Why the Miami Hurricanes Need to Involve Cooper Barkate More

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

MIAMI, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes’ 33-20 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Friday left college football rising star and wide receiver Malachi Toney limited with an upper-body injury, which should urge offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson to ease the workload.

In the first three games of the season, the 19-year-old has caught 28 passes on 29 targets for 444 yards and five touchdowns. Toney is an early Heisman Trophy candidate; however, the Hurricanes can’t afford to lose him this early in the season. It’s the best time to give looks to the other playmakers, such as wide receiver Cooper Barkate.

The 23-year-old transferred to the Coral Gables program with an impressive resume. Last season at Duke, he caught 72 passes for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns. Barkate was quarterback Darian Mensah’s top target, helping the Blue Devils win the Atlantic Coast Conference.

As they start a new chapter in South Florida, the established on-field chemistry has yet to be fully utilized. Barkate has caught 10 passes on 11 targets for 96 yards and two touchdowns. He’s capable of contributing more to the offense; more than enough to allow Toney to recover.

In the season opener against Stanford, Mensah connected with Barkate for a 34-yard touchdown. It’s been the closest glimpse of what they had done before. Barkate has started in all three games thus far and logged 124 total snaps. He has a 60.3 Pro Football Focus offensive grade – 37th-best among ACC wide receivers.

As the Hurricanes navigate through Toney’s injury, a proper update could come as early as this week; Barkate could get more opportunity to playmake. He’s known to be a precise route runner and can complete contested catches. The Hurricanes have younger wide receivers, such as Joshua Moore, Daylyn Upshaw, Somourian Wingo, and Vance Spafford, but Barkate has four years of college football experience.

If Toney is available for this upcoming Saturday’s matchup against Central Michigan at Hard Rock Stadium, he will still get a fair amount of plays. However, spreading the field will likely be a higher priority to protect the Liberty City (Fla.) native from further injuries. The Hurricanes will have an opportunity to run the offense differently and test things further.

Although Barkate isn’t worried about the number of targets, an increase in production would benefit the team, impact winning, and give Toney a chance to heal before the ACC portion of the schedule starts.

Anthony Aguirre covers the Miami Hurricanes and Miami Heat for Roundtable Sports. Contact info for tips/info: alexagmu@gmail.com & 305-987-3290 | Follow on Instagram/X: @AnthonyA_Sports

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos