Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Building on early success
Freshmen tight ends Mallory, Jordan feed off each other’s play
CORAL GABLES — On Saturday evening, when Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory took the field for their first home game as Hurricanes, each dealt with his own nervous jitters.
For Mallory, they came late in the first quarter when quarterback Malik Rosier sent a pass his way, and the 6-foot-5 tight end — who was making his first start — went up over Tigers cornerback Vanquez Bonner, wrapped his hands around Rosier’s pass and held on as he came down in the end zone.
The touchdown was Miami’s first of 11 on the day and the first of Mallory’s Hurricanes career. It was also a play he knew had to be made.
“It was my one opportunity, and if I didn’t get that, it probably wouldn’t get back to me again in the future,” Mallory said with a smile. “I knew I had to make a play and it worked out that way.”
For Jordan, the nerves were rattled well before the game kicked off. For him, merely getting on the field was somewhat of an accomplishment.
“I wasn’t worried about the crowd, but running out the smoke and the tunnel? I couldn’t see anything. I had to hold on to somebody,” Jordan laughed Saturday night after Miami’s 77-0 win over Savannah State. “It was crazy. I was just scared I was going to trip and have anybody else behind me falling. But, other than that, it was a great feel-
ing. This was the perfect way to envision my first home game at Hard Rock.”
That game, it turned out, was memorable for both young tight ends.
Jordan, who got the start in the Hurricanes’ opener against LSU but didn’t catch a pass against the Tigers, finished with a game-high seven catches for 52 yards against Savannah State. He scored twice in the third quarter, first on a 3-yard touchdown pass from N’Kosi Perry and later on a 7-yarder.
He was also the first to congratulate his good friend and roommate when Mallory scored, sprinting across the end zone to grab Mallory in a bear hug as other teammates scrambled to join them.
It was a moment Hurricanes coach Mark Richt noticed, one he says is typical of the two freshmen who arrived at Miami bearing sky-high expectations which were only heightened after veteran tight end Michael Irvin II was hurt in camp and sidelined for four months.
Now, as Jordan and Mallory continue adapting to the speed and power of the college game, the hope is their growth will continue, especially with the 21st-ranked Hurricanes (1-1) expecting a tough environment when they travel to Toledo (1-0) this week for their first true road game of the season.
“They’re big-time players. You see those plays and get enamored with those plays,” Richt said. “Right now Brevin is ahead of Mallory when it comes to blocking. Tight ends have to block in this system, too. Mallory has a tougher job. Brevin is basically playing in one spot. … It’s tougher for Mallory right this minute because he’s got almost double the assignments. But if you put them up in front of the board and ask them what to do in this look and that look, they’ll get it. Most of the time they’ll get it in practice. Most of the time they’ll get in the game. Sometimes they’re not sure. … But they’re the right kind of kids. They’re smart, tough, diligent and mature enough to understand how hard it is to play.”
They’re also determined to push each other to be better.
Instead of balking when they learned each was being recruited by Miami, the two former top-10 prospects committed to the Hurricanes within days of each other. They began exchanging text messages and were roommates at The Opening, a high-level Nike recruiting showcase.
The two know Miami coaches envision them working together the way David Njoku and Chris Herndon did in 2016, and that was one of the reasons Jordan and Mallory were intrigued by the chance to play together — even if it means they’re fighting each other for playing time when the Hurricanes go away from their two-tight end sets.
“I think we both look at it as just it’s a good opportunity for both of us to push each other and improve,” said Mallory, who missed a good chunk of his senior year at Jacksonville Providence while dealing with injuries. “Whether who’s starting, if he’s starting … and I’m coming in after him, I think we both see it as an opportunity to just improve. We’re so young, and we have a lot of years ahead of us. I think we just see it as chances to improve and just get used to the game.”
And their starting quarterback says he’s already seen the two improve during their short time on campus.
“The big thing you see from them is confidence,” Rosier said. “I remember them coming out here on the first day of fall camp and they were frustrated because they were missing plays and making mistakes. I was like, ‘Bro, you just got here. You’re fine.’ You see them now, you see Will score the touchdown and the first person [celebrating with him] is Brevin. Their confidence is growing. Their maturity is growing. Their knowledge of the game is growing.”