CORAL GABLES - As the offensive and defensive lines go, so does the team, for the most part. The linemen for this year’s Miami Hurricanes program will be pivotal to their collective success in more ways than one.

For the bulk of this week, media members have been able to focus on this in two separate sessions. We will start with the offensive line.

Canes offensive line coach Alex Mirabal has hailed redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez as a player who can start for any ACC team. Rodriguez shared his thoughts on that.

“The biggest thing has been just listening to Coach [Mirabal],” the 6-foot-2, 275-pound redshirt sophomore said. “Those meetings that we have every day, instead of just sitting there and watching the clock pass, you gotta lock in and write notes. You gotta listen to what he’s saying because there’s not one minute that goes by; he’s not saying anything. You process that information and actually understand what he’s trying to get it and the whole concept of everything. Everything starts clicking a little easier, and then you can start playing freer.”

Rodriguez spoke on the leadership of quarterback Cam Ward.

“Cam is a great leader,” Rodriguez said. “Not just for the cameras or nothing when people are looking at him, but behind closed doors. When there are no cameras, he’s still a great leader. He takes care of us in the O-Line room. Takes us out to eat all the time. Finds ways for us to get together and bond. And that’s huge, especially for the O-line, because we’re all a big brotherhood. Every position group is a big brotherhood. But for the O-line, it’s a little different, a little more special.”

Rodriguez did not stop there.

“Cam’s doing a great job of bringing us all together,” Rodriguez said. “When you have a quarterback that really appreciates you, you’ll go to war for him and protect him. And Cam’s that guy we all want to protect and go to war for him.”

Rodriguez also touched on the offensive line depth of this year’s team.

“I feel like we’re growing every year,” Rodriguez said. “We got Samson [Okunlola], who has a year under his belt now. He got banged up last year, but he’s back fully, and he’s working his butt off. He’s improved a ton. Markell Bell came from JUCO, and he's worked hard since he’s got here.”

Rodriguez had more to say about the position group as a whole.

“We got old dogs like Lu Cristobal, who pushes us every day,” Rodriguez said. “He’s the one pushing us when we’re having a bad day. He’s there telling us, ‘Come on guys. Let’s go. Let’s go.’ Nino [Francavilla] is stepping up in a big way. Nino came from high school. He’s an older freshman. All these guys are stepping up, and I’m very comfortable with our depth. We’re very deep.” Rodriguez spoke on how the offensive line room views the running back room and how well they can work with each other.

He started with his commentary on running back Damien Martinez and went from there.

“Damien is a dog,” Rodriguez said. “He’s legit. But it’s not just Damien. Our whole running back room is legit. We got guys that can play. Not just one. Mark [Fletcher], Ajay [Allen], Jordan Lyle stepped up. Chris Humphrey. Chris Johnson. All those guys can play. I have no doubt. Those guys are gonna lead us, and we’re gonna block our butt off for them. They’re gonna do their thing.”

Redshirt freshman Okunlola played three games this past season while gaining an extra year of college eligibility. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive lineman has been recovering nicely from a knee injury he suffered during his freshman year. He is currently in competition for a starting offensive line position. He spoke with media members on how fall training has been going for him.

“Every day I’m looking for an opportunity to get better, one percent better every day,” Okunlola said. “My focus is not on starting or nothing like that. My focus is on getting better every day, getting better tomorrow, getting better the next day.”

Okunlola shared his insight on the team’s offensive line depth.

“We definitely got a lot of talent,” Okunlola said. “We had a lot of talent last year. There will be more talent this year. More dudes who are ready, more dudes who know the scheme. More dudes who are ready to get on and compete. We got a whole lot of great players on the team.”

Okunlola touched on how he has grown from last season to the spring and right now.

“I’m ready to get better,” Okunlola said. “I’m ready to showcase that. I know the playbook. I know how to operate in that playbook. I know the techniques to use, the how, the why to do it. That’s what I want to showcase. I want to showcase it coming into this fall.”

Okunlola spoke on how much he has learned from fellow offensive linemen Jalen Rivers and Anez Cooper.

“They helped me grow in the sense of technique, using my hands better in the pass game, knowing the whole scheme to run,” Okunlola said. “Showing me how to attack this, attack that. Raising my IQ when it comes to football. Letting me know when blitzes are coming with the running game and the d-line, so I can better choose the technique to use for that play.”

Okunlola commented on how to win trust in the offensive line room with Mirabal.

“Trust is a big thing,” Okunlola said. “The five O-linemen we choose to play have to be trusted among themselves. The way you go to show that is knowing your playbook. The film never lies, so what you do on the film, you’re gonna tell the truth. It’s how we’re gonna trust you.”

Center and projected starter Zach Carpenter spoke on how things have been going for him since he transferred from Indiana to Miami this offseason. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound redshirt senior highlighted the level of chemistry he has built with his fellow offensive linemen.

