Mario Cristobal reveals Miami players who will miss Week 1

Miami is fairly healthy heading into its season opener against Miami (Ohio), but the Hurricanes do have a few players still working their way back from injuries

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal recently revealed who will miss the Week 1 matchup, which is scheduled for Friday night.

“Right now we feel that our entire team, minus the guys that had surgery, are going to be able to play. So the guys that had surgery were TreVonte’ Citizen. Jonathan Denis is really close. He may not play in this game but we think he’ll be ready for Game 2 or 3. Chase Smith is cleared. And he’s been repping with all the groups on special teams and on defense,” Cristobal said. “I would say Zion [Nelson] is going to be held back a little bit more. We expect him back, just not yet. We’ve taken this long to get it right. We want to get it right completely. … Maybe Antonio Tripp, because he’s still about three weeks back with his shoulder stuff. But besides that we feel like we’re a pretty healthy team going in.”

To recap, redshirt freshman running back TreVonte’ Citizen, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jonathan Denis, junior offensive lineman Zion Nelson and freshman offensive lineman Antonio Tripp appear likely to miss Friday’s opener for Miami.

Everyone else should be available, including Hurricanes redshirt sophomore linebacker Chase Smith, who was banged up this offseason.

Of the players who will miss the opener, Denis played in five games with two starts in 2022, while Nelson was a starter earlier in his career. He started 12 games at left tackle for the Hurricanes in 2021.

Mario Cristobal confirms Tyler Van Dyke is ‘100%,’ practicing at ‘full speed’

The list of Miami players banged up doesn’t include quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who Mario Cristobal said is fully healthy heading into the season.

Earlier this week, CaneSport reported that Van Dyke banged his thumb on the side of a helmet during a practice and was questionable for Week 1.

“I know there’s been a lot of buzz about Tyler Van Dyke and him being injured,” Cristobal told reporters. “Tyler’s been practicing at full speed. I think you guys reported something relative [to] him missing practice, and him and a couple of guys were due to camp. But he’s 100% and has been practicing with our team.”

Van Dyke is looking to take a big leap in his second year in Cristobal’s system. Injuries got in the way last year as he threw for 1,835 yards and 10 touchdowns in just nine game for Miami. It was a tough follow-up to an impressive 2021 season in which he totaled 2,931 yards and 25 yards as he brought home ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.