''This is the Reason I Came Here''

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Mohamed Toure thought he knew what to expect.

After already enduring one surgery to repair a torn ACL and navigating the ensuing rehab and recovery process in 2022, he initially figured – tough though it may be – that re-injuring his knee would be another challenge he could manage, another hurdle to overcome.

He never imagined the excruciating pain he’d feel, or that doctors would have to take tissue from one knee to repair the other. He never fathomed having to use a walker and he never expected darkness and fear to creep in the way they did.

That second injury – which had come less than two years after his first – proved to be more difficult and Toure, then a linebacker at Rutgers, began to worry about his future.

“It was tough. I thought I knew what was in store, but I wasn’t really prepared,” Toure said. “But God made sure I was prepared. That’s all I can say. He put me in the right mind and state to be able to handle everything at the time.”

When Toure first learned he’d reinjured his knee during fall camp in 2024, he concedes his emotions got the best of him.

There were tears. A sense of shock and disbelief. He briefly wondered if he’d made a mistake returning to Rutgers for his senior year instead of entering the NFL Draft.

But he tried to push those thoughts away as quickly as they came and made a decision.

He was going to do everything in his power to get better and get back on the field.

“We’re going to get back out there and give it our all,” Toure said. “We’re not giving up.”

Today, Toure is one of the leaders of Miami’s defense and he and his Hurricanes teammates are set to face Mississippi in a national semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.

With a win, Toure and the Hurricanes will return to Miami to play for a national championship on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium and getting to this point has been an experience Toure hasn’t taken for granted.

At all.

“It’s honestly been a blessing. That first game [of the season], I just stood there and took it all in. I was in tears and I couldn’t stop crying because it was like, ‘I’m here. I did it,’” Toure said. “I had sacrificed and been through so much to get to that point. Now, this is the reason I came here. I knew this team was capable. I knew we were more than capable with the talent and coaches and everybody they have in this building. I felt the energy and this is the living proof. We’re here. We’re doing it. We’ve just got to keep it going.”

Toure joined the Hurricanes last spring after making the difficult decision to transfer from Rutgers, where he’d spent the first six years of his career and totaled 168 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks over the course of 37 games.

As much as he loved playing in his home state, the New Jersey native felt he needed a fresh start. He entered his name in the transfer portal and before long, heard from a familiar face – new Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman.

Hetherman, who joined the Miami staff last January, had been the linebackers coach at Rutgers in 2022 and 2023 and knew all about Toure’s journey – and his skill set.

He knew bringing the veteran linebacker would give Miami’s defense an instant boost.

“He’s a guy that loves football and he’s a guy that wants to be playing with his teammates,” Hetherman said. “There are different guys that have done different things for this defense. There are guys that have stepped up in leadership roles. There’s guys that have pulled guys together. He’s a guy that he kind of knew the foundation and the structure of the defense. So, he had a start where everyone else in the spring had to learn it.

“He understood how we practice, how we play, the tempo, the style, how physical it is, how you finish plays, how you run to the football and how you swarm and then how you communicate. And I think that helped. In the spring, it wasn’t really where we wanted it to be and then in fall camp, we had a guy that could be like, ‘This is exactly what it looks like.’ … I think doing that all the way through camp and then on Saturdays has helped continue to develop and continue to grow the culture here.”

As the Hurricanes prepare to face Ole Miss, Toure has a team-high 69 tackles. He’s broken up five passes, notched two tackles for loss and has a sack, too.

He also made one of the most memorable plays of Miami’s playoff run, sacrificing his body to make a crucial stop during the Hurricanes’ CFP-opening win over Texas A&M.

With Miami clinging to a 10-3 lead and the Aggies inside Miami’s 5-yard line with just 33 seconds left, Toure broke up a pass from A&M quarterback Marcel Reed and delivered a bone-jarring hit in the process.

For a few scary minutes, Toure was down on the turf at Kyle Field, and more than 100,000 fans held their breaths waiting for him to get back up.

He did – and on the next play, Miami’s Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted Reed, sealing Miami’s win and sending the Hurricanes to the Cotton Bowl.

And despite all he’s physically endured during the course of his career, at no point during those crucial moments did Toure worry about putting himself on the line to make the play.

He just knew he wasn’t about to let his teammates down.

“I was just playing football, having fun with my brothers because I know any one of them out there would do the same thing,” Toure said. “We come in here every single day and we’ve worked so hard. I love these guys. They love me and from the first day I came in, they took me in. They don’t understand how much they took off my plate; how much they helped me mentally just by bringing me in and treating me like a brother. … I’d do anything for these guys and they know that. And I know it’s vice versa. I know they’d do the same for me. I’m continuously going to just go out there and give it my all for my brothers every single play.”

Said Miami linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, “He was willing to put his all out for the team and the guys, and man, that just shows the brotherhood that we have. He’s not just playing for himself. He’s playing for everybody.

As much as he’s playing for the Hurricanes, though, Toure takes the field every day playing for someone else: his 6-year-old son, Messiah.

During the toughest moments after both of his injuries, Toure focused on making sure he got stronger for not only himself, but Messiah, too. He wanted to make sure that he could one day show his son how important it is to be resilient, and to keep pushing through life’s challenges, both physical and mental.

Toure got himself back on the field and now he’s determined to keep doing all he can to make sure Miami’s defense continues building on its dominant postseason showing.

“I just want to make sure that I’m a good example for [Messiah] and I just keep showing him that no matter what you go through in life, that you don’t give up,” Toure said. “You don’t quit. You keep going and keep striving for greatness. Keep pushing through adversity. Even when the road gets tough, when you get knocked down, you dust yourself off and get back up and keep going.

“I feel like I’ve already been through so much and at this point, what can stop me now? I feel like the best is yet to come.”