Miami Hurricanes’ Cooper Barkate Aligned for Full-Circle Point Against Notre Dame?

Ahead of Saturday night's kickoff between the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes and No. 11 Notre Dame, redshirt senior wide receiver Cooper Barkate will be the center of attention for the first time this season.

The 23-year-old has taken a back-seat role to superstar Malachi Toney, who didn't travel to South Bend (IN) following Thursday's tightrope surgery. Barkate has 28 catches (33 targets) for 372 yards while scoring four touchdowns in eight games. However, an expanded role appears bound in Toney's absence.

Barkate isn't new to being quarterback Darian Mensah's top option. Last season, at Duke, they connected on 72 catches for 1,106 yards while scoring seven touchdowns. Together, Mensah and Barkate won the Atlantic Coast Conference for the Blue Devils for the first time since 1989.

Entering Saturday's historic rivalry matchup, there's a bit of history between the Newport Beach (Calif.) native and Notre Dame.

Coming from Mater Dei High School, a private and Catholic institution, Barkate was a three-star, top-30 athlete recruit. As a senior, he caught 27 passes for 678 yards while scoring 10 touchdowns in 12 games.

Barkate received just nine Power Four scholarship offers; meanwhile, Notre Dame came calling. Former recruiting and special teams coordinator Brian Polian was the one who set it up from the start. Barkate made a couple of visits to South Bend, including for a game against Navy.

Along with having opportunities to play for UCLA, Utah, Oregon, and the independent program, the West Coast recruit decided to attend Harvard.

Barkate took a different route, but it has led to promising results. In three seasons at Cambridge (MA), he caught 113 passes for 1,742 yards while scoring 14 touchdowns in 25 games (19 starts). After gaining on-field experience and receiving a high-quality education, Barkate entered the transfer portal to take on bigger challenges.

After finding a new home in Durham (NC), it turned out to be the best decision. Barkate had a career season and received All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors. He then followed Mensah to Coral Gables and the Hurricanes currently have an 8-0 record and are No. 1 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.

Barkate's stats haven't been flashy, but the fifth-year veteran has been consistently involved. However, as Toney is sidelined for Saturday night against Notre Dame and likely for the rest of the regular season, this presents an opportunity to reclaim the spotlight. Barkate's resurging campaign can start against the program that wanted to take a chance on him when several didn't

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. E.T. and will be televised on NBC and Peacock (subscription is required).

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