No. 7 Miami’s offensive line looked a lot different for Friday night’s opener at Stanford, and that was always coming after the Hurricanes lost three linemen to the 2026 NFL Draft and another to undrafted free agency.
The reshuffled group that took the field for Miami was junior Samson Okunlola at left tackle, sophomore Seuseu Alofaituli at left guard, senior Ryan Rodriguez at center, sophomore Max Buchanan at right guard and senior Matthew McCoy at right tackle.
Miami spent spring ball and fall camp sorting through the new look up front, with veteran line coach Alex Mirabal and head coach Mario Cristobal working through especially tight competition at guard before settling on the starting five.
On Monday, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson made it clear the staff expects that unit to be ready to go without any easing in.
"They better be 100 percent (ready)," offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said on Monday. "When we play the game on Friday, we're not going to hold back.
There's going to be a process of watching every drive and evaluating. Obviously there's that in every game, but I feel very confident in their ability and everybody's ability right now to execute the offense that we're running.
That's what I see in practice now. You hope to see that in the game.
Is it probably going to be perfect? Probably not.
But I do think the resiliency of the group going against our defense every day is challenging. There is a lot of back and forth and we feel out there on Greentree it's as tough as it gets and hopefully Friday we can showcase that."
Alofaituli and Buchanan won the guard jobs over a pair of 6-foot-8 freshmen, Jackson Cantwell and Ben Congdon, though both freshmen could still factor into the game. Miami has used a six-man rotation on the line in each of the last two seasons.
McCoy’s move to right tackle has been one of the steadier pieces of the puzzle. He has 27 starts at left guard over the past two seasons, but after shifting over in the spring, he has held down the right tackle spot.
Okunlola’s path was a little different. He split time with McCoy at left guard last season, then missed the spring while recovering from shoulder surgery. Since the start of fall camp, though, he has been working at left tackle, the same spot Cantwell occupied for most of the spring.
Cantwell entered as a former five-star recruit and spent most of the fall working at guard, but he did not lock down a starting job.
Alofaituli and Buchanan were both reserve pieces on last year’s team. Alofaituli’s biggest role came as an extra lineman in a fullback role.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, has made two starts in five seasons at Miami, including one at center in the 2023 Pinstripe Bowl and another to open the 2024 season at Florida. Freshman Rhys Woodrow is expected to be his top backup.
Miami’s first start for quarterback Darian Mensah, the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, came alongside first starts for running back Mark Fletcher, tight end Elija Lofton and wide receivers Malachi Toney, Cooper Barkate and Joshua Moore.
In Other News...
Miamis Rebuilt Offensive Line Just Gave Fans Real Early Hope
Miamis rebuilt offensive line gave the Hurricanes a reassuring first look in the season opener against Stanford, holding the pocket together well enough for a clean sheet in the most basic category that matters up front. Miami allowed no sacks and avoided penalties entirely, a useful sign for a unit that entered the year with questions about continuity and depth, and one that had to blend veterans with a mix of freshmen and new additions right away.
Samson Okunlola, Ryan Rodriguez and Matthew McCoy were part of the starting group and each had a solid opening-night showing, while several younger players also got chances as the staff sorted through the rotation. Pro Football Focus graded the newcomers unevenly, which is hardly surprising this early, but the larger takeaway for Miami is simple enough: the line looked organized, competitive and, for one night, much further along than many expected. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Freshmen Are Forcing Their Way Into Real Roles Already
Miami wasted no time leaning on youth in its season opener against Stanford, and the freshman class was not just along for the ride. Thirteen true freshmen saw the field on offense and defense, a sign that this roster is already asking first-year players to do more than simply learn on the sideline. Jackson Cantwell led that group with 34 snaps and even helped on a touchdown, while JJ Dunnigan was right behind him with 33 snaps as he rotated through multiple defensive roles.
The larger takeaway for the Hurricanes is less about one deep September rotation and more about how quickly these newcomers are working into real plans on both sides of the ball. Javian Mallory, Gavin Mueller and Vance Spafford all logged playing time too, giving Miami a broader freshman footprint than most teams would dare to trust this early. For a program trying to build depth and keep its best athletes on the field, that kind of immediate contribution is the sort of development that can change the shape of a season. [Read more 🡒]
Darian Mensah Just Entered A Bigger Miami Conversation
Darian Mensahs early-season surge has already pushed him into the center of a much larger Miami conversation. After a dazzling opener that featured 400 passing yards and five touchdowns, his Heisman stock has climbed fast enough to make him the current favorite at FanDuel, and that kind of national traction tends to follow a quarterback straight into every bigger debate about where he stands among the sports top names.
Malachi Toneys breakout has only added to the buzz around the Hurricanes offense. His own odds have risen after he set a Miami single-game receiving yards record, giving the team another player whose start is forcing people to pay attention beyond just the final score. For Miami, the early question is no longer whether the offense can make noise, but how far this kind of start can carry it once the schedule gets real. [Read more 🡒]