Happy Monday, everyone. Hope your week has gotten off to a nice start. As usual, there’s lots to get to on Hurricanes athletics, so let’s do it.
1) I have said before in this piece that Monday Musings is kind of like an open dialogue of my mind about whatever is going on with the Canes. And today, my mind settles back on how lucky we were to see the 2025 Hurricanes and what a special team they were.
(And this has a point with spring ball, I promise).
The Hurricanes last year were as physical as any team I’ve watched in a very long time, Miami or otherwise. It was a mentality that went beyond just the tremendous line of scrimmage. It was a mindset that started up front on both sides of the line of scrimmage with some special talents and went beyond all the way into the backfield on offense and to the back of the secondary on defense. To Mark Fletcher, Jr. To Jakobe Thomas. It was, frankly, a championship mentality and a championship roster.
2) And I don’t know if this team is going to be at that same level next year.
I mean, they might. Don’t get me wrong. My faith in this coaching staff is at an all-time high right now.
But I’ve been sitting there, just wondering about how Miami can replace having three of the top linemen in the nation, all of whom should be first round draft picks in Ruben Bain, Jr., Francis Mauigoa, and Akheem Mesidor. Those guys are all going to be on NFL fields and producing on Sundays in September. Those guys are all generational college players.
I’ve said before — and I mean it — that there are multiple ways to skin a cat and win. We saw it in 2024 with the electric, high-flying Hurricanes, who if they had even just a mediocre P4 defense over the last few games, would have made the playoff. We saw it last year with a grind-you-into-powder approach. Both were good teams who looked very different.
So, maybe my worries are misplaced. But man, I can’t help but get past the ENORMOUS shoes those guys are leaving behind to fill, along with other players (like Thomas, who was just so, so good, as was Keionte Scott).
3) So, long-winded, my mind now goes to this year’s spring ball, which has been underway.
The passing game is going to be there. Darian Mensah is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and I think he’s going to thrive in Shannon Dawson’s offense. The Hurricanes have the best receiving duo in the nation in Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate. Bar none. And Fletcher is back to run people over. Miami has the next great defensive back in Bryce Fitzgerald, and the talent is there around him on the back end, I feel like.
But what is the Hurricanes’ line play going to look like? How will those trench battles go? Who is going to establish himself as the next alpha on both lines of scrimmage? How many guys are ready to step in for a terrific starting five on offense? Is Damon Wilson II cut from the same cloth as Bain and Mesidor?
That’s where my eyes are going to be for, basically, 90% of the time when I sneak a peek at practice clips and at the spring game.
4) Because even if the Hurricanes CAN be different in 2026 — and surely there will be significant differences — I WANT that physical edge still in that room. I NEED it.
I felt like Miami, when they could wear teams down like they did last year, was in control of games as much as they have been in, I don’t know how long. They set the tone. They played the game on their terms. They held the ball longer and kept teams off the field.
Again, Miami is going to hit the big play next year, and Mensah will get a lot of love, but still…..I want to see some of that 2025 identity rub off on the 2026 team, both on offense and defense.
There. Rambling take over. Go Canes!