Mirabal and Taylor building Miami from the trenches

Miami needs to acquire talent and develop talent in order to return to prominence and coaches Jason Taylor and Alex Mirabal are doing a tremendous job in doing so.

In the last recruiting cycle, the duo along with defensive line coach Joe Salave'a helped to bring in top-tier talents Francis Mauigoa, Samson Okunlola, Tommy Kinsler, Rueben Bain, Joshua Horton, Jayden Wayne, Frankie Tinilau, and Antonio Tripp. The trio has also worked the transfer portal bringing in talents Javion Cohen, Matt Lee, Thomas Gore, Branson Deen, and Anthony Campbell. These young players are the foundation of the future success of the program.

Miami will continue to bring in top-level talent for the 2024 class and beyond. Prospects enjoy the teachings from Taylor not knowing of his hall-of-fame resume.

"I like the coaches, [Jason Taylor] he's a really good coach," Darryll Desir said after receiving an offer from Miami. "I could see myself learning from him, I really feel like he really stands out, didn't even know that he was a hall of famer."

The trenches will always be a point of emphasis for Miami and the current players.

"Coming after me and getting me and before that getting Javion showed that they really prioritized it, and want to take the next step," projected starting center Matt Lee said.

Taylor is just in his first year as a defensive line coach but is off to a great start in recruiting. Miami is hot on the trail for more trench monsters on the defensive side of the ball with Justin Scott, Colin Simmons, Dylan Stewart, Aydin Breland, TJ Lindsay, LJ McCray, Tye Hylton, and David Stone all very high on Miami. Miami has a high chance to land the majority of the aforementioned group.

Brandon Baker, Liam Andrews, and Jason Zandamela are some offensive line talents that could very possibly make their pledge to Miami as well.

Mirabal helped guide Oregon to a 10-4 record in his final season in Eugene and is in en route to guide the Hurricanes to similar end-of-season results. The Ducks rushed for 203.2 yards per game in 2021 – ranked No. 24 in the nation – and had 200-plus rush yards on seven occasions, including two 300-yard games

Mirabal earned recognition as one of the top 25 recruiters in the country while helping Oregon to an all-time best No. 3 class ranking by Rivals.

In 2019, Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top lineman and was a consensus All-American for an O-Line that helped lead the Ducks to a Rose Bowl championship.

In 2021, Mirabal coached offensive lineman T.J. Bass to an All-America season. Bass picked up a pair of honors, earning second-team all-conference from the AP and honorable mention recognition from the Pac-12 coaches. Center Alex Forsyth was a second-team pick by the coaches, who also gave Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu honorable mention recognition. Forsyth was also a second-team pick in 2021. Left guard Shane Lemieux and right tackle Calvin Throckmorton also claimed All-America accolades under Mirabal’s tutelage.

Mirabal has shown over the years that he can recruit and develop and Taylor is showing some early signs of creating similar results on the defensive side. If games are truly won in the trenches the coaching combination should bring "The U" back in a matter of time.

Photo Courtesy of Miami Athletics

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