Former Miami Hurricanes All-American Bryant McKinnie impacting OL

In a recent appearance on CBS Four’s Sunday night show as relayed by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, former Miami Hurricanes All-American Bryant McKinnie discussed his work with the offensive line.

Bryant McKinnie was an All-American left tackle for the Miami Hurricanes in 2000 and on the 2001 national championship team. McKinnie spent 12 seasons in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens following the 2013 NFL season.

McKinnie told Mike Cugno of CBS-four that the Hurricanes reached out to him to assist offensive line coach Butch Barry teaching the young Miami offensive linemen. In addition to being a two-time All-American, McKinnie was also the 2001 Outland Trophy winner. Navaughn Donaldson is on the Outland Watch list in 2019.

Donaldson is entering his third season as a starter on the Miami offensive line. He has started 15 games at right guard and six, all last season, at right tackle. D.J. Scaife who started seven games at right tackle in 2018 also returns on the Miami offensive line. Corey Gaynor will be the starting center.

Donaldson and Scaife’s positions on the offensive line have yet to be determined. They are likely headed for left guard and left tackle. The other two positions on the offensive line are wide open. Four or five players will challenge to be the starters on likely the right side of the offensive line. Jackson quoted McKinnie.

"“They (Miami) reached out to me…I was able to assess a lot of things that were wrong, communication. A lot of confidence was taken away from them by the prior coach [Stacy Searels]. We watched film. I think they’ll be able to fix it. Sometimes coaches can tell you things that aren’t really realistic.I’m trying to teach them to use their hands, pivot. Trying to give them advice on technique and suggesting different things like team bonding. A few little things that need to be cleaned up to make it a lot better for them.”"

Barry joined Manny Diaz’s entirely new offensive staff from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where had been the assistant offensive line coach for the last four seasons. As McKinnie mentioned, Barry has installed a more positive approach with the Miami offensive linemen than previous offensive line coach Stacy Searles did.

Barry’s positive reinforcement has drawn rave reviews from those that cover the team directly. With a young offensive line, it is critical for the players without much experience to have confidence with the Hurricanes season opener against Florida just over four weeks away.

The Hurricanes offensive line should be ready for Florida in the season opener. The Gators had the nation’s 28th ranked defense in 2018, but the talent the Miami offensive line faces in practice every day is great. New offensive coordinator Dan Enos is likely to put the Hurricanes offensive line in a better position to succeed.