At 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, KU’s football players were finishing up a two-hour practice under the muggy Miami sun with conditioning drills.At 2 p.m. on Saturday, some of the Jayhawks were running around on the beach outside the Trump Sonesta Hotel and cooling off in the beautiful Atlantic Ocean.This is the work-and-play rotation that KU seems to be pulling off pretty well. After another aggressive practice with some hard hitting as KU prepares for the Orange Bowl next week, the bowl game then set up a beach party for the team outside the hotel.There was a DJ. There was volleyball. There were wave runners. There was food. And there were kids hanging around in admiration, some asking for autographs.Come Sunday morning, it will be back to the practice field, working toward the whole point of this awesome trip: to beat Virginia Tech.Some of the notes that surfaced Saturday:**- KU junior Aqib Talib** will be returning punts against Virginia Tech on Thursday. Both he and coach Mark Mangino confirmed it Saturday, with Mangino saying he hopes it creates a spark in the return game.**- Injuries seem to be going away,** at least from the suspects we know. Anthony Collins and Patrick Resby feel fine, and Kendrick Harper is ready to go.Mangino did admit that a couple of guys will be playing through pain, but wouldn’t say who. One is definitely linebacker Joe Mortensen, who has worn a knee brace for over a month and will continue to through the Orange Bowl.**- Former Jayhawk sighting** on Saturday as ex-linebacker Greg Cole attended practice. Cole is now married with a daughter and is coaching high school football in the Miami area.**- Celebrity sighting** at the beach party: Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez was working out with his trainer on the beach just a few yards away from KU’s party. A couple of the freshmen went over and snapped a picture with him.