For a little under two hours on Tuesday morning, they simply played football.
They started their practice as they normally do, with a few drills. Some running. A little stretching.
However, as the Miami Hurricanes began trying to find a sense of normalcy and ease back into their routine after a draining 72 hours that has been anything but routine, there was pain and uncertainty.
And so Miami's players gathered, helmets off and heads bowed, as they prayed for one of their own, cornerback Artie Burns, whose mother Dana Smith died hours earlier after a heart attack.