The Miami Hurricanes share a confident initial injury report ahead of their College Football Playoff game against the Texas A&M Aggies, especially regarding Keionte Scott.
The Miami Hurricanes have released the first initial injury report ahead of the College Football Playoff first-round game against the Texas A&M Aggies. It shared a great sign for a particular star defender.
Cornerback Keionte Scott is listed as "probable" for Saturday's big afternoon showdown. He's been sidelined since Nov. 15th due to a lower extremity injury. The redshirt senior is one of the best in the nation at his position, finishing the regular season with 44 total tackles, 30 solos and 14 assists, three sacks, 1 forced fumble, and an interception which resulted in a 38-yard touchdown against the Syracuse Orange.
"Keionte is the best teammate I've ever had," safety Jakobe Thomas said. "He's working, absolutely, as hard as he possibly can to get back as fast as possible at 100 percent. Day-to-day, he's in the room with us, motivating, keeping guys locked in, focused. Helping us focus on the little minor details."
At one point, the 24-year-old was the highest PFF-graded cornerback in the nation, before being sidelined for the final three weeks of the regular season. If the Hurricanes get him back on the field, which appears to be the trajectory, it will provide a massive "boost" to the defense.
"He looks okay," Mario Cristobal said. "It looks like he's certainly progressing. He's getting a fair amount of reps and I stated on Sunday that we were hopeful and we still are. We feel confident in his progress and feel like he's gaining ground towards being able to play on Saturday."
Meanwhile, defensive back Damari Brown is questionable due to what could be a turf toe injury, which is not fully confirmed. The redshirt sophomore had a career season, appearing in all 12 regular-season games, starting in five, recording 24 total tackles, 16 solos and eight assists, and one pass defended.
Other than Scott, missing a key defender in Brown would impact the Hurricanes.
Wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw is listed as doubtful, appearing in five games throughout the regular season, catching seven passes for 105 yards. Meanwhile, linebacker Malik Bryant is ruled out, not appearing in the Hurricanes' first-ever College Football Playoff game. The junior only appeared in three games, recording two total tackles, one solo and one assist.
As for the Aggies, their injury report is much shorter, with senior safety Bryce Anderson and senior linebacker Scooby Williams both listed as probable. Meanwhile, running back Le'Veon Moss is questionable due to an undisclosed injury.
Set your calendars: Dec. 20th, at College Station, Texas, 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on ABC. It's going to be a thriller.
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