Projecting Miami's top offensive statistical leaders for the 2026 season

We're under two weeks before the Miami Hurricanes season opener at Stanford and training camp is about to break, so what better time than to do some projections of season numbers.

With so many weapons on offense, the potential for big numbers is across the board. These season numbers are predicted for a 13-game schedule — the 12-game regular season and the ACC Championship game. Obviously, if the Hurricanes make the playoffs as expected, they will play at least one more game. Last year, Miami played 16 games. And in college football, every game counts toward the overall stats.

2026 season projections for Miami's top offensive players

Quarterbacks

Darian Mensah: 4,174 yards on 69.1% passing, 42 touchdowns, 7 interceptions
The passing yards record is 4,313 yards by Cam Ward and I think Mensah is certainly going to be in close range after throwing for a hair under 4,000 yards last season. There might be some games where Mensah doesn't get the full four quarters or the running game is buzzing and that will limit some of his opportunities to throw. Mensah averaged nearly 36 attempts per game last season, so that's the number to watch. 

I expect Mensah to break Ward's school record for touchdown passes in a season (39). Will these numbers be worthy of the Heisman? We'll see, but it should absolutely get him an invitation to New York. 

Wide receivers

Malachi Toney: 77 catches, 1,019 yards, 14 total touchdowns (11 receptions, three rushing)
For a 13-game season, this seems about right. Miami has a much deeper group of wide receivers this year and Mensah is going to spread the wealth a bit, but Toney is simply too good to keep him from making an impact every game and should post huge numbers.

I didn't account for Toney's other all-purpose yards, but mark him down for 12 carries for 139 yards as well. He was also 4-for-7 passing with two touchdowns last season, but I doubt he'll be asked to throw any this year.

Cooper Barkate: 68 catches, 915 yards, eight touchdowns
I have both Daylyn Upshaw and Joshua Moore getting around 550–600 yards this season, so Barkate is going to have a little dip in his stats, but another great season for the well-traveled senior, falling just short of his third consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season in college football.

Joshua Moore: 31 catches, 573 yards, seven touchdowns
Daylyn Upshaw: 36 catches, 549 yards, four touchdowns
I am really high on Joshua Moore and, truth be told, I might be underselling him a bit. Moore's size on the outside is going to make him an attractive target for Mensah, especially in the red zone. Upshaw will be a frequent target as well and someone that 

Running backs

Mark Fletcher: 151 carries, 924 yards, nine touchdowns
If the Hurricanes make the playoffs as expected, Fletcher should eclipse 1,000 yards again, but I don't see too many games in the regular season where he'll get 15–20 carries or more. There are a lot of mouths to feed in the Miami backfield and Shannon Dawson is going to work with plenty of different backs to preserve Fletcher for the postseason. 

Fletcher isn't as much of a threat of a receiver out of the backfield, but you can add 12 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown to his overall total. 

RB Girard Pringle: 87 carries, 511 yards, six touchdowns
RB Char'Mar Brown: 55 carries, 366 yards, four touchdowns
Jordan Lyle is the big question mark here and, depending on what his playing status is early in the season, it could change the overall look of what Miami does out of the backfield. Pringle, however, proved that he was valuable in a rotation last year and the door is wide open for him to take on that role and possibly add to it. 

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