Dangerous: UM tight ends have nation’s fiercest ‘1-2 punch,’ Mackey Award finalist says
Miami Hurricanes tight end Brevin Jordan had just finished his first interview in several months, telling beat writers with his usual vivacity how pumped he was for the season and how talented his new quarterback is and how “sick” he felt after UM lost to FIU, Duke and Louisiana Tech to end 2019 without him.
Then, after being thanked on Zoom by a UM spokesman “for taking the time to talk to us,’’ Jordan, one of three finalists for the 2019 Mackey Award that goes to the nation’s finest tight end, looked at the camera and said, “Hey, y’all missed me, huh? Yeah, you all did. I know you all did.’’
What coaches and University of Miami fans likely missed even more while Jordan was recovering from a left-foot injury and subsequent winter surgery, was the dangerous 1-2 combo of Jordan and fellow tight end Will Mallory. The tandem is expected to present plenty of challenges for defenses — especially when they’re on the field together.
Mallory, the other elite tight end recruit who befriended Jordan in making their decisions together to sign with the Hurricanes in 2018, is the much mellower Cane who, according to UM coach Manny Diaz, has been a star this fall camp.
“We all know Brevin Jordan can do a lot of things, but Will Mallory is having himself a camp,’’ Diaz told WQAM on Monday. “I think he’s a guy [that] schematically what we’re doing really helps him out. [Quarterback] D’Eriq [King] has a lot of trust in him. He’s a problem, and that’s going to make Brevin better.
“It’s going to make everybody [better], because Will has had a fantastic August.’’
Mallory thriving
Mallory, the 6-5, 245-pound junior out of Jacksonville Providence School, caught four passes for 71 yards and a touchdown last Sunday in UM’s first fall camp scrimmage, while the 6-3, 245-pound Jordan, out of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, was sidelined.
“I consider our tight end room extremely athletic,’’ Mallory said, noting that the new up-tempo, no-huddle, spread offense “really opens up for us to make plays, run around and be the athletes we are.”
Tight ends coach Stephen Field said what makes offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s new offense “so exciting’’ is “the fact that multiple players can be successful.’’
Diaz said Jordan, rated the nation’s No. 1 tight end by ESPN.com and 247Sports when he signed with UM, was one of several Canes who missed the scrimmage with “bumps and bruises type deals” and was back to practice Tuesday.
Jordan’s injury
Last season, Jordan was UM’s second-leading pass-catcher in receiving yards, with 495 yards on 35 catches (14.1-yard average) and two touchdowns in 10 games. In the regular-season finale Nov. 30 at Duke, he reinjured his foot on the first play. He initially hurt the foot Nov. 2 at Florida State.
Mallory, ESPN.com’s No. 3 prep tight end when he signed, finished 2019 with 16 catches for 293 yards (18.3-yard average) and two touchdowns. He has packed on several pounds from last year, working to strengthen his legs and lower body during this offseason.
Mallory’s father Mike is a former Michigan football star and current assistant special teams coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jordan and Mallory started in a two-tight-end-set at Duke, then Mallory took over with Jordan hobbled, breaking out with a career-high 93 yards receiving on a career-high-tying four catches — in the first half.
UM, nonetheless, lost to Duke, as well as to FIU the previous week and Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl as Jordan could only watch. He said his motivator in the offseason after January surgery had been seeing his team deteriorate.
‘Dark place’
“My fuel was seeing my team, man,’’ Jordan said. “We lost to FIU, we lost to Duke, we lost to La Tech. I was in a dark place with my life, man. I was so just hurt, just sick.
“I was like, ‘Man, I came to the U to make plays and win championships, and I’m not even on the field to help my team.’ So, that just drove me. I was up late nights, early mornings, just grinding. I never worked so hard in my life to get back on this field. Y’all don’t even know, man.”
Jordan, a thick-bodied blocker who drags defenders with him, was asked if he believes he is the best tight end in college football?
“Nah, I don’t think I’m the best tight end in the country because I couldn’t stay on the field last year,’’ he said. “You can’t prove you are the best if you can’t be on the court or on the field, in the ring — whatever it is. My main thing is I want to stay healthy this year.”
So, what about the best 1-2 combination?
‘We’re loaded’
“If there was an award for a 1-2 tight end punch,’’ Jordan said, “I think everybody in the country knows that goes to the University of Miami. We’re loaded. We have me, Will Mallory, Larry Hodges and Dom Mammarelli. I mean we’re loaded in that room.”
UM’s No. 3 tight end, Larry Hodges, is a 6-2, 230-pound redshirt freshman who preserved his redshirt status by playing in only four games. He caught two passes last season, both for touchdowns. Mammarelli was a 6-4, 205-pound consensus four-star prospect out of Naples High.
Mallory gushed about his close buddy Jordan last season when Jordan was up for the Mackey.
“He’s a playmaker... He’s versatile. He can do it all,’’ Mallory said. “Since he’s [been] a freshman he makes the big blocks, he makes the big plays and his energy carries on and off the field.’’
Last week, Mallory again said Jordan was “special.’’
“This is another big year for him,’’ Mallory said. “It’s a big year for all of us.’’