“In the offseason, we got together quite a bit,” Carpenter said. “It’s important to build relationships outside of football. Obviously, we need to trust each other on the field. But even outside of football, you can’t have those hard conversations with someone you don’t really know like that. I think this camp has been great. We spend a lot of hours with each other. We’re on the same page.”

Carpenter also talked about the line battles between the offensive line and the defensive line.

“Obviously, we’re never gonna be perfect, but that’s always our goal,” Carpenter said. “Really, for us, it’s about growth every day. You’re either getting better, or you’re getting worse, but you can’t stay the same. So we’ve been working to make growth - even if it’s marginal - every single day. By week 1, we’re ready to go.”

Carpenter is thinking about nothing more than what is transpiring with the team at this time.

“Right now, it’s still about us,” Carpenter said. “We’re just trying to get better and grow together as a team and work on our fundamentals. We start game planning soon, but right now, we’re gonna keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s getting better.”

With the three offensive linemen speaking on behalf of their unit, we will move on to the defensive line.

It has been a great experience so far for Miami redshirt defensive lineman Elijah Alston, who transferred from Marshall in the offseason. He finished with 108 total tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one interception in five seasons played with the Thundering Herd from 2019 to 2023.

How will this past success translate to the Hurricanes in Alston’s final year of college eligibility? Alston touched on his transfer move and more.

“My transition here at the beginning was kind of rough because I didn’t know what was going on,” Alston said. “I didn’t know how everything was gonna go. I didn’t know how everything was gonna flow here. I had to remove all my stuff. But once I got settled in, everybody treated me like family. It wasn’t a hard transition, but it was a little rocky at the start.”

Alston did not stop there.

“When it comes to the newer people like Tyler Baron, all the other new faces as well, that right there just put a little push to our d-line room as a whole,” Alston said. “Their work ethic is very high, so I like the way it pushes all of us to get better every day.”

Alston described what he is comfortable doing as a defensive lineman.

“I like to pass rush, I like to drop, I like to do whatever they need me to do,” Alston said. “I don’t feel like I’m labeled as one thing. I would say I’m a utility player. If you need me on the edge, I’m on the edge. If you need me to drop, I’ll drop. I’m here to help. I’m not just a one-trick pony.”

Alston spoke on what it’s like to go up against Ward in practice.

“Me and Cam’s relationship is a little bit different from everybody else,” Alston said. “I do not care to talk junk. That’s Cam Ward’s thing. That’s what he does with everybody else. Me and Cam are buddy-buddy. When we see each other, we wave to each other. I don’t care to talk junk. It’s pointless to me. But getting after Cam that’s some work for itself because of the type of o-line he has protecting him. So that’s a battle to get to him every day. Him in the pocket. He throws dimes, so even when you think you’re pressuring Cam, you’re possibly not pressuring Cam. Because when you look down the field, all you hear is "blur" in practice.”

Redshirt senior defensive lineman Tyler Baron transferred from Tennessee to Miami during the offseason. In four seasons and 48 games played with the Volunteers, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound stalwart on defense recorded 101 total tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Baron spoke on his transition and overall experience with a deep defensive line group at Miami.

“I think it’s really simple,” Baron said. “It’s really competitive. I just think everybody is trying to compete against each other. It’s a real healthy relationship. There’s no hatred, no envy, or anything like that. It’s just been a really good kind of competitive room. So it’s easy to get into and try to push yourself to be the best in whatever you can.”

Baron spoke on the play of fifth-year redshirt junior Akheem Mesidor.“

"Akheem is a really, really dynamic guy,” Baron said. “He can play everywhere up and down the d-line. It’s real fun to play alongside him. It’s definitely a fun group to be in.”

Baron touched on how he has been coming along these past few weeks in fall training camp.

“I think individually, I have been coming along really well,” Baron said. “We have a great staff with Coach [Jason] Taylor and everybody that helps around with him. I think they’re doing a great job of just keeping me involved. I’m trying to learn as much as I can and take every nugget that I can.”

Redshirt junior defensive lineman Mesidor played in two games last season before an injury cut his junior year short. The 2022 All-ACC Honorable Mention defender finished with five tackles and one sack in 2023. Coaches have deemed the 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive lineman the best player overall at points this offseason. He spoke about how his game has been on another level.

“Once I got hurt, I was just really working on small fundamental things while doing rehab,” Mesidor said. “But my feet are no longer an issue. I’ve been working all winter and spring to getting fitted by Adidas. I got custom shoes now, and I feel great. So I’m just trying to play to my full potential.”

Mesidor went further into his special cleats.

“I got my feet scanned countless times just to look at the width of my feet, how long my feet are,” Mesidor said. “We just made the cleats based off the results they got from testing.”

Mesidor is excited for Week 1 against Florida.

“I’m starving,” Mesidor said. “I can’t wait.”

Note: Other defensive linemen to watch out for are Anthony Campbell and Ahmad Moten. The Hurricanes have 22 defensive linemen on their roster, which speaks to the sheer depth of the unit.

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