By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer

CORAL GABLES, Fla.(AP) -- An end-of-season swoon doomed Miami a
year ago. With injuries piling up, Hurricanes coach Randy
Shannon thinks he's found an insurance policy against that
happening again.

His plan: Seeing if making practices shorter keeps No. 16 Miami
in games longer.

Starting Tuesday, the Hurricanes trimmed about 45 minutes from
practice, with the new template calling for sessions to last
only 1 hour. They'll still lift weights, and Shannon reserved
the right to extend practice if work isn't done at the speed he
demands. But with at least nine key players either ailing or out
for the season - and none of them expected back this week -
something had to give, he said.

"We're still going to condition hard and practice fast," Shannon
said. "But like I told the coaches, a combo block is a combo
block. A veer is a veer, a lead is a lead. If we don't know it
now ... We've got to be sharp, crisp and fresh to try to get it
done. We can't sit back and try to reinvent the wheel. We've got
to know our assignments and just go turn it loose."

Miami (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) hosts Virginia (3-5,
2-2) on Saturday. The Hurricanes desperately need a win to keep
hope of catching Georgia Tech in the Coastal Division.

And really, these shorter practices were born from when the
Coastal title slipped away with a loss at Georgia Tech last
season.

That loss was the first in a three-game streak to close the 2008
campaign. Countless players were hurting, the roster was
decimated at some positions, and Miami was out of options. A 7-3
record and hopes of playing in the Orange Bowl quickly turned
into a 7-6 season, capped by a loss to California in the Emerald
Bowl.

It's not that bad this year - not yet, anyway- but Shannon
doesn't want to leave much to chance, not with the Hurricanes
still a viable candidate for a Bowl Championship Series berth.

"It'll work with our bodies not being as worn down as they have
been," quarterback Jacory Harris said. "We have some very
physical practices. People get nicked up in practice and you
don't want those little injuries affecting you in games. It's
going to be fast, but at the same time, it's only an hour, so
it'll give us more time to rest."

Another break: Some practices are returning to afternoon time
slots. Miami has practiced at 5:45 a.m. on Tuesdays and
Wednesdays throughout the season, but for now, the Tuesday
workouts are back to 3 p.m. starts.

"Quick tempo, no breaks, right to it," cornerback DeMarcus Van
Dyke said. "Freshens our bodies."

That can't hurt.

Miami will go the entire season without having the defense it
intended to open the year with, and injuries haven't stopped
coming since. Linebacker Sean Spence (knee) and defensive end
Eric Moncur (foot) are among two mainstays not expected back
this week, and safety Ray Ray Armstrong (knee) will probably
miss another game as well.

The offense is nicked as well: Running backs Javarris James and
Graig Cooper have been slowed much of the season.

All the health woes, particularly on defense, clearly hurt Miami
last week, when the Hurricanes allowed a school-record 33 first
downs and a whopping 555 yards to Wake Forest in a dramatic
28-27 win. But there was a positive: For the first time all
season, Miami didn't have someone seriously injured in that
game.

And Shannon doesn't want to see that change in practice, either.

"We've got to coach better on offense and defense," Shannon
said. "Those are the guys we've got on the team right now. We've
got to get them to get it done."