Hi, all. Hope your week is going well.
I’m back after……well, what I can only call an absolutely terrible week for me personally in Miami, but I’m back and writing again.
Lots to talk about, so let’s get
to it.
1) I was sad immediately after the national championship game because I was worried about replacing generational talent. I am, as it turns out, not as worried as I was almost a week ago.
When the Canes lost, I immediately went into thinking about next year. Wondering, was this it? Did we just see their only chance at winning it? How could this team be as good next year without Rueben Bain, Jr., Akheem Mesidor, Keionte Scott, and Jakobe Thomas? And how can Miami build an offensive line this absolutely imposing and dominant again? This was our best look, wasn’t it?
And it might have been. I can’t say it wasn’t. One final drive from number six before loss number three ended the same way losses number one and two did – with a Carson Beck pick. Sickening to think about.
But Mario Cristobal and Miami weren’t done. No sir. Not by a long shot. Moves were made, and most notably at the area where Miami has been dominant this season. Missouri EDGE Damon Wilson II was snared from the portal, and he has first-round ability. He had nine sacks this season for the Tigers and has the ability to turn into a very good player. Now, you’ve got Wilson II, Hayden Lowe, and Marquise Lightfoot set to come off the edge. That’s not Bain, Jr./Mesidor level, but that’s still pretty damned good.
Boston College safety Omar Thornton looks like a thumper, so he could perhaps help fill that thumper role that Thomas held last year.
2) And beyond acquisitions, Miami secured the return of a number of crucial members of their defense for next year.
Ahmad Moten, Sr. was a force in the middle, and he’ll be back, as will Mo Toure for an eighth season. Corners Xavier Lucas, OJ Frederique, and Damari Brown are also apparently returning. So, there’s a lot of pieces coming back, and that’s only a good thing. I hated seeing Popo Aguirre leave, but not everyone you want is going to stay.
3) On the offensive side of the ball, the Hurricanes added a couple of pieces to their offensive line, the biggest question mark by far on that side of the ball outside of quarterback.
Miami added Georgia transfer tackle Jamal Meriweather, who’s a mountain at 6’7, 305-pounds, and ETSU OL Johnathan Cline. I hated losing Tommy Kinsler IV, but again, that’s going to happen. With Jackson Cantwell starting day one on one side, there’s still much more beyond that to figure out across the rest of the line. I trust Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal to find their best five and get them ready to play, but it won’t be as good as it was in 2025. It simply can’t be. That group was special.
4) But when it comes down to it, there are a number of different ways to skin a cat. Miami proved that in 2024 and 2025, and they can prove it again in 2026.
The Hurricanes’ offense was elite in 2024. Its defense was an abomination. That was almost good enough to make the playoff. Any kind of half-competent effort against Georgia Tech or Syracuse does the trick. Their defense was elite in 2025, and the offense was vastly different, but still effective in 2025. That was good enough to come up 41 yards short of a national championship.
Miami doesn’t have to have an elite offense or defense. It just has to be good enough in both areas. I think the defense can be strong again in 2026. There’s a lot to like on that side of the ball.
5) And if the Hurricanes can land Duke’s Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate, this offense should be balanced enough to complement its defense well enough to be the ACC favorite and a true playoff contender in 2026.
Ultimately, I don’t see how this doesn’t end up with him and Duke eventually parting ways. The dangers of holding a player hostage create the potential for the ultimate bomb being set off for Duke and every other school — that these players are now employees with labor rights, as our Rob Weaver aptly brought up and discussed recently. That would be the biggest and most expensive adverse result possible for schools, the conferences, and the NCAA. Maybe not in this case. But it could serve as a catalyst for that kind of thing to happen.
So, at some point, I expect Mensah and Barkate to be Hurricanes. And that will have a dramatic impact on what could be another memorable season in Coral Gables next season.
