Jordan held out; Njoku to transfer
CORAL GABLES — Miami Hurricanes sophomore tight end Brevin Jordan was not at UM practice on Tuesday on the team’s bye week after missing Saturday’s 52-27 win over Louisville, and redshirt sophomore Evidence Njoku is no longer with the team.
“We held him out of practice [Tuesday],” UM coach Manny Diaz said. “Bye week, there’s no reason to — we didn’t have a very long practice [Tuesday]. He is getting better, and hopefully, we’ll have him for next week.”
Jordan had a walking boot on his left foot and was using a crutch to support his right side when walking on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. Heading into Saturday, Jordan had been labeled as a game-time decision by Diaz and day-to-day by offensive coordinator Dan Enos.
Also missing at tight end for Miami was Njoku, the younger brother of NFL tight end David Njoku, who also went to UM. Evidence Njoku was no longer listed on Miami’s online roster on Tuesday.
“Evidence Njoku came to me and said he intends to transfer,” Diaz said. “He’s a good young man. We wish him well wherever he ends up.”
Njoku tweeted a farewell from the program on Tuesday afternoon.
“I want to express my humility, gratitude, and appreciation to the fans and family of the University of Miami,” he wrote. “I am very fortunate to be a part of such a renowned brotherhood and family. The memories I have been blessed to be a part [of ] have been a direct influence of my growth as an athlete and man.
“After deep thought and discussion I have decided to enter the transfer portal to furthermore continue my athletic and academic career. I want to thank Coach Diaz and [tight ends coach Stephen] Field for their support of my position change, as well as the rest of the athletic staff and trainers. Thank you.”
Njoku was transitioning from receiver to tight end this season but was buried on the depth chart at each position.
He got into one game this season, Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 14. As a redshirt freshman last year, Njoku saw action in eight games, making one catch for 11 yards in the regular-season finale against Pittsburgh. He was a three-star recruit out of Wayne Hills High in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.
David Njoku was a firstround pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2017 after a standout career at Miami. He has nine receiving touchdowns in his pro career, missing much of this his third NFL season due to injury.
Sophomore Will Mallory and redshirt junior Michael Irvin II started Saturday’s game in a two-tight end set against Louisville. Brian Polendey has also gotten into the mix at the end of the past two games.
The Hurricanes play FIU at Marlins Park on Nov. 23 following their bye.
Linebackers to return spring: Injured redshirt sophomore linebackers Waynmon Steed (knee) and Bradley Jennings Jr. (groin) are unlikely to return before the end of the season, Diaz said Tuesday.
“It looks like the bowl game will still be too soon for both those guys, but full recovery by spring ball,” Diaz said. “We should have a good old competition in spring practice. I’m looking forward to that.”
Redshirt freshman linebacker Patrick Joyner Jr., who has recovered from a lower leg injury, saw his first action of the season on Saturday in the final minutes against Louisville.
“Pat did well when he was out there, in terms of going through his reads and fitting himself in the proper gap, which is great,” Diaz said. “Great to get him in and get him back healthy. He is moving better than he was moving earlier in the year. He was coming back from a pretty significant injury that occurred this summer, so fun to have him back in the unit and obviously add to our linebacker depth, which has been, as everyone knows, sort of lacking.”
With Joyner, originally coming to UM as a defensive end, back in playing conditioning, it provides another option to walk-on Ryan Ragone backing up Michael Pinckney at weakside linebacker.
GAINESVILLE — UF defensive end Jabari Zuniga’s return for one more year with the Gators has not gone according to plan.
In fact, Zuniga’s season pretty much has gone off the rails. A high-ankle sprain suffered Sept. 14 at Kentucky has limited the fifth-year senior to just eight full quarters of football and parts of five others all season.
Zuniga hopes to play Saturday at Missouri after sitting out this past weekend against Vanderbilt, the fifth game the redshirt senior has missed.
“I mean as a brother, as his friend, I mean I know it’s frustrating for him,” fifth-year senior defensive tackle Adam Shuler said. “It’s frustrating for us. But he’ll be ready when he’s ready.”
A healthy Zuniga opened the season as an unstoppable force, compiling 4.5 tackles for loss (three sacks) during wins against Miami and UTMartin. He has not been the same player since injuring his ankle on the third play at Kentucky.
Four games later, Zuniga reaggravated the injury during the first quarter at LSU, sat out the South Carolina and used the bye week to get ready to face Georgia. Zuniga recorded a tackle for loss on the game’s second snap, but soon left the game and was relegated to playing only on third downs.
Powerful, quick and experienced, the 6-foot-3, 246-pound Zuniga remains a high-level NFL prospect but had a chance to play his way into the first round of the 2020 draft.
“He put a lot of work into having a productive year this year. It didn’t really pan out,” said defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who has 11 seasons of NFL experience. “But that’s not going to affect him moving forward because he’s already put on tape the kind of player he is. This is just more a testament of his wanting