Is 2026 our year?

[canesigep23]

QB - Elite
RB - Elite
WR - Elite
TE - Ok/Good (depending on some things)
OL - Good/Very good
DL - Very good/Elite
LB - Very Good
Secondary - Very good
STs - Good/Very good
Coaching - Very Good

Not a lot of weaknesses here. OL is the key IMO. Is Cantwell ready to go out of the box like Cici was and can we find a LT to hold it down to at least the level of Markell? Jakobe, Bain, and Messi are huge losses on defense. Cici is a massive loss on the OL. Skill positions will likely be better. There's no reason we shouldn't make another run at the 'ship sans injury disaster.

Agree with most of these. But,

OL - Good / Very Good? McCoy, Samson, Rodriguez, Buchanan, Merriweather, Cantwell. Some good names on paper but we don’t know what we have until we see it live. McCoy played well at times but also saw some struggles other times. Samson had a really good year. Rodriguez has been a jag his entire career. Merriweather Buchanan and Cantwell huge unknowns until we see them
on the field. It could very well develop into a good to very good unit, but we cant call them that yet based off what those guys have done.

LB - Similar to OL. Toure and Chase Smith, veterans but do we really consider these guys “very good”? I’d say they’re solid. Wiley, Bonner unknowns as of now.

 

[ST26]

Agree with most of these. But,

OL - Good / Very Good? McCoy, Samson, Rodriguez, Buchanan, Merriweather, Cantwell. Some good names on paper but we don’t know what we have until we see it live. McCoy played well at times but also saw some struggles other times. Samson had a really good year. Rodriguez has been a jag his entire career. Merriweather Buchanan and Cantwell huge unknowns until we see them
on the field. It could very well develop into a good to very good unit, but we cant call them that yet based off what those guys have done.

LB - Similar to OL. Toure and Chase Smith, veterans but do we really consider these guys “very good”? I’d say they’re solid. Wiley, Bonner unknowns as of now.

When you compare the Oline to 2024 and 2025, yeah the room is a step down. However, this room is still going to be one of the better units in the country. I’d still probably take our 5 over anyone else’s in the ACC

 

[bdcane4eva]

Coulda easily been last season...can easily be this season.. we'll see how it plays out.

 

[Trav]

Agree with most of these. But,

OL - Good / Very Good? McCoy, Samson, Rodriguez, Buchanan, Merriweather, Cantwell. Some good names on paper but we don’t know what we have until we see it live. McCoy played well at times but also saw some struggles other times. Samson had a really good year. Rodriguez has been a jag his entire career. Merriweather Buchanan and Cantwell huge unknowns until we see them
on the field. It could very well develop into a good to very good unit, but we cant call them that yet based off what those guys have done.

LB - Similar to OL. Toure and Chase Smith, veterans but do we really consider these guys “very good”? I’d say they’re solid. Wiley, Bonner unknowns as of now.

Yes I would say both LBs are very good. For the most part those 2 were excellent last year.

 

[SFbayCane]

Playoff has changed things. It's more of a crapshoot and the best team won't win most years.

Now instead of "this is our year" it's more "we can make a run" which we definitely can

This is exactly where I am on the subject.

 

[YLCANE]

We got a “taste” last year and responded extremely well
I think this program w Mario is HUNGRY for a title not an appearance

I actually think Mario grew as a HC a ton last year and if he plays to win and roll as we did after Adams
Miami will win and roll teams

Yeah, I think we should be the favorites to win it all and I believe we do

 

[grover]

We got a “taste” last year and responded extremely well
I think this program w Mario is HUNGRY for a title not an appearance

I actually think Mario grew as a HC a ton last year and if he plays to win and roll as we did after Adams
Miami will win and roll teams

Yeah, I think we should be the favorites to win it all and I believe we do

I'm not ready to say "favorites to win it all". We are definitely favorites to win the ACC, which gets us a bye. But I need to see how other teams like TX and Taint put it all together before saying we're better than them.

