There were a lot of good things to take from the Miami Hurricanes' 45-6 win over Stanford in Friday night's season opener. And there were a few things that will need to be fixed. But there's no question that the injury to starting cornerback OJ Frederique is the thing that should concern fans the most, and Mario Cristobal isn't doing much to calm worries. His postgame comments sure keep people guessing.
"We’ll see. We have to examine him. He was banged up, and we had to remove him from the game. Hopefully, it isn’t too serious," Cristobal said after the final whistle.
Miami is back home, and Frederique will have tests over the weekend to determine the extent of what should be described as an upper-body injury. Frederique lasted two plays in the season-opener before it looked like he injured his shoulder while making a tackle. If he does miss extended time, it could spell trouble for the Canes.
ESPN talking about OJ Frederique Injury pic.twitter.com/WrUla9Q7fh
— Grant Reacts (@GrantReacts1) September 5, 2026
OJ Frederique's injury puts a damper on a successful Week 1 win for Miami
This is supposed to be Frederique's year. The junior is the No. 1 corner on the roster and, as a former three-star prospect, he is a shining example of Miami's commitment to developing its recruits rather than simply relying on rankings each year.
However, Frederique's biggest issue since arriving in Coral Gables has been his availability. He missed five games last year with various injuries, including a three-game stretch in the second half of the season, and he was carted off the field in the Cotton Bowl with a leg injury. He was able to recover quickly and play in the Fiesta Bowl and the CFP Championship Game, but any hopes that Frederique was cured of the injury bug evaporated early against Stanford on the road.
The good news is that Miami's schedule for the next few weeks is favorable. If Frederique's injury is not deemed serious, he could get light work against Florida A&M, Wake Forest and Central Michigan to ramp things up before the Oct. 3 road game against Clemson.
However, if Frederique's injury will keep him out for several weeks, the Hurricanes secondary will be leaning heavily on Damari Brown and Ethan O'Connor to play opposite of Xavier Lucas. Both players have experience starting and did so multiple times last year. There is some flexibility with some of the safeties that can also line up as a nickel corner, but against the Cardinal, it was Brown that led all corners with 55 snaps and O'Connor was second with 49.
Other young players, like Camdin Portis and Chris Ewald Jr., played limited snaps, but were recruited as cornerbacks and will likely get more work during practice and then Thursday night against the Rattlers.
Frederique's injury is one that Cristobal and Corey Hetherman have to hope isn't too serious, but there are a number of players ready to step up, and the Hurricanes will have a few weeks to see who emerges. Soon enough too, more info should be available, but it's safe to assume fans are hoping for the best when it comes to the star corner's health.
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