The five Miami signees along the offensive line for Miami in 2023 could end up as the best collection of trench talent in program history.

Head coach Mario Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal completely changed the talent level in the offensive line room in their first full class. Three of the five signees ended up with four-star ratings or higher.

With the injury issues Miami had along that group last season, there is a debate on if one or more of these freshmen can break through as day-one starters.

Two of the top transfer offensive linemen (former UCF center Matt Lee and former Alabama guard Javion Cohen) and the return of several 2022 starters cloud that path to playing time, especially along the interior. On the flip side, many of these signees were early priorities for the Miami staff and competition is something Cristobal has preached since his arrival.

There are likely, at minimum, two returning starters for Miami heading into 2023. Offensive tackle Zion Nelson was considered a first-round pick before the start of last season before injuries sidelined him for the majority of the year. His talent level is of elite status and he is one of the more veteran players on the roster. Nelson has had three surgeries on the same knee which puts his football career in jeopardy.

Freshman guard Anez Cooper was one of the shining stars of the second half of the season when the injury bug hit hard, knocking Miami down to just six healthy linemen at one point.

At 6'6" and 350 pounds, he has elite size and strength and showed the athleticism that Cristobal raved about at times in press conferences. The continued morphing of his body and solid early experience could slot him in once again at one of the guard spots.

The two transfers of Lee and Cohen likely mean immediate playing time for both. Their 2022 Pro Football Focus grades had them among the top players at their position at two winning programs.

Cohen was elite for Alabama and was a huge loss for them. He could also jump out at tackle, especially as Cristobal has preached positional versatility for the next level. Lee was a top-three graded center according to PFF and his arrival pushed out incumbent starter Jakai Clark.

The last of the veteran starters returning is guard Jalen Rivers. Before injuries in the second half of the year, he was one of the leaders of the group and someone that went into both the 2021 and 2022 seasons as a starter. Coming out of high school, he was a top-20 offensive tackle and top-250 player nationally. The talent is there and the experience will be important for this group.

With so much talent returning at guard and center, the trio of Tommy Kinsler, Frankie Tinilau, and Antonio Tripp are likely to see reserve roles or complete redshirt declarations. If any of the three is likely to earn playing time, it would probably be Kinsler, a four-star talent who has the experience, size, and pedigree to compete at a faster pace compared to the other two.

That leaves the five-star duo of Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola. Okunlola is maybe the biggest freak athlete at offensive tackle in the 2023 class. He is 6'5" and has 300 pounds of lean mass which compare him to the likes of Bryant McKinnie from a potential perspective.

Still, the competition he played on the high school level was never that strong and he never played a national schedule that would make it a seamless transition to college. He has maybe the highest potential in the class, but there could be some early growing pains.

Mauigoa fits the billing as a next-level-ready player. His athletic profile might not be as high potential as Okunlola, but he has played on a national stage at IMG Academy for multiple seasons now and has played some of the best players in the country on Friday nights - including top 100 Miami signee pass rusher Rueben Bain.

In every single setting, whether that be camp, game, or All-American practices - Mauigoa has stood out and lived up to his five-star hype. With Nelson likely playing left tackle next year and no true right tackle returning, the opportunity is there for Mauigoa to slot in very early.

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