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.

 

C is its every bit as big of a problem as G. At least with G they're willing to admit they have a problem. But not C. Mario says Ryan Rodriguez is doing fine. There's gotta be more to it. It's like he's our only option.

Since it doesn't look like poor play will be a factor here, what are we going to do at C if RR gets hurt?

I'm old enough to remember when SJ was supposed to be "our future center once he learns to snap." Snapping the ball is the least of SJ's concerns. So now what do we do?

I still can't believe they didn't go to the portal for a C.

People need to stop assuming SJ is anything here. He stinks. He won’t be a good center just because he’s small. He’s been a bad OL. He needs to likely transfer to a smaller school out west because he’s not it. Ryan Rodriguez was a loyalty move and one that Mario should have NEVER done. He made a huge error after having great center play for the last few years with Lee and Brockermeyer. Carpenter had problems but he wasn’t getting blown over every play. We got ****y on the OL and it’s going to cost us games. Period.

 

Since this is the mope thread at this point, I’ll add to it. Kentucky football currently has a far superior interior line than we do, and ALL 3 of them are portal guys, including the #1 Center in the portal, whom we should’ve signed, without question. Don’t believe me? Just look at the holes these guys open in the run game. My fat *** could have got a first down on some of these. And we could have got 2, maybe all 3 of these guys for what we spent on Cam Vaughn and Jacobs.

I presumed RR would be further along since we have been prepping this role for him for a while now.

I think people are forgetting about meriweather. We whiffed big time. Hawks is a reserve guy who’s played in every game, along with Woodrow and cantwell. He may not be ready for primetime but history shows age is expedient for growth when it comes to line play. Thats presuming there’s growth to be had ofc.

I guess we didn’t pursue Olaus Alinen because he wanted a starting spot, otherwise idk why not. He’s the guy that made us pass on Monroe Freeling because he silently committed to us. We also thought Freeling could only play OT while Alinen could play guard like he is now at UK.

I expect changes at G, that’s been established. My larger concerns are about whether or not we get changes at C.