Miami's Clive Walford, one of the most productive senior tight ends in the nation, has a knee injury that will cause him to miss the Hurricanes' bowl game.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Tuesday that Walford has a torn MCL, an injury suffered in this past Saturday's loss to Pittsburgh.
The newspaper reported that Walford's recovery time after surgery will be about two months, which means he could be ready to go for the NFL Scouting Combine in February. He is seen by most analysts as an early third-day pick in the 2015 draft.
Walford (6-foot-4, 258 pounds), who is a finalist for the Mackey Award, which goes to the nation's top tight end, was Miami's leading receiver with 44 receptions; those catches were good for 676 yards (15.4 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns. Walford is more advanced as a receiver than blocker, though his blocking has noticeably improved this season.
He is a former high school basketball player who played just one season of prep football. He moves well and has a big catch radius. While Walford has been plagued by drops at times, he knows how to get open and occasionally can get deep.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.