Veteran offensive lineman Jalen Rivers returned to Miami’s lineup for the Hurricanes’ win against Louisville. But after missing five of UM’s first six games, he did not simply slot back into the left-tackle spot he left after suffering an injury in Week 1.
The No. 5 Hurricanes (8-0, 4-0 ACC) shuffled the lineup for their offensive line when Rivers returned. Over the last two games, Rivers sometimes lines up at left tackle. Other times, UM moves him inside to left guard and puts junior-college transfer Markel Bell at left tackle. The move has been paying dividends, as both Bell and Rivers have had solid performances the last two weeks.
“We want to do that more and more because we’ve seen that in practice,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said after UM’s win over Louisville. “The chemistry of that particular lineup has worked just as well as the other ones, so we went with it and it worked out really well.”
Bell, who is listed at 6-9 and 340 pounds, filled in at left tackle while Rivers was injured. Cristobal and his staff believe Bell did well enough in the five games he started to earn more time on the field. Bell has a 63.9 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus with a 66 run-blocking grade and a 62.1 pass-blocking grade.
“We trust him. We have a handful of players that might not be starters but we trust,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “Those guys deserve playing time. They deserve to be out there. Ultimately, you have to trust them. That’s first. And then you’ve got to put them out there and let them play. I just think that rewarding guys that have shown that is very important.”
In the last two games, Bell has played 46 snaps. He had good run-blocking grades in both games and a season-best 80.3 pass-blocking grade against Louisville with no pressures allowed. But he did allow a quarterback hurry against FSU, which tanked his pass-blocking grade for that game.
“Markel Bell has earned playing time,” Cristobal said. “And Markel Bell needs to continue to develop at a high level, and he did.”
Since returning from injury, Rivers has played 110 snaps at left tackle and 46 snaps at left guard. He earned a 66.7 overall grade against Louisville and a 69.7 against Florida State. He has been particularly good at pass-blocking, earning an 88.6 pass-blocking grade against the Seminoles.
“He’s just improving our O-Line (from) what it has been all season,” right guard Anez Cooper said. “Jalen is a talented guy. He knows how to play the whole O-line, so I feel like him coming in just made us better than we already was.”
Rivers’ versatility is a testament to offensive line coach Alex Mirabal’s dedication to cross-training offensive linemen to play multiple positions. Cristobal said there are several linemen who can play four or five positions on the line, and several others can play two or three.
“We train all positions,” Cooper said. “We’ve got to know the right and left side. So I feel like they’re just improving us.”