The recent commit of 6'9 and 335 pound junior college offensive tackle Jacob Hawks is the latest massive Miami prospect secured by head coach Mario Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal. Physicality and size on the OL have been a Miami priority under Cristobal and Mirabal.
The 2026 Miami OL class is led by 6'7.5, 325-pound OT Jackson Cantwell. Cantwell is the second-ranked prospect, top OT and top player in Missouri in the 2026 class. Miami is projected to start Cantwell at LT, replacing starter Markel Bell, a projected 2026 NFL Draft pick.
In addition to Cantwell and Hawks at OT, Miami signed four-star prospect Ben Congdon and three-stars Canon Pickett and Rhys Woodrow at the position in the 2026 class. Miami also signed interior offensive linemen Joel Ervin and J.J. Sparks in the 2026 class.
Offensive tackles Jamal Merriweather at 6'7 and 305 pounds from Georgia and IOL Johnathan Cline, 6'4, 315 from East Tennessee State, join the Miami OL as transfers. Length and mass continued to be a theme under Cristobal and Mirabal when signing OL prospects.
Mario and Alex Mirabal is finally done with your 2026 class and the Average size for our 2026 O-Line Recruits average out at 6’7 320 .. the “smallest” dude being 6’4 325 and the largest being 6’9 320. They landed The #1 Tackle in the country in Cantwell and filled the remainder… pic.twitter.com/SpbOXdeP9o
— Oregon Cane 🟧🟩(Jay) 🇯🇲 (@jamrock1986) April 12, 2026
Projecting snaps for the new Miami OL
Cantwell is a sure starter for Miami in 2026. Cline and Merriweather should compete to be starters and at least be in the 2026 Miami OL rotation. Cline spent two seasons at Central Florida before transferring to ETSU before the 2025 season. Merriweather played guard and OT at Georgia.
The size of the incoming OL on the 2026 Miami roster matches nearly everyone returning for the Hurricanes upfront. Only two OL on the 2026 Miami roster are under 300 pounds. All but three Miami OL on the 2026 roster are 6'3 or under.
The aggression and physicality Miami played with during its run to the College Football Playoff championship game was their key to success. Any Cristobal coached team begins with physicality. Miami continuing to have more size than its opponents will always be a key attribute under Cristobal.