CORAL GABLES — Miami’s defensive ends have a big task ahead of them: replace two likely first-round NFL draft picks.

With Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor heading to the NFL, the new and returning defensive ends have immense shoes to fill.

“I’m excited about the group we have,” Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said. “And obviously, very thankful for the guys we had last year. … The guys that left are a very, very talented group, and they changed the game.”

The Hurricanes have several players to choose from to make up their new rotation at the position. Miami added one of the top available transfers this offseason, signing former Missouri defensive end Damon Wilson II.

Wilson was an All-SEC second-team selection last year, notching 23 tackles and nine sacks. Wilson also racked up 54 quarterback pressures.

Wilson has been on campus only for a short time, but Hetherman complimented his intelligence and work ethic.

“Right out of the gate — and we showed a clip yesterday in one of the meetings — is how hard he practices. It doesn’t matter: ones, twos, threes, his first rep in this uniform,” Hetherman said. “But he goes extremely hard. And when you look at the guys last year, when you look at Bain and (Mesidor) and (Keionte Scott) and (David) Blay and (Wesley Bissainthe) and all the different guys, Jakobe (Thomas), that’s what those guys were. Every day, they got better on the field because of how hard they practiced, how hard they competed. And that’s one thing he brings to the program right now.

“And I think the competition in that room, it’s going to make everyone in that room better because how hard he practices.”

Wilson, a veteran, will likely start for Miami this year. But the second spot will come down to a mix of rising veterans who have been playing rotational roles since arriving on campus.

Marquise Lightfoot is one option. The third-year defensive end got onto the field in pass-rushing situations and performed well. He had 25 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 30 quarterback pressures in 292 snaps. Hetherman said the 230-pound Lightfoot, who is one of Miami’s lightest defensive linemen, has been working to put on good weight and improve his run defense.

“His technique’s been better, his awareness has improved, the way he competes,” Hetherman said. “And then, you know, his block destruction right now — last year he was pass rush (on) third down, put him in situational things. And right now he’s made a huge emphasis to go stop the run, to attack people, to go through people at the line of scrimmage. And he’s consistently getting better.”

Armondo Blount, a fellow rising junior, has a bigger build than Lightfoot (he is listed at 6-4 and 265 pounds), which is why Blount played most of his 401 defensive snaps at defensive tackle last season. But Blount likely fits better on the edge for UM. Blount had 17 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2025, and he said he learned a lot by playing more often last year.

“I learned so much with football, just becoming a football guy,” Blount said. “Learning how to read offenses, knowing when it’s a pass, knowing when it’s a run, little details like the running-back depth and things like that. I’ve been becoming a student of the game in my past three years.”

Another intriguing, young option is Hayden Lowe. The rising redshirt freshman earned praise from coaches and teammates during the spring last year, but he missed the entire season with an injury. Now the former four-star prospect is healthy again and could make an impact on UM’s defensive line. However, coach Mario Cristobal said Lowe still has much to work on.

“He needs to be more consistent,” Cristobal said. “I think he hears from (the media) about how talented he is and how many stars he had beside his name. His butt needs to be consistent and bring it on a daily basis and get his (butt) knocked around and get back up and be a performer on a daily basis.”

After a week of spring practice, Cristobal said the group has “a lot of bright spots” but a “long, long ways to go.”

“The competitiveness is good,” Cristobal said. “We’re demanding more. We need to demand. We need to coach it harder. We need to coach it better. We need more out of everybody. I think it’s easy to talk toughness and physicality and then you have to work it. And we work it.”