Ben Congdon hasn’t made the same noise as Jackson Cantwell this summer, but that doesn’t mean Miami’s freshman offensive lineman has been flying under the radar for the wrong reasons.
At 6-foot-8 and 330 pounds, Congdon is impossible to miss. The thing is, he arrived in the same class as Cantwell, the five-star name who has soaked up most of the attention and landed on every “top freshman” list since he got to campus. Congdon has taken a different route: steady work, less hype, and now a real chance to play meaningful snaps in year one.
That rise is especially notable because Congdon wasn’t some afterthought in the 2026 class. He was a four-star prospect, a top-200 overall player in the 247Sports Composite, and the 19th-ranked offensive tackle in the country. Miami landed him in March 2025 after a recruiting battle that included Alabama, Penn State, Maryland, UCLA, Florida and others.
The early buzz around both freshmen has started to build, and senior offensive lineman Matthew McCoy said they’ve handled the transition the right way.
“Ben and Jackson are doing a phenomenal job, and they’re coming up to me [with questions]. It’s not even like I’m getting them going - they’re asking me.
They’re growing men about their business. They’re not freshmen at all," McCoy said.
Congdon has been working mostly at left guard, where he’s pushing Cantwell for time and giving Miami another option on a line that could feature both freshmen in different looks. On paper, guard might seem like a strange fit for a player his size. Congdon, though, has a tool that makes the move a lot more natural: he wrestled a lot in high school.
“Wrestling all these short kids that are like 5-foot-8, you need to get low. Wrestling has been tremendous to football," Congdon said.
That left-guard plan fits what Alex Mirabal likes to do with young linemen. Miami has used the same approach with Francis Mauigoa and with this year’s likely starting left tackle Samson Okunlola, building confidence while giving talented freshmen a path onto the field.
So while Cantwell may be the headline name, Congdon is making his own case. And if this camp keeps going the way it has, Miami may end up leaning on both freshmen sooner than most expected.
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For Miami, the appeal is obvious. The Hurricanes are always looking for more edge depth, and a player with Pyburns background would bring an experienced body into a spot where rotation matters over the course of a season. If he decides to explore the transfer portal, Miami could have a real chance to add a veteran defensive line piece at exactly the moment those kinds of additions tend to matter most. [Read more 🡒]
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Miami Frontcourt Just Added More Size And A Bigger Roster Question
Miamis frontcourt picked up another piece with Robert Miller signing on after a season at LSU, where the power forward averaged 6.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 31 games. Hell wear No. 6 for the Hurricanes, and the move gives Jai Lucas another athletic, versatile big to work with as Miami keeps shaping its next roster.
The addition also pushes Miami to 14 players for the 2026-27 season, which only sharpens the larger roster picture as the staff continues sorting out how this group will fit together. Miller brings size and defensive tools, but his arrival is part of a bigger question now facing the Hurricanes: how all of these pieces will be managed once the roster is finally set. [Read more 🡒]