Exploring UM’s dilemma at guard. And what angered Cristobal; Dawson’s defense

University of Miami admin September 22, 2026 0 Comments

Exploring UM’s dilemma at guard. And what angered Cristobal; Dawson’s defense

A six-pack of Hurricanes notes on a Tuesday:

▪ Even though Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal are considered offensive line savants, perhaps it was unrealistic to expect the Canes to seamlessly replace four starters (including three NFL Draft picks) without a hitch.

That hitch surfaced at Wake Forest, when left guard SJ Alofaituli struggled mightily, his second shaky game in three outings. He’s being pushed around at times, and the irony is that Alofautuli won the job in part because defenders struggled to dislodge him during offseason practices, according to a UM person.

And now Cristobal and Mirabal are facing their most important personnel decision of the young season: what to do at a position that isn’t measuring up.

The gut instinct answer would be playing the kids — either five-star prospect Jackson Cantwell or fellow freshman Ben Congdon, who impressed everyone during the offseason, or Joel Ervin, the 6-6, 330-pound road-grading offensive/tackle guard.

But from what we hear, Congdon simply doesn’t seem ready. Ervin has played just three offensive snaps — far less than Cantwell or Congdon. And neither Cantwell nor Congdon played well during his snaps this season.

Not that Pro Football Focus should be taken as gospel, but it’s worth noting that Cantwell, Georgia transfer Jamal Meriweather and Congdon have by far the worst run-blocking grades among UM linemen, while Alofaituli ranks No. 2 as a run blocker, behind only backup left tackle Jacob Hawks.

As pass blockers, Cantwell, Alofaituli and Congdon have by far the worst grades among UM linemen, in that order.

Nobody knows what happens in closed practices. But in games, Cantwell (62), Meriweather (37 snaps) and Congdon (38) haven’t played particularly well. Per PFF, they’re ranked 44th, 45th and 47th among the 48 UM players who have suited up on offense.

And for all of Alofaituli’s struggles against Wake Forest, PFF ranks him 22nd among 47 Canes who have played on offense this season — barely behind left tackle Samson Okunlola. PFF ranks him 79th among more than 300 FBS guards.

UM gave Cantwell his fewest snaps so far (just two) against Wake Forest, and Cristobal didn’t answer directly when asked this week whether Miami will resume rotating players at guard.

“We will play the guys that give us the best chance to win,” Cristobal said. “That’s what we always and will always go with.”

Clearly, UM felt Alofaituli — not Cantwell — gave it the best chance on a Friday night in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

But Cristobal also acknowledged that more is needed at guard.

“Tackles and center had solid games,” he said of the Wake Forest game. “Guards had some positive moments and some growing-pain moments.”

Right guard Max Buchanan has been solid; PFF ranks him 19th among all UM players on offense (behind center Ryan Rodriguez and right tackle Matthew McCoy among starters) and 62nd nationally among 300-plus guards.

By all accounts, Cantwell was solid filling in for Okunlola at tackle during spring practice. But playing him at tackle and moving McCoy back to guard would be risky, because McCoy has done a very good job at right tackle.

Meriweather, who played only 59 snaps in three years at Georgia, intrigued Mirabal because of his size — 6-7, 305 — and ability to play tackle. But he hasn’t seriously challenged for a starting job since arriving.

▪ Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson quibbled with any notion that he got conservative in the second half. UM mustered just 26 yards on its final six possessions after taking a 31-7 lead.

“I’m harder on me than anybody could be when I watch the game,” he said.

But the plays he called in the second half were “the same stuff we were doing in the first half. Same plays we were getting 5, 6, 7, yards, we’re getting 2. We had plays to be had… If anything, I probably should be criticized about being too aggressive.”

▪ I have rarely seen Cristobal as angry in a news conference as he was Monday when discussing special teams penalties; there were two committed on a Canes kickoff return late in the third quarter — one by Kamal Bonner and another by Damon Wilson II.

Though he didn’t name the culprits, he seemed especially irked by those penalties and a holding penalty by Cam Pruitt on the opening kickoff.

Cristobal called the opening kickoff penalty “probably the biggest, most emphatic, pissed-off moment of [the Monday film session] meeting as it relates to the assessment of the game.”

As for the two-penalty play… After a Wake Forest touchdown, UM’s Girard Pringle Jr. fielded the kickoff and returned it 19 yards to the 38. After Pringle was tackled and the whistles blew to end the play, several players from both teams continued to hold their blocks.

Bonner’s was especially egregious in the eyes of the officials; he hit a Wake Forest player after the play was dead and received an unnecessary roughness penalty. That infraction — combined with a holding call against Wilson — moved the ball back to the Canes’ 12-yard line.

Cristobal called those penalties “senseless and selfish. You’re going to get your ass run over. Do it with dignity, right? Make somebody go through you.”

▪ The loss of inside linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin for a few weeks was disheartening because he had really come on recently. “He’s playing at a really elite level,” defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said. “I’m excited when he does return. … He graded out at 100% in the swarm grade. That’s contagious.”

But Hetherman said he likes how several backup linebackers are playing, months after Cristobal criticized their play in spring practice.

“Bonner, Pruitt did a good job,” he said. “[Kellen] Wiley I’m excited about. He’s gotten better with his communication; he’s going to have really good reps in those spots. They’re right where they are supposed to be.”

▪ After producing a total of one tackle (and two quarterback pressures) in 76 defensive snaps in his first two NFL games, former UM star Reuben Bain Jr. was heavily criticized by some Buccaneers fans on social media.

ESPN’s Rex Ryan mocked Bain’s short arms during a “Get Up” segment on Monday.

PFF ranks him 109th of 112 NFL edge players and the worst player on Tampa’s defense as a pass rusher on his 40 pass-rushing snaps.

Bain’s arm length — shorter than nearly all successful NFL edge rushers — made him a polarizing prospect in this past April’s draft. The Dolphins famously bypassed the hometown hero to take Alabama guard Kadyn Proctor.

▪ Quick stuff: Saturday’s opponent, Central Michigan, runs the triple option and threw just seven passes and completed four for 32 yards in Saturday’s 24-10 win against Wyoming. CMU ran for 339 yards on 5.7 per carry…

Dawson loves what he’s seeing from tight end Elija Lofton: “Elijah is straining as hard as I’ve seen him play. He was elite in the physical part of blocking.” …

Missed tackles were a problem against Wake Forest; UM had 15 of them. But through three games, UM’s 11.3 missed tackles per game are actually less than its 11.5 average last season, per PFF. JJ Dunnigan has five missed tackles through three games; Zechariah Poyser has four.

The ACC and ABC/ESPN held off on determining a start time and TV network for UM’s Oct. 3 game at Clemson. That will be sorted out Saturday night or Sunday morning, with Notre Dame at North Carolina also placed on a six-day hold.

This story was originally published September 22, 2026 at 10:24 AM.