Miami freshman standout is forcing an uncomfortable conversation down the stretch for the Hurricanes
The Canes’ young star is making his presence on the field indispensable.
The Miami Hurricanes got a good push for three quarters against the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. However, a defense that did enough and a still dangerous Miami offense were more than enough to lift the Canes to a 36-25 win and improve to 9-1 overall and 7-1 in ACC play.
Miami continues to figure out how to best move the football without superstar Malachi Toney, who’s dealing with an ankle injury that will keep him out until likely at least the ACC Championship Game. Cooper Barkate has been an important piece of the puzzle, totaling 17 catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns over the last two games.
But the Canes got a big boost from one of their young standouts, who continues to prove he deserves more time on the field: true freshman RB Javian Mallory.
Miami RB Javian Mallory has to get more playing time after dynamic performance in win over Duke
Mallory had the two biggest plays of the game for the Hurricanes on Saturday. With Miami clinging to a 16-10 lead late in the third quarter, Mallory took a dump off from Darian Mensah and weaved his way through the Duke defense for a nifty 63-yard touchdown.
Then, with Miami looking to put the game away inside the final three minutes, Mallory broke free on a handoff and beat the defense across the field and to the corner of the end zone to put the game on ice.
The question is: does Mallory take over the primary role out the backfield? Senior Mark Fletcher, Jr. has been a stalwart in the Miami offense for years, but Mallory’s game breaking ability is undeniable. Mallory ripped off a 25-yard run in overtime where he left the FSU defense in his wake last month in the Canes’ 43-35 double overtime win. He tends to make big plays that other running backs on this team simply haven’t made as often.
It bears discussion, even if not a comfortable one, if a changing of the guard in the backfield needs to happen. Mallory is undoubtedly the future for Miami in the backfield. The question is: is the future now?
It’s hard to argue that it’s not.
