I’ve done this piece the last few years for FSU week and Florida week, and it’s a favorite thought exercise of mine. So let’s bring back this content but change the focus to Miami vs FSU, and see how things
shake out, shall we?
In case you’re new here, this is the general premise: If you combined the Miami and Florida State rosters, who would start at each position? There is always an argument of “how many players from (rival team) would start on (person’s favorite team)”, and it’s always engaging and fun.
With that being said, here’s how I see things at each position on the field heading into the 2025 installment of the Miami-Florida State rivalry:
OFFENSE
Quarterback: Carson Beck (Miami)
Beck is among the most talented and best quarterbacks in the country. He has a 29-3 record as starting QB between his time at Georgia and Miami, and has thrown for more than 9,000 yards and 72 touchdowns to this point of his college career. He’s building a case as a NFL first round draft pick, but he admittedly had a very pedestrian game against Florida. He’s found the joy of football all over again, and is the trigger man for the #3 team in the country. Easy choice as starter.
Backup: He’s a VERY DIFFERENT player when compared to Beck, but Thomas Castellanos (FSU) would be a nice gadget/change-of-pace player with a package of plays on this combined roster. Emory Williams (Miami) would be the 2nd option if we needed to throw the ball heavily.
Running Back: Mark Fletcher Jr. (Miami)
A big, talented back, Fletcher Jr. is taking his game to a new level this year as a junior. He’s recently said he’s found his “why” for playing after the passing of his father, and he’s raising his game every week. Big Fletch gets the start for me.
Backups: Marty Brown (Miami), Jordan Lyle (Miami), Ousmane Kromah (FSU)
Wide Receiver: Malachi Toney (Miami), CJ Daniels (Miami), Duce Robinson (FSU)
This is a near-perfect trio of starters. Toney is a superstar true freshman slot receiver who is 7/11 — open all the time. Daniels has been the top target for Miami, and a revelation in his return to action and finally healthy after battling a heel injury in 2024. And Robinson is a former 5-star recruit with incredible size (and decent skill) at 6’6” 235lbs. The whole route tree is covered. Every passing concept you want to run is covered. This is the group at receiver. Done and done.
Backups: Joshua Moore (Miami), Keelan Marion (Miami), Squirrel White (FSU), Micahi Danzy (FSU)
Tight End: Elija Lofton (Miami)
I know Lofton’s numbers are low, and FSU’s Randy Pittman Jr. has been more productive so far this season, but Lofton is the better player, with a higher ceiling, and the emergence of a very good WR rotation at Miami has curtailed his impact a bit. Still, I’m starting Lofton on this combined lineup based on his athleticism and versatility. Pittman can be the TE2 when we go to 12 personnel.
Backup: Randy Pittman (FSU), Luka Gilbert (Miami), Alex Bauman (Miami)
Tackles: Francis Mauigoa (Miami), Markel Bell (Miami)
Miami has the best offensive line in the country. Their tackles are the ones that start. This isn’t a hard choice or conversation.
Backups: Samson Okunlola (Miami), (insert FSU OT here, I guess)
Guards: Anez Cooper (Miami), Matthew McCoy/Samson Okunlola (Miami)
Cooper is one of the best guards in America. And yes, I’m taking the rotating combo of McCoy & Okunlola over whatever FSU has at guard. Like I said at Tackle, Miami has the best offensive line in the country. They start individually, and collectively
Backups: Matthew McCoy (Miami)/Samson Okunlola (Miami) (they rotate)
Center: James Brockermeyer (Miami)
Brockermeyer had a rough game against Florida, but he still starts. Maybe you caught the theme here: Miami’s OL from top to bottom is better than FSU’s. So they start. All 6 of them (including the LG rotation).
Backup: Seuseu Alofaituli (Miami) (he’s a true freshman so I understand if he’s not a household name yet)
Unlike with Florida, where there was a scheme mismatch, both teams here run 4-2-5. So there is a direct analog for each position on both rosters. Great. Love that for me. Let’s pick the defense.
