No other way to put it, the interior line did not play well against Wake Forest.

Mario said it himself on the Joe Rose Show, center was fine, tackles were fine, guards were "hit or miss." When a coach uses a phrase like that, it means more down than up.

Rewatching the tape and talking to people inside the building, here's the read: this isn't a "these are our five" situation. It's fluid. Nobody's job is safe except maybe McCoy and Samson, who've earned it. Everybody else is auditioning.

Ahmmon watched the tape multiple times and here were his biggest gripes.

Darian Mensah getting drilled on free runs - A safety got a free release from eight yards out and hit Mensah full speed, untouched, right in the ribs. Ahmmon's blunt about it: that cannot happen. Mensah is one of the best quarterbacks in college football, and you can't let him play scared or uncomfortable in the pocket because the interior can't communicate. That's on the guards, not on him.

He wants to see the guards fight back, literally - He doesn't see any "nasty streak" from the interior. Guys get put on the ground and just stay there instead of getting up and looking for the next rep to make right. He compared it to watching a street fight where one guy won't swing back. He's not saying these guys lack toughness as people, he's saying it's not showing up on gameday yet.

The screen-heavy second half wasn't Dawson being scared; it was self-preservation - Ahmmon defended the play-calling shift. If your interior can't create push and your quarterback keeps getting popped, you check the ball down and get it out fast. Wake Forest sensed the O-line couldn't handle stunts and mug looks in the interior and they just kept living there. Every team left on the schedule saw that tape too, and they're going to do the same thing until Miami proves it can block it.

The tackles have been the opposite of the preseason question mark - Coming out of camp, the concern was whether Samson could hold up and how McCoy would handle tackle. Instead, the tackles have been "lights out" and it's the interior that's been the problem. Mark Fletcher will hit a 15-20 yard run on a good rep and then the next snap is a two-yard loss. That inconsistency, Ahmmon says, is the O-line's Achilles heel right now, and it has to get fixed by finding a way to string together at least a couple of consistent quarters before we ask for more.

Cantwell's spring hype was real, and so is the adjustment - Ahmmon owns some of the offseason praise. Cantwell was performing at left tackle in the spring, blocking one-on-ones cleanly. But practice reps against the same D-linemen every day aren't the same as a live game against a new opponent who's scouted your weaknesses and is going to attack them for four quarters. Guard is also a new position for him, and there's a mental adjustment that comes with that on top of a completely different level of competition.

He wants Cantwell on the field even knowing the risk - Ahmmon's honest that this could go either way. If Cantwell has three great series and then gets exposed once, the fanbase reaction could get ugly fast for a true freshman, especially with the money attached to his recruitment. But his take is you don't develop a player by keeping him on the bench. Put him in, let him take his lumps, and he'll learn by doing.

Putting it plainly: patience is not the same thing as satisfaction. We're not there yet up front, and everybody in that building knows it.

Check out the full breakdown on YouTube:

 

Ahmmon does a great job & doesn’t always present the company line. The lack of fight & *** kicking OL took at Wake was embarrassing. His point about McCoy deserving the right to play tackle is understandable. That said, if Cantwell or anyone else is playable at tackle, then McCoy needs to move inside. The interior trio is currently a mess.

 

It's all "give SJ some room to grow" until a blitzing defender knocks Mensah out for the season.

I look forward to the "just give peace a chance" takes then.

 

It's all "give SJ some room to grow" until a blitzing defender knocks Mensah out for the season.

I look forward to the "just give peace a chance" takes then.

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Greta will be all of us if Mensah goes down, that much is certain.

 

Greta will be all of us if Mensah goes down, that much is certain.

 

1. Coaching staff is stubborn and refuses to admit they missed on SJ and Max

I think there's a pecking order based on trust and seniority that isn't openly discussed. If Cantwell, Woodrow and Cogdon haven't created separation, then the more senior player gets 'the opportunity to play.'

 

Just when I thought Mario was done being stubborn

The fact that the Internet hurt, SJ‘s feelings is gonna make the coaching staff just dig in deeper.

 

The fact that the Internet hurt, SJ‘s feelings is gonna make the coaching staff just dig in deeper.

That tweet may have been an indication he received bad news.

 

Central Michigan is exactly the type of team you let young guys figure it out against

 

Man this reminds me of the Jaden Harris and Zaquan Paterson argument a few years ago. And the Zaquan played and was absolutely terrible. I am starting to think this is the best we got which is a scary feeling.

 

Man this reminds me of the Jaden Harris and Zaquan Paterson argument a few years ago. And the Zaquan played and was absolutely terrible. I am starting to think this is the best we got which is a scary feeling.

