The instruction the Miami Hurricanes offensive linemen received from program legends and college football all-Americans, Bryant McKinnie, Brett Romberg and Leon Searcy boosted the confidence and was appreciated by the current UM offensive line.
Kai-Leon Herbert who is the projected starting left tackle for the Miami Hurricanes in 2019 was quoted by Christy Chirinos of the Sun-Sentinel. Herbert told Chirinos that he and his teammates watched film with the three Miami Sports Hall of Famers, broke down how to analyze what they saw and worked with them on the field.
McKinnie, Romberg and Searcy also worked with the Miami Hurricanes offensive linemen on technique and the mental aspects of the game. This is a critical year for the Miami offensive line. The Hurricanes struggled upfront in 2018. None of the five first-team offensive linemen started at their 2019 position in 2018.
D.J. Scaife and Navaughn Donaldson are the only returning starters upfront on the Miami offense. Scaife is projected to move from right tackle to right guard and Donaldson from right guard to right tackle. Donaldson who is entering his third season as a starter as a junior will be in his third different position.
Donaldson started at right guard in 2017 as a true freshman, moved to right tackle at the beginning of the 2018 season and then back to right guard about halfway through his sophomore year. Getting stability on the offensive line in 2019 is paramount. Miami used five different offensive line combinations in 13 games in 2018.
I feel like we had a great learning day today with the O Line & thanx to Romberg who has great knowledge as well for coming in to help. We will be back Thursday to continue to do some more film study & field work with the guys. #Canes4Life 🙌🏾
— Bryant Mckinnie (@BryantMckinnie) July 22, 2019
Stabilizing the offensive line this season will help a new Miami offense. With injuries and new players at every position upfront, the Hurricanes are likely to have some shuffling on the offensive line. Minimizing will help whoever earns the starting quarterback job to feel more confident in his protection.
The Hurricanes did a good job blocking for the run in 2018 but struggled in pass protection. Learning from the three Hurricanes legends can only help the offensive line grow. McKinnie has stated that new offensive line coach Butch Barry has brought a more positive approach with the players than his predecessor Stacy Searles.
Herbert discussed the impact that McKinnie, Romberg and Searcy had with him and his teammates in learning what they can expect and what techniques to use to become better offensive linemen.
"“Honestly, that was pretty cool. You’re sitting there and those are two guys, one that’s in the UM Hall of Fame and one might be in the NFL Hall of Fame. It was really great.We got to watch film with them and everything, so they were breaking down what they would do in certain situations, how they would look at things and view things and then they came out here and worked with us on the field.Honestly, everybody got better that day…I would say, with Romberg, [he said] it’s a mental game, and with McKinnie, it was [about] hand technique.”"
WIth what Herbert says he and his teammates learned from working with the three Hurricanes legends hopefully they will continue to work with the young Miami offensive linemen. It can only help the Miami football team in the present and future. Manny Diaz seems more humble than most head coaches.
Diaz wants what is best for the Miami football program. He is more concerned with the end result than the road the Hurricanes take to success. Some of his methods in his seven-plus months leading the Miami football program have pushed them forward. Continuing to do that will help everyone’s confidence in the future.