With Joshua Moore done for the season, Miami’s offense suddenly has a hole to patch, and quarterback Darian Mensah already has two names in mind.
Mensah pointed to Vandrevius Jacobs and Somourian Wingo as the players best positioned to help absorb the loss of the sophomore receiver, who was ruled out for the rest of the year with an upper-body injury.
“I think there’s a bunch of guys who could step up,” he said in his weekly media availability via Zoom. “The two that come to mind are [Vandrevius] Jacobs and Somourian Wingo.
I think they’re explosive playmakers and they’ve got the opportunity. It’s their time to go and take advantage of it.”
Jacobs brings the most proven track record of the group. The redshirt junior transferred to Coral Gables with experience in hand, and last season at South Carolina he gave the Gamecocks a real downfield threat, catching 32 passes for 548 yards, a 17.1-yards-per-catch average, and four touchdowns.
This season, though, the opportunities have been limited. Jacobs has played 40 snaps and been targeted three times. The skill set is there, but the reps still have to be earned behind the scenes.
Wingo has flashed, too. The former four-star recruit has turned four targets into four catches for 85 yards and a touchdown, while logging 39 snaps. He did not play against Wake Forest.
Miami also has a few younger options waiting for a chance. Freshmen Vance Spafford and Milan Parris could work their way into rotational snaps as the Hurricanes look for more answers at receiver.
There may also be room for the tight ends to become more involved. Elija Lofton and Gavin Mueller have not seen many targets, but that could change as the offense adjusts.
The ripple effect doesn’t stop there. Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson could lean into a more spread-out approach, especially with sophomore Malachi Toney leaving the Wake Forest game with an upper-body injury. Toney stayed in the game, but he was limited.
Moore’s injury puts Miami’s receiver depth under the microscope. He was expected to outpace last season’s production by a wide margin, and he still has three more seasons of NCAA eligibility under the new five-by-five rule. He is expected to be ready for fall camp before the 2027 college football season.
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