The Hurricanes again have a new center. The rest of the offensive line? ‘We all have chemistry’
James Brockermeyer is the new guy on the Miami Hurricanes’ offensive line, the team’s third center is as many years as the team continues to pluck starters for that position out of the transfer portal.
The rest of Miami’s offensive line is well established at UM. The remaining four spots on the line will be occupied by players who started games for Miami last season — Markel Bell at left tackle (who started five games when Jalen Rivers was hurt), one of Ryan Rodriguez (one start last season, two total) or Matthew McCoy (11 starts last season, 12 starts total) at left guard, Anez Cooper (13 starts last season, 30 starts total) at right guard and Francis Mauigoa (13 starts last season, 26 starts total) at right tackle.
That type of experience and chemistry along the offensive line will be pivotal for a Miami team hoping to sustain the type of offensive production it created last year — leading the nation in yards per game (537.2), yards per play (7.57) and points per game (43.9)
“I think this is Year 4 for Coop. It’s Year 3 for [Mauigoa], Year 4 for Matt McCoy and I’ve been here for five years. … I’ve been here for a minute,” said Rodriguez, who started at left guard in Miami’s season opener against Florida last year before sustaining a season-ending injury. “We all have chemistry. We all know how things go around here. We know [offensive line] coach [Alex] Mirabal’s style of teaching, style of play.”
And that, in turn, has made things easier for Brockermeyer as he transitions to playing for his third school in his fifth year of college football. He played his first three seasons at Alabama from 2021 to 2023 before playing last season at TCU.
“They’ve been great,” Brockermeyer said. “I mean, not only are they excellent football players, but they’re also very smart and that’s great to be around, because I can come in and pick their brain and they’re going to shoot me straight and tell me how we do things here. My job is to come in and complement them. They make me better, and I can make them better.”
That said, Brockermeyer has put in the work to be prepared for spring practices, which began Monday. He already has a good grasp of the playbook, meeting with Mirabal away from the field to learn the calls and systems to be as ready as possible.
“I’ve just been a sponge and tried to do the best I can to learn it and make sure there’s no big learning [curve] and I can step in and make the calls,” Brockermeyer said.
Added Cooper: “He’s already got all the points and calls and everything down. That’s a good thing that he’s already got. It ain’t really like we’ve got to go back and reteach everything.”
And it’s not like this is new for the Hurricanes. Brockermeyer follows the path of centers Matt Lee in 2023 and Zach Carpenter in 2024 who joined the Hurricanes via the transfer portal for their final season. Lee and Carpenter held their own in their sole season at UM.
Brockermeyer’s fellow offensive linemen are doing their part to make sure he feels welcomed and part of the group.
“When we get a new center, like somebody who ain’t been around the group, we just try to treat them like family, just make them feel comfortable,” Cooper said. “But James is good. He’s got a good personality. He talks a lot, he listens. That’s a big thing that he came in and he doesn’t try to overdo his part. He listens to all the guys that have been here. He just takes in coaching.”
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