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Little concerned we didn't do enough work in portal..

skyman said:
I honestly think we got caught flat footed with playoff run and then no second portal (We used to do DAMAGE with second portal Martinez, Keionte, Jakobe, Toure, Keelan, etc.).. But the things I was pushinng for during portal seem to be there at moment. You cant spend 40 mil on roster and 6+ mil on QB and then pumpfake on Seaton, I dont think we should be depending on freshman on oline. Spending the extra 500k to 1 mil would have been worth it, elite olineman are soo rare in portal you have to make exception to whatever rules you have, especially with a bridge oline (2026 oline was always gonna be a rebuild, Bell going to NFL for cheaper to sit one year anyway made it even more imperative to get to 2027). You have to go all in.




I said it at time BEFORE Mensah/Barkate, I said it AGAIN after they came and now that BOTH didnt crack opening day rotation, bringing in two midlevel WR when they really like '25 class (Mali, Upshaw, Moore) made absolutely no sense. Dumb strategy, I said it at time, consolidate their NIL and go get a real DOG that can help. Getting 2 guys who started on their team but you have guys you like and gonna play politics with and then say hey you can be depth is dumb and can mess up a room. Get a dog who can actually make defenses pay for focusing on Mali. We bought two guys in and not in rotation opening day, just burned money.

Go look at portal TE thread, we were in there EVERYDAY with names saying they could help. I will say, I was encouraged with what I saw tho at stanford. I know the politic$ of NIL and walkon but now bauman gone and injury, they have no choice but to play Ruskavich as we have heard him being effective since last year, atleast he seem like capable blocker. We still could of used a Vet weapon as this is another developmental position to let the freshman develop on normal track but yea.

We could of went after a legit LB, we had the Pitt LB scheduled, Texas dropped the bag and reap the benefit, but we didnt seem to have plan B and just said **** it change Chase Smith number and maybe he play like a elite transfer.



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I don't think it was that we didn't have the budget for that OT (and that we had to spread it across multiple players), it's that we have a wage hierarchy (and it's very difficult to hide what everyone is getting paid from their teammates). If you go in an extra $1m for that OT then suddenly everyone else wants an extra $x,000.

We clearly pay well, but we also clearly have quite a harmonious team because everyone knows where they sit in the structure and how they can earn more if they perform.
 
bobbydigius said:
I believe we should have added more to the OL(C and LT)) but not anywhere else. An LB would have been nice as well. Thats it though.
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At what point do you have to fall back on your elite level recruiting? Especially at a position like OLine. We're what, year 5 of Cristobal? If he's still bringing in portal guys to start at his position we have problems.

Let's see how the OLine gels over the next few games then revisit this.
 
supersaiyanshel said:
We bet big on our current roster on defense.

Our defense went from being elite to very good. But our offense went from being very good to elite.

You can win it all with either combination.
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This is fair, and bar someone like Dylan Stewart deciding to enter the Transfer Portal you're simply not replacing Bain one-for-one.
 
OldhamA said:
I don't think it was that we didn't have the budget for that OT (and that we had to spread it across multiple players), it's that we have a wage hierarchy (and it's very difficult to hide what everyone is getting paid from their teammates). If you go in an extra $1m for that OT then suddenly everyone else wants an extra $x,000.

We clearly pay well, but we also clearly have quite a harmonious team because everyone knows where they sit in the structure and how they can earn more if they perform.
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Ehh, there are ALWAYS guys asking for more money. That comes with territory, doesnt even have to be same positions. I can tell stories, I atleast know about that part. Dude was gonna be highest paid regardless, we threw our hat in ring so it is what it is.. No such thing as half way crook, we were in it to win it. Got to go the distance. Having him would have been a domino affect which would of kept our oline at elite championship level..

Right now we are banking on ALOT of guys hitting at different spots. Literally all 5 spots are new. Even if couldnt grab him, there were other harmonious vets available.
 
Here is my problem with most of these points and why you're playing the result/moving the goalposts:

Lowe - Was projected to be a major part of the rotation this year. They went out and signed the top DE in the portal (which you failed to mention) to replace one of the departing first round DE's. They had Lightfoot and Bount waiting in the wings. If you bring in another DE, you're likely losing Lowe to the portal anyways since he's likely not sticking around to be DE 5.

TE - Honestly, what does TE matter when we're absolutely loaded at receiver? Gilbert got hurt and Mueller - a very highly rated TE recruit - is now TE #2.

Lyle - They retained the entire RB room (Fletcher, Brown, Pringle) so what would have been the point in adding another RB?

DB's - Again, if Antoine and OJ don't get hurt, who's coming in to play behind the rest of the guys in that room?

