The Hurricanes came out of their win over Wake Forest with more than a victory.
No. 6 Miami lost redshirt junior running back Marty Brown for the rest of the season, UM coach Mario Cristobal said Monday morning on WQAM’s The Joe Rose Show. Wide receiver Josh Moore is also done for the year after suffering an “upper body” injury, and linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin Jr. will be sidelined for several weeks.
“He’s going to be out for the rest of the season,” Cristobal said of Brown.
Brown’s injury came during a 32-yard run in the second quarter. He had trouble getting off the field and eventually had to be carted away from the sideline.
The 5-foot-11, 220-pound back was in his second season with Miami and had become an important part of the offense. Last season, he was the Hurricanes’ No. 2 running back and finished with 474 yards and seven touchdowns.
This year, he had 97 yards and one score before the injury.
Cristobal also said he expects running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and wide receiver Malachi Toney to be OK after both were banged up against Wake Forest. Defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. briefly left the game with an injury but returned quickly, and Cristobal said he should be fine, too.
“We got banged up,” Cristobal said. “An interesting kind of situation, but day-to-day.”
The loss of Brown thins Miami’s running back room behind Fletcher. Freshman Javian Mallory now has the second-most carries on the team with 20, along with 196 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Girard Pringle Jr. has 14 carries for 38 yards and one touchdown.
Miami also has junior Jordan Lyle back in the mix. Lyle was arrested in August on charges of fleeing police and reckless driving, though the fleeing police charge was dropped on Sept.
- Cristobal has not said whether the team has formally disciplined him, but Lyle has not appeared in UM’s first three games.
He dressed against Wake Forest and was not listed on the conference availability report before the game.
Cristobal said Lyle is available.
“He did serve the consequences that come with the issue,” Cristobal said. “He has been practicing with the team and certainly, he’s back and activated.”
Moore’s absence is another hit to an offense that was expecting more from him. He entered the season with momentum and had already produced seven catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
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Miami Kept Getting Chances And Finally Made Wake Forest Pay
Miami kept poking at Wake Forest until the miscues started to pile up, and the Demon Deacons never really recovered in a 33-20 loss. Gio Lopez did his part with 312 passing yards and three touchdowns, but the offense was constantly digging out of bad field position after a stream of flags undercut any momentum Wake Forest tried to build.
The special teams and penalty issues proved especially costly for Jake Dickerts group, with the Deacons repeatedly giving away the kind of hidden yards that can swing a tight game. A safety and a wiped-out return chance were among the plays that left Wake Forest chasing the game, and Dickert pointed to those special teams mistakes as a major reason Miami was able to pull away. [Read more 🡒]