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OFFENSIVE LINE EXPERIENCE
Miami combined career offensive line starts: 190Alabama combined career offensive line starts: 54
Miami combined starts and offensive snaps of projected starters: 109 starts with 7,661 offensive snaps of experience.
Alabama combined starts and offensive snaps of projected starters: 54 starts with 3,835 offensive snaps of experience.
OVERVIEW: Miami has the edge here and the Hurricanes also have experience and starts with the second unit if some of those players need to get elevated to the first team. How much does experience and continuity matter in the first game of the season when playing against a quality opponent? This Miami-Alabama game will serve as an interesting case study.
OFFENSIVE LINE SIZE COMPARISON
Average Size of Projected Miami Starters: 6-5, 321Average Size of Projected Alabama Starters: 6-4, 316
Average Size of Projected Miami Two-Deep: 6-4, 317
Average Size of Projected Alabama Two-Deep: 6-5, 317
OVERVIEW: From a body type perspective, Miami’s offensive line holds their own against Alabama, which will probably surprise casual fans. UM’s projected starting offensive line is slightly bigger than the Crimson Tide, even though Alabama features massive left tackle Evan Neal. The biggest difference between this 2021 Miami offensive line and the 2020 group is at the guard spots where Jalen Rivers and Navaughn Donaldson bring prototypical size and athleticism at that size. Last year, UM was undersized at the guard spot with Jakai Clark and DJ Scaife as the starters. This projected Miami offensive line will finally look the part. Now they have to play the part.
OFFENSIVE LINE RECRUITING RANKINGS
Miami Average Recruiting Ranking of Starters: .8684 (three-star average)Alabama Average Recruiting Ranking of Starters: .9377 (four-star average)
Miami Average Recruiting Ranking of Two-Deep: .8716 (high three-star average)
Alabama Average Recruiting Ranking of Two-Deep: .9428 (four-star average)
OVERVIEW: Alabama is a recruiting machine and that is also the case on the offensive line. The Crimson Tide reload every year at every position and the offensive line will be one position where a talented ‘next man up’ on the depth chart will earn a bigger role. The question Alabama will have to answer in this game? Will they be jelled and cohesive in game one. There is no doubt Alabama’s offensive line will be good by the end of the season. How will they look in game one though?
DEFENSIVE LINE EXPERIENCE / PRODUCTION
Miami Career Snaps and Production of Projected Starters: 2,902 career defensive snaps, 91 games, 188 tackles, 37.5 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, eight forced fumbles.Alabama Career Snaps, and Production of Projected Starters: 3,825 defensive snaps, 105 games played, 285 tackles, 49.5 tackles for loss, 21.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles.
Miami Career Snaps and Production of Projected Two Deep: 5,521 defensive snaps, 164 games played, 386 tackles, 62 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, 11 forced fumbles.
Alabama Career Snaps and Production of Projected Two Deep: 4,766 defensive snaps, 140 games played, 342 tackles, 55.5 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, five forced fumbles, and one interception.
OVERVIEW: Miami’s starting defensive line hasn’t been as impactful as Alabama’s, but UM’s depth does show up here. Now with that being said, the Alabama back-ups don’t have much experience and are highly talented, so that group will get a chance to produce in 2021.
One interesting area to watch in this game? UM’s forced fumble total is pretty impressive and Alabama quarterback Bryce Young isn’t very big. Strip-sacks are always a concern with smaller quarterbacks. Can Miami’s defensive line impact the game in that way with their long reach?
DEFENSIVE LINE SIZE COMPARISON
MIAMIAverage Defensive End Projected Starter Size: 6-4, 256
Average Defensive End Projected Two-Deep Size: 6-3, 255
Average Defensive Tackle Projected Starter Size: 6-3, 310
Average Defensive Tackle Projected Two-Deep Size: 6-4, 306
ALABAMA
Average Defensive End Projected Starter Size: 6-4, 298
Average Defensive Tackle Projected Starter Size: 6-3, 300
Average Rush Linebacker Projected Starter Size: 6-4, 242
Average Defensive End Projected Two-Deep Size: 6-4, 298
Average Defensive Tackle Projected Two-Deep Size: 6-4, 304
Average Rush Linebacker Projected Two-Deep Size: 6-4, 242
OVERVIEW: Miami’s defensive line passes the eye test from a body type perspective. The group has worked hard in the strength and conditioning program this offseason and the results have shown during fall camp. The physically impressive players to watch from a Miami standpoint: defensive ends Jahfari Harvey and Chantz Williams along with defensive tackles Jared Harrison-Hunte and Jordan Miller. Miami needs these four players to step up in 2021 after they each had an impressive offseason.
