The Miami Hurricanes defensive line unit won the SOTU Awards for the Best Unit in 2025. The defensive line is coached by Jason Taylor and Damione Lewis. As I’m sure you know, Jason Taylor is a former Miami Dolphin and NFL Hall of Fame defensive end while Lewis played for the Hurricanes as well as the Rams, Patriots, Panthers, and Texans in the NFL.
Defensive End
Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor led the D-End unit. Mesidor led the defense in tackles for loss with 17.5 and sacks with 12.5. The emergence of Armondo
Blount and the improved play of Justin Scott and Ahmad Moten at DT allowed Mesidor to slim down and stay as an edge defender rather than a tweener end/tackle.
Bain Jr. commanded many double teams and finished the year with 15.5 TFL’s and 9.5 sacks. Mesidor logged four forced fumbles and Bain had an INT. The undersized Marquis Lightfoot and oversized Blount added 5.5 TFL’s and 2.5 sacks, and 2.5 TFL’s and 2.5 sacks, respectively.
Bain had one of the most insane plays I’ve seen from a D-End at the college level against Ohio State where he stayed engaged with an OT while making a TFL. Bain was named an All-American and will be a first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Defensive Tackle
Ahmad Moten really came on when it counted the most over the last six or so games of the season. Moten led the DT group in tackles for loss and sacks with nine and 4.5, respectively. The blue chipper, Justin Scott, picked up steam late as well logging 6.5 TFL’s and one sack.
The G6 transfer, David Blay, had a disappointing season. Blay was penalty prone and logged only 2.5 TFL’s and did not record a sack in 2025. Donta Simpson, a young player with potential, hit the transfer portal after picking up 1.5 TFL’s this year.
Position Group Awards
Most Outstanding Player: Mesidor and Bain both share this award. Mesidor for his stats and Bain for overcoming the insane number of holding non-calls and double teams he faced.
Most Improved Player: This is a tough one to hand out between Moten and Scott. My nod will go to Moten as he was dominant in the CFB Playoff run for Miami.
2026 Outlook: Bain (1st round) and Mesidor (2nd round) will be drafted early in the upcoming NFL Draft. It will be difficult to directly replace the production and leadership of those two players. Miami is going to seriously try with their portal additions but it’s not that easy! Moten, Scott, and Blount will need to really step-up with Lightfoot, and the new additions growing into the Corey Hetherman system.
