Miami football staff has good idea about starting OL

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee told the Joe Rose Show on WQAM on Monday morning that he and offensive line coach Garin Justice have a pretty good idea who the starting offensive line will be for the Miami football team in 2020.

With just over two weeks remaining until season opener for the Miami football team against UAB, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and offensive line coach, Garin Justice are close to finalizing the starting offensive line. In an appearance on the Joe Rose show Monday morning, Lashlee discussed the progress of the offensive line.

The consensus among the beat writers is that four of the five spots on the offensive line for the Miami football team are secure, Corey Gaynor at center, D.J. Scaife at right guard, John Campbell at left tackle and Jerrid Williams at right tackle appear to be secure in their positions to start September 10 against UAB.

Redshirt sophomore Ousman Traore who played slightly more than 20 snaps in only two games in 2019 is projected to be the starting left guard for Miami in 2020. The emergence of Traore bumps sophomores Zion Nelson who started all 13 games at LT in 2019 and Jakai Clark who started 12 at right guard, out of the starting lineup.

Another development to watch could be UCLA offensive tackle Jake Burton who entered the transfer portal on Tuesday. There has been no report that Miami has made any contact with the redshirt senior or if Burton has reached out to the Hurricanes. Burton would add another veteran presence on the offensive line.

"“Coach Justice and I have a pretty good idea of what our starting group will look like for the most part. We have a little bit of time, but not much…there’s seven or eight guys we think can help us win. It’s not `Man, I hope we can find five.’ Seven, eight, maybe even nine guys can help us, which in a year like this is big.”Jarrid is just huge, anytime you’re big and long that’ll help you on the offensive line. He’s played a lot of ball, started at Houston. Sometimes that’s what you need, some experience. He doesn’t say a lot, just goes out there and goes about his business. He’s meshed well with the offensive line room and he’ll help us win.”"

The seven players in the rotation in on the offensive line would presumably be with Nelson and Clark as the backups. Other offensive linemen to watch are redshirt junior Kai-Leon Herbert and freshmen Issiah Walker and Jalen Rivers. Walker was projected earlier this summer as the Miami LT of the future by Justice.

Williams upfront is a critical addition to the Miami OL in 2020 to add length and experience. Williams started 19 games at RT the last two seasons for Houston and two at LT in 2017. After sustaining a season-ending injury in the Cougars fourth game in 2019, Williams took a medical redshirt before transferring to Miami.