Mario Cristobal is still tinkering with Miami's offensive line as the season opener approaches

Mario Cristobal isn't ready to tip his hand on the Miami Hurricanes starting offensive line heading into Friday night's opener against Stanford.

There aren't many other head coaches in college football as involved with the offensive line as Cristobal is. He leaves the official coaching duties of the unit to Alex Mirabal, but Cristobal is very involved in the day-to-day development of the guys in the trenches. 

Miami isn't as unsettled on the offensive line as Mario Cristobal wants you to believe

With this rumblings about where true freshmen like Jackson Cantwell and Ben Congdon are going to play and if both will be in the starting lineup Friday, it's no surprise that Cristobal is being a little coy. 

"In terms of who are going to walk out on the field and play first, we'll kind of hold off on that until it's time. I think this. I think when you have a lot of guys that are truly capable of starting and that can play winning football for you, and the battles are close, I think you keep those guys on edge all the time because it's the only way to get the best out of them, right?," he said.

Would it surprise me if Cantwell and Congdon were both in the starting lineup on Friday? Yes, a little. But I do think that both freshmen are among the six best offensive linemen and will eventually be in the lineup together at some point this season. As for Friday night, here's what i feel comfortable about:

The Hurricanes are set at center and both tackles

Ryan Rodriguez is the starting center and Samson Okunlola and Matthew McCoy will be left and right tackle respectively. Rodriguez and McCoy are fifth-year seniors and Okunlola is a redshirt junior and their experience is being rewarded with these starting roles. Okunlola, a former five-star recruit, could be an emerging star.

Seuseu "SJ" Alofaituli will be doing some cross-training

Alofaituli will likely be one of the starters at guard, presumably left guard, but the sophomore from Las Vegas will have to get some work in at center as well. Miami needs another reliable center and Alofaituli is the best fit for the position. If the Hurricanes can get to a point Friday where the second unit is playing, expect Alofaituli to be the center of that unit.

Someone has to start at guard and Jackson Cantwell probably gets the nod

Cantwell, Congdon and Max Buchanan are battling it out for the other guard spot. That's a great sign because Cantwell and Congdon are true freshmen and Buchanan is just a sophomore. The fact that three teenagers are good enough to be in Miami's top seven on the offensive line bodes very well for the future. 

Because Cantwell entered the program with so much fanfare, it's no surprise that people really want him to start, but it's good that he's being pushed by other underclassmen. Eventually, all three will be on the line together and that's something that Cristobal has to be looking forward to. But right now, his biggest concern is who will be on the field Friday. 

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