Bain evaluates first two games back as Hurricanes’ defensive line returns to full strength
All the hype was there, the anticipation tantalizing. Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. had his sights set on making a statement against the Florida Gators in UM’s season opener against the Florida Gators as he prepared to build on a successful freshman season that ended with him as the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.
And then, after one drive, it was gone.
Bain left the field on the Hurricanes’ first possession with what the team called a soft tissue injury. He didn’t return to the game. For good measure, he missed the next month, too.
He returned to game action on Oct. 5 in Miami’s road game against Cal, but the wait and the rehab process had him yearning to get to action.
“It was real frustrating,” Bain said of the injury. “It was something I was like looking forward to for a while, and the play was just a real down moment, but now my looking back on it, I had to move on. It is what it is. I can’t change the fact that I got injured, so I was just trying to look at the positives of the situation. Once I did that, things started to lighten up and get better for me, and I felt like everything happens for a reason. Now that I’m back playing, I’m just so happy to be back on the field. Who knows what can happen now?”
The Hurricanes, undefeated at 7-0 (3-0 ACC) and No. 6 in the country heading into their rivalry game against Florida State (1-6, 1-5 ACC) at 7 p.m. Saturday, certainly have an idea of what they hope happens now.
That would be Bain playing like one of the top edge rushers in the country like he did as a freshman when he had a team-high-tying seven-and-a-half sacks and finishing second on the team with 12.5 tackles for loss but said there was “more in store” heading into this season.
Bain has shown flashes of that potential since his return. He had two tackles, one-and-a-half tackles for loss and a half sack in the Cal game and followed it up with two more tackles, another sack and a nation-leading 10 quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus in Miami’s 52-45 win over Louisville on Saturday. He was also involved on the second-quarter play in which Louisville running back Isaac Brown fumbled in the end zone which led to Raul Aguirre recovering the ball for a touchdown.
“Explosive,” Hurricanes defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said. “Just a physical force and he’s gonna get better and better, of course.”
Bain’s assessment of his first two games back: “Pretty decent, nothing crazy.”
“Great is just playing for all four quarters, all downs,” Bain added. “I feel like I didn’t do my best at that. I’m not too worried about the stat sheet, but more about my impact in the game.”
Where does that impact come from?
“He’s physical. He helps everybody around him make plays along with his ability to make his own plays,” fellow defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor said. “He’s really just an all-around guy, and he just helps us get better.”
That extends to when he wasn’t playing. During his month on the sidelines, Bain took it upon himself to essentially serve as a mentor to his fellow defensive linemen. He worked with younger defensive linemen during pregame warmups. He was vocal in the film room, helping his teammates identify things they might not have seen.
“Really just trying to coach up the guys,” Bain said.
Now, he’s back to play with the group which continued to produce at a high level even in his absence. The Hurricanes are 10th nationally in sacks (23) and tied for 12th in tackles for loss (53). Bain, Tyler Baron and Elijah Alston form a dynamic rotation along the edge, while Simeon Barrow and Mesidor lead the charge on the interior of the defensive line.
“We don’t even have a whole game [together] under our belt yet playing at 100 percent,” Bain said. “Once we get that chemistry going, I feel like we’re going to show why we’re the best defensive line in the nation. Once that happens, I feel so feel sorry for everybody else.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Bain evaluates first two games back as Hurricanes’ defensive line returns to full strength."
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