Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Cooper Barkate (18) catches a touchdown pass during UM’s spring football game at Cobb Stadium on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, Florida, on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
PHOTO BY AL DIAZ
adiaz@miamiherald.com
The second in a five-part series examining key questions for the Miami Hurricanes before they begin fall camp and the 2026 season.
The Miami Hurricanes are loaded at every skill position on offense entering the 2026 season.
They return all four of their primary running backs from last season plus bring in a talented freshman looking to compete for playing time. They have a half-dozen receivers — three returnees, three transfers — who all could start before even factoring in a talented four-player freshman class. They have two tight ends who came to Miami as highly touted high school recruits and are looking to make an impact.
They also only have one football on the field.
It’s a good problem for the Hurricanes to have.
But it also adds an extra layer to the work that coach Mario Cristobal and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson have to worry about: Will they be able to find ways to incorporate everyone throughout the season?
The way Cristobal views it: Bring on the competition and let the cream rise to the top.
“Who has earned the opportunity to play?” Cristobal said. “Because if they have earned it … we have to play them.”
The Hurricanes have shown a willingness to incorporate as many players who have earned it. The players have shown a willingness to rotate around if it means maximizing the team’s overall success even at the sacrifice of their individual results.
Beyond that, the Hurricanes know injuries are part of the game. Having as many waves of players ready to go as possible to limit the talent drop off should something happen is pivotal.
“The more that we can care about team success, that’ll make everybody individually be better,” running back Mark Fletcher Jr. said. “If you worry about just yourself, that’s only going to last you so long, man. We have a lot of great human beings in the locker room who understand that. We have a lot of great leaders, myself included, for emphasizing that message.”
Miami Hurricanes running back Jordan Lyle (2) on a carry as Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Justin Scott (5) and defensive lineman Bryce Fitzgerald (3) defend during UM’s spring football game at Cobb Stadium on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, Florida, on Saturday, April 18, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Fletcher, after all, is a shining example of that. He wasn’t Miami’s starting running back to begin the 2025 season. Jordan Lyle was the first on the field in that Notre Dame game.
But Lyle, who arguably has the most pure talent of Miami’s running back room, got hurt in that series opener and never really found his footing again during the season. Fletcher stepped up as the lead back, finishing with 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns on 122 attempts despite missing two games himself. CharMar “Marty” Brown and Girard Pringle Jr. followed behind him with 474 and 375 yards, respectively.
All four of those backs return for the 2026 season, and Miami also has freshman Javian Mallory and redshirt sophomore Chris Wheatley-Humphrey in the room as well.
“It’s deeper than what a lot of people think,” Fletcher said. “Yes, we know that it can only be one or two guys [on the field at a time], but just the brotherhood and the way that we push each other, the way that we want each other to succeed, it’s so much love and healthy competition. We’re always competing.”
Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw (7) catches a touchdown pass as defensive back Brody Jennings (15) defends as during UM’s spring football game at Cobb Stadium on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, Florida, on Saturday, April 18, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Perhaps just as competitive will be the wide receiver room, where Miami will be at least six deep before even factoring in its freshman class.
Any conversation with the Hurricanes’ receivers begins with Malachi Toney, who set single-season school records as a freshman with 109 catches and 1,211 yards. Duke transfer Cooper Barkate, the top target for new UM quarterback Darian Mensah last season, also topped 1,100 yards last season giving Miami a pair of reliable pass catchers at the top of the depth chart.
Beyond them are two veteran transfers in Vandrevius Jacobs (South Carolina) and Cam Vaughn (West Virginia) and two returning sophomores in Josh Moore and Daylyn Upshaw who impressed during spring practices and are vying for playing time. That doesn’t even start the discussion on the freshman class of Samourian Wingo, Milan Parris, Vance Spafford and Tyran Evans.
And then at tight end, Miami has junior Elija Lofton and sophomore Luka Gilbert plus freshmen Israel Briggs and Gavin Mueller looking to get involved as well.
“We’re deeper this year than we’ve been since I’ve been here,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said during spring practices. “You look out there and you’re like ‘Yeah, we’ve got some talented dudes.’ … We want to get the talent to where the difference between one and two [on the depth chart] isn’t as much and I think we’ve gotten to that point.”
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Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.