Miami Hurricanes suffer two roster losses as fall practice begins, and it will test their depth immediately
The Canes will be will be chasing title number six without two notable players.
The Miami Hurricanes opened fall practice with their sights set on the program’s elusive sixth national championship, but two roster losses will test the team’s depth before the season even begins.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal revealed on the Joe Roe Show on Tuesday that the Hurricanes have parted ways with promising redshirt freshman edge rusher Hayden Lowe, while sophomore tight end Luka Gilbert will miss the entire year with an injury. A third player, freshman CB Jontavious Wyman, is also parting with the program, per Cristobal.
Hurricanes’ lose an intriguing option to replace elite production of Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain, Jr.
The Lowe news is particularly disappointing given his pedigree and potential. The former 5-star recruit looked poised last offseason to potentially contribute as a freshman. However, he suffered an injury before the 2025 season that kept him sidelined for the entire year. He then missed this spring due to what Cristobal described as a personal matter. For whatever reason, his time in Coral Gables is over.
His departure means Miami will have one less potentially impactful option on the defensive line as it tries to fill the big shoes of Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain, Jr. who are now in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively.
The Hurricanes did reinforce the edge rusher group this offseason with the addition of standout Missouri transfer Damon Wilson II, who should almost certainly start at one spot. That being said, losing a talent like Lowe before he ever had a chance to make his mark stings.
Luka Gilbert’s absence leaves Miami’s tight end room thin
Gilbert’s injury is another blow, and it hits a position group that underwhelmed significantly in 2025. The hope was that Gilbert, along with a recently-slimmed-down Elija Lofton, would give Miami a bit more juice at the position this year. He appeared to be a strong candidate to be TE2 behind Lofton.
Gilbert had two catches for 37 yards last year across 10 games, but he appeared set to leap into a more substantial role this fall. Instead, the Hurricanes will need someone else to step up and fill Gilbert’s shoes at a positional group where losing talent is tough to absorb right now.
Miami’s roster is certainly loaded on both sides of the ball, enough to make another push at a title after coming up just short last year. With just a month until the Hurricanes kick off against Stanford out in Palo Alto, the team will begin to take shape over the next few weeks.
We’ll see who can step up and fill those significant holes in the roster over that time.
