With Hayden Lowe no longer in the program, Miami’s defensive line lost a piece of its depth chart Tuesday morning. That doesn’t just thin out the room a little - it opens the door for Third Scroggins, who is now positioned for a much bigger role in 2026.
Scroggins, a second-year defensive end, already gave Miami a taste of what he can do as a true freshman in 2025. He played 76 defensive snaps, finished with four tackles and three quarterback pressures, and saw an average of 13 snaps against Stanford, Syracuse, and NC State. During the CFP run against Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Ole Miss, he added eight more snaps on defense.
"Third's opportunities came in some really big moments," Cristobal said of Scroggins following the first practice of fall camp. "In those opportunities he showed physicality, discipline, and relentless effort. He is about 250 pounds now and he is a full speed player and I think he is going to be a great one."
That kind of praise fits the profile Scroggins brought to Miami in the first place. He was a four-star prospect out of Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia, and he arrived with real production already on the resume, piling up 39.5 sacks in high school.
The challenge for Scroggins is tied directly to how heavily Miami leaned on its top ends last season. Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor were the workhorses of the group in 2025, each playing more than 825 defensive snaps.
In fact, they logged the most defensive snaps among defensive ends in the country. Marquise Lightfoot was next in line for UM at the position with 292 snaps, while Scroggins ranked fourth among Miami defensive ends with 76.
That’s likely to change in 2026. Miami’s end rotation looks set to be much more spread out this time around, and Scroggins is right in the middle of it.
Damon Wilson joins the Hurricanes as a transfer from Missouri after playing 509 defensive snaps for the Tigers and producing 54 quarterback pressures. Lightfoot, who had 30 pressures in 2025, is expected to take on a larger role.
Armondo Blount also figures into the mix after playing 401 snaps last season, most of them at defensive tackle, while adding 30 tackles.
Scroggins isn’t the only name worth watching, though. Booker Pickett, listed at 6-feet-4 and 230 pounds, brings pass-rush feel and bend off the edge, but questions remain about his strength against the run and whether he can win against the top tackles on Miami’s 2026 schedule. Asharri Charles, a 6-feet-2, 230-pound true freshman, is smaller but brings power, twitch and energy that could make him useful in the same kind of snap-eating role Scroggins handled a year ago.
If everything clicks, Scroggins could grow into a major contributor with 250+ snaps per game. The Miami comp is Trent Harris, who emerged in 2015 with five tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 18 pressures.
For Miami, that’s the job now: keep the defensive line rolling even after a hit to the depth chart. And Third Scroggins is the next man up.
In Other News...
Miami Secondary Suddenly Has A Bigger Freshman Question Than Expected
Miamis secondary was already a spot worth watching as the season approached, and now the freshman storyline around Jontavius Wyman has taken an unexpected turn. The true freshman cornerback came in as one of the more notable additions in Miamis recent recruiting class after flipping his commitment from Georgia to the Hurricanes last spring, a move that raised the profile of his arrival before he ever took a snap.
Wyman has announced he is stepping away from football for the 2026 season, though he says he intends to return in the future. Mario Cristobal confirmed Wyman is no longer with the team, leaving Miami to adjust its depth picture while one of its most intriguing young defensive backs puts his career on pause for now. [Read more 🡒]
Ethan O'Connor Sees Unfinished Business In Miamis Secondary
Ethan O'Connor arrived in Miami with plenty to prove, and the junior cornerback has already leaned into the kind of accountability that tends to earn respect in a secondary. After transferring from Washington State, he looked back on a difficult showing in the National Championship game, but just as important was the support he said he felt from his teammates as the season wound down. It helped frame a first year in Coral Gables that ended with 28 tackles and five pass deflections, a solid starting point for a player still chasing a bigger role.
Now O'Connor is talking like someone who sees unfinished business in a Miami defensive backfield that expects to be tested again. He wants to raise his interception total this fall, and he sounds convinced the group is in position to make that happen after the work it has already put in for the new season. For a Hurricanes team that has been building around its secondary, O'Connor's confidence adds another layer to a unit that knows the margin for error gets smaller when the games matter most. [Read more 🡒]