Four Miami Hurricanes story lines to follow in the 2026 NFL Draft
There will be plenty to talk about with the Miami Hurricanes during the three-day NFL Draft, which begins with the first round on Thursday and continues through Saturday.
Miami, fresh off a run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, has a slew of prospects waiting to hear their name called and begin their professional journey.
Here are four Hurricanes story lines to follow over the course of the draft.
Two top-10 picks?
Edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa were projected to be first-round picks entering the 2025 season. They finished the season in the conversation to each be selected in the first 10 picks.
Should that happen, they would be the first duo to go in the top 10 for Miami since 2004 when Sean Taylor went No. 5 to the Washington Redskins and Kellen Winslow went No. 6 to the Cleveland Browns.
Bain finished his Miami career with 121 tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks. This included a junior season in which he was a consensus first-team All-American after logging 54 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and nine-and-a-half sacks while leading the nation with 83 quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus.
Mauigoa started all 42 career games at Miami at right tackle, logging 2,814 snaps during his three years. He capped his college career as a consensus first-team All-American after a season in which he anchored Miami’s offensive line on the team’s way to the national title game. He allowed eight sacks over 1,611 pass-blocking snaps while with the Hurricanes, including just two in 557 pass-blocking snaps as a junior.
Perseverance paying off
Akheem Mesidor and Keionte Scott aren’t the headliners of the Hurricanes prospects in the draft. Bain and Mauigoa take those honors.
But the two defensive standouts, two key cogs that paved the way for the Hurricanes to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, are prime examples of how successful seasons on a successful team can elevate a player’s draft stock.
They are also stories of perseverance in the pursuit of their ultimate goal of making the NFL.
Mesidor, whose breakout final season included 17.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks, is now projected to be selected by the end of the first round. It caps a six-year career for Mesidor. He spent two years at West Virginia before transferring to Miami. While at UM, he had a solid first season in 2022 (team-high seven sacks), an injury-filled 2023 (played just two games) and played out of position in 2024 (moving inside to defensive tackle despite being a natural edge rusher) before breaking out in 2025.
Scott, Miami’s do-it-all nickel cornerback who had 64 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, two interceptions (including a pick-six in the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State), five pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, should hear his name called by the end of Day 2, which consists of the second and third rounds. It was the breakthrough Scott always knew he could have during a long and winding college football journey. It began with two seasons at Snow College, a junior college in Utah, that followed with three seasons at Auburn. It ended with him thriving as a nickel corner in defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s system with the Hurricanes — and in a position to make the NFL
Where will Carson Beck go?
The quarterback class this draft cycle is interesting. Fernando Mendoza, the Miami Columbus alumnus who led Indiana to a national championship, is all but set to be the No. 1 overall pick. Alabama’s Ty Simpson is the No. 2 quarterback in the draft.
Beyond that? It’s sort of a free for all.
And that puts some intrigue around Carson Beck, who was solid in his lone season with the Hurricanes (72.4% completion rate, 3,813 passing yards and 30 touchdowns against 12 interceptions) after starting for two years at Georgia. He showed his poise on the highest level of college football as he led Miami on its College Football Playoff run and has the measurables and experience that teams look for.
But there are still questions about how his play at the college level will translate to the NFL.
That said, Beck is going to get drafted. Whether it’s in the second round or possibly the fifth or beyond remains to be seen.
Potentially double-digit draftees?
Beyond the five players already mentioned, other Hurricanes who have a chance to be drafted include safety Jakobe Thomas; offensive linemen Markel Bell, Anez Cooper and James Brockermeyer; wide receivers CJ Daniels and Keelan Marion; linebacker Wesley Bissainthe; and defensive tackle David Blay Jr.
Miami had seven players taken in the draft last year — the most from the school since 2017.
The Hurricanes seem likely to surpass that total this week. Should five of these eight hear their names called on top of the five locks, UM would have double-digit draftees for the first time since 2002 when 11 Hurricanes players were selected.
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