Mario Cristobal provides injury update on Akheem Mesidor

The Miami Hurricanes and Mario Cristobal are hoping to see Ahkeem Mesidor return to the field this weekend.

As Cristobal searched far and wide for pass rushers this offseason, he dipped into the transfer portal. As a result, Mesidor took his talents to South Beach, formerly a defensive tackle at West Virginia.

Unfortunately, Mesidor suffered a minor injury in practice last week that forced him to miss last Saturday’s victory over Southern Mississippi following a promising start to his time with Miami. With a new week ahead, Cristobal provided an update on the promising defensive lineman.

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“He did, he practices for about half the time,” Cristobal responded, when asked if Mesidor was practicing. “I think he’ll be a full-speed player by tomorrow. It’s nothing major, it’s something that’s more nagging. That should be cleaned up, wiped out by tomorrow, Wednesday. Tomorrow or Wednesday, I should say. So we feel good that he’ll be a full-speed player on Saturday.”

Playing inside last year, Mesidor was able to record 38 tackles and eight tackles for a loss. In the pass rush, the freshly-minted Miami product sacked the quarterback 4.5 times and forced four hurries. Mesidor is listed at 6-3, 280 pounds on the official roster, but Cristobal still thinks he can play outside with that frame.

“He’s made a big-time impression,” Cristobal said, earlier this summer. “His presence was felt. I think we all knew he was physical and explosive. Didn’t know how versatile he was. He plays inside, he plays outside. Really good in terms of the use of his hands, setting edges, being able to counter. 

“Very few guys are able to get stuck and come out of it with a good counter move and then have a counter after that. He has that. He can bend, very smart, very competitive, and he’s got an edge to him as well. We want guys that play with an edge, it’s very important. Especially where he plays.”

In Miami’s opening contest against Bethune, Ahkeem Mesidor accumulated four tackles and one sack. As the Hurricanes prepare for a huge showdown with an angry Texas A&M squad on Saturday, they’ll prefer to have their defensive lineman in the mix against the Aggies.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this article.