A setback for tackle Zion Nelson, another hurt pass catcher add to Miami’s injury woes

The Miami Hurricanes are hurting, and not just mentally and emotionally because of their embarrassing 45-31 loss to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders last month before the bye week.

Jaylan Knighton, Henry Parrish Jr., Zion Nelson, Tyrique Stevenson, Daryl Porter Jr. and Lou Hedley were all dinged up going into the bye, and Elijah Arroyo is now hurting, too. Although he will wait until later in the week to announce specifics about players’ statuses, Mario Cristobal said Miami will be missing some players when it hosts the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.

“We have some guys that are going to be out, that haven’t healed up yet,” Cristobal said, “but we aren’t going to be able to give a full assessment on that until the end of the week.”

In the Middle Tennessee game, Knighton went down with an ankle injury, Parrish went out with an unspecified injury, Stevenson missed the entire second half with a lower-extremity injury and Porter hurt his shoulder, while Nelson also sat out because of a setback with his left knee and Hedley was limited to just holding after he sustained a leg strain during pregame warm-ups.

Arroyo, Cristobal said, is also now injured, although it’s not clear when the injury occurred.

Running back depth takes hit

With Knighton and Parrish now dealing with injuries, the Hurricanes (2-2) are staring at the possibility of playing without four of their five scholarship running backs this weekend, following long-term injuries to running backs TreVonte’ Citizen and Donald Chaney Jr. in the preseason.

It means running back Thaddius Franklin Jr. could be in line to make his first career start this week.

Franklin, who leads the team with five touchdowns so far this season, paced the tailbacks with 49 snaps against the Blue Raiders, handling the bulk of the workload in the second half after Knighton and Parrish went out.

Beyond Franklin, walk-on running backs Terrell Walden II, Lucious Stanley and Devon Perry could also see action, if Knighton and Parrish are out. All three played well in Week 1 against the FCS Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, combining for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

“We’re working on trying to get healthy. It’s too early in the week to say where we’re at,” Cristobal said. “We’re on the mend. Certainly, guys are on a positive path to getting healthy again, but we’re not all the way there.”

Miami loses another passing weapon

With wide receivers Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George both expected to miss at least a few more weeks, Miami’s tight ends have become some of the most important receivers on the roster, and now the Hurricanes could be missing a key contributor there, too.

Arroyo, who has started three of four games this season next to star tight end Will Mallory, is questionable to play against North Carolina.

“He did get banged up,” Cristobal said, “so we’re not sure if he’s going to play for us this Saturday.”

If Miami wants to keep starting two tight ends, freshman Jaleel Skinner could make his first career start opposite Mallory. The tight end caught a 17-yard pass in the fourth quarter against Middle Tennessee, coming a yard away from scoring his first touchdown.

As for Restrepo and George, the two wideouts could both still miss another month. George, who missed the Hurricanes’ last game with a hand injury, could miss another two to three, with “a worst case of four to five” weeks, Cristobal said. Restrepo, who has missed the past two games with a foot injury, will likely miss at least another “5 1/2 weeks,” Cristobal said.

Miami’s Nelson has setback

After making his season debut in the Hurricanes’ close loss to the then-No. 24 Texas A&M Aggies in Week 3, Nelson didn’t play against the Blue Raiders in Week 4 because he experienced “a setback,” Cristobal said.

Nelson, who garnered preseason All-America recognition, missed the first two games of the year after having surgery to clean loose cartilage out of his left knee in July. The star tackle is now questionable for Miami’s next game.

“We expect that it’s going to be close,” Cristobal said.

The junior started every game at left tackle last year, but came off the bench in his lone appearance this season, rotating in at both tackle spots. Offensive lineman John Campbell Jr. has started all four games at left tackle and earned rave reviews from Cristobal.

The rest of Miami’s injuries

Although Cristobal didn’t give specific updates on his dinged-up cornerbacks or Hedley, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said his understanding is Stevenson is “doing fine.”

If Stevenson can’t go, Miami could look for expanded roles for cornerbacks Malik Curtis and Isaiah Dunson, plus Porter, if he’s healthy.

At punter, Will Hutchinson would start his second straight game, if Hedley can’t go. The punter averaged 47.3 yards on three kicks in his debut, booming one 57.