Hurricanes, Aggies each get a key player back for first-round playoff game

It’s official: Star nickel cornerback Keionte Scott is back for the Miami Hurricanes after missing UM’s final three regular-season games.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M Aggies starting running back Le’Veon Moss is reportedly going to play as well after missing the final six games, although he is still formally listed as a game-time decision on the final availability report released Saturday morning.

Both teams stand to benefit from the return of key players in their first-round College Football Playoff matchup on Saturday at Kyle Field (noon, ABC/ESPN).

Scott, who was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given annually to college football’s top defensive back, did a little bit of everything for Miami prior to the injury. At the time he was sidelined, Scott led the Hurricanes with 10 tackles for loss and five pass breakups to go along with 43 tackles (second on the team at the time), three sacks (tied for second on the team at the time) and an interception returned for a touchdown.

Moss didn’t play in the Aggies’ final six games due to injury, but rushed for 389 yards and six touchdowns on 70 carries (a 5.56 yards per carry average) over the first half of the season. That included a three-touchdown effort in Texas A&M’s win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sept. 13.

Meanwhile, UM has three players ruled out in cornerback Damari Brown, wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw and linebacker Malik Bryant.

Brown is the main name of those three. He’s been part of UM’s four-player rotation at outside cornerback along with Xavier Lucas, Ethan O’Connor and OJ Frederique Jr.

This story was originally published December 20, 2025 at 10:34 AM.