Miami will play its biggest game in two decades without one of its most important pieces.
The Hurricanes’ initial availability report listed cornerback Damari Brown as out for the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against No. 2 Ohio State. Brown also missed Miami’s 10-3 CFP first-round win at Texas A&M on Dec. 20, and he never appeared during the media viewing window at practice over the weekend.
That absence matters because Brown brought size and patience to the defensive backfield. The 6-foot-2 sophomore played in all 12 regular season games, started five (including the last four), and totaled 24 tackles with a pass breakup. He logged 385 defensive snaps and carried a 75.9 PFF defensive grade that ranked second among Miami corners, behind Keionte Scott.
Now, Miami must solve Ohio State’s passing game without a corner who could match up physically with Jeremiah Smith. Smith finished the season with 80 catches for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin threw for 3,323 yards with 31 passing touchdowns. The Buckeyes completed 78 percent of their passes as a team.
Brown also faced Smith in South Florida during the 2022 high school season, a detail that only underlines how familiar — and how valuable — that matchup could have looked on New Year’s Eve.
Expect Miami to lean on a rotation that handled most of the outside work against Texas A&M. Scott should hold down the nickel, while Xavier Lucas, OJ Frederique Jr. and Ethan O’Connor take the bulk of the perimeter snaps. Lucas brings production: 25 solo tackles, seven pass breakups and an interception. Scott brings experience plus ball disruption: 35 solo tackles, five pass breakups and an pick.
That group must tackle in space and force Sayin to drive the field. Miami can’t hand Ohio State short fields through missed tackles, busted coverage or cheap penalties on third down. Without Brown, the margin shrinks, especially if Miami needs to shift help toward Smith and then deal with the Buckeyes’ next wave of targets.
Brown won’t suit up, but Miami still controls its response: communicate early, disguise late, tackle like the season depends on it — because it does.
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