Offseason Additions: Jalen Rivers (2020 signee), Chris Washington (2020 signee), Issaiah Walker (Transfer from Florida), Jarrid Williams (Transfer from Houston)
Offseason Departures: Zach Dykstra (Transferred), Tommy Kennedy (Graduation)
Miami had one of the worst offensive lines in the country last year, which was partly due to the scheme, as well as the youth and inexperience in the group. The line as a unit gave up over 50 sacks and was almost never able to control the line of scrimmage enough to allow for a consistent rushing attack. The good news is that Miami returns every starter from last season aside from Navaughn Donaldson, who is redshirting in 2020 to recover from a knee injury, and the entire group is now one year older and stronger. They also add a new OL coach in Garin Justice, who will look to prepare his line to adjust to the quicker pace that Rhett Lashlee’s spread offense will bring. Aside from the guys that return from last season, Miami also added a strong class out of high school, grabbing two of the best offensive tackles in the state and adding one of the top tackles on the grad transfer market.
Jarrid Williams may be second to only D'Eriq King in terms of important player acquisitions this offseason. Williams, who spent the past few seasons blocking for King at Houston, will look to do the same at Miami. Williams started 17 straight games for the Cougars from 2018-2019 before a season ending injury and brings much needed experience to the room. He also shores up one of the two tackle spots that have been a problem area for years at Miami. With Williams a shoo-in to start this season, the biggest thing to watch here will be which tackle position he takes; while he is expected to start out at right tackle, UM may have to move him to left tackle at some point if nobody else can step up there.
There are a few main contenders for the second tackle spot. The two players with the most experience are redshirt sophomore John Campbell and sophomore Zion Nelson. Both of these young guys played tackle the majority of the season last year for Miami, Nelson on the left and Campbell on the right, and both had their rough patches to put it lightly. Both, however, are one year older, and one year stronger. Both Nelson and Campbell are listed at about 6’5’’ and about 310 pounds, which is bigger than they were last year. Campbell broke spring camp as the starter at left tackle, with Nelson working on the right, but with Williams now in tow, they will compete for the left tackle job to start out fall camp.
Kai-Leon Herbert and Zalon’tae Hillary are two redshirt juniors who have yet to make an impact at Miami. Both will be given the opportunity to earn a spot in the starting lineup, whether on the inside or on the outside, but that would require showing more promise than they have to this point in their careers.
At the next level at tackle is a group of freshmen that could all fight for playing time. Issaiah Walker, Jalen Rivers, and Chris Washington are all true freshmen who played tackle in high school and will battle for their spot on the depth chart this season. Walker could be forced to sit out a year since he transferred in from Florida after signing with UF in high school and spending a semester in Gainesville. Washington was viewed as a bit of a project coming out of high school, so Rivers might have the best chance to play early from that group. Rivers played at left guard in the spring with the second team and will likely stay at guard during the fall to give him the best chance at seeing the field early, but he could potentially move to tackle later on in his career as well.
The last tackle on the depth chart is redshirt freshman Adam ElGammal. ElGammal is officially listed at 6’4’’ 310 pounds, which is 5 pounds bigger than he was last season. ElGammal is a very smart player, but the adjustment to the competition level at Miami from New York made his freshman season a learning experience. ElGammal will fight to crack the two-deep on the depth chart this fall.
The interior of the offensive line for Miami is stronger than the outside largely due to experience. At the top of the depth chart, you have junior Corey Gaynor locking up the center position. Gaynor started every game at center last season for Miami and was the leader of the line anchoring the middle. He is expected to hold onto a starting spot this fall.
DJ Scaife has played more than anyone on the offensive line at Miami over the past two seasons. Scaife has been solid playing both guard and tackle the last two years and won the team’s offensive MVP last season. Scaife played right guard in the spring and will start there in the fall, but he could potentially move back out to tackle if the staff doesn’t find anybody else to handle the edge.
Sophomore Jakai Clark came into Miami as a center, but ended up starting every game but one last season for Miami at the right guard position in his first year at the college level, playing relatively well compared to expectations. Clark brings solid athleticism to the interior of the line and played at a high level of competition in high school at Grayson, which allowed him to make an early impact. If another interior lineman were to make a move during fall camp to the point where the coaches felt comfortable with someone else in Clark’s place, you could see him redshirt the way Gaynor did his sophomore year to prepare Clark to take over the starting center job when Gaynor leaves.
Cleveland Reed and Ousman Traore are two redshirt sophomores who will push the starters for playing time in the fall. Traore actually opened the spring as a starter at left guard, while Reed also saw some snaps with the starters at right guard while mainly working on the second unit. Sophomore Jared Griffith is a former walk-on who was placed on scholarship over the offseason. Griffith is one of the strongest guys in the group and is known for his work in the weight room. Griffith will look to push the guys above him on the depth chart and attempt to crack the two-deep.
Bottom Line
Miami had one of the worst offensive lines in football last season, but was able to bolster the room with talent and athleticism through the transfer portal and high school recruiting. The young offensive line returns most of their major contributors from last season, which means they are more experienced and they have had another year to get bigger and stronger with coach David Feeley in the weight room.
Fall camp will help to determine if this OL group was more of a case of underdeveloped players that played too soon in 2019 and needed more seasoning, or if they are players that simply are not up to par at this level. Miami will also run a spread offense in 2020, which will ask less of the offensive line and the expectation is that this will make life easier for the group up front. Pay attention to who's emerging in the position battles at left tackle and left guard; there was a ton of shuffling around in spring ball, so how quickly this unit locks into their roles and how well Justice gets them to gel together during camp will be an important aspect to watch out for here.
