Miami flipped TE Jaleel Skinner from Alabama. Now he might get his chance with WRs injured
Will Mallory’s head is A-OK after falling hard on it during Miami’s loss to Texas A&M last weekend. His hands and feet did pretty well, too, though he would have liked a lot more yardage than his team-leading 56 against the Aggies.
Now, with the No. 25 Hurricanes (2-1) down two wide receivers with injuries, another tight end who has only played in one game this season might be called on to compensate for the loss of Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George in Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. home game against Middle Tennessee (2-1).
True freshman Jaleel Skinner, who Miami flipped from his commitment to Alabama, is the former four-star prospect who apparently is growing into his 6-5 frame and getting strong enough to be integrated into the passing game.
“He’s certainly developing at a high level,’’ Miami coach Mario Cristobal said Wednesday of Skinner during a Zoom session. “He showed up in the first couple games and played a bit. Didn’t play much if any last game. But it’s not in any way an indication of him or his progress. He’s a guy we have intentions for playing more. He has proven himself.
“He’s a guy that can help us in a lot of different ways. He’s grown enough and has got enough gains in the strength and conditioning department to play in line, play off the ball and he has the skills to play outside as well. We’ll be using him in the best way possible to help our offense.”
Thin 6-5
Skinner, listed as 210 pounds but seemingly even thinner when he first arrived at UM as an early enrollee, has obviously put on some weight and gotten stronger. He played in the opener against Bethune-Cookman and has one catch for 30 yards.
Mallory, who also spoke to reporters Wednesday, said Skinner, from Greer, South Carolina, but out of Bradenton’s IMG Academy, “has done nothing but improve’’ since he arrived in Coral Gables.
“Like coach said, over the last month of camp until now you see this dude is freakishly talented,’’ Mallory said. “The best thing is he’s taken to coaching. He’s paying attention and taking every little bit that our coaches give him. He’s taking it and adding it to his game.
“He’s a stud athlete. He’s physically freakish but now that he’s getting that technique stuff and really paying attention to that, taking pride in that, it’s going to be scary for the future. He’s a great kid, hard worker, so his future is very bright.”
Skinner conceded last April before the spring game that when he first got to UM, “I wasn’t the best blocker. I’m slowly but surely getting better and better — going in there with the mind-set of destroying somebody. I’m really happy with myself and the coaches and how hard they push me.
“I’m happy they’re throwing me into the fire early so when the fall comes around, I know what’s coming.”
YAC productive
Mallory, who has eight catches for 77 yards in three games, led the Canes with six catches for those 56 yards last weekend — with 48 of them yards after catch. Sophomore Elijah Arroyo has three catches for 45 yards in three games.
“I’m improving, but I’m always really hard on myself,’’ said Mallory, who had major shoulder surgery in the spring. “I just gotta hammer away on technique. This is a great offense for tight ends to make big plays.”
His awkward, hard fall onto the Texas A&M turf occurred “trying to stiff arm a guy” and kept him on the ground surrounded by medical personnel for quite awhile. “What I remember is we both ended up going down and I just flipped and lay on top of my head. It was one of those freak things but it’s all good.
“It was probably more scary than anything. Just very fortunate, very lucky that it didn’t go any other way and that I was able to get up and keep going. Sorry for all my friends and family that I scared on TV. But it’s good. We’re good.”
▪ Miami is tied for 86th in the Football Bowl Subdivision for plays 20 yards or more, with three rushes and nine passes. What has to happen for that to improve?
“Be more explosive,’’ Cristobal said. “Some of it is creating plays, some of it is coming up and performing and executing on those plays — a combination of both.’’
This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 3:08 PM.
