Miami RB Mark Walton to undergo season-ending ankle surgery

Sam Cooper
·College football writer
Miami’s Mark Walton, right, jumps over Duke’s Ben Humphreys and Bryon Fields Jr. during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Durham, N.C., Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Miami’s Mark Walton, right, jumps over Duke’s Ben Humphreys and Bryon Fields Jr. during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Durham, N.C., Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Miami will be without leading rusher Mark Walton indefinitely.

The program announced Sunday that Walton, a junior, suffered a right ankle injury in its 24-20 win over Florida State on Saturday. The injury will require surgery. Miami said in its news release that a timetable for Walton’s return “has not been determined,” but head coach Mark Richt said on the ACC teleconference that Walton is indeed out for the rest of the season.

Walton was injured late in the fourth quarter of the Hurricanes’ win, which snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series against FSU, and was not on the field for the winning drive in the final minute. Walton, who entered the game nursing a left ankle injury, had only 25 yards on 12 attempts in the win.

Overall for the season, Walton has 428 yards and three touchdowns on just 56 attempts — an average of 7.6 yards per carry. He also has seven catches for 91 yards.

In 2016, Walton was a third-team All-ACC selection when he rushed for 1,117 yards and 14 touchdowns to go with 27 catches for 240 yards. He also had 450 yards and nine scores on the ground and 22 catches for 293 yards and a touchdown through the air as a true freshman in 2015.

Behind Walton, sophomore Travis Homer is second on the team in rushing with 212 yards and three scores on 25 attempts. Quarterback Malik Rosier is third with 126 yards and two scores. The only other player to carry the ball this year for the Hurricanes is junior Trayone Gray, who has just four rushes for 34 yards. Richt suggested freshman DeeJay Dallas could also be in line for touches.

The Hurricanes improved to 4-0 (2-0 ACC) on the year with Saturday’s win and moved up to No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25. Next on the schedule is a home game next Saturday against Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-0 ACC). The Yellow Jackets had a bye this weekend.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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