A key Hurricanes player out for title game vs. Indiana. And UM gets two kickers in portal
The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes will be without at least one key player for their College Football Playoff National Championship Game against No. 1 Indiana — and a second is out for the first half of the contest.
Tight end Elija Lofton has been ruled out for the title game on Monday night (7:30 p.m., ESPN), according to the College Football Playoff’s first availability report released Friday night.
Additionally, cornerback Xavier Lucas is out the first half of the game because he was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl against Ole Miss. Fellow cornerback Damari Brown is questionable for the game.
Lofton played just 12 of 91 offensive snaps in Miami’s Fiesta Bowl win over Ole Miss before being carted off the field in the second quarter. Alex Bauman, who has split time with Lofton as UM’s starting tight end, played 82 snaps.
Lofton is fourth on the team with 23 catches and 218 receiving yards.
Brown, meanwhile, has been sidelined for all three of Miami’s playoff games — wins over No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Ole Miss.
It’s worth noting, too, that OJ Frederique Jr. is not listed on the report.
Frederique missed UM’s final five regular-season games. Against Ohio State in the quarterfinal game, he played 41 of Miami’s 60 snaps against Ohio State before getting injured late in the third quarter. He was seen on crutches and in a boot after that game but managed to play sparingly in the semifinal against Ole Miss.
Frederique and Brown have been part of Miami’s four-player rotation at outside cornerback all season with Xavier Lucas and Ethan O’Connor. Lucas was ejected in the fourth quarter against Ole Miss and is slated to miss the first half of the national championship game as a result. Ja’Boree Antoine got extended playing time against Ole Miss as the cornerback depth thinned.
The rest of Miami’s availability report is as follows: Reserve defensive lineman Cole McConathy II is questionable, while linebacker Malik Bryant, wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw and defensive lineman Donta Simpson are out.
As for Indiana, kicker Brendn Franke is questionable while seven players — defenisve linemen Stephen Daley, Kellan Wytt and Andrew DePaepe; defensive backs Jah Jah Boyd, Amariyun Knighten and Bryson Bonds; and running back Lee Beebe Jr. — are out.
Participating team personnel must submit availability reports starting three days before each game, with daily updates leading to a final report 90 minutes prior to game time.
Players are designated as “available,” “probable,” “questionable,” “doubtful,” or “out” before game day; and as “available,” “game time decision,” or “out” on game day.
Miami lands two kickers in portal
For the second consecutive year, the Miami Hurricanes are adding two experienced kickers in the transfer portal.
Former FSU and Plantation American Heritage kicker Jake Weinberg and Northwestern kicker Jack Olsen both committed to Miami on Friday evening.
Olsen, who has one year of eligibility remaining, connected on 19 of 21 attempts last season (the seventh-best percentage in the country) and is 40-of-51 in his career.
Olsen, who began his career at Michigan State, attempted only two field goals longer than 39 yards last season, hitting both of them, and did not attempt a field goal of 50-yards plus.
As for Weinberg, he was the nation’s No. 2 rated kicker in the 2024 class, visited the UM campus on Thursday and is expected to sign with the Canes.
He went 12 on 19 field goals this season, but two were doomed by operational issues. And he has corrected a mechanical issue that contributed to a few that went wide right. He went 3 for 6 from 40 to 49 yards and 0 for 2 on 50-plus field goals.
Of his 61 kickoffs, 56 were touchbacks. That big leg on kickoffs appeals to UM. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
The Canes see benefit in signing two kickers, as they did last offseason when they plucked Davis (FAU) and Bert Auburn (Texas) from the transfer portal.
Auburn seemed like the front-runner last offseason, but Davis beat him out.
So while Olsen might appear to be the front-runner for field goals and Weinberg for kickoffs, there will be a competition.
UM has now added six players in the transfer portal and are on the verge of adding Duke quarterback Darian Mensah, who was second in the nation in touchdown passes and passing yardage next season.
In addition to the kickers, UM over the past week has added Ohio State defensive tackle Jarquez Carter, Boston College slot cornerback Omar Thornton and receivers Cam Vaughn (West Virginia) and Vandrevius Jacobs (South Carolina).
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