Story by
Who will Hurricanes start on rebuilt offensive line against Stanford?
- Story by
- Who will Hurricanes start on rebuilt offensive line against Stanford?
When the Hurricanes begin their first offensive drive of the season against Stanford on Friday (9 p.m., ESPN), coach Mario Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal will debut a brand-new offensive line with at least four new starters.
Who will those starters be? Cristobal is keeping that information close to the vest.
Advertisement
"In terms of who we're going to walk out on the field and play first," Cristobal said at his Week 1 press conference on Monday, "we'll hold off on that until it's time."
Some spots are all but locked in. Veteran Ryan Rodriguez will be Miami's center, and Matthew McCoy and Samson Okunlola are essentially locks (though Miami's coaches have not said whether they will play guard, like they did last year, or tackle).
Both Okunlola and McCoy played significant snaps last year, but Rodriguez's career has been limited by injuries . Despite arriving at Miami in 2021, he has just 261 career offensive snaps.
Quarterback Darian Mensah said he has been working to build chemistry with Rodriguez since the new signal-caller arrived on campus.
Advertisement
"A whole lot of just brotherly love (between Mensah and Rodriguez)," Mensah said. "He's worked his tail off. He's been here for a while now. He's been developed by coach Mirabal, and now it's his time to shine. And so he's not taking this opportunity lightly. He's in here working all the time, and I'm out here with him … taking snaps after practice, before practice, just getting extra reps, just making sure we're on the same page."
The two remaining spots will likely fall to some combination of younger players who will be getting their first major opportunity at college playing time. Sophomore SJ Alofaituli and Max Buchanan are competing for spots, as are standout freshmen Jackson Cantwell and Ben Congdon.
Cantwell (6-8, 330 pounds), Congdon (6-8, 330) and Buchanan (6-4, 310) offer versatility, with the ability to play in the interior or at tackle. Alofaituli (6-2, 298) is battling for a guard spot.
Linebacker Mo Toure, tasked with going up against the offensive line each day in practice, said the group has grown through the offseason.
Advertisement
"Coach Cristobal and coach Mirabal have done a great job mixing and matching those pieces," Toure said. "And just (the defense) coming together with those young guys. They're learning, and I try to help them learn. I try to help them grow. The D-line tries to help them grow. This is a family here, so we all come together and help each other grow. And they've grown so much … this whole offseason. Like from the beginning, when a lot of those guys first came in, to now. I've seen strides and strides and strides, and those guys are going to do amazing things this season."
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said the offensive line has developed in fall camp, giving him confidence that the unit will play well once it lines up against an opposing defense. He said the line may not play perfectly, but he thinks going against UM's defense, which ranked sixth in run defense and first in sacks last year, has helped the line improve.
"When we play the game on Friday, we're not going to hold back," Dawson said. "And so there's going to be a process of watching every drive and evaluating. Obviously, there's that in every game. But I feel very confident in their ability and everybody's ability right now to execute the offense that we're running. That's what I see in practice now. You hope to see that in the game."
Cristobal said there is no guarantee the players who start on Friday will be the starters throughout the season. UM could also opt to rotate players in and out, like they did with McCoy and Okunlola at left guard last season.
Advertisement
"I think when you have a lot of guys that are truly capable of starting and that have shown they can play winning football for you, and the battles are close, I think you keep those guys on edge all the time because it's the only way to get the best out of them," Cristobal said. "And that's going to be no different for a couple of other positions as well. I believe strongly in those guys showing up on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and absolutely just fighting with everything they have in them to earn a role, playing time, starting position, whatever it may be. I think that when they come here and that when they're recruited by us, they know to expect that."
