Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee has professed a new, up-tempo attacking offense since he has been hired at Miami earlier this month.

Lashlee was able to deliver a message to the team on Sunday for the first time as the team gathered the day before classes began for the spring semester.

“We’re going to spread the field, but we’re predicated on balance and like I told the players in the meeting the first time I got to meet with them is, ‘Make no mistake, there’s nothing finesse about it,’” Lashlee said.

Lashlee wants to implement an offense that can run and throw the ball. Last year at SMU, Lashlee’s offense was very balanced with its run-pass balance as the Mustangs ran 51 percent of the time and passed it 49 percent.

“We want to be tough at every position,” Lashlee said. “We want to be physical. I believe you’ve got to throw the ball to score and run the ball to win.’ That’s just a fancy way of saying you’ve got to be balanced and take what the defense gives you. We want to have a physical hard edge at every position and we want to make sure that when we play that our identity is that we’re fast and physical. It’s that simple.”

Miami is coming off a 6-7 season and is 13-16 in its last 29 dating back to the end of the 2017 season. It’s the worst 29-game stretch at Miami since going 12-17 in 1977-79.

“There’s a lot of work ahead of us at every position,” Lashlee said. “Talk is cheap. People don’t really care what you say, they care what you do. That was the message (Sunday). We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but that’s what’s going to make it more rewarding at the end when we get the results we need.”

Miami has not announced its dates for spring practices, which are expected to begin in March.

“At the end of the day you go to a lot of places and you try to pull from each spot and each experience teaching you something and that’s what I’m excited about here with spring football,” Lashlee said. “I’ve seen tape of our guys, but I want to get to know them, get to know who they are, and how they tick. Those 15 days in spring practice will be big for them to learn me, us to get closer as a team, as a staff, but really I learn what they can do so that way when we go into the fall we can try to tailor what we’re doing to fit the strengths of our players.”

The 36-year old Arkansas native and former Arkansas quarterback is at his sixth school as an offensive coordinator. He was previously the coordinator at SMU (2018-19), UConn (2017), Auburn (2013-16), Arkansas State (2012), and Samford (2011).

“I believe in playing fast, spreading the field, getting your guys in space, and really doing what your guys can do,” Lashlee said. “So I think it’s just a good fit. Obviously a place like the University of Miami that’s got five national championships, the who’s who at every position of phenomenal players from the past so you know it can be done, you know greatness can be achieved so I’m excited to get to work.”

Christopher Stock has covered the Miami Hurricanes since 2003 and can be reached by e-mail at stock@insidetheu.com and on Twitter @InsideTheU.