Why Miami believes new commit Michael McLaughlin can become a great offensive lineman
Quentin Short had already laid out his plan for Michael McLaughlin before he took his newest player down to Coral Gables for one of the Miami Hurricanes’ recruiting camps last year. McLaughlin had just moved to South Florida from Indiana, where he had been playing tight end for Danville, and Short told the junior he wanted him to change positions. Parkland Stoneman Douglas knows how to develop offensive linemen and McLaughlin, now 6-7 and 255 pounds, could be its next great one.
Douglas’ day competing in the 7-on-7 tournament at the Manny Diaz Football Camp was supposed to be a sort of last hurrah for McLaughlin as a tight end. Short was going to let him ease into his new position by beginning his offseason at his old one. Butch Barry had other plans. He saw McLaughlin running routes and pulled him aside to work with the linemen.
“We had told him that was probably going to be his spot was offensive tackle and then of course he goes to Miami,” Short said. “The coach works him out, and then they offer him, so that kind of helped out.”
McLaughlin did enough in one workout to earn a scholarship offer from Barry. The former offensive line coach decided McLaughlin’s potential was tantalizing enough to offer the then-unknown prospect.
Michael McLaughlin then
McLaughlin was extraordinarily raw at the time — he still is a work in progress — but the physical tools are exactly what college football and NFL coaches look for. By the time he orally committed to Miami last Monday, McLaughlin had pulled in about 20 offers, including one from the Florida State Seminoles. Some of those offers started to pour in before he ever played a game at offensive line, based mainly on his measurables and some brief glimpses at camps. Even more have arrived in the months since he became the Eagles’ starting right tackle.
In McLaughlin’s first season as an offensive lineman, Stoneman Douglas won its district for the first time since 2001. While he plans to start McLaughlin at left tackle in 2020, Short used the junior as his right tackle in 2019 so McLaughlin could play next to Gage Gaynor, who signed a national letter of intent with the Colorado State Rams in February.
Short has spent six years on the coaching staff in Parkland and the Eagles have sent an offensive lineman to the FBS level in every one of those seasons. Gaynor, a cousin of Miami offensive lineman Corey Gaynor, could serve as a mentor on the field for McLaughlin.
“We played him next to Gage for that reason, just to kind of help him out a little bit,” Short said. “Gage was always there in practice to kind of help him. Besides the coaching he would get, Gage was kind of another coach that helped him out.”
Short remembers watching McLaughlin struggle at a Florida Gators camp a few weeks after the tackle got the offer from the Hurricanes. Once the games actually began, McLaughlin was serviceable as a pass blocker and dominant as a run blocker.
Although McLaughlin was a tight end in Indiana, he already looked like an offensive lineman. He was 245 pounds when he moved to Florida and played last season at about 250. He was a good blocking tight end, so the move was natural in the run game.
“Even in the first game I don’t really think he was overwhelmed. He was driving people into the daggone sideline, so I never felt like he was ever overwhelmed.”
Michael McLaughlin now
His junior season was impressive enough to earn McLaughlin a major rankings bump. He’s now a four-star tackle, the No. 299 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2021 and the No. 1 tackle in the Miami metropolitan area. He also knows his technique needs to drastically improve, which made it important for him to meet with Garin Justice in person before committing.
McLaughlin met with the new offensive line coach at a junior day in January and decided he was going to commit to the Hurricanes a few weeks later. He told the staff about his decision at Miami’s spring practice.
“He’s a really technical coach and his emphasis on technique is what I think I need to be able to improve my game,” McLaughlin said after he committed. “I’ve always been able to get by on just my size and my power, so then when I add that technique to my game that’s going to make me that much better.”
The focus for McLaughlin now is primarily on pass protection, specifically three fundamental areas: his footwork, his hand placement and his punch.
Part of the reason Short and his staff assumed McLaughlin could make the transition is because his raw footwork is already good. He’s agile from his time as a receiver and he grew up playing basketball, and defensive footwork on the court tends to translate well on the offensive line.
McLaughlin has spent the last few weeks on the camp circuit again. He impressed at a Rivals.com camp in Hialeah last month, then had a more up-and-down day at an Under Armour All-America camp Sunday in Coconut Creek. Sometimes his size, speed, footwork and improving hand placement all come together for a flawless rep. Other times, one or two of those fundamental skills break down and he still looks like a newbie.
Still, it was a no-brainer for the Hurricanes to offer him last year and even more obvious to accept his commitment last week. McLaughlin still has another year to develop before he gets to Miami and there are enough positive signs from Year 1 for the Hurricanes to think he can be great.
It’s similar to how McLaughlin thinks of his future team.
“Miami is definitely building something great right now. They’re on an upward trend, for sure,” McLaughlin said. “Last season they were still transitioning from old staff and all their old players, so now they’ve kind of had a little bit of time to get things under control. I think they’re definitely going good places.”
