Miami Hurricanes down a third key cornerback after latest injury. What it means

The No. 7 Miami Hurricanes were already without two cornerbacks for their home opener against the Florida A&M Rattlers on Thursday night.

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And by the time the game kicked off, it was clear they were going to be without a third.

Junior Xavier Lucas, who has been one of Miami’s primary outside corners since transferring in to UM last season, did not play in Miami’s eventual 77-7 rout, with Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal saying postgame that Lucas will be out “approximately a month” after sustaining an undisclosed injury in the season-opener against Stanford last week.

“Hopefully that’ll be it,” Cristobal said, “and we’ll get him back.”

Lucas started 12 of Miami’s 16 games last season, finishing with 45 tackles, one interception and eight pass breakups.

Lucas only played 39 defensive snaps in Miami’s 45-6 win at Stanford on Friday and didn’t play after the midway point of the third quarter — well before the rest of the starters on defense were taken out of the game.

Lucas’ absence follows that of OJ Frederique Jr. (who started opposite Lucas on Friday at Stanford) and Ja’Boree Antoine, both of whom are already out long-term with injuries.

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Bryce Fitzgerald started at one of Miami’s outside cornerback spots on Thursday opposite Damari Brown. Freshman JJ Dunnigan took Fitzgerald’s spot at safety opposite Zechariah Poyser. Omar Thornton remained the starting nickel corner.

But because of the lopsided matchup, Cristobal and defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman were able to get a slew of underclassmen defensive backs valuable reps in the secondary.

The total snap breakdowns for the secondary on Thursday, a game in which all starters were out by halftime, was as follows (for context: Miami’s defense was on the field for 47 total plays):

-Cortez Redding: 24 snaps

-Isaiah Taylor: 24 snaps

-JJ Dunnigan: 23 snaps

-Zechariah Poyser: 23 snaps

-Ryan Mack: 21 snaps

-Chris Ewals Jr.: 18 snaps

-Bryce Fitzgerald: 17 snaps

-Camdin Portis: 15 snaps

-Brody Jennings: 15 snaps

-Ethan O’Connor: 11 snaps

-Jaelen Waters: 9 snaps

-Damari Brown: 6 snaps

-Takai Azziz: 3 snaps

-Andres Williams: 3 snaps

-Monroe Toney: 3 snaps

-Stone Stroud: 2 snaps

And even with Miami digging deep into its depth, the Hurricanes still held FAMU to 107 total yards, a 1 for 14 success rate on third down and zero points (the Rattlers’ only points came on a fumble recovery for a touchdown).

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This story was originally published September 10, 2026 at 8:10 PM.