OL - Perhaps the only group there might be some validity. The staff trusts Rodriguez more than I do but I would have absolutely signed another Center. They went hard after Seaton and we also have no idea how aggressive they were in trying to retain Kinsler.
 
gacaneaddict said:
I got it you guys wouldn't take Seaton or Biles? Retain a Kinsler? Take another veteran C, TE or DE and DT?

That is all I was saying.

There is an old saying in baseball, you can NEVER HAVE ENOUGH PITCHING, and my thought process is you can never have enough depth as this is a physical sport with injuries.
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Retaining Kinsler is likely irrelevant. They chose not to & have a good track record on who they let walk. Did you see anything from Kinsler that would warrant that second guess?
 
gacaneaddict said:
I know this sounds wild coming off an impressive road conference victory. I am looking at this through the lens of Winning ACC Title, and beating teams like Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Indiana in playoffs to win a Natty.

I also want to clarify with the new portal window being while Miami was in a playoff run chasing a National Title it was not easy to do it, and also that there was only 1 portal window hurt IMO.

Why do I say this? Well before season started or with 1 game played we lost:

Hayden Lowe-Blunt's backup DE, and very talented player.
Luka Gilbert-our #2 TE.
Jordan Lyle-Who knows?
Jaboree Antone-Long term injury
O.J. Frederique-Long term injury
Cam Vaughn-Kicked off
Jantavius Wyman-Left team
Conrad Hussey-Kicked off team

We could have been more aggressive retaining Kinsler on OL. I think he could have helped this group. Also with so much newness, get another experienced OL with some position versatility.

I am very worried about offensive tackle depth. Who is our 3rd tackle?? I know we pursued Seaton, and we bowed out when price got too high. Can you imagine Seaton and Samson at tackles, McCoy and Buchanan/Cantwell at guards with Rodriguez at C? Whew buddy.

I think we could have signed another bigger bodied DE with experience. We could use another LB with experience and talent. I know we were interested in Biles, but price was high, and he went to Texas.

I think we could have grabbed another TE with experience.

I am little worried the depth on this team is lacking enough in certain spots if injuries hit could cost Miami.

The only contenders that took less portal players than Miami was Notre Dame and UGA.

Maybe I am overreacting to the Frederique news, maybe.

First world problems I know.
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Our depth is fine. Why spend money on a TE when we're going to live in 4 WR sets? I get ppl want to bring back TEU but it isn't 2002 anymore. We have the best WR room in CFB and we'd be fools not to use all of them bc some dans want to incorporate TEs who aren't better pass weapons than our WRs. Lofton played well friday , mueller looked good , & 44 looked great as a blocker. As for CB we just saw this team less than a year ago make a playoff run with essentially 2.5 CBs. Even with OJ & Jaboree out we still have X , EOC , Damari , Waters , Brody Jennings , Camdin Portis , & CMC & Heatherman even said JJ is more than capable of taking reps at CB. This isn't 2021 Miami anymore we have more than enough depth at every position to have a next man up mentality. Kinsler plays tackle I believe & he isn't better than any tackle we have. All we need is for Cantwell to get settled so he can take SJ spot at LG and we'll be set on the OL.
 
JZCane0825 said:
Here is my problem with most of these points and why you're playing the result/moving the goalposts:

Lowe - Was projected to be a major part of the rotation this year. They went out and signed the top DE in the portal (which you failed to mention) to replace one of the departing first round DE's. They had Lightfoot and Bount waiting in the wings. If you bring in another DE, you're likely losing Lowe to the portal anyways since he's likely not sticking around to be DE 5.

TE - Honestly, what does TE matter when we're absolutely loaded at receiver? Gilbert got hurt and Mueller - a very highly rated TE recruit - is now TE #2.

Lyle - They retained the entire RB room (Fletcher, Brown, Pringle) so what would have been the point in adding another RB?

DB's - Again, if Antoine and OJ don't get hurt, who's coming in to play behind the rest of the guys in that room?

OL - Perhaps the only group there might be some validity. The staff trusts Rodriguez more than I do but I would have absolutely signed another Center. They went hard after Seaton and we also have no idea how aggressive they were in trying to retain Kinsler.
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If the staff expected Kinsler to be a big contributor/starter this season, he'd be on the roster. My guess is it was a mutual parting of ways, as Kinsler wanted to start somewhere. It looked like he got hurt pretty badly in Sunday's game, so I'm curious how long he's out for.
 
My concern is OG/C as of now. Experience will likely resolve most of the issues. CB- while it isn’t ideal to put a freshman on the field, we have done ok with freshman DBs. It sounds like a lot will get both injured back this year and our tougher games are ND, acc, CFP.
 
OP raises valid point. OJ, Lowe, Gilbert, Antoine and Lyle news were unexpected. But I agree we definitely should’ve been more aggressive when it came to the OL.

