No. 7 Miami will head into Friday night’s season opener at Stanford missing two sophomores, according to the ACC’s first availability report of the year released Tuesday.
Defensive back Ja'Boree Antoine and tight end Luka Gilbert were both listed as out for the 9 p.m. ET kickoff.
Gilbert’s status wasn’t much of a surprise. He’s set to miss the season after suffering an injury at home over the summer. Antoine, meanwhile, is dealing with a late-camp issue.
Stanford’s report was far heavier. The Cardinal put 15 players on the out list, along with one doubtful, five questionable and four probable after opening the year with a 37-27 Week 0 win over Hawaii on a short week.
Among the players listed out for Stanford were OLB Dylan Stephenson, WR Carter Shaw, WR Daylen Sharper, CB Jason Hill Jr., K London Bironas, DB Zaiden McDonald, DB Breylan Thompson, DB Jack Duckworth, DB Aaron Morris, DL Jacobi Murray, DL Brendan Delaney, OL Aidan Kilstrom, OL Nathan Mejia, OL Nick Fattig and TE Reiman Zebert.
Gabe Kaminski was listed as doubtful.
The questionable group included WR Caden High, WR Nico Brown, OLB Ernest Cooper, OL Simione Pale and Niki Prongos.
Week 0 can be a gift for teams that want to shake off the rust early, but it also comes with a cost, and Stanford is feeling it. Miami comes in relatively healthy, while the Cardinal are trying to manage a long injury list that could include multiple starting offensive linemen. Stanford will get an extra week to recover later in the season, but Tuesday’s report makes the task in front of them a lot tougher.
That said, Stanford still has some of its biggest names available, so Friday night doesn’t lose its bite. Injuries haven’t wiped out the possibility of the Cardinal pulling off an upset.
Miami beat Stanford 42-7 last season in Coral Gables, and Friday will be the Hurricanes’ first game of 2026.
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