''Iron Sharpens Iron''

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Every day on Greentree, they push each other.

Drills are run. Blocks are made. Tackles delivered. Sometimes, words are exchanged.

They’ll concede it isn’t always pretty and they can even get under each other’s skin.

But once practice is over, it’s not uncommon to see Hurricanes offensive linemen like Anez Cooper, Jalen Rivers, Ryan Rodriguez or Samson Okunlola huddling with defensive linemen like Rueben Bain, Jr., Elijah Alston, Akheem Mesidor or Ahmad Moten, Sr..

And in their conversations, there is often brutal honesty – the kind each one knows will only make all of the linemen better once they move off Greentree and into gametime situations, like the ones that await in Gainesville on Aug. 31 when No. 19 Miami opens the season against rival Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

“I feel like we have one of the best o-lines in the country and we’ve got one of the best offensive line coaches in the country, so every day, we’re going out there, competing, and we’re going to talk a little smack,” said Moten, a redshirt sophomore who saw action in 11 games last season and consistently earned praise from coaches throughout camp. “Then after that, after practice, we’re back to being brothers. We’re going to help each other out. ‘Hey, how can I beat you on this move, Coop?’ or Jalen Rivers will ask somebody ‘On this long arm, where are you going to put your hands, so I know what to expect from different opponents?’ We’re all bought in. We all like doing it together. It’s just iron sharpens iron.”

Added Alston, who joined the Hurricanes earlier this year after five seasons at Marshall, “Yes, we do butt heads every day and we do beat each other up. But after practice, we’re coming to one another like, ‘Hey, the only reason I beat you like this is because you did this. That’s something you should work on.’ Or ‘The only reason why your rush didn’t work is because you did this instead of doing this. You didn’t sell it enough.’ And I feel like that plays a major part because when we get in front of real competition, it’s only going to help us grow a little bit more and work on the things we need to work on.”

As the Hurricanes start preparing for next week’s season opener, expectations are high for both Miami’s offensive and defensive lines.

Both units have talented, experienced players, like Rivers, a fifth-year redshirt junior who started all 13 games for Miami at left tackle last season, was a second-team All-ACC selection and is now on the watch list for the Outland Trophy.

Bain, meanwhile, was the 2023 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and a consensus Freshman All-American after a breakout season in which he had 44 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

Sophomore offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa had a big debut season himself, starting all 13 games for Miami at right tackle, earning Freshman All-America recognition and helping the Hurricanes average 431.2 yards per game, a number that ranked second in the ACC.

To that mix, the Hurricanes have added Alston, who totaled 108 tackles and 9.5 sacks during his time with the Thundering Herd, defensive line transfer Simeon Barrow, Jr., who made 30 starts during a four-year career at Michigan State, defensive line transfer Tyler Baron, who totaled 101 tackles and 13.5 sacks in four years at Tennessee, and center Zach Carpenter, a redshirt senior who made 25 starts at Indiana before joining the Hurricanes – among others.

That kind of experience will be a boon for the Hurricanes as they look to continue their growth and improvement under third-year head coach Mario Cristobal, a two-time national champion offensive lineman at Miami.

When he returned to his alma mater, Cristobal made it clear fortifying Miami’s defensive and offensive lines would be a priority and now, both units are expected to be strengths.

“It’s better,” Cristobal said during camp, of Miami’s depth. “We feel like we have significant improvement in a lot of areas, particularly the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”

Added assistant head coach and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal of his group in particular, “You’ve got a practice organizational chart and then you’ve got a game organizational chart, right? And your practice organizational chart has got to be deep enough where you can get the reps with the ones, the twos, the threes and sometimes, the fours. In a game, it isn’t that. In a game, it’s your top five guys. Some guy goes down, who’s the next best guy? If you have eight or nine of those, that’s a luxury. That’s what you’re looking for. We had it last year. We already have it now, this year, in my opinion. What you’re looking for as a coach is you’re looking to continue to grow that.”

It’s a growth process the Hurricanes have embraced.

Offensive linemen say they’re pushing each other on a daily basis, with veterans mentoring some of their younger teammates. It’s the same on the defensive side of the ball.

And ultimately, that leads to fierce competition between the lines, especially when the two units line up against each other, as they have in Miami’s two scrimmages.

“I feel like the scrimmage was very good for both sides. I feel like we [saw] we can be a good offense if we just connect with each other and talk with each other more,” Cooper said. “And I learned a lot from the defense because all through practice, we go back and forth with each other, back and forth, back and forth. I feel like we’re doing that and both sides [have] very good talent. Everybody, we just compete. I feel like we compete at every position, and I feel like all the talent we have on both sides … I feel like we’re going against the best guys every day.”

Said Bain, “I’m really excited to see where it goes because, like I said, we’re pushing each other in practice and we’re competing every day. We’re making each other better, but [we’re] not only making each other better, we’re making the o-line better. It’s just like one big puzzle.”

The Hurricanes are hoping to reap the rewards of all that work and competition next week in Gainesville, but in the meantime, they’re going to continue pushing each other to get better, and pushing each other to be at their best.

That still remains one of their biggest priorities with the start of the season looming.

“It’s pushing us every day, but the goal is to win the day,” Alston said. “You can’t really think about August 31st, yet. You’ve got to win the day and then you’ve got to win the next day. You’ve just got to continue stacking days.”