Stepping up
The Hurricanes’ two freshmen tight ends are being pushed into expanded roles.
CORAL GABLES More often than not, it’s almost impossible to convince two top-10 high school football prospects who share a position to play college football together at the same place.
But tight ends Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory don’t seem like the typical highlytouted college prospects. And Miami Hurricanes tights ends coach Todd Hartley isn’t one to back down from a challenge on the recruiting trail.
These days, the Hurricanes couldn’t be more grateful not only for Jordan and Mallory’s willingness to compete, but their budding friendship and Hartley’s push to bring the two tight ends to Coral Gables.
Less than a week after the Hurricanes lost veteran tight end Michael Irvin II to a knee injury that will keep him out approximately four months, Jordan and Mallory have found themselves thrust into the fire, with Jordan on Monday taking reps with the firststring offense and Mallory pushing behind him.
The plan, Hartley says, is to develop both enough that not only will they be ready to contribute in Miami’s Sept. 2 opener against LSU, but so they can eventually become the latest in a line of Hurricanes tight ends that includes the likes of Jeremy Shockey, Greg Olsen, Jimmy Graham, David Njoku and Chris Herndon.
And it’s no coincidence that many of those players are the ones the pair watched as they grew up, Jordan in Las Vegas, Mallory in Jacksonville.
“You can’t really beat the tradition they have here at ‘Tight End U’ and I think that excited both of us,” Mallory said Monday. “Every place you, you go, there should be competition and if there’s not, you’re not going to the right place. So me and him, I think we were both really excited that we both got to get in here and both work at the same time. We could both be in on the same time on offense and I think the vision the coaches had for us excited us.”
Like Mallory, Jordan sees the potential that exists for both freshmen to excel in the Hurricanes offense which has, under Hartley and coach Mark Richt, showcased two-tight end sets in the past.
Jordan also said it’s their close relationship off the field that is making the transition to college football easier for them both.
The two verbally committed to Miami within days of each other last year, Jordan pledging to the Hurricanes on April 16, 2017 and Mallory doing the same on April 21. When they attended Nike’s showcase for top-notch prospects — The Opening — they roomed together, trading tips and strategies and talking football when their onfield work was finished.
That dynamic has continued at Miami where both are roommates again.
“Moving here, our friendship has gotten so much better. We’re like best friends now. We do everything together, literally everything,” Jordan said.
Jordan, a former standout at Las Vegas power Bishop Gorman, arrived at Miami after a senior season that had him notch singleseason career highs in yards (1,111), receptions (63) and touchdowns (13).
Mallory, meanwhile, battled injuries as a senior, but made his mark at Jacksonville Providence where as a junior, he had 900 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 46 catches.
“When you’re bringing in two guys at one position, you hope they get along. You hope they understand each other’s role. You hope they really, truly understand how they can help each other,” Hartley said. “It will be very beneficial for our team and for our offense. And they’ve bought in from Day 1.
“When they knew they wanted to come here, they both said they wanted to commit at the same time. … They both knew the positions we were going to play them in. When they got here, they’re roommates and they really are really good friends. It’s funny because David [Njoku] and Chris [Herndon] were roommates. I relied on Chris to make sure David was at everything. I’m relying on Will to make sure Brevin is at everything. I’m like, ‘If he’s late, that’s on you, buddy. You’re responsible for getting his butt up.’ So it’s a really good relationship.”
The next step is making sure that relationship translates into production for the Hurricanes offense. Early on, even as they’ve been pressed into duty after Irvin’s injury, every expectation is that will come in time.
“Me and him both, I feel like we’re confident and we’re ready to step up and make that happen,” Mallory said.
Added Jordan, “We’re a two-headed monster, without a doubt. We’re going to be gross, for sure.”