Slim at cornerback, Miami is just as shorthanded at safety. UM has five scholarship players listed at each position, although strikers Romeo Finley and Gilbert Frierson can double at defensive back.

Bubba Bolden, one of the team’s second-string safeties on the depth chart who transferred from Southern Cal this offseason, is still ineligible to play, the team said on Saturday.

“The University of Miami is working with the NCAA on Bubba Bolden’s behalf to clear his transfer requirements as soon as possible,” a UM spokesperson said in a statement. “Any change in his playing availability will be announced.”

Bolden was seen during pregame warmups without a helmet, in shorts and no pads. Bolden initially enrolled and joined the team in the middle of fall training camp.

Martell works out at receiver

Miami quarterback Tate Martell, who was said to still be competing for the backup quarterback job with N’Kosi Perry, warmed up at wide receiver during pregame warmups, and saw action there during the game.

On Wednesday, when Diaz was told reporters saw him wearing white — instead of the orange the quarterbacks wear — and was asked if Martell has been receptive to a move, Diaz said: “Yeah, just like anybody else we have. Anybody will help by doing anything that’s available.”

The Zion story

Retired Miami coach Mark Richt, who led the Hurricanes just last season, broke down the story of how UM discovered Zion Nelson on the new ACC Network on Friday night. Nelson, as a true freshman, started at left tackle on Saturday night.

Richt said his offensive line coach Stacy Searels “found him” in South Carolina. On Nelson’s official visit, he weighed 255 pounds, according to Richt, but the staff wasn’t deterred.

“We watched his tape. We saw him move. We saw his length,” Richt said. “We knew his hips were a little narrow — that’s kind of coach talk — but you looked at his growth potential. We were a little concerned about that, but he already weighs 285 pounds in just a few months. In a couple of years, who knows what that guy’s going to look like?”

Smith to Illinois

Ex-Hurricanes safety Derrick Smith has his transfer destination.

The junior, who more than a week ago as fall camp turned into game prep for Florida, announced he would be leaving Miami via Twitter on Friday night he would be going to Illinois.

Smith, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound Jacksonville Trinity Christian High product, played in 25 of the Hurricanes’ 26 games over the past two seasons, mostly on special teams, and totaled 24 tackles.