{"id":205373,"date":"2026-03-25T12:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/205373\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T12:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:05:08","slug":"will-the-miami-hurricanes-be-even-better-in-2026-5-questions-as-spring-starts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/205373\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the Miami Hurricanes be even better in 2026? 5 questions as spring starts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mario Cristobal has accomplished the mission: He\u2019s built Miami<\/a> into a national championship contender.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes reached last year\u2019s title game and have won 10-plus games in consecutive seasons for the first time since leaving the Big East in 2003. In the process of rebuilding the program, Cristobal has signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the ACC in four consecutive cycles, with three top-10 classes in that span.<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s NIL budget remains among the strongest in the game \u2014 reinforced by the fact Miami didn\u2019t lose any of its 10 returning starters while it added seven starters from other Power 4 programs (three more than any other ACC school) via the portal.<\/p>\n

Eight offensive and six defensive starters will need to be replaced, including three potential first-round picks in right tackle Francis Mauigoa<\/a> and edge rushers Rueben Bain<\/a> and Akheem Mesidor<\/a>. But there\u2019s no doubt Miami will be one of the most talented teams in college football again this fall, perhaps even more talented than the one that lost to Indiana<\/a> in the title game.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at five questions regarding the Hurricanes at the start of spring practice.<\/p>\n

1. How long will it take the O-line to establish chemistry?<\/p>\n

Miami has two proven commodities back. Fifth-year senior Matthew McCoy<\/a>, the only returning starter in the group, is moving from left guard to tackle (he took snaps at right tackle Tuesday). The other is former five-star recruit Samson Okunlola<\/a>, who split reps with McCoy at left guard in 2025 and remains at that position entering camp.<\/p>\n

After those two, it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess how Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal will shuffle the deck. Mirabal cross-trains his linemen in the spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe five best together playing as one is what we\u2019ll do,\u201d Cristobal said. \u201cBetween now and then, a lot of experimenting.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Tuesday\u2019s practice, sixth-year senior Ryan Rodriguez<\/a> and sophomores SJ Alofaituli and Max Buchanan<\/a> took snaps on the interior. Working at tackle alongside McCoy were five-star true freshman Jackson Cantwell, the No. 1 tackle in the 2026 cycle, redshirt freshmen Jaden Wilkerson<\/a> and Demetrius Campbell<\/a> as well as true freshman Ben Congdon, a four-star recruit from Ohio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think by the (start of the) season, we\u2019ll be clicking,\u201d said Rodriguez, who was at center Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes led the nation in pressure rate allowed (17.7 percent) last season by a wide margin \u2014 Ole Miss was second at 22.8 percent \u2014 according to TruMedia. One thing multiple players noted on Tuesday is that new quarterback Darian Mensah<\/a> is more mobile than Carson Beck<\/a> and can extend plays.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great leader,\u201d McCoy said of Mensah, who left ACC champion Duke<\/a> for Miami shortly before the transfer portal window closed. \u201cWe hang out with him outside of football. He came in humble, wanted to come in and lead, which is great, what we need.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. How do the Canes replace Bain and Mesidor?<\/p>\n

Replacing Mesidor and Bain\u2019s 22 combined sacks and 150 pressures will not be a two-person job. The good news: Cristobal has done exceptionally well recruiting along the defensive line the last few cycles, and the Hurricanes also picked up two P4 starters in the portal.<\/p>\n

Damon Wilson<\/a>, a second-team All-SEC selection last season, recorded 9 1\/2 sacks and 54 pressures in 13 games at Missouri. He\u2019ll be on the edge along with junior Armondo Blount<\/a>, sophomores Marquise Lightfoot and Booker Pickett<\/a> and redshirt freshmen Herbert Scroggins<\/a> and Hayden Lowe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Wilson) is a really good player. He doesn\u2019t have an ego, is humble, pushes the group,\u201d McCoy said. \u201cHe really wants to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes have two returning starters at tackle in Justin Scott<\/a> and Ahmad Moten<\/a>, though Moten will miss the spring, according to Cristobal. Miami also added Nebraska transfer Keona Davis<\/a> and Ohio State<\/a> transfer Jarquez Carter<\/a> at tackle. There are eight freshman defensive linemen on the roster, led by tackle Keshawn Stancil and edge rusher DeAnthony Lafayette.<\/p>\n

