Coming in during the summer, freshman OT Adam ElGammal has found it difficult in adjusting to the speed of the college game.
“It’s been a little tough, but it’s different, it’s college,” ElGammal said. “The intensity, the speed, everything is moving very fast. I’m just trying to catch up.”
At the very least, ElGammal certainly now looks the part of a college offensive lineman. When he signed with the Hurricanes in December of 2018, ElGammal was measuring in at 6-4, 275 pounds. In the 8 months since, he has put on 25 lbs., now standing an even 300 pounds, and ElGammal feels comfortable in his new body.
“It’s been fine, I still can move and run,” ElGammal said of carrying his frame. “I want to try to lose a little bit of bad weight. I don’t want to gain too much.”
Of course, a measly 25 pound weight gain pales in comparison to fellow freshman OT Zion Nelson, who quite notably has put on nearly 60 pounds in just over a year.
“Zion’s a different story,” ElGammal said. “230 to 290 that quick, wow that’s tough.”
Like everyone else on the line, ElGammal was not recruited by new OL coach Butch Barry, but the former Tampa Bay coach has already made an impression on UM’s young lineman.
“He’s taught me how to use my body correctly as an offensive lineman,” ElGammal said of Barry. “It’s different in college when you’re playing against guys that are 280 and 290 now. Teaching me how to throw my hands, teaching me how to move my feet, teaching me how to get off the ball better. So it’s good, I like what he’s teaching me.”
What does the coaching staff tell him he needs to work on to climb the depth chart and potentially see playing time this season?
“They tell me I need to get more consistent with my technique,” ElGammal said. “Like, I’ll have one really good rep where everything is working, and then I might have a really terrible rep. I just need to bring that consistency each and every rep, each and every day.”
As the group on the O-Line has struggled at Miami over the past few years, ElGammal is part of a band of fresh faces that hopes to reverse that trend in the coming seasons.
“I think we’re going to be good, we got a bunch of tough linemen at tackle – Zalon’tae Hillery, (John) Campbell, (Kai-Leon) Herbert, Zion,” ElGammal said. “The guards are tough, Navaughn (Donaldson). Everybody’s good, everybody’s tough.
A matchup against the hated rival Florida Gators looms on the horizon and ElGammal has already formed some impressions of what the UM offensive line will be facing in Orlando.
“Seems like they like to get off the ball, they like to move fast,” ElGammal said of the UF D-Line. “I really wasn’t watching their interior guys as much, I was watching their ends. Their ends look like they can play.”
His prediction for how the game will go?
“I think we’re going to win them all, 12-0. I think that’s the mindset we should all have.”
“It’s been a little tough, but it’s different, it’s college,” ElGammal said. “The intensity, the speed, everything is moving very fast. I’m just trying to catch up.”
At the very least, ElGammal certainly now looks the part of a college offensive lineman. When he signed with the Hurricanes in December of 2018, ElGammal was measuring in at 6-4, 275 pounds. In the 8 months since, he has put on 25 lbs., now standing an even 300 pounds, and ElGammal feels comfortable in his new body.
“It’s been fine, I still can move and run,” ElGammal said of carrying his frame. “I want to try to lose a little bit of bad weight. I don’t want to gain too much.”
Of course, a measly 25 pound weight gain pales in comparison to fellow freshman OT Zion Nelson, who quite notably has put on nearly 60 pounds in just over a year.
“Zion’s a different story,” ElGammal said. “230 to 290 that quick, wow that’s tough.”
Like everyone else on the line, ElGammal was not recruited by new OL coach Butch Barry, but the former Tampa Bay coach has already made an impression on UM’s young lineman.
“He’s taught me how to use my body correctly as an offensive lineman,” ElGammal said of Barry. “It’s different in college when you’re playing against guys that are 280 and 290 now. Teaching me how to throw my hands, teaching me how to move my feet, teaching me how to get off the ball better. So it’s good, I like what he’s teaching me.”
What does the coaching staff tell him he needs to work on to climb the depth chart and potentially see playing time this season?
“They tell me I need to get more consistent with my technique,” ElGammal said. “Like, I’ll have one really good rep where everything is working, and then I might have a really terrible rep. I just need to bring that consistency each and every rep, each and every day.”
As the group on the O-Line has struggled at Miami over the past few years, ElGammal is part of a band of fresh faces that hopes to reverse that trend in the coming seasons.
“I think we’re going to be good, we got a bunch of tough linemen at tackle – Zalon’tae Hillery, (John) Campbell, (Kai-Leon) Herbert, Zion,” ElGammal said. “The guards are tough, Navaughn (Donaldson). Everybody’s good, everybody’s tough.
A matchup against the hated rival Florida Gators looms on the horizon and ElGammal has already formed some impressions of what the UM offensive line will be facing in Orlando.
“Seems like they like to get off the ball, they like to move fast,” ElGammal said of the UF D-Line. “I really wasn’t watching their interior guys as much, I was watching their ends. Their ends look like they can play.”
His prediction for how the game will go?
“I think we’re going to win them all, 12-0. I think that’s the mindset we should all have.”
