A pair of Miami defensive tackles, Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott, have gotten a ton of publicity this off-season. After Miami sent a pair of 1st round edge rushers (Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor) to the NFL the DT duo will potentially make a foursome of 1st round pros to come through Miami in consecutive seasons. Add in the potential 1st round talent of DE Damon Wilson II and the Hurricanes could be D-Line U. once again.
In ‘25, Moten finished the season with nine TFL’s and 4.5 sacks. The 315
pound tackle out of Cardinal Gibbons (FL) is a former three-star that has blossomed into a top-25 caliber player under coach Damione Lewis. He’s joined by Scott, the former five-star out of Chicago, IL. Scott logged only 6.5 TFL’s and one sack and a forced fumble last season.
Neither were ready for the NFL Draft in ‘26, but both should be at the worst Day Two NFL Draft choices in ‘27. So what has myself and many draft pundits excited about this duo? Their mixture of raw ability and clearly refining talent under DL coaches Jason Taylor and Lewis.
Against the Virginia Tech Hokies and Green Bay Packers QB Kryon Drones, Moten came away with three TFL’s and two sacks, while Scott picked up his lone sack of the season and logged 2.5 TFL’s of his own.
The Film
THE OPENING SNAP
Miami’s afternoon versus the Hokies started off a little rough in defending the run game. The ‘Canes definitely saw what losing Keionte Scott could do to their defense. Jakobe Thomas had to be a box player, Bryce Fitzgerald had to play every down instead of ‘and long’ situations and Zechariah Poyser couldn’t be hidden to the boundary.
VT had a really strong game plan for Miami. Outside zone, power, and using the QB in the run game on the ground; sprint out with block back pass pro in the pass game. It did some damage and kept the ball game close which was solid for a bad Hokies team. While Posyer came away with a sack in the K. Scott NB role, Fitzgerald whiffed on one.
Above- you can see a breakdown of the messy opening snap for Miami with guys playing new roles.
Above– Scott can’t feel the down block coming and luckily Moten plays over the top of him and makes the play on Drones. Moten is 315, Scott is 300. These dudes are moving like TE’s or LB’s at 300+.
Above– Scott is in a weak 3-tech and fights the first blocker off with his hands. Miami’s hand fighting game took a huge step up with Corey Hetherman and Damione Lewis coming on staff. Scott then eats up a 2nd block on the kick out, while he could’ve wrong-armed it with the timing and two blocks that’s a tough ask. He stalemates the block and allows others to clean it up.
Above– Scott uses an inside-out step like a WR into their route or a TE inline trying to run a slide or sail. Then it’s slap-rip and the big complaint is he doesn’t finish with the sack because he aims way too high. You can’t bring a big strong QB like Drones down at the shoulder pad level. You need to aim at the hips.
Above– Moten starts in a 1-tech and attacks the C’s midline. The C oversteps and regrets it. Moten cuts in and picks up an easy TFL with a wrestling like shoot out of his stance.
Above– While the OL tries to ‘fan block’ or just wash the DL out to the sideline so the RB can cutback under them, the best counter is to just hold your ground and eat that spot. That forces the RB to cut early and into the LB’ers and other help.
Above– Again more hand combat from the DT’s. Scott rips, wins, then has a beautiful chase into a waist lock and club finish. Secure on the waist, club with the off-hand.
Above– Usually for OL, DL, TE, run game and LB I would use the EZ All-22. Here the SL All-22 is the better shot to see what Scott does here. He rips, drives back and collapses the OL into the play. We’ve seen Bain and Mesidor both resort back to brute strength and power when needed and now Scott, too.
Above– Here is the duo making things happen together. Both DT’s do an excellent job of playing their shoulder (the shoulder shade of the OL) to win the gap. The RB bounces and Scott slaps him down for the TFL.
Above– Moten loops from a 4i (inside shoulder of the OT) to a 5-tech (outside shoulder of the OT). He does a solid job of staying outside on Drones’ outside hip. Drones is athletic so he escapes but the pursuit works and it’s an INC pass.
Above– Another clip with both DT’s on display. Scott fights the double while Moten throws the OL on the ground. They both squeeze to the RB for a TFL.
Above– Moten uses a mini HUMP into the swim and sack. This DL really reminds me of the old Eagles DL with Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons and Reggie White in Buddy Ryan’s defense. There’s no where to run to on a pass snap and Moten meets Bain in the backfield at the QB.
Above– The final clip today… The DT’s get sloppy with gap integrity and pass rush lanes. Both wind up in the A-Gap together but talent beats scheme as Scott logs another sack.
The Wrap
The Hurricanes lose a lot of production with Bain, Mesidor and Keionte Scott off to the NFL. Miami brought in some pass rush skill with Wilson and a new nickel in Omar Thornton. Hetherman will need to rely heavily on Moten and Scott early on as the Hurricanes get their feet under them with Marquis Lightfoot, Wilson and Thornton learning the defense and where they fit in to the scheme in ‘26.
If this duo is as good as I think they are, and if they have the 2026 season I think they will, the pair are 1st round draft picks in the ‘27 NFL Draft. Add Wilson to the mix and Miami may have three 1st round trench players once again in the pros.
