Spoke to sources about everything around the team and recruiting. Some quick notes:

- The mood around the team is angry. No excuse-making or rationalization, even though they have a lot of respect for Wake Forest. Everybody knows the second half sucked and they need to get a lot better.

- The best way to describe the OL situation is "fluid." They need to find the best 5, and what we've seen so far isn't it. Based on what Mario said on WQAM, and what I've heard independently, the focus seems to be more on the guards than center or tackle. I would expect to see some different combinations this weekend. I've talked a lot about Ben Congdon and Jackson Cantwell, because they split the first-team RG reps all camp. But one young name to watch is Rhys Woodrow. He already has a ton of responsibility in punt protection and has C/G versatility. Canon Pickett is another guy who can get in the mix with the other three.

The concern with most freshmen (especially the big guys) is they may dominate on two reps and whiff badly on a third. And the that whiff could change the season. With that said, we aren't getting consistency from the older players, and they're only second-year guys themselves. Bottom line- this is a work in progress and I expect to see tinkering until it's playoff caliber.

- They're being extremely tight-lipped about injuries, although I don't sense a ton of concern aside from Marty Brown and Josh Moore. Those two are heartbreakers. Two names Miami wants to see step up in their place: Jordan Lyle and Somourian Wingo.

- Ezekiel Marcelin's injury was ill-timed because we need more at LB. I don't think those two starting spots are set in stone all year.

- In terms of recruiting, Miami is very purposeful in terms of watching senior film and grading their own prospects. Some guys who have really impressed: QB Israel Abrams, RB Ty Keys, WRs Nick Lennear and Eli Woodard, ATH A'mir Sears, DE Jaiden Bryant, DL Josh Johnson, LB Noah Glover and CB Sherrod Gourdine.

- There is no secret that the staff still wants to make another big splash in 2027. Three names stand above the rest: OT Mark Matthews, DE DJ Jacobs and TE Jaxon Dollar. Miami finished second for all three and will continue to push aggressively until the final whistle.

 

Could not agree more.

Funny how Fitz moving from Safety to Corner was a simple/obvious move to make the team better.

But people start clutching their pearls over moving McCoy back to guard, in order to make the team better? GTFO

 

This "Cantwell can't even beat out SJ at guard" myth needs to stop. It's just about the dumbest thing I've ever seen posted on this board, and there are a lot of dumb things posted here.

Before 5-for-5, it was almost unheard of for a true freshman to start on the OL. Between weight-gain, learning the playbook, and figuring out assignments, we almost always redshirted OLs. Oh, except for Zion, and how did THAT work out?

No matter how many CIS porsters want to whine about "oh, all the insiders told us how great Cantwell was this summer", he was still great FOR A TRUE FRESHMAN. Those very same insiders told the board that the OL at the beginning of the year would not be the same as the OL at the end of the year, but somehow certain people on CIS choose to read selectively.

What if Cantwell is the starting tackle this week? Will that mean he has FIIIIIIIINALLY beaten out SJ and our long national nightmare is over?

The overreactions on this board are legendary, but everyone here knows that our September 2026 schedule is not the same as our September 2025 schedule. The OL does not "stink". We have a bunch of new starters (current & future), some of whom are true freshmen and we have scored 45, 77, and 33 points (two games against ACC teams) while having an inconsistent defense that has only generated one turnover, late in the third game.

The very same coaching braintrust that took us to the CFP championship and put THREE offensive linemen into the top 6 rounds of the draft last year, the very same coaches that everyone promised to trust after our CFP run, are still working on the OL development.

I actually agree with most of this but I don’t understand how being a true freshman has anything to do with whether he has been good or not.

It can explain WHY he hasn’t been good and no one is panicking about his future. But he clearly won’t be Mauigoa, at least not right now.