Miami’s perfect start to the season came with a price. The No. 6 Hurricanes walked away from Friday’s 33-20 win over Wake Forest with two offensive players facing season-ending injuries. HC Mario Cristobal delivered the tough news Monday morning.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Miami head coach Mario Cristobal announced this morning on his local radio appearance that RB Charmar Brown and WR Josh Moore are out for the remainder of the season,” reported college football insider Pete Nakos on X.
Brown suffered his injury midway through the second quarter Friday. The redshirt junior had just ripped off a 32-yard run when he went down with what appeared to be a right knee injury. Brown was carted off the field, though the exact diagnosis has not been made public, but the news from Cristobal was enough to confirm the seriousness of it.
“He’s going to be out for the rest of the season,” Cristobal said during his appearance on WQAM’s The Joe Rose Show.
That is an issue for Miami because Brown had already become a solid part of the backfield. He was the Hurricanes’ No. 2 running back last season and finished with 474 yards and seven touchdowns. He had 97 rushing yards and one touchdown on 13 carries this season before going down against Wake Forest.
Miami now has to find a way to replace that production behind Mark Fletcher Jr. Freshman Javian Mallory has made a good start to the season, rushing for 196 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Also, sophomore Girard Pringle Jr. has 38 rushing yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.
The Hurricanes also lost Moore for the season, although his injury happened in a much less obvious way. Cristobal described it only as an upper-body injury, and no more specific diagnosis has been announced.
Moore had been putting together a nice start to the season, as the sophomore had seven catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns through three games and was beginning to earn a bigger role in Miami’s receiver rotation. He started the season opener against Stanford and continued to see snaps in the next two games.
That makes his absence another problem for an offense that has been moving the ball well. Moore was listed as Miami’s starting receiver, with Vandrevius Jacobs behind him on the depth chart. Daylyn Upshaw, Somourian Wingo and Vance Spafford are also among the receivers who could see more work now.
Now, Miami doesn’t need to reshape its offense completely due to one injury; rather, the Hurricanes will have to spread those snaps around while hoping Malachi Toney is healthy enough to keep handling his usual workload.
There was some encouraging news, though. Cristobal expects Fletcher and Toney to be OK after both were injured against Wake Forest. Defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. also briefly left the game before returning, and Cristobal expects him to be fine as well.
“We got banged up,” Cristobal said. “An interesting kind of situation, but day-to-day.”
With Brown and Moore both gone for the year, Miami will have to lean on the players already on its roster. Brown’s absence will be felt in the running game, while Moore’s snaps and targets will have to be spread around the receiver room.
Lyle’s return therefore gives the Hurricanes help at the exact position where they just lost one of their most important depth pieces.
Jordan Lyle’s return comes at an important time
Miami may have lost Brown for the season, but the Hurricanes are getting another running back back into the mix at a critical moment.
Lyle is available after missing Miami’s first three games while dealing with the aftermath of his August off-field issue. Cristobal said he has served the consequences connected to the situation and has been practicing with the team.
“He did serve the consequences that come with the issue,” Cristobal said. “He has been practicing with the team, and certainly, he’s back and activated.”
Lyle got dressed for the Wake Forest game but did not play, though his availability gives Miami another experienced back just as Brown’s season comes to an end. Now, with Brown out, there is a clear opening for him to compete for carries behind Fletcher. Still, Cristobal made it clear that Lyle will have to earn those snaps.
“It has nothing to do with us being short,” Cristobal said. “When guys do go down, it’s not just a matter of a guy inheriting that opportunity. Guys still have to earn it.”
Miami is 3-0 and hosts Central Michigan on Saturday, but the Hurricanes will enter that game without Brown and Moore, two players who had become increasingly important to their offense, while the replacements will be worth watching.