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Can this oline be as good as 2023?

Thoughtsoncanes

Thoughtsoncanes

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Watching some highlights from that season and van dyke aside they were giving him time and had some good running lanes. Anyone think we can replicate that level?
 
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FrancisSawyer said:
That was
LT Rivers
LG Cohen
C Lee
RG Cooper
RT Mauigoa
Correct?
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LT - McCoy vs Rivers - Rivers IMO is a better player
LG - Cohen vs Okunlola - Debatable definitely more athleticism with Samson
C - Lee vs Rodriguez - Major downgrade
RG - Cooper vs Buchanan - Not even sure it’ll be Max but I’ll say downgrade
RT - Mauigoa vs Cantwell - there’s a chance for sure here

If that’s the 5 really it’s LG and RT where you could see similar or better play. Other 3 spots IMO will be a downgrade.
 
The U is back to work said:
LT - McCoy vs Rivers - Rivers IMO is a better player
LG - Cohen vs Okunlola - Debatable definitely more athleticism with Samson
C - Lee vs Rodriguez - Major downgrade
RG - Cooper vs Buchanan - Not even sure it’ll be Max but I’ll say downgrade
RT - Mauigoa vs Cantwell - there’s a chance for sure here

If that’s the 5 really it’s LG and RT where you could see similar or better play. Other 3 spots IMO will be a downgrade.
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Well, we knew we had a talent with Rivers but he got hurt in 2021 and 2022. Could he stay healthy? McCoy has started at guard the last 2 seasons. They think he may be better suited for tackle which says a lot. We had no clue Cooper would become Coop. He played in the heavy packages and had to start the last 4 due to injury his true freshman year. Hard to replace Lee with his experience but Mirabol seems to like what he has on roster at center.
 
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Thoughtsoncanes said:
Watching some highlights from that season and van dyke aside they were giving him time and had some good running lanes. Anyone think we can replicate that level?
Click to expand...
I think our oline this year’s gonna be excellent. It won’t be the best oline like we had this year. But I believe it will be top 10 and by the end of the season a chance to be top five. Think about the sheer size, power and athleticism this line will have. Freaks! Now it’s time for the best oline coaches in the country to put it all together, and I believe they will.
 
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Novacane32000 said:
Any word on how Cantwell is doing? Didnt he have a few practices with the team during the playoffs?
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I'm no insider but from what I've heard, Cantwell immediately announced himself from day 1 along with a few others(Wingo, Dunnigan etc..) What really stands out is the absolutely immense power he is able to generate from his hands. The coaches are extremely excited. Also heard he is very receptive to being coached. He is a guy who lives to work on his craft and get better everyday. Cantwell is a Mario kid through and through!
 
possible considering cooper and Cici were youngins at the time..
Cantwell needs to be that dude and we need someone to step up at. to me it seems like we have 3 guys penciled in to be starters. IDK what to think about Rodriguez. We need some guys to step up thats for sure, which they will
 
Miami was 67th in rushing yards last year and 82nd in yards per rush. Our offensive line was NOT a good run blocking unit last year. They weren’t even in contention for the Joe Moore award. They were much better in pass protection but a lot of that is because we didn’t run much vertical offense which requires the line to hold blocks. Beck was limited but he was really good at getting the ball out quick and would dump the ball to the check down often.

Our offensive success this year will be determined by how much the passing game opens up for us. If we can actually throw the ball downfield and not rely on a bunch of WR screens and underneath patters to move the ball, the running game will reap the benefits. Lost in our success last year was the fact that we were a very average offense. I think with the upgrade at quarterback we can get back to being more explosive and take some of the load off the young offensive line.
 
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I don't know how good the OL will be but I'm very confident it won't be a weakness. So whether it's solid, good or great, it won't be the reason we fail to win the ACC or make another run in the 40 week postseason.
 
I posted about this in the Mensah thread.

Rivers as a Junior was not what he was as a senior. I think either McCoy or Okunlola could certainly give us what he did in 2023 and Meriweather or Cantwell have the tools to be better. Wouldn't expect either to start game 1 but by mid season they could be ready to take over and be as good as Bell was in 2024 or similar to 2023 Rivers at Tackle.

At guard I think McCoy or Okunlola can be pretty formidable maybe not quite as good as Coop and Cohen but Coop had major holes in his game in 2023, like Rivers you cant judge 2023 by what the player was when they graduated. I hope by the playoffs Samson and McCoy are the starting guards or sitting behind a player that has surpassed them.

Matt Lee was excellent so its hard to imagine someone currently on the roster exceeding his level of play but its not inconceivable that one of our current IOL have been developed into a good player and they certainly should have a strong understanding of the offense and the line calls.

RT is same story as left. Worst case scenario Samson and MCCoy are out there and we have dudes inside who are getting their first taste of being starters. Can Buchanon or SJ step in and be great? Is Meriweather a guy that can be effective inside? Do we have a dude freshman who blows by everyone on the depth chart?
 
The one concern I have is health

Cooper missed 1 game his entire career injured
Mauigoa missed 0
Bell I don’t think missed any
Our centers over the years, I can’t think of any

Samson, McCoy, Rodriguez all might be big pieces of this OL and all have struggled with injury time to different degrees

We just haven’t needed any depth the last few years
 
DTP said:
Miami was 67th in rushing yards last year and 82nd in yards per rush. Our offensive line was NOT a good run blocking unit last year. They weren’t even in contention for the Joe Moore award. They were much better in pass protection but a lot of that is because we didn’t run much vertical offense which requires the line to hold blocks. Beck was limited but he was really good at getting the ball out quick and would dump the ball to the check down often.

Our offensive success this year will be determined by how much the passing game opens up for us. If we can actually throw the ball downfield and not rely on a bunch of WR screens and underneath patters to move the ball, the running game will reap the benefits. Lost in our success last year was the fact that we were a very average offense. I think with the upgrade at quarterback we can get back to being more explosive and take some of the load off the young offensive line.
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Agree about the OL and rushing attack but I'm curious on where we were ranked in the playoffs. If I had to guess I believe we we're number 1 and that was against some really good run defenses. 🤷‍♂️
 
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