EDGE: Rueben Bain Jr (Miami), Akheem Mesidor (Miami)
Rueben Bain is the destroyer of worlds, the single best player in the country so far this season, and someone with a reasonable claim to the Heisman Trophy through the month of September. The pair of Bain Jr. and Mesidor are the highest graded edge tandem in America. They are terrorizing opposing teams in the run game and pass game. They are the engine powering Miami’s defensive line, and defense as a whole. Even with talent on the other team, there’s no world in which Bain and Mesidor aren’t the starting pair here.
Backups: Marquise Lightfoot (Miami), James Williams (no relation to the Miami alum of the same name) (FSU), Jayson Jenkins (FSU)
Tackle: David Blay Jr. (Miami), Darrell Jackson Jr. (FSU)
Blay has been great for Miami since coming over from Louisiana Tech. And hello there old friend Jackson, who played for Miami in 2022 before transferring to FSU. Jackson sat out 2023 because his transfer was questioned. Then he started on the 2-10 team last year, and again this year. He’s very physically talented, but obviously makes questionable decisions. Still, pairing Jackson and Blay is a formidable interior duo for this combined lineup.
Backups: Justin Scott (Miami), Daniel Lyons (FSU), Ahmad Moten Sr. (Miami)
Linebacker: Mo Toure (Miami), Justin Cryer (FSU)
A pair of athletic and talented linebackers to run free behind the defensive line of doom and destruction? Yeah. That’ll work.
Backups: Wesley Bissainthe (Miami), Popo Aguirre (Miami), Blake Nichelson (FSU)
Nickel: Edwin Joseph (FSU) OR Keionte Scott (Miami)
Joseph has been one of the brightest spots on FSU’s defense through 4 games. Scott has been a revelation for Miami at Nickel since transferring in from Auburn. I think either could start, depending on matchups, so they’re splitting this spot. Thus, there is no backup, because the co-starters should be able to handle the job all game long.
Backup: None (co-starters)
Cornerback: Jeremiah Wilson (FSU), O.J. Frederique (Miami)
There are plenty of options from both teams here, but I’m going with the best starter on either team. Plenty of starting caliber depth that can rotate in here, which you’ll see from the backup list.
Backups: Ethan O’Connor (Miami), Damari Brown (Miami), Xavier Lucas (Miami), Devin Moore (Florida), Cormani McClain (Florida)
Safety: Jakobe Thomas (Miami), Earl Little Jr. (FSU)
Miami needed to hit big with Safeties in the portal, and the pair of Poyser and Thomas have been a grandslam. Thomas has been a steady leader, and has been the better of the pair recently, so he starts. Poyser will play plenty off the bench. Little Jr. is a Miami legacy who made a bad choice of school, but his play has been great this season. Sure, he’s had a couple bad penalties for unnecessary roughness, but I’m not gonna turn away physical safeties from my team.
Backups: Zechariah Poyser (Miami), Bryce Fitzgerald (Miami), Ashlynd Barker (FSU)
Special Teams
Kicker: Carter Davis (Miami)
Davis has one of the strongest legs in America, and has already made some big kicks to help Miami win against Notre Dame and Florida.
Punter: Dylan Joyce (Miami)
Joyce is one of the best punters in America. He starts.
Punt Returner: Malachi Toney (Miami)
Toney gets the nod over Squirrel White and Jaylin Lucas from FSU.
Kick Return: Keelan Marion (Miami), Micahi Danzy (Florida)
An All-American kick returner and one of the most explosive freshmen on the other roster. That’s a good pairing for me.
Final Numbers
Miami Hurricanes: 21
For teams moderately close in talent — Miami has a 64% blue chip ratio for 2025, and FSU has a 54% BCR— it makes sense that Miami would have more starters on this combined lineup. However, when you dig deeper into each position on the team, the disparity grows pretty quickly. Miami has 10/11 starters on offense alone. The numbers got better for FSU when going to defense and special teams, but the separation was already cemented.
When I saw the disparity in numbers, I went back to look at the list again. There’s nobody to flip, at any position. This is a pretty clean evaluation, and the talent speaks for itself.
So there you have it. The starters (and selected backups) on a combined UM-FSU roster. I KNOW you have thoughts on this, so hop in the comments and let them be known.
Saturday will be here soon!
#BeatFSU
