How does UM replace Bain and Mesidor? Jason Taylor, Cristobal offer insight
Nobody will miss Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor more than UM defensive line coach Jason Taylor.
But Taylor also is bullish about the future at the position. And Taylor sounded an optimistic tone even before UM last week added former Missouri standout Damon Wilson II, who was one of the top pass rushers in the transfer portal.
While it’s not realistic to expect anyone to produce 83 quarterback pressures (as Bain did), Miami has put together a formidable group of edge players with Wilson (who committed to the Canes last Thursday), Marquise Lightfoot and end/tackle Armondo Blount, Hayden Lowe (the No. 24 player in the entire 2025 class, per 247), former Nebraska end/tackle Keona Davis and a half dozen others.
Also, Taylor made clear UM sees great upside in Booker Pickett, Herbert Scroggins and Cole McConathy II.
And UM signed two freshman edge rushers who combined for 30 sacks during their seniors seasons of high school last year.
The big question is whether this group can hold up against the run as well as Bain and Mesidor did.
Wilson, to this point, has been the most significant offseason addition. He was third in the SEC with nine sacks last season and his 54 quarterback pressures ranked 13th among edge players, per Pro Football Focus. (Bain was first with 83 and Mesidor fourth with 57. Those numbers included playoff games.)
Wilson, a second-team all SEC player, was ESPN’s No. 35 overall recruit in the 2023 class and played two seasons at Georgia before transferring to Missouri last winter. He played the majority of his snaps at defensive end in 2025, finishing with 23 tackles.
Wilson, Lightfoot and Blount will compete for the two starting jobs, but all three assuredly will play a lot.
During the regular season, Lightfoot had 24 quarterback pressures in 140 pass-rushing chances. That 17.1 percentage is exceptional – even better than Bain’s 15.3% and Mesidor’s 15.2.
Lightfoot — who had 23 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks this past season — “is very athletic and twitchy and has great length and speed,” Taylor said earlier in this month. “He’s understanding what it takes to be a big time college player in the mental side of things and watching film. He’s done a great job. He needs to get bigger and stronger.”
There’s position versatility with Blount, who had 17 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Asked if Blount is better at end or tackle, Taylor said: “He’s best at being a football player. He changes things when he’s on the field for us. Very physical and violent. He loves football. He fits exactly what we’re trying to do with our culture and who we want to be on the defensive line.
“We train all our guys at multiple positions. The more positions you can play, the more value you have. He’s done a fantastic job playing inside and out. He’s a defensive end by trade, but he’s a damn good player.”
None of the three — Wilson, Blount or Lightfoot — is as big as Bain (6-3, 270) and Mesidor (6-3, 265). Blount is closest at 6-4, 260.
Lightfoot, who uses his speed and shifty moves to flummox bigger offensive linemen, is 6-5, 260 and Wilson is 6-4, 250.
The question is whether those three — particularly Lightfoot and Wilson — will hold up against the run nearly as well as Bain and Mesidor did.
PFF ranked Wilson 95th among 800 edge players last season (Bain was third, Mesidor fourth) but there was a big disparity in his grade as a pass-rusher (78th) compared to as a run-defender (352nd).
Conversely, PFF rated Mesidor fifth and Bain 12th as run defenders, among 800 edge players.
Davis, who’s 6-5 and 255, should be an asset against the run. He played in 25 games over two seasons at Nebraska and had 42 tackles, five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one pass deflection. He likely will become a rotation player at end and tackle.
Several others also will have an opportunity to win rotation jobs.
In limited playing time, Pickett, a true freshman, had a sack and four pressures in 27 pass rushing snaps.
“Book has had a great couple months,” Taylor said. “The whole season has been good for him, but the last couple of months he has taken big strides. He’s really jumping off the film with some of the things he does in practice. He gets a lot of reps in practice and it’s paying dividends. He has taken some really big steps. I’m looking forward to what he can bring to us in the future.”
Scroggins was trusted enough to get a handful of snaps in the playoffs (72 for the season) and had three pressures in 43 chances to rush the passer this past season.
And Taylor cautions not to overlook McConathy, who battled injuries in 2025 and played just nine defensive snaps at a very deep position.
“All the things that made Cole attractive coming out of high school are still there,” Taylor said. “Unfortunately, he’s had some nicks and bumps along the way, but you’re talking about a guy who does everything the way you want it done. There’s never an issue with him. He’s always early. He’s does everything you ask. He works his tail off, plays hard, loves ball. He will come around. We look forward to him being a big part of what we do.”
Lowe might have the highest ceiling of everyone at the position; he was widely rated as a top five edge rusher in last year’s class. He missed the season with an injury announced on Sept. 8, but Mario Cristobal has said he will be fine for spring practice.
“That guy’s got an unbelievable future, tremendous upside,” Cristobal said in September. “He is physical, he is strong. He’s young so he makes his mistakes like everybody else, but we were really looking forward to playing him a bunch. He got banged up a few weeks ago and really tried to come back and it didn’t work out so finally the decision was made that we have got to start getting him ready for spring football and the rest of his career.”
Meanwhile, Cristobal raves about the two edge rushers in Miami’s 2026 class — Venice (Florida) High’s Asharri Charles or Orlando Lake Nova’s DeAnthony Lafayette. Both are enrolled at UM.
Charles delivered 28 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and four forced fumbles this season. “Explosive; power cleaned 300; one of the most disruptive players in the state of Florida,” Cristobal said. “You know those videos of guys who jump out of pools and land on their feet? He’s one of those guys.”
Lafayette had 30 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks as a prep senior.
“He really impressed JT,” Cristobal said. “He had a lift session at 5 a.m., but he got there really, really early knowing Jason would show up. Slippery. Was committed to LSU. We loved him, never stopped recruiting him. He came to his senses and chose the right place.”
Taylor will miss coaching Bain and Canada native Mesidor not only because of their elite skills and production (Mesidor had 12.5 sacks, Bain 9.5 last season) and their supreme work ethic but also because of the fun and laughs they had during their regular visits to his office.
“Politics, news, Canada — whatever comes up,” Taylor said of their conversations.
Taylor said “I’ve never been around two guys at this age who work harder than Bain and Mess. It’s crazy. It’s to the point we had to pull them back to work less. We butted heads at times on that, making them get off the practice field.”
This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 12:16 PM.
