The Hurricanes’ 2025 run put the program back in the national spotlight, and the talent on this year’s roster gives Miami a real chance to add individual hardware in 2026. Last season, three UM players went in the first round of the draft, but Rueben Bain Jr. was the only Hurricane to claim a national award, taking home the Ted Hendricks Award as the country’s top defensive end.
This group looks every bit as loaded. With attention now squarely on Miami after that playoff push, several players are positioned to chase major honors - not as predictions, but as very real possibilities.
Damon Wilson II is in the mix for the Ted Hendricks Award after a breakout season at Missouri, where he posted nine sacks and earned second-team All-SEC recognition. The award carries a special Miami connection, and Wilson’s move into Jason Taylor’s orbit could matter. Taylor helped develop Bain and Akheem Mesidor into first-round picks, and Wilson has the kind of edge presence that can turn into award-level production.
On the interior, Ahmad Moten Sr. has the profile to make noise for the Outland Trophy. Taylor said in the spring that Moten could compete for any award available to defensive linemen, and the Cardinal Gibbons product backed that up with a strong 2025 season.
He enters this year as one of the nation’s top defensive tackles, landing on multiple preseason All-American teams and watch lists. With Justin Scott also expected to be a force inside, Moten won’t be the only problem opposing lines have to solve.
Bryce Fitzgerald made his name as Miami’s breakout freshman defender, and his ball production jumped off the page: six interceptions, which led the Hurricanes and finished second nationally. Now he’s expected to play a major role again, whether at nickelback or safety. Fitzgerald has said he’s comfortable at both spots, and the Jim Thorpe Award watch list and preseason All-ACC recognition show he’s already on the national radar.
Mark Fletcher Jr. turned his postseason into a calling card, rushing for a College Football Playoff record 507 yards in four playoff games. He chose to come back for his senior season after setting career highs with 1,192 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns last year. The preseason AP All-American now heads a deep Miami backfield, and if he stays near or above those numbers, he’ll be in the Doak Walker Award conversation.
Malachi Toney’s freshman season was one of the loudest statistical statements Miami has seen in years. He finished with 1,211 receiving yards on 109 catches, both program records, and added 10 touchdowns.
He also contributed as a runner and passer, with 113 rushing yards and a touchdown, plus 82 passing yards and two scores. Toney is already viewed as one of the top receivers in the country, and while the Fred Biletnikoff Award race will be crowded, he has the production to make a strong case.
Then there’s Darian Mensah, who gives Miami a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. The Hurricanes haven’t had a winner since Gino Toretta in 1992, but Mensah enters with the third-best odds at FanDuel.
He arrives off an outstanding season at Duke, where he won an ACC title and finished second nationally in passing yards and passing touchdowns. With Fletcher, Toney and 1,000-yard receiver Cooper Barkate around him, Mensah has the kind of skill talent that can keep him in the national conversation all season.
In Other News...
Miami Legend Xavier Restrepo Is Fighting For His NFL Future
Xavier Restrepo has turned the late summer runway into a real chance to stick in Tennessee. The former Miami standout is in his second season with the Titans after going undrafted in 2025, and he has helped himself with a stronger preseason showing, tying for the team lead in receptions through two games and finding the end zone twice in a recent joint practice.
Restrepo still has work to do before the final roster is set, but he has at least made the conversation interesting in a camp that often leaves little room for margin. If he does not land on Tennessees 53-man roster, the next stop could be the practice squad, which would keep his NFL opportunity alive and give him another path to prove he belongs. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Put A Former Receivers Exit Into NCAA Limbo
Cam Vaughns Miami tenure never got as far as a snap, but the paperwork around his exit has become its own story. The former wide receiver transferred in from West Virginia in January, then wound up in a dispute with the university after he alleged the school canceled his scholarship without explanation and would not initially submit the waiver needed for him to move on.
Now Miami has filed the legislative relief waiver with the NCAA, and Vaughn has dropped the lawsuit he had brought against the school. Even with that step taken, his next move is still stuck in the leagues hands, because the NCAA must process the waiver before he can sign with another program. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Enters 2026 With ACC Pressure It Can No Longer Dodge
Miami heads into 2026 with the kind of preseason billing every program wants and every rival resents. In a tiered ACC forecast that sorts the league by recent results, coaching stability and roster outlook, the Hurricanes are alone at the top, a sign that the conference sees them as the team to beat before a snap is played.
For Miami, that kind of status brings more than praise. After last seasons 13-win College Football Playoff run, the expectations have clearly shifted from hoping to contend to assuming it should be in the thick of the race again, even as other programs jockey below it in the next wave of contenders. The ACC picture still has plenty of uncertainty elsewhere, but Miami is now the team carrying the burden that comes with being viewed as the standard. [Read more 🡒]