Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
TE Mallory says he’s recovered from injury
Shoulder procedure kept 4th-year junior out of spring game
Miami Hurricanes fourth-year junior tight end Will Mallory says he has made a full recovery from the shoulder procedure that kept him out of spring drills.
“The shoulder’s doing good,” Mallory told 560-AM in an interview Tuesday night. “I’m basically full go now, so it’s good to be back.
“I missed being out there with the guys in the spring, but I feel good now and we’re getting after it in summer workouts.”
At the start of spring, Miami coach Manny Diaz said Mallory and fourth-year junior defensive tackle Nesta Silvera were both having “maintenance work done on their shoulders.”
Mallory, who had 22 receptions for 329 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games in 2020 as UM’s No. 2 tight end, said he took mental reps throughout the spring when he was out. It benefited him that quarterback D’Eriq King was right there with him watching practice as the signalcaller recovers from his torn ACL suffered during the Dec. 29 bowl game.
“When we go out there and we’re watching practice, he’s
really giving a different perspective on the offense, how it runs, improvements that I saw that I need to make from last year,” Mallory said. “Getting those mental reps was very helpful for me.”
Listed at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, Mallory looks to take the next step in his production after fellow tight end Brevin Jordan was drafted by the Houston Texans.
“With Brevin being gone now and me being the No. 1 tight end and getting those reps, I want to make plays for the team, be more consistent too,” Mallory said.
“[I want] to be that guy that D’Eriq can rely on to make plays more and more throughout the game and not disappear but be consistent, finish the whole game so I can help the team win.”
Taking the reins as the Hurricanes’ top tight end, Mallory is motivated to keep the program’s tradition of strong play at his position alive.
“That’s what I came in with, with that,” he said. “Growing up around guys like Jeremy Shockey and Jimmy Graham, and then learning more about guys like Greg Olsen and all these guys that have been here before us, yeah, there’s a responsibility.
“We take pride in that. Brevin being one of them that just left but passing kind of the torch. There’s a big responsibility to that because, every year, people look to us to see if we have those tight ends, if we have those guys, and I love it.
“It’s exactly what I came here for: to live up to that expectation.”