Miami Central 4-star safety Amari Wallace seriously injured in team scrimmage

University of Miami commit suffered a compound fracture to his leg and will miss the 2024 season

Miami Central 4-star safety Amari Wallace (2), who has committed to the University of Miami, reportedly will miss the 2024 season after suffering a compound fracture to one of his legs during an 11-on-11 full-contract scrimmage on Tuesday. / Matt Christopher

Explosive news is developing out of the South Florida high school football scene as Miami Central 4-star safety Amari Wallace was reportedly injured during an 11-on-11 team scrimmage with another school, that will cause him to miss the 2024 season.

Wallace, a senior who has committed to the University of Miami, apparently suffered a compound fracture to one of his legs, according to witnesses with knowledge of the incident. Wallace was a candidate for early enrollment at Miami, in January, and was expected to compete for a starting job with the Hurricanes as a true freshman. Recovery time from a compound fracture to a leg can be as much as 15 months which would jeopardize Wallace's 2025 season as well.

The start date for high school football practice in Florida in 2024, according to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), is July 29 and full-contact practices are not allowed to begin until August 3.

Summer scrimmages in Florida, such as those which take place in third-party team camps, must be sanctioned. According to the FHSAA, however, two teams are not allowed to directly engage in a scrimmage organized solely by the schools.

As of this posting, SBLive has not been able to determine if this scrimmage was part of a sanctioned event. Requests for comment to Miami Central principal Raymond J. Sands and Rockets' head coach Jude Joseph have not been answered. SBLive has also reached out to Wallace but has received no response.

FHSAA Policy 20.1.2 Football states: "A member school shall not permit student-athletes in its football programs to wear helmets or pads or engage in physical contact in any activity sponsored by or under the supervision of the schoool during the summer. This shall not preclude the school from issuing school-owned equipment to a student-athlete for his/her use at a summer football camp, provided the camp is organized, operated, and conducted by a third-party entity,such as but not limited to, American Youth Football, AAU Football, USA Football, colleges and universities, etc., and is not affiliated with a member school, such as but not limited to, booster clubs, affiliated church organizations, etc. FHSAA member school coaches, paid or otherwise, may not be involved in the organization, supervision, or coordination of camps that involve students from FHSAA member schools. Camps hosted by a third party, which allow the use of helmets or pads or engage in physical contact, may not be held at a member school's facility."

Rule 20.1.2.1 does provide an exception which allows member schools to attend on padded contact camp, hosted by a third-party, during the summer, provided:

a) The camp involves a minimum of four (4) participating schools, whether hosted on a member school's campus or a third-party site;
b) The camp is a maximum of three (3) consecutive days;
c) The only form of full contact used throughout the camp is THUD (Administrative Procedure 4.7.3.1(c));
d) Equipment used throughout the camp is limited to SHELLS (Administrative Procedure 4.7.3.1(f));
e) A Certified Athletic Trainer must be present to ensure Policies 40, 41, 42 and 43 are followed:
f) All students must have participated in acclimatization practices listed in Policy 41.5.7 for five (5) days immediately preceding the camp;
g) The member school must submit their team camp application to the FHSAA Office prior to the start of summer as defined in Policy 20.2. Each student must have valid and active insurance that covers summer activities approved by the school district governing body.

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RELATED: Amari Wallace, 4-star 2025 defensive back, commits to Miami (FL), over Auburn, Louisville and LSU

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Wallace committed to Miami just last month, picking the hometown Hurricanes over finalists Auburn, Louisville and LSU. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound defensive back made 44 tackles, defended 10 passes defended and had two interceptions during Miami Central's run to the 2022 Florida 2M state championship. In 2023 Wallace had three interceptions as well as six passes defended and one caused fumble.

Miami Central head football coach Jube Joseph (front center) celebrates the Rockets' victory in the 2022 FHSAA Class 2M state championship game with star defensive back Amari Wallace (2). / Matt Christopher

This incident took place less than two weeks after the Miami Central and rival Miami Northwestern football teams engaged in violent brawl while departing the TuTu Atwell Foundation at Charles Hadley Park. Both teams were excused from the event after fighting during a game and the larger brawl, which involved parents and coaches, broke out near the parking lot as both teams were leaving.

When asked to comment on the brawl by SBLive, Joseph said, "Honestly rather not. Both programs have met this am with district officials and are working on a proactive resolution in being a collective united front for our community. No need to report on this matter as it is water under the bridge at this point. We stand united and look to put on a great game Oct. 4th."

October 4th is the date Miami Central and Miami Northwestern are scheduled to meet in the regular season. Miami Central is ranked No. 4 in the SBLive Florida Preseason Power 25 state football rankings, which came out this week.

Miami Northwestern first year head coach Teddy Bridgewater, who retired from the NFL after last season, replied, "No comment," when contacted by SBLive.

This is a developing story which may be updated.