 

[canes_226]

I think we win the acc at minimum

 

[Canesq]

My friends, I’ve never been one to say things like “this is our year” or something of the sort, especially between 2005-2024 because I always approach each season with what some might consider “below average” expectations. I respect the super optimistic part of the fanbase but that’s just never been me. There was a long period of time where there were 3-4 actual contenders and everyone else. Those days, for now, appear to be over and I’m absolutely here for it!

BUT when I think about last year and what we accomplished and the momentum we got going into 2026, there is reason to believe this could indeed “be our year” although I still say it with caution. Why do I believe this?

- Darian Mensah is a better collegiate QB than Beck. He’s got weapons. The offensive line will still be strong and we have a great RB room. If anything we should expect more offensive production with Mensah VS Beck. Mensah is somewhere between a Cam Ward and D’eriq King type QB who’s far more dangerous than Beck, who’s more of a traditional pocket passer who’s extremely accurate when given time and not a big run threat. He was good, but I think Mensah can really elevate this offense.

- Defensively, I know we’re losing 3 potential first rounders but there’s plenty of depth on the roster to help fill those voids. As good as Bain was he was always limited by getting held. It was the only way he could be contained. We’re returning Moten and the transfer from Missouri will certainly help. Secondary loses Scott but returns plenty of key contributors from last season. While there might be a drop off with this unit, I don’t expect to see the 2024 defense trot on the field, especially with Heatherman coming back.

I imagine we’ll be ranked in the Top 8 to start the season but could very well be higher if the AP decides not to overlook us for their SEC darling programs. I’d put us at #3 to start the year. I’m not saying we’re going to go undefeated but I think this is the year we finally win the ACC because we’re just too talented at this point not to get there and this is absolutely a Natty contender. So ******* get ready folks. We’re 6 months away and I’m still excited!

I expect a clear division between us and the ACC…even against Clemson. No more letting teams linger.

I expect the backups to continue to run up the score to show they are hungry and ready to play.

I expect Coleman to show us he’s the future.

I expect more picks by the defense since the opposing offense will be down a lot.

I expect the oline will be ready by Notre Dame.

 

[Dwinstitles]

I think since 2023, our O-line has always been solid. It wasn’t entirely terrible in 2021 with pass protection. It allowed TVD to have his one good season. So I think it’s safe to say the OL will be just fine.

To me linebacker and S I am more concerned with and TE.

 

[NCCanefan]

We are tied with Texas Tech as the 7th betting fav to win it all ar +1400. Domers top choice at +650.

If you can't find a match you can burn some money online by betting the gators at +5000.

 

[NCCanefan]

****. 180 days until game 1 with Stanford

 

[Warrior808]

To me linebacker and S I am more concerned with and TE.

Safety? You dont like Poyser and FItzgerald??

 

[Dwinstitles]

Safety? You dont like Poyser and FItzgerald??

I do but they will be full time so I think there will be an adjustment, but with the schedule they should do well. I still want to see it for an entire game together, jakobe was great with run support. I just want to see less of the bad angels like the big run vs Ole Miss.

I want to see Wiley as well cause I know teams will try to attack Toure in coverage cause our DBs are nasty, so I would assume thats where they will attack in the passing game. I trust the players but I want to see it, cant wait though we got a ton of talent. Hopefully JJ gets a bunch of reps at S, going to be difficult keeping him off the field imo.

 

[skyman]

I do but they will be full time so I think there will be an adjustment, but with the schedule they should do well. I still want to see it for an entire game together, jakobe was great with run support. I just want to see less of the bad angels like the big run vs Ole Miss.

I want to see Wiley as well cause I know teams will try to attack Toure in coverage cause our DBs are nasty, so I would assume thats where they will attack in the passing game. I trust the players but I want to see it, cant wait though we got a ton of talent. Hopefully JJ gets a bunch of reps at S, going to be difficult keeping him off the field imo.

Poyser was already full time, probably played top 3 snaps at DB behind Scott overall.

 

[Dwinstitles]

Poyser was already full time, probably played top 3 snaps at DB behind Scott overall.

Yea Poyser is a dog for sure, I still want to see them together how they play FT as a pair. Pause

I am not worried about the OL as I previously was before. We walking into the playoffs I am not even worried