Same. The coaches aint dumb and OL aint something that magically becomes championship level overnight.

Staff needs to figure out what the OL CAN do well and maximize it.

 

I completely agree Cantwell needs to play. He's one of the physically strongest OL we have. He needs on the job training. I'm disappointed he's not playing more early against the weaker competition on the schedule.

I know McCoy wnst to play RT, but I wish they would move him inside and let Cantwell play RT for the betterment of thr team.

I'm not saying Cantwell would be better at RT than McCoy. I'm saying Cantwell at RT and McCoy at RG is better than McCoy at RT and Cantwell at RG. It's going to to be more difficult for Cantwell to learn a new position at the collegiate level,so just keep him at his natural position as a Tackle.

 

Same. The coaches aint dumb and OL aint something that magically becomes championship level overnight.

Staff needs to figure out what the OL CAN do well and maximize it.

It’s not, Cantwell can easily play RT. This moves McCoy to RG or LG, would prefer RG so Cantwell isn’t next to Buchanan who is only a sophomore.

A lineup of
Samson-Buchanan-RR-McCoy-Cantwell, would be significantly better than what we have now. You sure up 3 spots and now you only have to worry about the other 2 spots being serviceable.

 

It's hard to believe Mario & Mirabal left the cupboard this bare/unprepared. Perhaps being the best OL coaches doesn't always equate to being the best GMs. Or maybe they overestimated their abilities when they didn't go hard after proven OL in the portal. Regardless, some of us were giving them way too much credit with the "OL will be fine, it's Mario & Alex" mantra. Almost forgot they don't suit up. Jimmys and Joe's > Xs & Os. How disappointing it would be to waste a NC caliber team with a bad OL. Our OL gurus have some serious work to do.

 

Looking back, besides Bell the 2024 recruiting class was not a good class for OL. Especially when you considered Bell only had 2 years of eligibility when he got on campus. Didn’t recruit any elite guys in 2025. Def should have went to the portal to get at least 1 quality guy for this season.

 

Man this reminds me of the Jaden Harris and Zaquan Paterson argument a few years ago. And the Zaquan played and was absolutely terrible. I am starting to think this is the best we got which is a scary feeling.

So much of this season reminds me of 2024, im getting scared too lol

 

I personally think we have more options than we sometimes think as fans. Now, it's up to the coaches to make changes and elevate players. It's also up to the players to seize the opportunity to play. I see opportunities for Cantwell, Congdon, Woodrow, and Pickett to gain valuable playing time. Hope it happens as the thought of SJ and RR playing significantly for the remainder of this season is disappointing.

 

Man this reminds me of the Jaden Harris and Zaquan Paterson argument a few years ago. And the Zaquan played and was absolutely terrible. I am starting to think this is the best we got which is a scary feeling.

Exactly. This board gets so utterly braindead when something goes sideways. The kids on the OL are starting because the coaches are stubborn? What? Yall hear Mario (and Alex) talk, and what you get out of his attitude is that winning football games is secondary to confirming his priors on who should play? Do you listen to yourselves?

Great example, this board said the exact same **** about Harris and Patterson a couple years ago, and then they put Patterson in the game and the kid looked like his cleats were nailed to the grass. He was literally so braindead he couldn't even move.

Do coaches make mistakes evaluating? Absolutely, every coach does. Is there a chance a kid on the bench could perform better in a game than what the starter is doing? Absolutely, happens on every team. But the coaches are starting the kids they're starting because they feel they give them the best chance to win a football game, full stop. Not because they're stubborn.

Where I do feel they're failing is not at least having the other kids rotate in. Maybe SJ and Rodriguez and Buchanon are the best 3 we have right now. I trust that they are, if that's who the staff is starting. But they're not so good that nobody else should get a shot. As a matter of fact, they're so mid that you should absolutely be giving someone else a shot. But then again, maybe the conversation is, if Mensah gets hurt, the season is over (which is obviously true). So I'd rather have someone play who really isn't physically good enough, but at least he gets in someone's way, versus someone who they see in practice who completely whiffs assignments and the defense gets free runners into our quarterback's chest? I'm not out there so I don't know. But the only thing I 100.0% know is NOT happening is the coaches are playing kids who they feel are worse than the kids behind them because they're "stubborn". Who are these guys, my mother in law? Stop with the stupid stubborn ****. I feel the real answer is one we all didn't want to think was a possibility all summer, and that these 3 guys just aren't very good players right now. Which is a whole other discussion as to why these are the best option we have in Year 5......