Offseason Departures: Zach Dykstra (Transferred), Tommy Kennedy (Graduation)
Miami had one of the worst offensive lines in the country last year, which was partly due to the scheme, as well as the youth and inexperience in the group. The line as a unit gave up over 50 sacks and was almost never able to control the line of scrimmage enough to allow for a consistent rushing attack. The good news is that Miami returns every starter from last season aside from Navaughn Donaldson, who is redshirting in 2020 to recover from a knee injury, and the entire group is now one year older and stronger. They also add a new OL coach in Garin Justice, who will look to prepare his line to adjust to the quicker pace that Rhett Lashlee’s spread offense will bring. Aside from the guys that return from last season, Miami also added a strong class out of high school, grabbing two of the best offensive tackles in the state and adding one of the top tackles on the grad transfer market.
Jarrid Williams may be second to only D'Eriq King in terms of important player acquisitions this offseason. Williams, who spent the past few seasons blocking for King at Houston, will look to do the same at Miami. Williams started 17 straight games for the Cougars from 2018-2019 before a season ending injury and brings much needed experience to the room. He also shores up one of the two tackle spots that have been a problem area for years at Miami. With Williams a shoo-in to start this season, the biggest thing to watch here will be which tackle position he takes; while he is expected to start out at right tackle, UM may have to move him to left tackle at some point if nobody else can step up there.
There are a few main contenders for the second tackle spot. The two players with the most experience are redshirt sophomore John Campbell and sophomore Zion Nelson. Both of these young guys played tackle the majority of the season last year for Miami, Nelson on the left and Campbell on the right, and both had their rough patches to put it lightly. Both, however, are one year older, and one year stronger. Both Nelson and Campbell are listed at about 6’5’’ and about 310 pounds, which is bigger than they were last year. Campbell broke spring camp as the starter at left tackle, with Nelson working on the right, but with Williams now in tow, they will compete for the left tackle job to start out fall camp.
Kai-Leon Herbert and Zalon’tae Hillary are two redshirt juniors who have yet to make an impact at Miami. Both will be given the opportunity to earn a spot in the starting lineup, whether on the inside or on the outside, but that would require showing more promise than they have to this point in their careers.
At the next level at tackle is a group of freshmen that could all fight for playing time. Issaiah Walker, Jalen Rivers, and Chris Washington are all true freshmen who played tackle in high school and will battle for their spot on the depth chart this season. Walker could be forced to sit out a year since he transferred in from Florida after signing with UF in high school and spending a semester in Gainesville. Washington was viewed as a bit of a project coming out of high school, so Rivers might have the best chance to play early from that group. Rivers played at left guard in the spring with the second team and will likely stay at guard during the fall to give him the best chance at seeing the field early, but he could potentially move to tackle later on in his career as well.
The last tackle on the depth chart is redshirt freshman Adam ElGammal. ElGammal is officially listed at 6’4’’ 310 pounds, which is 5 pounds bigger than he was last season. ElGammal is a very smart player, but the adjustment to the competition level at Miami from New York made his freshman season a learning experience. ElGammal will fight to crack the two-deep on the depth chart this fall.
The interior of the offensive line for Miami is stronger than the outside largely due to experience. At the top of the depth chart, you have junior Corey Gaynor locking up the center position. Gaynor started every game at center last season for Miami and was the leader of the line anchoring the middle. He is expected to hold onto a starting spot this fall.
DJ Scaife has played more than anyone on the offensive line at Miami over the past two seasons. Scaife has been solid playing both guard and tackle the last two years and won the team’s offensive MVP last season. Scaife played right guard in the spring and will start there in the fall, but he could potentially move back out to tackle if the staff doesn’t find anybody else to handle the edge.
Sophomore Jakai Clark came into Miami as a center, but ended up starting every game but one last season for Miami at the right guard position in his first year at the college level, playing relatively well compared to expectations. Clark brings solid athleticism to the interior of the line and played at a high level of competition in high school at Grayson, which allowed him to make an early impact. If another interior lineman were to make a move during fall camp to the point where the coaches felt comfortable with someone else in Clark’s place, you could see him redshirt the way Gaynor did his sophomore year to prepare Clark to take over the starting center job when Gaynor leaves.
Cleveland Reed and Ousman Traore are two redshirt sophomores who will push the starters for playing time in the fall. Traore actually opened the spring as a starter at left guard, while Reed also saw some snaps with the starters at right guard while mainly working on the second unit. Sophomore Jared Griffith is a former walk-on who was placed on scholarship over the offseason. Griffith is one of the strongest guys in the group and is known for his work in the weight room. Griffith will look to push the guys above him on the depth chart and attempt to crack the two-deep.
Bottom Line
Miami had one of the worst offensive lines in football last season, but was able to bolster the room with talent and athleticism through the transfer portal and high school recruiting. The young offensive line returns most of their major contributors from last season, which means they are more experienced and they have had another year to get bigger and stronger with coach David Feeley in the weight room.
Fall camp will help to determine if this OL group was more of a case of underdeveloped players that played too soon in 2019 and needed more seasoning, or if they are players that simply are not up to par at this level. Miami will also run a spread offense in 2020, which will ask less of the offensive line and the expectation is that this will make life easier for the group up front. Pay attention to who's emerging in the position battles at left tackle and left guard; there was a ton of shuffling around in spring ball, so how quickly this unit locks into their roles and how well Justice gets them to gel together during camp will be an important aspect to watch out for here.
