A position in need of a breakout for Miami vs. Aggies. And 3 freshman defenders emerging
Even though Will Mallory’s uncharacteristically quiet start to the 2022 college football season isn’t entire his fault, the star tight end is taking it upon himself to be better ahead of the Miami Hurricanes’ upcoming high-profile showdown with the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday.
“I made it known,” Mallory said. “I wasn’t very happy with the way that I played and I thought that there was a lot of stuff that I need to clean up.”
Even though he played 58 of 83 snaps and quarterback Tyler Van Dyke targeted him four times in Miami’s 30-7 win against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Saturday, Mallory didn’t catch a single pass — it was the first time since Week 1 of 2020 he played a finished a game without a catch, excluding matchups with FCS opponents — and even gave up a pair of pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
It was not the sort of performance the No. 13 Hurricanes expect from their most established offensive weapon.
Now in his fifth year in Coral Gables, Mallory was the Miami’s only running back or receiver to earn any type of All-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition in the preseason, and the 6-foot-5, 245-pound senior projects as a potential mid- or even early-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He and wide receiver Xavier Restrepo were the two targets Van Dyke most clearly trusted at the start of the year.
Restrepo, so far, has been the clear No. 1 option Van Dyke was looking for with 172 yards and a touchdown. Mallory, with just two catches for 21 yards, knows he needs to be better and there’s reason to believe he will be.
The Hurricanes (2-0) kept Mallory limited all throughout training camp, often putting him in a red non-contact jersey and keeping him out of 11-on-11 action. He didn’t play in either scrimmage, he said. It may be playing a part, he said, in some of his early-season invisibility.
“That’s not an excuse at all, but I just have to find that rhythm because I want to be able to help everybody,” he said, “got to be there for Tyler.”
This week will be a particularly stiff test, too. No. 24 Texas A&M’s best defensive player is Antonio Johnson and the star cornerback, at 6-3 and 195, is perhaps the best nickelback in the country.
It’s a matchup Mallory will inevitably see this weekend.
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Young Hurricanes come on strong
At the start of the season, no two freshmen had Miami coaches more excited than Wesley Bissainthe and Nyjalik Kelly.
Through two weeks, the two defenders haven’t done anything to dampen those expectations. If anything, they’re soaring.
On Saturday, Kelly notched the first sack of his career when he got to the Southern Miss quarterback Zach Wilcke in the last few minutes of the Hurricanes’ win and, a few quarters earlier, Bissainthe nearly nabbed the first interception of his career when a ball slipped through his hands right before halftime.
In two games, Kelly has three tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss, and Bissainthe has three tackles.
Kelly was Miami’s top-ranked addition from South Florida in the Class of 2022, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and played 10 snaps last week in a game which was competitive into the fourth quarter.
Kevin Steele has a simple way to sum up what he expects from Kelly moving forward.
“More sacks,” the defensive coordinator said. “He’s a natural pass rusher. He does that very well, but he plays the run very well, too. ... Right now, he’s young, but he does know that there’s only one football out there and he knows to chase it and he can get there in a hurry.”
Bissainthe, who was the Hurricanes’ top-ranked addition from Miami-Dade County in the 2022 recruiting class, played nine snaps over the weekend and was the Hurricanes’ third highest graded player, according to Pro Football Focus. He only played one fewer snap than Caleb Johnson, who’s currently fellow linebacker Corey Flagg Jr.’s primary backup.
“We’ve got two young ones coming along,” said Steele, referring to Bissainthe and sophomore linebacker Chase Smith.
Mario Cristobal shouted out a handful of other freshman defenders as top practice performers in the last few weeks, too. The coach mentioned defensive Markeith Williams, defensive lineman Ahmad Moten and defensive end Jabari Ishmael — a redshirt freshman — and was particularly complimentary of cornerback Khamauri Rogers, saying he “really stands out this past week.”
Rogers, who was the No. 45 overall prospect in ESPN’s rankings for the 2022 class, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee last year, which hampered his progress in the offseason before his freshman year, but the 6-foot, 165-pound corner is polished and lanky enough to potentially help out as the season progresses, especially with some inconsistent play so far in the secondary.
“You start plugging those guys in on special teams, but they’ll also start getting some of the reps with the reserves and they’re showing that they are picking up the systems rather well,” Cristobal said. “At some point in time, you may be able to count on them sooner than later.”
Injury updates: Mesidor, Knighton ready
▪ Akheem Mesidor “looked good” in practice Wednesday, Cristobal said, and Cristobal expects the defensive lineman to be “a full-speed player on Saturday.” The sophomore, who spent the last two years with the West Virginia Mountaineers before transferring to Miami in April, logged four tackles, a sack and a pass defended in his debut for the Hurricanes in Week 1 before sitting out Week 2 with a lower-leg injury. Mesidor wore a boot on his right foot Saturday as he watched from the sideline at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
▪ Running back Jaylan Knighton, like star tackle Zion Nelson, has taken “100 percent” of his reps in practice so far this week, Cristobal said. It puts the running back on track to be a full contributor this weekend after he missed Game 1 with a soft-tissue injury and played just 12 snaps in Game 2.
