South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)

Nelson, George miss opener

- By Adam Lichtenste­in South Florida Sun Sentinel

MIAMI GARDENS — Although he was listed as a co-starter on the depth chart, left tackle Zion Nelson missed Miami’s season opener while he continues to recover from offseason knee surgery.

The fourth-year junior lineman did not warm up with the team before Saturday’s opener. Instead, fifth-year redshirt junior John Campbell Jr., who missed the entire 2021 season with a knee injury, started at left tackle for the Hurricanes.

Nelson did practice during the week, coach Mario Cristobal said.

“The good thing about guys like [Nelson] and guys like [running back Jaylan] Knighton is you’ve got to hold them back, right?” Cristobal said on Aug. 25. “It’s always difficult when you have to urge a guy to ‘Come on, man, let’s get going.’ So those two guys are competitor­s that want to play and they want to win. They really do. They want to see all the hard work put to good use.”

WR George also out

Sophomore wide receiver Jacolby George also did not suit up for Saturday’s seasonopen­er against Bethune-Cookman.

George practiced during the week but was reportedly wearing a scout-team jersey. The Hurricanes did not announce if any players were suspended before the game.

George is poised to have a bigger impact in the Hurricanes’ receiving corps this year. As a true freshman in 2021, he played in nine games and caught seven passes for 183 yards and one touchdown.

George is a Plantation alumnus and was rated a four-star prospect in 247Sports’ composite rating.

“I feel like there’s always room for improvemen­t to get better at something, even with school or anything,” George said at Miami’s media day on Aug. 2.

Depth-chart surprises

The Hurricanes waited till shortly before kickoff to release their initial depth chart, and with it came some news.

Mario Cristobal noted during the week that several positions were still up for grabs, and that fact was evident on the depth chart.

Eight positions had multiple players listed as starters: both defensive tackle spots, defensive end, both safety spots, running back, left tackle and left guard.

The wide receiver group had been contested all spring and fall. Third-year sophomore Key’Shawn Smith and third-year redshirt freshman Mike Redding earned the starting roles for this week.

Fourth-year junior Te’Cory Couch, who struggled at times last season, earned the starting job at the STAR position.

Some true freshmen got early nods on the depth chart, as well. On defense, Dillard alum Nyjalik Kelly is listed as a secondstri­ng defensive end behind two co-starters. Matthew McCoy was listed as the backup behind Nelson and Campbell at left tackle, and Anez Cooper was listed as the backup at right tackle.

UM announces captains

The Hurricanes announced star quarterbac­k Tyler Van Dyke as one of four captains for Saturday’s season-opening contest.

Additional­ly, Miami named defensive end Jahfari Harvey, wide receiver Xavier Restrepo and cornerback DJ Ivey as the team captains.

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