle, giving them an experienced lineman on the outside. Sophomore Siaosi Uhatafe, a Gibbs graduate who came to USF as a defensive lineman, will play fullback.

AUSTIN PEAY: The school will start giving football scholarships again and return to the Ohio Valley Conference in 2007 after leaving it nine years ago as a cost-saving measure. The Governors have been competing as a non-scholarship Division I-AA team.

PENN STATE: Center E.Z. Smith was kicked off the team for his role in an incident in which arrows were shot through a dormitory wall during a party. He is off the team at least until the end of the summer, and coach Joe Paterno will decide whether the senior will be allowed back.

TENNESSEE: Offensive guard Cody Douglas, offensive tackle Arron Sears, cornerback Roshaun Fellows, defensive tackle Jared Hostetter and safety Ellix Wilson all had arthroscopic knee surgeries. Defensive end Xavier Mitchell had surgery on his lower back.

CENTRAL FLORIDA: The team practiced for two hours in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts as it prepared for its second spring scrimmage, which will be at 10:05 a.m. today.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Francisco Garcia will forgo his senior season at Louisville and enter the NBA draft. ... Oklahoma State signee Gerald Green will apply for early entry to the NBA draft but will retain his college eligibility by not hiring an agent, his father said. ... Mike Dement was hired as coach at UNC-Greensboro, returning to the school he coached from 1991-95 when it first moved to Division I. ... Savannah State, coming off an 0-28 season that made it the second winless Division I team in the last half century, hired Horace Broadnax as coach.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Maine coach Sharon Versyp was hired at Indiana. ... Louisiana Tech promoted Chris Long from assistant to head coach. ... Beth Burns was rehired as coach at San Diego State, which she led to the NCAA Tournament four times from 1989-97.

Times staff writer Greg Auman contributed to this report.

[Last modified April 9, 2005, 07:10:29]