When the Miami Hurricanes face SMU, they will see plenty of familiar faces
The Miami Hurricanes head to an unfamiliar territory this weekend.
But there will be some familiar faces when they get there.
The No. 10 Hurricanes (6-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) play the SMU Mustangs (5-3, 3-1 ACC) on Saturday at Dallas’ Gerald J. Ford Stadium (noon, ESPN) in a game that will have implications on the race to make the ACC Championship Game.
It’s just the second meeting between the two schools, the first in Dallas and the first since SMU joined the ACC last season. The schools’ only other matchup came on Sept. 18, 1965, with SMU winning 7-3 in Miami.
The Mustangs have risen to national prominence during the past few years since Rhett Lashlee took over as head coach in 2022 after a two-year stint as the Hurricanes’ offensive coordinator.
SMU enters this week with a 34-15 overall record under Lashlee, including consecutive 11-3 seasons each of the past two years. The Mustangs won the American Athletic Conference title in their final year in the league in 2023 and then made both the ACC title game and the College Football Playoff in 2024 in their first year at the Power 4 level.
“Really impressive football team,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said.
And the Mustangs have relied on a slew of former Hurricanes players to get to this point. This year is no different.
SMU has four former Hurricanes on their roster this season.
Wide receiver Romello Brinson, a former standout at Miami Northwestern who was at UM from 2021-22, leads the Mustangs this year with 37 catches for 515 yards and three touchdowns. He has 1,081 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his SMU tenure.
Meanwhile, running back Chris Johnson, who starred at Fort Lauderdale Dillard and was at UM from 2023-24, is serving as SMU’s No. 2 running back this year. He enters the matchup against Miami with 314 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries.
Other former UM players on SMU’s roster include quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and offensive lineman Zion Nelson. Both are reserves for the Mustangs.
“It’s part of football,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. “I think you see it on a weekly basis nowadays. Maybe 10 years ago, that wasn’t the case, but now it is. At the end of the day, the 22 guys on the field are the ones that are going to have to execute on both sides of the ball. So I know sure both sides are equally excited for the opportunity on Saturday.”
More former Hurricanes who have helped SMU under Lashlee
In addition to the quartet of players on the current roster, several other former Miami players thrived under Lashlee at SMU, including...
▪ Running back Brashard Smith, who ran for 1,232 yards and 14 touchdowns and caught 39 passes for 327 yards and another four touchdowns in 2024. He played wide receiver at Miami and was also a stellar return specialist at both schools.
▪ Running back Jaylen Knighton, who was solid in 2023 (745 rushing yards, seven touchdowns) but missed most of the 2024 season with injury. Knighton had 1,193 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in three seasons with Miami, including a 561-yard, eight-touchdown sophomore season in 2021.
▪ Wide receiver Key’Shawn Smith, who caught 58 passes for 919 yards and eight touchdowns in two seasons at SMU (2023 and 2024). Smith caught 48 passes for 662 yards and five touchdowns in 29 games for Miami over three seasons.
▪ Defensive lineman Elijah Roberts, who had 72 tackles, including 23.5 for loss and 17.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles in two seasons with the Mustangs (2023 and 2024). Roberts played 20 games for Miami with just one start, logging 21 tackles in that span.
▪ Defensive lineman Jahfari Harvey, who had 31 tackles, including 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks, in his lone season with the Mustangs in 2024. Harvey played in 50 games for Miami over five seasons, logging 99 tackles, including 22 for loss and 10.5 sacks.
▪ Defensive lineman Jared Harrison-Hunte, who had 42 tackles, including 8.5 for loss and 6.5 sacks, and an interception in 2024. Harrison-Hunte played in 29 games for Miami, including 11 starts, and recorded 52 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and three sacks in that span.
▪ Defensive lineman Jordan Miller, who logged 26 tackles, including four for loss, in his lone season with SMU in 2023. Miller played 48 games for Miami but only started twice. He had 60 tackles, including 11 for loss and three sacks, in his Hurricanes career.
▪ Offensive lineman Jakai Clark, who started 14 games, including 13 at center, in 2024 for SMU. Clark played in 42 games with 39 starts for the Hurricanes before leaving for SMU.
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