Mario Cristobal doesn’t sound rattled about the Miami Hurricanes’ trenches, even after the program watched NFL-caliber talent walk out the door.
That confidence starts with the standard he’s built. Cristobal, a former offensive tackle himself, has made it clear Miami’s identity has to be rooted in physical play up front on both sides of the ball. Last season, the Hurricanes had one of the nation’s top offensive lines, anchored by All-American right tackle Francis Mauigoa, while the defense brought heat with edge rushers Akheem Mesidor and All-American Rueben Bain Jr.
All three are gone now, along with other key trench pieces headed to the NFL Draft. But Cristobal isn’t treating that as a reset.
“Let's go and find out,” he said on The Joe Rose Show. “The moment we signed Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, we knew right away you had to be on a mission to get the next great one.
In college football, if [players] are really good, they’re gone in three years. We’ve had them in the program.
They haven’t been able to play as much because [Mesidor and Bain] don’t want to come off the field.”
On the defensive front, Miami is leaning into a new wave of pass rushers. The Chicago native is expected to get a bigger role and more chances to create disruptive plays. He’ll be joined in the rotation by Missouri transfer Damon Wilson II and Hayden Lowe, giving the Hurricanes options as they try to keep the pressure coming.
The offensive line is the side with more uncertainty. Cristobal has to replace four starters, but instead of going heavy into the transfer portal, he’s betting on players already in the building. Matthew McCoy, Ryan Rodriguez, and Samson Okunlola are projected to start with experience, while freshman five-star recruit Jackson Cantwell is expected to be thrown right into the mix at left tackle.
That side of the ball matters even more because Miami’s offense has the ceiling to be one of the best in the country. But none of that gets off the ground without keeping quarterback Darian Mensah protected.
With fall camp nearing, both lines will have a chance to show how quickly they can settle in. For Cristobal, it all still comes back to the same place: the line of scrimmage. The stars may have moved on, but the Hurricanes are counting on familiar names to rise into the spotlight.
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Ryan Rodriguez has spent years trying to get back to this point, and Miami is counting on the veteran center to finally settle into the role the Hurricanes have been waiting for. A sixth-year redshirt senior and Miami native, Rodriguez has battled through injury setbacks but remained in the program, giving Mario Cristobal a seasoned option in the middle of an offensive line the Hurricanes believe can help power a championship-level offense.
Cristobals confidence in Rodriguez is rooted in more than just patience, though. He sees a player who has already handled big moments and has kept working through the setbacks, and Miami is now asking him to anchor the front and bring stability to a unit with high expectations. If Rodriguez can hold up his end, it would go a long way toward giving the Hurricanes the kind of line play they need for the season ahead. [Read more 🡒]
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At ACC Media Day, Fletcher made clear that the choice was about more than his own future. With 2,313 career rushing yards already on his rsum, he enters the year as one of the most established players on the roster, and he said the responsibility now is to help newer teammates understand that last seasons run does not carry over on its own. For Miami, that message matters as much as any carry he takes this fall. [Read more 🡒]