10 Days to Miami football: #85 Will Mallory 2018 Preview

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 04: Christopher Herndon IV
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 04: Christopher Herndon IV

Will Mallory is one half of the pair of top ten tight ends the Miami football program signed in the 2018 recruiting class. Mallory is expected to be a key part of the Hurricanes offense this season.

The injury to Michael Irvin II has necessitated that Mallory and classmate Brevin Jordan play major roles at tight end for the Miami football team this season. That begins with the season opener against LSU. Mallory and Jordan’s presence will allow the Hurricanes to use two tight ends frequently in 2018.

Mallory was ranked as the 211th best player overall, the eighth best tight end and the 37th best player in Florida per the 247Sports Composite rankings in the Class of 2018. He and Jordan are stepping into much bigger roles when it was announced that Irvin had surgery earlier this month after tearing his MCL.

Miami lacked depth at tight end in 2017 and will again this season with Irvin being out for four months. With Mallory and Jordan, the Hurricanes will be able to play a two tight end sets in 2018. The Miami offense was frequently successful using two tight end formations in 2016.

Jordan will often be utilized on the line of scrimmage and Mallory split out wide when Miami has them both in the game. David Njoku and Chris Herndon thrived for the Hurricanes sharing the tight end duties in 2016. The tandem combined for 71 receptions for 1,002 yards and ten touchdowns in Mark Richt’s first season.

Herndon was primarily the only Miami threat at tight end in 2017. He finished second on the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns last season. Herndon had 40 receptions for 477 yards and four touchdowns last season. Irvin had nine receptions for 78 yards.

Jordan has been getting the primary reps with the first team offense since Irvin’s injury two weeks ago. Mallory has usually alternated with the second and third team offenses with Sophomore Brian Polendey with Irvin out. The exception to that has been when the Hurricanes first-team offense has used two tight ends.

Jordan and Mallory have been the pair used in two tight end formations during the last two weeks. The Freshman duo has quickly developed a bond. They do nearly everything together. The Palm Beach Post profiled the roommates last week.

Mallory and Jordan both arrived in Coral Gables for the Summer School session A that began in May. Tight Ends and Special Teams Coach Todd Hartley spoke about his Freshmen prodigies during the Miami football media day last week.

"“It’s everything you hoped for in the recruiting process, when you’re bringing in two guys at one position…You hope they get along, you hope they understand each other’s role, you hope they really, truly understand how they can help each other.It will be very beneficial for our team and for our offense. And they’ve bought in from Day 1…When they knew they wanted to come here, they both said they wanted to commit at the same time. They committed within a week of each other. They both knew the positions we were going to play them in.”"

As was mentioned earlier, Jordan will likely play on the line and Mallory will be split out frequently. The positions they are playing are labeled as the Y tight end which is a hybrid between wide receiver and tight end. That is the position that Njoku played in 2016.

Jordan will be the F tight end which is the more traditional position on the line of scrimmage. He is more physically ready to handle the demands blocking on the line. Jordan is 6’3 245 pounds. Mallory is 6’5 230. Hartley elaborated on their capabilities as of media day for the Miami football team (August 13).

"“Brevin is a little bit more polished right now in the point of attack…But Will has gotten his fair share of reps there and has done a phenomenal job of what we asked him to do. Is he where we need him to be yet? No. But he’s not scared and he has not backed down from anything.So differences in their game, I would say Will is more of a downfield threat right now. Brevin is more of a versatility guy, where you can play him flexed out, put him in the backfield, put him attached. But they’re both going to be really good players for us.”"

Jordan and Mallory have a lot of confidence heading into the season while remaining humble. Football is in Mallory’s blood. He is the grandson of former longtime Division I Head Coach Bill Mallory, the son of former Michigan defensive lineman and longtime college and NFL assistant Coach Mike and nephew of coaches Doug and Curt.

Mallory spoke about playing with Jordan, the bond they are developing and the importance of studying the game. He began by discussing how often they discuss the playbook.

"“We talk about it every chance we get…whether it’s opening up film or we’re showing each other plays or we’re talking about something that happened at practice or we’re both trying to figure out what we did right, what we did wrong and how we can improve.I think us rooming together was probably the best match you could possibly get because we both help each other every day and I think we both see improvement every day and it’s just exciting for us.”"

A lot is being expected from Jordan and Mallory from the beginning of their careers. Having each other around should ease a lot of that burden. The Hurricanes also bring in an exceptionally talented group of Freshmen wide receivers. We will found out quickly how well they can handle the pressure at tight end U.

Schedule

Schedule