Hurricanes’ O-line improving in camp as young players battle for starting roles

CORAL GABLES — As the Miami Hurricanes’ season opener against Stanford approaches, head coach Mario Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal are working to reconstruct the team’s offensive line. After losing four starters to the NFL in the offseason, several new faces will take over key positions on the line. Through the first few weeks of fall camp, Cristobal said he is seeing progress from the group. “The progress is real, but there’s a lot of progress still to be made,” Cristobal said Monday. Miami held its first scrimmage of the fall on Friday, and Cristobal said the line was solid but not perfect. “I think they had their good moments, and they had their moments where the defense got after them,” Cristobal said. “And we’re trying to string together … consecutive series, drives, quarters and then halves and entire games. That’s how you want your offensive line to play.” Three veterans will likely take over starting roles on the offensive line. Ryan Rodriguez is poised to be the starting center. Matthew McCoy, who started 15 of 16 games at left guard last season, and Samson Okunlola, who rotated with McCoy, are likely starters, too (both can play guard or tackle). The remaining two spots are up for grabs. A mix of first- and second-year linemen appear to be the most likely to take over at those spots. Second-year linemen SJ Alofaituli, Max Buchanan and Jaden Wilkerson are candidates for starting roles. Alofaituli and Buchanan played 83 and 55 offensive snaps last year, respectively. Wilkerson did not play on offense last season but has had positive moments in fall camp. “Everybody’s just competing, getting better,” Rodriguez said, “and those guys are all pushing each other and getting better.” Buchanan is listed at 6-4 and 310 pounds. Alofaituli is listed at 6-2 and 298 pounds. Although Alofaituli may not have the same height and weight as the other linemen, Cristobal said that has not stopped the sophomore from being effective. “He’s not the 6-6 guy, but he does have the length of a 6-4, 6-5 guy,” Cristobal said. “Real long, real large wingspan and extensive arm length and extremely twitchy and powerful. He is anywhere between 298 and 302 (pounds). So he does play with a lot of power and leverage. (He) comes from a program where that’s demanded every single day. Natural culture fit. And he performs at a really high level. “I think his versatility at both center and guard is really valuable to us. And he’s playing really good football. He’s blocking all shapes and sizes. He handles snaps really well. There’s nothing we’ve thrown at him that, takes him off of what comes with being versatile, not only at center and at guard. But you saw him last year, he played fullback, he played tight end, he played extra tackle. So really fired up about the guy. He has all the things that you want.” Two highly touted freshmen, Jackson Cantwell and Ben Congdon, are also competing for starting roles. Cantwell arrived at Miami with a lot of hype; he was the No. 2 player in the 2026 recruiting class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. Congdon was rated highly, too; he was a four-star prospect and the No. 19 offensive tackle in the class. “Large humans that are tough, that are smart and that work hard,” Cristobal said. “Every time they see a particular exotic, third-down pressure is the first time they see it. So I think the fact that they have the willingness to get their tails kicked on a certain play — to buckle up that chin strap a little bit tighter, come back out and work even harder to get it right — speaks volumes about them. “And they’re being accelerated, but honestly, the way we practice it kind of accelerates everybody. They gain more and more confidence every day. We think they’re going to be great players and sooner than later.”