So let's see . . . Miami has had its playbook stolen and posted online; lost its starting tailback to a major knee injury and has rumors swirling around its all-american wide receiver about his involvement in an academic scandal. Other than that, though, it's been a pretty quiet spring for the defending national champs.

Still, if Larry Coker is sweating any of this, it isn't showing. Then again, when you have the kind of talent Coker has in camp, it's easy to find the silver lining.

The injury TB Frank Gore sustained was softened by the hard running of 6-foot-1, 222-pound soph Willis McGahee, who made the 'Canes D look silly and slow a week later in a scrimmage, rushing for 111 yards on 11 carries. It was McGahee, a bruising inside runner with legit 4.3 speed, who most Hurricane insiders (and teammates) thought would be the next UM super back heading into last season. But that was before a knee injury derailed him last year, giving Gore the chance to shine.

While there is still some hope that Gore makes it back for 2002, McGahee showed he is still capable of being a 1,500-yard back. And his understudy, junior Jarrett Payton, also flashed big-time talent. Payton has shown great balance, vision and, more importantly, the consistency UM coaches have been looking for.

	Miami's Andre Johnson has a nasty way of making defensive backs look foolish.

The other news around the team were the rumors about Rose Bowl MVP Andre Johnson's status. Published reports say he is at the center of a cheating scandal and will be suspended from the team for the summer season. Johnson won't talk about any of this citing Buckley Amendment privileges and it has provided good fodder for the bulletin boards across the web. That said, expect Johnson to be in the lineup when Miami meets Florida A&M in the opener.

And Miami still has plenty of depth at wideout, led by Jason Geathers, a 6-3, 215-pound junior who's physical and has almost as much speed as Johnson. Gaethers, who came to Miami three years ago and has bounced around between TB and RB, showed he is finally ready to be a playmaker. Meanwhile, diminutive redshirt Roscoe Parrish displayed some Santana Moss-like explosiveness to compliment the big men.

"These guys (Johnson, Gaethers, Parrish, Kevin Beard and Ethnic Sands) have so much potential as a group. It's just a matter of consistency," says Miami OC Rob Chudzinski. "Last year's group though made huge improvements from the end of spring ball right up through the start of two-a-days and I'm hoping this group can too. And it helps having a guy like Ken Dorsey there providing them that leadership."

More welcome news for Coker was the development of budding TE star Kellen Winslow II, who retained his 4.57 speed to go with the added 25 lbs on his 6-6 frame. "He's had to have a crash course on playing tight end, and he's really done well with that," Chudzinski says. "This spring, he's shown some real playmaking ability as well as toughness and competitiveness and he has really improved as a blocker."

Up front -- one of the areas Miami expected to be an issue coming into the spring -- things looked encouraging. Carlos Joseph, the man who will replace LT Bryant McKinnie protecting Ken Dorsey's blindside, has been better than expected. The 6-6, 322-pound soph -- a DT last year -- probably has even more athleticism than his older brother William (Miami's all-American DT). Joseph made huge strides technique-wise and held up well against some dominating DE's in Miami's scrimmages.

"He is a guy who gives great effort, and we're real happy with him technique-wise," Chudzinski says. "He's made big strides in those 15 practices."

Defensively, UM figures to have the top front-seven in the nation. And that status was only been cemented with the emergence of redshirt freshman MLB Leon Williams. The 6-4, 230-pounder from Brooklyn has been lighting guys up all spring. (His collision with FB Talib Humphrey left the JC transfer with a concussion.) And in Thursday's scrimmage, Williams starred with seven tackles and two sacks. While he likely won't overtake Jonathan Vilma, look for DC Randy Shannon to scheme ways to get them both on the field at the same time.

Maybe an even bigger question mark than the O-line was in the secondary where UM lost five guys to the NFL. DB coach Mark Stoops says there is no shortage of talent though. Safety Sean Taylor, a 6-3, 225-pounder with track speed, looks like he'll be the first one to stardom, although CB Antrel Rolle probably won't be far behind. A potential battle could be on at the other corner where Kelly Jennings, a workout warrior, started to put the heat on rangy Al Marshall, a smooth 6-1 soph with more game experience. Still, it should be noted this secondary did get chewed up by the offense (Johnson, Geathers and Crosby) and with early games against Florida and Tennessee, this is still a big question mark in Coral Gables.

Bruce Feldman covers college football for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.