The Miami Hurricanes opened the 2026 season with a dominant 45-6 victory over Stanford on Friday night, but the celebration came with a significant cost.

Starting cornerback O.J. Frederique suffered what appeared to be an upper body injury on the first drive of the game and never returned. Miami coach Mario Cristobal confirmed during his Monday press conference that the injury is a serious one for the Hurricanes’ secondary.

Cristobal advised on Monday that Frederique suffered a “pretty significant” injury and will be out for “quite a while,” although an exact timetable was not given.

That’s a tough blow for Miami’s talented and deep secondary. Frederique showed bright flashes during his freshman year in 2024, though he also had some growing pains. He and the rest of the secondary had a strong 2025 season, and Frederique was a big part of the Hurricanes making a run to the national title game.

Freshman DB JJ Dunnigan could find himself on the field more

The question now becomes how Miami adjusts its cornerback rotation to account for Frederique’s absence. Damari Brown filled in with added snaps against Stanford and had a solid showing. He is the logical choice to fill Frederique’s shoes the most.

However, the Hurricanes might find a way to get their talented true freshman defensive back JJ Dunnigan on the field more. Dunnigan is someone that Cristobal and defensive coordinator Corey Heatherman have raved about as a natural playmaker. He has the look of a potential future star in Coral Gables.

Dunnigan offers positional flexibility, with the potential to step in and play cornerback as well as safety. It’s not out of the question to see Miami try to get him on the field in certain defensive looks across a number of different roles.

“Really good job,” Cristobal said of Dunnigan on Monday. “High-level player, high capacity, tremendous work ethic. High-level performer, unfazed, fast, physical, strong, active. Always swarming to the football. He’s just getting started. He has tremendous versatility as well. We can move him all over the place, and we can expect to see a lot more.”

We’ll find out soon enough how the Hurricanes decide to adapt after Frederique’s loss, as Miami takes on Florida A&M on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.