Miami's Secondary Versatility Will Be Needed With Another Starter Out For A Period of Time
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — After defeating Florida A&M 77-7, there is a lot to love about No. 5 Miami and what they offer to other teams in the country.
They have two Heisman candidates, Malachi Toney and Darian Mensah, but other teams around the country have a lot to like about their team.
For Miami, the Canes have a secondary problem that they are trying to clean up. Injuries have taken out their two star corners at the start of this season. First, OJ Frederique Jr. in the Canes' first game of the season, and Xavier Lucas in the second game of the season.
Lucas was the first "Darian Mensah" after the Hurricanes got him out of the late-period transfer portal window from Wisconsin. He has proven to be an elite talent who was worth getting into some legal trouble for.
However, Miami will now be without Lucas for at least a month, according to head coach Mario Cristobal.
“Xavier got hurt last game,” Cristobal said. “He’ll be out for approxmimately a month. Hopefully that’ll be it. We’ll get him back. OJ (Frederique) is a little bit more extensive that that, and we lost Jaboree (Antoine) in the preseason.
“So, certainly not what you want. It’s a situation we’ve not really had since we’ve been here. But we are here now, and we’re making the appropriate, I would say, making our guys who were showing versatility throughout fall camp. They’re getting a chance to show what they worked on, and they showed up all tonight. We expect them to be really good players."
It turns to Miami's secondary depth that got plenty of playing time against the Rattlers.
Miami's Secondary Snap Count Against Florida A&M
DB: Isaiah Taylor -- 24 Cortez Redding -- 24 Omar Thornton -- 23 Zechariah Poyser -- 23 JJ Dunnigan -- 23 Ryan Mack -- 21 Chris Ewald Jr. -- 18 Bryce Fitzgerald -- 17 Camdin Portis -- 15 Brody Jennings -- 15 Ethan O'Connor -- 11 Jaelan Waters -- 9 Damari Brown -- 6 Andres Williams -- 3 Monroe Toney -- 3 Takai Azziz -- 3 Stone Stroud -- 2
"It is invaluable," Cristobal said about the depth of his team. "I can't emphasize that enough. It is about playing football and not worrying about the scoreboard. I adamantly support playing players deep in to games to be developed. The guys that played tonight worked as hard as everybody else and they were itching for time.
"Unless you put them in the game, you aren't going to find out what they can do when the lights come on. We had that opportunity tonight and we took advantage of it as best we could."
Miami saw ReddingmDunnigan, Mack, and Ewald Jr. play important minutes against the Rattlers, preparing them for the Demon Deacons on Friday night.
Miami with the rise in the AP Poll. Just right? To low, to high? What do you think?
— Eye of the Hurricanes (@CanesCentralSI) September 13, 2026
More⬇️#miamihurricanes | #appoll #collegefootball | pic.twitter.com/XNPnFn7Joo
They will have to play important moments against the Demon Deacons in the next game. Life is getting harder for the Canes, who have a manageable but scary schedule ahead.
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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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