2026 Miami Hurricanes Position Preview: Wide Receivers
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After the 2025 season, one thing was clear for the Miami Hurricanes: they had one of the best wide receivers in the country, and their depth for the future looked bright.
However, just having Malachi Toney wasn't enough. Lucky for the Canes, in the Darian Mensah transaction, they were able to get his favorite weapon from Duke, Copper Barkate.
With two 1000 yard receivers on the roster, the Hurricanes have one of the best rooms in the country. Furthermore, it doesn't stop with the two All-American, All-ACC-level players. The Canes are deep thanks to recruiting from high school and the transfer portal.
Malachi Toney
What a debut season for Miami's "little secret". Last season, Toney rose in the ranks as one of the best wide receivers in the country as a freshman. Similar to Ohio State's Jerimah Smith's freshman season, the talented freshman was all over the field catching, rushing, and throwing touchdowns.
Toney finished the season with 109 receptions, 1211 receiving yards, 13 total touchdowns ( 10 receiving, one rushing, and two passing), breaking many freshman and regular-season receiving records.
Now he is heavier and faster, and has one of the best football minds in the country. This is only to prepare for his second season, where he is expected to be even better. Sounds like a Heisman finalist-level season.
Cooper Barkate
It's nice to get one of the best receivers in the conference to come with his quarterback. That's how Barkate feels after joining the Hurricanes after spending time at Harvard and Duke, before taking his talents to Coral Gables.
The biggest question is how he and Toney are going to share the ball, but at the end of the day, both will have their chance to have their own breakout games.
In his last season at Duke, Barkate rallied for 72 receptions for 1106 yards, seven touchdowns, and an ACC Championship ring to go along with it. His best game last season came against a ranked Georgia Tech team, finishing with 13 receptions and 172 yards in a loss.
Vandrevius Jacobs
A sleeper giant on the team comes from the transfer portal in the former South Carolina Gamecock.
Jacobs enters this season and Coral Gables as a deep-ball threat and contested-catching threat, something the Canes specifically went into the transfer portal for. That is what they have in Jacobs.
👀Miami’s Passing offense stocks📈📈📈📈📈📈📈📈📈📈📈📈 #GoCanes pic.twitter.com/h5cOM5WTJo
— Eye of the Hurricanes (@CanesCentralSI) April 18, 2026
In his final year in the SEC, Jacobs corralled 34 receptions for 548 yards and four touchdowns. Now with a quarterback with more accuracy, he could have his long-awaited breakout season.
Extra Transfer Portal Depth
The Miami Hurricanes only had three transfer additions from the portal compared to last season. The last addition to the group was former West Virignia receiver Camp Vaughn.
In his career, he has totaled 83 catches for 1,344 yards and nine touchdowns. In his only season with the Mountaineers, he finished with 35 catches, 540 yards and four touchdowns. This season he will be key for the depth of the Canes.
Home Grown Depth
Outside of the three transfers, the Hurricanes' roster is filled with talent they have brought in and developed over the years. Toney is the biggest case in that regard, but the others will also have their chance to shine.
The two biggest names are Daylyn Upshaw and Joshua Moore. Both are coming into this season looking to be used more compared to last season. During Miami's Spring Game, both were heavy targets for Mensah and are expected to be massive impact players.
On the other end come blue-chip freshmen recruits such as Vance Spafford, Somourian Wingo, Milan Parris, and Tyran Evans who could also play a massive role this season.
Full 2026 Miami Hurricanes Position Preview:
Miami Hurricanes on SI will keep an updated position preview until fall camp starts in August.
Quarterbacks
Cornerbacks
Running Backs
Safety
Linebackers
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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