The Miami Hurricanes' offensive line faces a rebuild. Coach Mirabal embraces the challenge, igniting a fresh foundation with rising talent and renewed leadership.
The biggest question surrounding the Miami Hurricanes coming off a National Championship appearance will be the reshaped offensive line. They lost four key starters in left Markel Bell, right guard Anez Cooper, center James Brockermeyer, and All-American right tackle Francis Mauigoa to the upcoming NFL Draft. Each of them provided high-quality protection for quarterback Carson Beck.
Dominating matchups in the trenches has become the program’s identity. Despite the outside concerns, offensive line coach Alex Mirabal is ready to start from scratch.
“I feel invigorated,” he said. “I feel renewed, I feel refreshed. It’s awesome to start with a new group of young men. Obviously, you got [Matthew] McCoy, you got Samson Okunlola, you have Ryan Rodriguez to help me, along with the other guys that are coaching on the offensive line staff, to help me establish the culture, the foundation, the principles of how we want to play football along the offensive line at the University of Miami. I love it, it’s a challenge for me, it’s a rebirth for me. I go back to how it was when I was a high school coach, [when] you got a new group of kids every year and just, let’s go. Let's roll.”
McCoy revealed to reporters on Tuesday, March 24, hinted at a change in position from left guard to right tackle. However, coach Mirabal clarified that nothing is set in stone at this portion of spring training.
As the Hurricanes discover the best lineup to open the season, the leadership among the offensive line shifted. As Bell, Cooper, Brockermeyer, and Mauigoa depart, it’s up to McCoy, Okunlola, and Rodriguez to take charge of the group.
Amid all the transfer portal additions, only Jamal Meriweather is the offensive lineman new to the program. He was previously with the Georgia Bulldogs, primarily playing in a reserve role.
It speaks to the Hurricanes’ confidence in the established talent ready to take on elevated roles, especially in Rodriguez’s case. Entering his sixth season with the team, the Miami native has battled through injuries. Rodriguez will look to start at center, which has coach Mirabal excited.
“I thought last year, like, Ryan Rodriguez could have started at center for any other program in the ACC [that’s] not the University of Miami,” he added. “I’ll stand by that because we had a heck of a center here in James Brockermeyer and we had another heck of a center named Ryan Rodriguez. To Ryan’s credit, he loves the University of Miami and he didn’t transfer. To me, he’s a guy that should be praised for choosing to stay at Miami. He waited his time and he kind of did it the old path. That’s what used to happen at Miami all the time when guys would play when they were juniors and seniors and they weren’t playing as freshmen and sophomores. There’s nothing wrong with that; everybody makes their turn at a certain time. This is Ryan’s turn and he’s got to keep competing, but he’s doing a heck of a job from a leadership standpoint. We just felt confident that was the path that we wanted to take.”
Along with a few veterans, the Hurricanes have a five-star prospect in Jackson Cantwell. There’s a chance that the 17-year-old earns a starting role, but coach Mirabal mentioned there’s still so much for him to learn.
“He [Cantwell] needs to work on everything,” he said. “I’m not trying to be, well, that’s a cliche answer. He’s got to work on everything. The guys that he’s going against in practice, those guys are better than any players he played ever in his high school career. So, it’s implementing your technique, your fundamentals, your footwork, your hand placement against tremendous speed and power. He’s catching up to that and he’s doing really well.”
The previous group established a high standard, which the next offensive line will have to live up to for next season.
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