Jadais Richard’s injury ‘significant,’ Cristobal said. What that means for Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal on Monday said cornerback Jadais Richard’s injury on Saturday is “significant” and that “it’ll be a while before he gets back.”

Richard, a junior who has stepped into a starting role this season, was carted off the field with an apparent knee injury following a fourth-quarter interception in No. 5 Miami’s eventual 53-31 win over the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.

The interception was the first of Richard’s career.

Richard had five tackles and a pass breakup in addition to the interception on Saturday. On the season, he has 27 tackles, three pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.

The Hurricanes are already thin at defensive back. They have been playing without Damari Brown basically all season since he sustained an injury in Miami’s season opener against Florida. Cristobal has said Brown should return later this season but is unlikely to be available on Saturday when Miami faces Georgia Tech on Saturday.

With Richard expected to miss time, the Hurricanes will be down to six healthy scholarship cornerbacks in Daryl Porter Jr., OJ Frederique Jr., D’Yoni Hill, Robert Stafford, Robby Washington and Ryan Mack.

“We’ll get another player out there and we’re gonna play,” defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said. “It’s just the way it is. Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for you. So we’re gonna do the best job we can. Scheme up what we’ve got. We’ll go out there and try to pull this thing off.”

True freshmen step up in key moment

One of the biggest moments in the Hurricanes’ comeback on Saturday was executed by a pair of freshmen in the third quarter.

It started when cornerback Frederique intercepted an overthrown pass by Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy and returned it 30 yards to the Duke 38.

Seven plays later, tight end Elija Lofton took a handoff from quarterback Cam Ward and ran into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Hurricanes a 32-28 lead with 3:08 left in the frame. Miami would never trail from that point.

“I just told him ‘Make sure that you secured the handoff,’” Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said of Lofton, “and he said ‘Get the ball in my hand and I’ll score.’ He’s a pretty confident, dude, and I was very confident that he would get it.”

While Frederique has been getting steady playing time, Lofton hasn’t gotten consistent touches through his first collegiate season. The four-star prospect out of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman has eight catches for 133 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown, this season, but only one of those catches has come in Atlantic Coast Conference play — a 24-yard catch at the Cal Golden Bears.

“We have the utmost trust in him,” Dawson said. “He’s going to have an unbelievable career here. The kid’s extremely talented. His attitude’s off the chart. He’s one of those guys that just is the same person every single day.”

Honors for Ward, Restrepo

Quarterback Cam Ward and wide receiver Xavier Restrepo on Monday earned weekly honors from the ACC for their performances on Saturday against Duke.

Ward was named the ACC Quarterback of the Week for the sixth time this season, while Restrepo earned his first ACC Receiver of the Week nod of the season.

Ward completed 25 of 41 passes for 400 yards and five touchdowns with an interception. His fifth touchdown, a 66-yard catch-and-run to Restrepo, was Ward’s 29th touchdown pass of the season, tying the single-season school record set by Steve Walsh during the 1988 season.

Restrepo caught eight passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns against Duke and became Miami’s career receiving yards leader in the process. He also tied the school record for career receptions, matching Mike Harley’s mark of 182 catches as a Hurricane.