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Jalen Rivers knows what he wants to see from Miami Hurricanes offensive line: More of an aggressive and physical identity

On3 imageby: CaneSport.com Staff08/20/22CaneSport
On3 image
Miami Hurricanes OL Jalen Rivers (photo by Neil Gershman)

Miami Hurricanes OL Jalen Rivers has worked at guard and tackle this fall camp, as line coach Alex Mirabal works contingency plans and tries to find the best five linemen … with the caveat that Zion Nelson will return from injury at some point. So far the line’s had some strong points, namely pass protection, but has struggled in others like consistent run blocking. With scrimmage No. 2 coming up later today, Rivers shared his Friday take.

“We want to form more of an identity, be more aggressive and physical,” Rivers said. “We learned from the film we saw in scrimmage one, are trying to build on that and improve even more. That’s what this week was about, getting better.”

Asked about reports that the DL won scrimmage one, Rivers said, “If they say the defense won, we’re going to prove that we are going to win next time. We’re watching the film, getting better, will prove that (today).”

Rivers is expected to be a starter when the season rolls around, and while there has been a lot of mixing and matching the general first team group has been (L to R) OL: John Campbell, Justice Oluwseun/Jalen Rivers, Jakai Clark, Logan Sagapolu and DJ Scaife. Second teamers (again, generally based on past practices) have been L to R Matthew McCoy/Rivers, Laurence Seymore, Jon Denis, Ousman Traore and Anez Cooper.

That will be shaken up when returning LT starter Zion Nelson returns from injury.

“He’s handling his situation well, is working with trainers,” Rivers said. Of Nelson. “He’ll be good. With us, outside of the rehab process, he’s been talking with us in meetings, taking notes.”

Aside from Nelson, the bottom line: This scrimmage today should help shore up some spots, and give the line another chance to make some progress.

In short, there are a lot of questions that remain up front.

So all these guys want to do is their best with every rep.

“We’re just together, our togetherness formed in the summer,” Rivers said. “We’ve built a good team relationship which led to good togetherness.”

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