The first week of Miami’s training camp is in the books, and the second week is where the real sorting starts. The opener against Stanford on September 4th is inching closer, and plenty around the Hurricanes still needs to be nailed down. In other words, this is the part of camp where jobs get won.
On the defensive line, Miami already knows the core of the rotation. Damon Wilson II, Ahmad Moten, Marquise Lightfoot, Justin Scott, Armondo Blount and Keona Davis look like the six most established bodies in the mix for early-season snaps.
The bigger question is what comes after that. Defensive line coaches Damoine Lewiis and Jason Taylor need at least eight players they can trust in a regular rotation, and in a best-case scenario, they’d like to have nine or 10.
Blount and Davis can both slide around and give the Canes help on the edge or inside, which only adds to the flexibility.
The two sophomores most likely to push into those final spots on the two-deep are Herb Scroggins and Jarquez Carter. After them, the attention turns to whether one of the freshman edge rushers can make enough noise in camp to crack the conversation.
Carter put it plainly in the spring: "We rotate a lot and we play a lot of defensive linemen," Carter said during the spring. "So whatever they need from me, I'm there."
Linebacker remains a different kind of puzzle. If Mo Toure and Chase Smith stay healthy, Miami can feel good about the top of the room.
Between them, the two veterans bring 14 years of college football experience, and they’ve seen just about everything. The issue is depth behind them, where the picture gets much murkier.
That’s where Kellen Wiley comes in. A top recruit in the 2025 class, Wiley is expected to get every chance over the next few weeks to show he’s ready for a larger role. At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, he has the size and athletic profile to matter if it all comes together.
At receiver, the competition is crowded enough to qualify as a luxury problem. The battle for the WR3 and WR4 jobs between transfer additions Vandrevius Jacobs and Cam Vaughn, plus in-house talent like Joshua Moore, has already shown up early in camp. Daylyn Upshaw has also entered the conversation after being singled out by Darian Mensah as an early standout.
And there are freshmen trying to crash the party too. Somourian Wingo and Vance Spafford are both making a push to get into the mix, and that fight for snaps in three- and four-receiver sets figures to keep going once the season starts.
The offensive line has its own answer, at least for Week 1: Samson Okunlola will be the starting left tackle. There was some chatter when the five-star from the 2023 class opened camp there, but the early returns have been strong.
Okunlola is now 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, and the lighter frame is part of what Miami wants as he develops. By his own explanation, that’s the path Alex Mirabal wants for his linemen as they move through the program.
If this is the year Okunlola takes the leap, Miami could be looking at the third first-round NFL Draft pick from that 2023 recruiting class.
In Other News...
Armondo Blount Could Be Miamis Next Defensive Line Centerpiece
Armondo Blount spent last season as a useful reserve for Miami, popping up in 15 games and flashing the kind of versatility that makes defensive line coaches lean in. He finished with 17 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, production that hinted at more than just a rotational future as he bounced across different spots along the front.
Now the Hurricanes need that next step from him. With key linemen off to the NFL, Blount is set for a much larger role this fall, and Miami wants him to help anchor a line that will ask him to do a little of everything. He is draft-eligible after the season and working to sharpen his game under mentorship, which makes this year feel less like a bridge and more like the start of a run where his impact could grow quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Miami's Playoff Path Just Got Tougher To Ignore In The ACC
The College Football Playoff is staying at 12 teams for the 2026 season, but the path into the field is getting a little more defined for Miami and the rest of the ACC. Conference champions in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC will keep their automatic bids, while the highest-ranked Group of Six team also gets in without needing a league title. Notre Dame, meanwhile, can still secure an automatic spot if it is ranked in the top 12, and the bracket will be sorted by seed rather than the old bowl tie-ins.
For Miami, the bigger takeaway is that the ACC race matters even more now, especially with the league moving some teams to nine conference games in 2026. The date that matters first is Selection Day on Dec. 6, followed by first-round games on Dec. 18-19, and the rest of the bracket stretches into late January before the title game at Allegiant Stadium. The setup leaves little room for a team to drift through the regular season, and Miami will know the margin for error is shrinking. [Read more 🡒]