Miami's Wide Receiver Three Battle Will See A Conclusion Against Stanford

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Entering Fall Camp, the Miami Hurricanes had two of its three starting jobs for the wide receiver position set.

Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate both finished with 1000 yards seasons and will be primary targets for Darian Mensah this season. Not only will they be one of the best receiver duos in the country, but it will also leave other players open.

Entering the competition for wide receiver three. The Hurricanes have had three players battle it out since spring. Daylyn Upshaw, Joshua Moore, and Vandrevius Jacobs will get a chance to battle it out, and Shannon Dawson is ready to see who is ready to step up.

"We’re going to roll a handful of guys in there," Dawson said. "I mean, we have a lot of depth at that position, and I feel good about the depth all around, really. And so we're going to roll guys in and stay fresh and see who's got the hot hand, who can manage the game the best. And so I feel very confident about a handful of guys, really a handful of those receiver positions. And so I'm excited about being in a place where you don't really care about who's in the game.

"Like just put them in and let's see what they got, right? And so they've shown it in practice, we trust them. That's the one thing that I think the word that needs to be used more whenever you talk about playing a lot of guys is trust. Typically coaches don't play guys they don't trust. And so how do you build trust? Well, you build trust through camp.

"You build trust by doing the right thing. And so when you go out there every day, if you can just stack days of doing your job and, you know, lining up right, execute right, being in the right spot, making plays, yeah, you're going to build trust on a daily basis, and then when it comes time for the game to come around, then we trust to play you, and obviously you got to do it in the game."

Sep 13, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Joshua Moore (3) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against the South Florida Bulls in the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Moreover, with the talent at the position, Mensah is going to have the time of his life and Dawson has a "good feeling" about what the offense will be with the battle coming to an end.

I have a good feeling about it," Dawson said. "I do think that games are different than practice. I'm excited to watch him play in the game. The speed of the game is something that, when you go into game one, and that's one thing that Stanford has right now is they played a game, right?

"And so ultimately we're going into our first game, and so we'll see how that chemistry is against another opponent. But at this point, based on the knowledge I have, I feel really good about it. Now ultimately, you got to do it when it matters the most, right? And so we're going to see that Friday."

Miami faces off against Stanford Friday at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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