Miami offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez isn’t pretending the Hurricanes’ front is finished work after two games.
Speaking ahead of Miami’s matchup with Wake Forest, Rodriguez said he still has plenty to clean up personally and sees the unit as a group that’s still in the early stages of building the kind of chemistry it wants.
“Personally, I still have a lot more to give. I still have a lot more to prove and show.
I'm not happy with my personal performance yet. I still have a lot more to do.
And as a group, I feel like we're growing. We still have a lot of work to do, a lot of chemistry to build.
But first two games, we're good to start developing our chemistry, start building, seeing different things, different looks, different situations, and seeing where we got to improve, and that just always makes us better.”
Rodriguez pointed to communication as one of the clearest areas for growth from Week 1 to Week 2. He said the first game required an adjustment to what Miami had prepared for, and while the second outing was better, it still wasn’t where the line wants it to be.
“Week 1, I kind of had to adjust a little with what we prepared for, and obviously the communication, it could be better. Week two, it still could be better.
It's not where we want it to be. Everything has room to improve, but the communication is definitely going to continue to grow as we continue to grow as an O-line.”
That improvement, he said, has to show up across the board. Rodriguez listed pass blocking, screens, and the finishing effort after the play as areas Miami is pressing to sharpen, while stressing that the line’s goal is to keep raising its level in every phase.
“Just continue to work on our stuff, work on our game plan. We obviously got to do everything at a better level.
You know, we're trying to be the best we can be. So there always is room for improvement, but we're trying to improve in everything as well, improving our pass blocking, improving our screens, improving our chase and finish.
We're just trying to be better in all aspects of the O-line play as a whole. But yes, we're definitely working on everything.”
Wake Forest, meanwhile, is bringing a front that Rodriguez described as seasoned and physical. He said the Demon Deacons’ starting four defensive linemen are seniors, that they played last year and are back again, and that the linebackers behind them are veterans too.
“I don't want to compare the two, but this team is definitely- their front seven is very experienced. Their starting four D-linemen are all seniors.
They've all played last year. They're returning.
Their linebackers are veterans. They've been there, and they're all experienced.
They know what to do. They play hard.
They play physical, and it's going to be a great challenge.”
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