Alabama’s defensive line is prototypical. The pass rushers are long, thick, and twitchy. The defensive ends are long and strong as they do a nice job of containing the run. The defensive tackle spot is full of strong players at the point of attack. It will be interesting to see if Miami’s offensive line can generate push in the run game against this bunch.
DEFENSIVE LINE RECRUITING RANKINGS
Miami Average Recruiting Ranking of Starters: .9059 (low four-star average)Alabama Average Recruiting Ranking of Starters: .9580 (high four-star average)
Miami Average Recruiting Ranking of Two-Deep: .9005 (low four-star average)
Alabama Average Recruiting Ranking of Two-Deep: .9607 (high four-star average)
OVERVIEW: There aren’t many teams that will have a noticeable talent edge on the defensive line than Miami, but Alabama is certainly one of them.
Miami’s talent on the line of scrimmage is good. Alabama’s is great.
The Hurricanes essentially roll a two-deep of low level four-star prospects. Alabama rolls a two-deep of high level four-stars that would essentially be Top 50 players.
Alabama’s two-deep features four five-star prospects on the defensive line. Miami doesn’t have any. Stacking talent is the name of the game in college football and Alabama is an example of that on the defensive line. The Crimson Tide stack top talent year after year after year and the cream rises to the top year after year.
MIAMI’S LINE OF SCRIMMAGE X-FACTOR
Will Zion Nelson be healthy enough to start against Alabama?Miami’s starting left tackle, who was generating some first round NFL Draft buzz this offseason because of his athleticism, missed a lot of time during fall camp due to an injury. Will he be back in the lineup for the Alabama game? Word coming out of Friday’s ‘mock game’ is that Nelson got the opportunity to knock some rust off with the second team at left tackle. Can he settle into working with the first team offensive line during his week? How close is Nelson to operating at 100 percent health? That’s a bit question because in this Alabama game, the left tackle will have the responsibility of trying to block edge rusher Will Anderson, who is one of the best in the country at applying pressure on quarterbacks.
ALABAMA’S LINE OF SCRIMMAGE X-FACTOR
How will the right tackle position hold up?The biggest question for the Crimson Tide going into this 2021 season concerns the right tackle spot, which features a competition between veteran Kendall Randolph and talented true freshman JC Latham, a former five-star recruit.
Randolph was sidelined for an extended time during camp, which allowed Latham to show what he can do with the starting lineup. Randolph does have nine games of starting experience at the college level while Latham represents higher upside.
It is a matter of time before Latham is starting for the Crimson Tide, but will Alabama make that move in game one of the season?
Right tackle is a position that Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz figures to apply pressure to during the course of a game.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
Miami has lost the battle in the trenches against these high caliber teams over the past few years.Clemson’s defensive line and front seven overwhelmed Miami’s offensive line during the course of the game while their offensive line opened plenty of rushing lanes for running back Travis Etienne.
In 2019, Florida’s defensive front whipped Miami up front with the Gators totaling ten sacks. UM’s defensive front held their own against Florida’s offensive front.
In 2018, LSU won the line of scrimmage by leaning on the Hurricanes front seven while generating a back breaking 50-yard touchdown run as Nick Brossette rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Quarterback Malik Rosier was sacked four times in that game while LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was sacked twice.
The last time Miami won the trenches against a legitimate Power Five opponent was in 2017 when the Hurricanes dominated Notre Dame in that phase of the game for a 41-8 win at Hard Rock Stadium. The Hurricanes sacked quarterback Brandon Wimbush five times and limited a strong ND rushing attack to just 109 yards on 36 carries. UM, on the other hand, did not allow a quarterback sack and ran the ball for 237 yards and three touchdowns.
On paper, this is the best UM has been on the line of scrimmage over the past few years. Alabama, however, will represent the most talented line of scrimmage test the Hurricanes have faced during that same time.
It is probably unfair to expect Miami to win the line of scrimmage battle against Alabama, but can the Hurricanes hold their own in that phase of the game on September 4th? That’s a big question that will determine how competitive the game is.
A closer look at how Miami and Alabama match up on the line of scrimmage
A deep dive into how Miami and Alabama compare at the offensive and defensive line.
247sports.com
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