Mario Cristobal has assembled a potent offense for his 2026 Miami Hurricanes.
Quarterback Darian Mensah was the nation’s second-leading passer last year at Duke. With Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate, the Hurricanes are the only team with two receivers who eclipsed the thousand-yard mark in 2025. Miami returns a 1,000-plus-yard rusher with Mark Fletcher Jr.
Miami’s offense looks talented enough to potentially put up 40+ points per game.
The Hurricanes have enough depth to push their top playmakers, as there are a handful of starting jobs that remain up for grabs.
Training camp will begin in early August. These are the top battles on offense that we will continue to monitor.
Deep wide receiver room
We mentioned Toney and Barkate. Miami features three starting receivers in Shannon Dawson’s offense. Who will be the third?
Sophomore Joshua Moore is physical and explosive. At 6-4, 220, he fits the profile of a prototypical X receiver. He’s young, but I believe he has the highest ceiling. He will have to prove his consistency to his coaches as the season approaches.
The Hurricanes brought in a pair of experienced competitors through the Transfer Portal. West Virginia transfer Cam Vaughn and former South Carolina Gamecock Dre Jacobs have offered steady competition to Moore so far. Throughout spring practice, each of those three had certain days where they outperformed the others. The competition has been tight so far.
A name we shouldn’t sleep on is Daylyn Upshaw. The true sophomore made some explosive plays in the handful of opportunities he earned in games last year. Upshaw has had a fantastic offseason, spending extra time working out with Mensah to build chemistry. He can potentially play spoiler and earn a starting job.
Important note: Miami will rotate their receivers. Whoever doesn’t win a starting spot can still earn opportunities to play frequently. It’s also worth mentioning that starting lineups are fluid and can change game by game. Whoever starts Game 1 might not necessarily start Game 2, and so on.
Fall camp will give me another chance to scout the true freshman receivers. Miami has four of them in Somourian Wingo, Milan Parris, Vance Spafford, and Tyran Evans. Wingo and Parris look like the two who could be ready to make an immediate impact. Can either or both of them shock the fans and earn a prominent spot in the rotation?
Tight ends due for a bounce back?
Miami didn’t get significant receiving stats from the tight end room last season, but that could change this year.
Junior Elija Lofton was hobbled with injury. He’s healthy now and has dropped about ten pounds of extra weight.
Sophomore Luka Gilbert is a physical presence at 6-7, 255, and he had some solid moments in spring.
I am bullish on the future of the two freshman tight ends: Gavin Mueller and Israel Briggs. Mueller was limited with a non-contact jersey for most of spring, but he moves incredibly well and looks the part of a future playmaker. Briggs stepped up late in the spring as he added weight and showed his value as both a receiver and a blocker.
Both of these newcomers look like legitimate competitors to earn meaningful snaps. I could honestly see any and every possible depth chart combination as a possibility. Tight end feels wide open.
Miami has a new tight ends coach, with former Army OL coach Mike Viti taking over the gig from Cody Woodiel. A new position coach means a clean slate. Let the competition continue!
Running backs
Arguably the deepest position on the entire roster. I predict the order to be Mark Fletcher Jr., Marty Brown, Girard Pringle, and then Jordan Lyle. Predictions are fun, but this group is so talented that the order could easily be different and can change throughout the season.
Lyle is a major x-factor because he wasn’t healthy last year, and that caused him to miss time and then fall down the depth chart. He’s back to full fitness, and Fletcher confirmed that to me at ACC Kickoff Media Days. A healthy Lyle can surge to the number two spot.
Fletcher's position at the top of the pecking order feels secure after his dominant run through the College Football Playoff.
Pringle earned multiple starts late in the regular season when Fletcher was banged up.
Don’t sleep on true freshman Javian Mallory. Mallory had an excellent spring and has embraced the competition and the dog-eat-dog mentality that comes with such a strong RB room. Mallory has a chance to show continued improvement in his first fall camp as a Cane.
I don’t know if a five-man rotation is feasible or realistic, but if anyone gets banged up during the season, the next man up will be STRONG.
Offensive line
As DMoney from CanesInsight pointed out to me this week on my Locked On Canes Podcast, fourth-year standout Samson Okunlola can become the training camp x-factor for this group.
Two things are true about Okunlola. 1. He’s almost certainly going to be a full-time starter this season. 2. Since he missed spring with injury, we don’t know for sure where OL coach Alex Mirabal plans to play him in 2026.
I have Samson penciled in as my starting left guard, but he was a 5-star left tackle coming out of high school. Mirabal loves to cross-train his players in order to prepare them to play as many positions as possible. If he decides that Okunlola is a better fit at tackle, that could lead to either Matt McCoy or Jackson Cantwell kicking inside this year. Mirabal wants his best five on the field.
Cantwell’s continued growth will be a must-see for me at camp. The five-star true freshman soaks in new techniques like a sponge and moves with grace even at 6-8, 335.
Sophomore guard/center SJ Alofaituli will have a chance to compete for significant playing time as either a starter or a top rotational player. He had a strong spring.
I’ll be keeping an eye out for some of the younger O-linemen, like true freshmen Ben Congdon, Joel Irvin, Rhys Woodrow, and JJ Sparks. Irvin was banged up during spring ball, so training camp will be my first chance to get a real look at him. He comes in with hype.