3. Could Miami have the best passing offense in the country?<\/p>\n

Miami is the only team nationally with two receivers coming off 1,000-yard seasons at Power 4 programs \u2014 sophomore Malachi Toney<\/a> (109 catches, 1,211 yards) and Duke transfer Cooper Barkate<\/a> (72 catches, 1,106 yards).<\/p>\n

Mensah, meanwhile, ranked second to Beck in the ACC in passing efficiency in 2025. He completed 66.8 percent of his 500 attempts and led the league with 3,973 yards and 34 touchdown passes and threw only six interceptions \u2014 half as many as Beck. Duke ranked 77th in pressure rate allowed (32.4 percent).<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a similarity between him and Cam (Ward) for sure,\u201d running back Mark Fletcher<\/a> said. \u201cThe playmaking ability \u2014 that\u2019s what I would say. Everybody sees that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTough dude to go against \u2014 smart as ever,\u201d safety Zechariah Poyser<\/a> said. \u201cHe already knows the whole playbook.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Toney and Barkate, Miami picked up Cam Vaughn<\/a> (35 catches, 541 yards at West Virginia) and Vandrevius Jacobs<\/a> (32 catches, 548 yards at South Carolina) in the transfer portal. They join a receiver group that includes four other former blue-chip recruits in sophomore Joshua Moore<\/a> and freshmen Somourian Wingo, Milan Parris and Vance Spafford.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve made their presence felt,\u201d Cristobal said of the freshmen. \u201cThe receiver room will be the most competitive it\u2019s been since we\u2019ve been here.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Who will start alongside Mo Toure at linebacker?<\/p>\n

Miami received a bonus this spring when leading tackler Mohamed Toure<\/a> was granted an eighth season of eligibility. He and Poyser are the only two 16-game starters back from the 2025 team.<\/p>\n

NFL<\/a>-bound linebacker Wesley Bissainthe<\/a>, however, needs to be replaced, and the rest of Miami\u2019s returning linebacker group is light in terms of starting experience. Sixth-year senior Chase Smith<\/a> played the most of any other returning linebacker last season (261 snaps). He\u2019ll compete for playing time along with sophomore Cam Pruitt<\/a> (129 career snaps) and redshirt freshmen Kellen Wiley<\/a> (17 career snaps) and Ezekiel Marcelin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes also added 2025 NC State transfer Kamal Bonner<\/a>, who played only 30 snaps last season, and incoming freshmen Karsten Busch and Justin Edwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cA guy I don\u2019t think we talk about enough is Chase Smith,\u201d Cristobal said. \u201cBy the end of the year, he was playing great, physical, tough, smart football. I think he\u2019s been awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Does Miami have the best secondary in the ACC?<\/p>\n

Corey Hetherman did a phenomenal job turning the defense around in his first season as the coordinator, and nowhere was it more evident than in the secondary. The Hurricanes improved from sixth in the ACC in pass efficiency defense and eighth in scoring defense in 2024 to second and first, respectively, last season.<\/p>\n

Safety Jakobe Thomas<\/a> and star nickelback Keionte Scott<\/a> have to be replaced, but Poyser and cornerbacks Xavier Lucas<\/a>, Ethan O\u2019Connor<\/a>, O.J. Frederique and Damari Brown<\/a> all return. Also back: safety Bryce Fitzgerald<\/a>, who had six interceptions as a freshman, and third-year safety Dylan Day<\/a>. The Canes added Boston College<\/a> transfer Omar Thornton<\/a> and former Florida State<\/a> and Oregon safety Conrad Hussey<\/a> in the portal. And they\u00a0signed six blue-chip defensive backs in the last recruiting cycle. Safety JJ Dunnigan, a four-star recruit from Kansas, is among the early standouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod-gifted freak athlete,\u201d Poyser said. \u201cBig dude. Probably the fastest on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mario Cristobal has accomplished the mission: He\u2019s built Miami into a national championship contender. The Hurricanes reached last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,5079,124],"class_list":["post-205373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-hurricanes","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}