It’s similar situation as to whether we go to the portal next year for QB. We’re at too good of a spot as a program with national championship aspirations to hand over the keys to Nickle, Coleman or a true freshman QB. Same point regarding OL this season…we shouldn’t be relying on two freshmen, an undersized G, or a Center who has been injured or proven not to be very good the past 5 years. I believe that’s all OP is saying.
 
Kinsler whiffed on his first several tries at blocking someone vs UL. He would be a backup here yet again.

This team is absolutely loaded across the board. It's an almost perfectly assembled rooster.
 
Whats the point of complaining about this now lol.

Mario is the best coach at talent acquisition we have had since Butch. He made the best roster he could have made.

You cant force Rasheem Biles to come here, if he wants texas. Same for Seaton. Money is not unlimited (you think Texas and LSU dont have massive amounts of money either?)

I will never doubt Mario when it comes to talent acquisition or recruiting. Give puts max effort to build the best team he can, kts not always possible to just get everyone you want. These are human beings making decisions for themselves.

But ideally speaking, yes, we can always use more talent. Every team in America is feeling the same way right now.
 
OldhamA said:
At what point do you have to fall back on your elite level recruiting? Especially at a position like OLine. We're what, year 5 of Cristobal? If he's still bringing in portal guys to start at his position we have problems.

Let's see how the OLine gels over the next few games then revisit this.
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Well the good news is that is what the portal is there for. The old days are long gone, we don’t need to always lean on HS recruiting and there are receipts to back that up.
 
Here is what will doom us !

If Mario starts to bask in his recruiting success and ignores or minimizes the Portal -then we in trouble. He has already said that QB recruiting Is where it needs to be so we are not dependent on an NIL QB moving forward. Hopefully true but we don't know yet.

Clemson is the poster child of what happens when you ignore the Portal. 2023 they had the #11 Recruiting class and again in 2024 the #12 Class, Yet they are barely a top 25 team.

Like the OP said-- I also feel like the OL is a significant downgrade from last year's version. (Did we think our recruiting was good enough)


Bottom Line-You need both but NIL> Recruiting.
 
gacaneaddict said:
I know this sounds wild coming off an impressive road conference victory. I am looking at this through the lens of Winning ACC Title, and beating teams like Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Indiana in playoffs to win a Natty.

I also want to clarify with the new portal window being while Miami was in a playoff run chasing a National Title it was not easy to do it, and also that there was only 1 portal window hurt IMO.

Why do I say this? Well before season started or with 1 game played we lost:

Hayden Lowe-Blunt's backup DE, and very talented player.
Luka Gilbert-our #2 TE.
Jordan Lyle-Who knows?
Jaboree Antone-Long term injury
O.J. Frederique-Long term injury
Cam Vaughn-Kicked off
Jantavius Wyman-Left team
Conrad Hussey-Kicked off team

We could have been more aggressive retaining Kinsler on OL. I think he could have helped this group. Also with so much newness, get another experienced OL with some position versatility.

I am very worried about offensive tackle depth. Who is our 3rd tackle?? I know we pursued Seaton, and we bowed out when price got too high. Can you imagine Seaton and Samson at tackles, McCoy and Buchanan/Cantwell at guards with Rodriguez at C? Whew buddy.

I think we could have signed another bigger bodied DE with experience. We could use another LB with experience and talent. I know we were interested in Biles, but price was high, and he went to Texas.

I think we could have grabbed another TE with experience.

I am little worried the depth on this team is lacking enough in certain spots if injuries hit could cost Miami.

The only contenders that took less portal players than Miami was Notre Dame and UGA.

Maybe I am overreacting to the Frederique news, maybe.

First world problems I know.
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Da Jumbo Mutombo said:
Whats the point of complaining about this now lol.

Mario is the best coach at talent acquisition we have had since Butch. He made the best roster he could have made.

You cant force Rasheem Biles to come here, if he wants texas. Same for Seaton. Money is not unlimited (you think Texas and LSU dont have massive amounts of money either?)

I will never doubt Mario when it comes to talent acquisition or recruiting. Give puts max effort to build the best team he can, kts not always possible to just get everyone you want. These are human beings making decisions for themselves.

But ideally speaking, yes, we can always use more talent. Every team in America is feeling the same way right now.
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We've got FAMU this week. What else we gonna yell about?
 
rok said:
Kinsler whiffed on his first several tries at blocking someone vs UL. He would be a backup here yet again.

This team is absolutely loaded across the board. It's an almost perfectly assembled rooster.
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It's crazy how much complaining I see on this board, even though we have the best roster we've had since 02. I swear if CanesInsight or the internet were around in 01, 75% of this board would be complaining every day about the team

After 1 game, it's pretty obvious we are better than last year. The scary thing is, we haven't even reached anywhere close to our full potential. This defense is hungry and will be out on a mission to prove fans wrong. The offensive line is going to gel into one of the best units in the country
 
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