Starting senior center Tyler Gauthier said Thursday at a community service event that he feels the depth along the line is as good as past seasons.

But he held back from saying it’s much improved compared to his previous years at UM.

“I’d probably say similar or a little better,” Gauthier said. “We have some kids that can come play football, kids that are behind that can still play - maybe it’s one thing, he has to learn the playbook a little bit. Maybe he has to do a little cardio, lose a little weight, gain a little weight. But we definitely have the depth to do it.”

He also said that “Toward the end of the spring we were seeing the twos do some really good things, move the ball, and now going into summer they’re getting stronger, are in the weight room, are starting to be vocal.”

Gauthier adds that having a strong second team to push the starters “Makes everyone better. If there’s a person and another person behind me, it makes you work a little bit harder to make sure you keep that spot. And if you don’t have that backup you don’t get lackadaisical, but you feel comfortable. And you don’t want to feel comfortable. You want to be pushed when you’re doing this.”

Gauthier says a big focus along the line is cohesiveness.

“We want to be able to work as a unit,” Gauthier said. “So when we do the team stuff all five are making the calls on the offensive line and not just one guy here, one guy there. Everyone is talking as a unit - that’s a big thing for us.”

Gauthier has started in Miami’s last 17 games, and his time at Miami’s given him perspective on what it takes for a freshman to play an immediate role.

With several new faces along the line on campus (and transfer Venzell Boulware expected for Summer B), Gauthier said it’s not too much to expect them to play and contribute.

“The way our coaches give us plays it makes it easy to learn,” he said. “If they just come out and work hard and do what they have to do it gives them an opportunity just like everybody else.”

What does this team need to do in order to reach that next step this season?

“To be locked in, mentally ready for every game,” Gauthier said, adding "It feels like people want it more because we got there (to the ACC title) now and you know that feeling. Now you want to win it. And then you want to win more, make the season as long as possible."

* Gauthier said that DT transfer arrival Tito Odenigbo “is doing one on one reps against the ones and is doing really well. So it’s good to see.”

* Looking back to the line’s play a year ago, Gauthier says he’d like to see false start penalties reduced (“it’s just a mental thing”) and that “we were working good, it was just the little mental things. It wasn’t physical.”

* Asked about DT Jon Ford, Gauthier said, "It was an amazing defense when he went in this spring compared to the fall. The fall he was trying to figure everything out. Now he's playing. He'll come off the ball and hit you, do whatever he needs to do. He's definitely a better player now."

Despite the losses at defensive tackle, Gauthier said, "I don't there'll be that much of a drop (in play level). When we play that first game against LSU you'll see how good they actually are."