Ryan Rodriguez waited his turn. Now, he’s set to make his Hurricanes mark in final season
Ryan Rodriguez thought he had his opportunity in 2024, when he opened the season as the Miami Hurricanes’ starting left guard after three years of waiting his turn. An ankle injury in that season debut against the Florida Gators derailed that.
“I felt like I got a taste of what was to come,” Rodriguez said.
Maybe things would have been better in 2025. He had proven to the Hurricanes that he could play anywhere along the interior of the offensive line, either guard spot or center.
Well, that’s not how it worked. Matt McCoy and Samson Okunlola split reps at left guard, Anez Cooper held down his spot at right guard and James Brockermeyer joined the team via the transfer portal to start at center. Rodriguez played 93 offensive snaps, 38 of which came in jumbo packages when they used him as a sixth offensive lineman, 55 came at center in garbage time of games.
More waiting. More biding his time.
Well, there’s no more time for Rodriguez to wait. He’s entering his sixth and final year with his hometown Hurricanes, the team he signed with as a three-star prospect out of Miami Christopher Columbus in the Class of 2021.
He could have left; the transfer portal era makes it easy for players to move on for what could be greener pastures and better opportunities to play.
He stayed the course, persevered through injuries and the trials and tribulations of injuries.
Now, he’s hoping the wait finally pays off.
Rodriguez is working as Miami’s starting center in spring practice and figures to be a fixture on a completely overhauled offensive line. Four starters from last season’s team that reached the College Football Playoff National Championship Game — tackles Francis Mauigoa and Markel Bell, guard Cooper and center Brockermeyer — are gone.
This puts Rodriguez, one of two players on Miami’s roster (along with linebacker Chase Smith) whose time on the team predates head coach Mario Cristobal, in a key position to lead UM to success in his final season with the program.
“I thought last year Ryan Rodriguez could have started at center for any other program in the ACC — and I’ll stand by that,” Hurricanes offensive line coach Alex Mirabal said. “We had a heck of a center here in James Brockermeyer, and we had another heck of a center named Ryan Rodriguez. And to Ryan’s credit, he loves the University of Miami, and he didn’t transfer. To me, he’s a guy that should be praised for choosing to stay at Miami. He waited his time. And you know what? He kind of did it the old path. That’s what used to happen at Miami all the time. Guys would play when they were juniors and seniors, and they weren’t playing [as much] as freshmen and sophomores. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Everybody makes their turn at a certain time, and this is Ryan’s turn.”
Rodriguez certainly feels ready for his turn. He watched as centers came in via the portal each of the past three years — Matt Lee in 2023, Zach Carpenter in 2024 and then Brockermeyer in 2025 — and immediately moved ahead of him on the depth chart as a result. The longer development period and injuries put a wrench in things, too.
But he took those as learning opportunities instead of slights from the coaching staff. He kept working behind the scenes to make sure he was in a position to be ready when his name was finally called.
“I just never gave up,” Rodriguez said. “Obviously, I could sit here and pout because a transfer came in last year or a transfer came in the year before. Things happened, but I’ve dealt with it. I’ve overcome things. I’ve had to sit back and observe and learn and look in the mirror. And all throughout that, I’ve just learned, and I feel like I’ve become stronger and better as a man and as a player.”
And he’s doing his part to get this new-look offensive line up to speed. Rodriguez, McCoy (likely moving to right tackle) and Okunlola (likely staying as full-time starting left tackle) are set to occupy three of Miami’s five starting spots. True freshman Jackson Cantwell, the top recruit of the Hurricanes’ Class of 2026, has the inside track to start at left tackle. Sophomore Max Buchanan has impressed and seems like the primary candidate to round out the starting offensive line at right guard.
Beyond them is another wave of players Miami hopes will be impactful: Georgia transfer Jamal Meriweather, sophomore SJ Alofaituli, redshirt freshmen Demetrius Campbell and Jaden Wilkerson, and true freshmen Ben Congdon, JJ Sparks and Joel Ervin among them.
The big key from now until the start of the season on Sept. 4 at Stanford is for this group to build as many game-like reps as possible during practice. Chemistry for an offensive line is key, and building that takes time.
“Our practices, we try to make them as close to a game [as possible],” Rodriguez said. “Obviously, it’s not a game, but we’re competing. We’re going against great competition every day, and the defense switches up what they do. They’re not going to give the same look every day. And we’re working different things as well — different looks, different situations where we’ve got to be able to have chemistry and communicate. All of that takes time and reps and practice. I think by season, we’ll be clicking.”
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