Miami's Defensive Line Finds A New Leader In a Freak Athlete
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes have to find new toys to play with on the defensive line, but that doesn’t change how disruptive they can be.
Last season saw one of the most productive seasons in program history, led by Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor. However, they are not walking through the door for a fifth year of eligibility. They are preparing for the NFL while the Hurricanes are entering week two of fall camp.
Miami's defensive line also knows that they are not walking into putting the pressure on themselves to live up to the challenge, starting with one star player.
Marquise Lightfoot saw how it could be last season. Rotating in and out as a sophomore flash player, the 6-foot-5 edge rusher from Chicago has been put in that position as one of the Canes' new defensive leaders.
Now he prepares for this season, with him as one of the heads of the monster on the defensive line.
“There are a lot of leaders and we all like to lead by example and by being vocal here and there," Lightfoot said following Saturday's Fall Camp practice. "But leading an my position and on the field in other positions, too, helping those guys the same way Rueben Bain and [Mesidor] helped me. … We’ve got to move like pros. So, keeping that same attention to detail with everything. … We’re just trying to lead everybody down that same path.”
Lightfoot was a problem for everyone anytime he stepped on the field last season. Even if he only had 25 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a pass deflection, anytime he was on the field, he marked everyone as a target.
However, with this new role and new season, he knows he has to be an example of Jason Taylor's teachings and what a new version of the same attack can be.
Moreover, he also knows that Miami has to do it together as a team. That is the only way for the group to be great and reach those new heights.
It’s real important," Lightfoot said. "Everybody’s got to understand that this is a team and we’re trying to get somewhere. And like I always say, it’s like a family, a hundred brothers. We all want to see each other be great and grow as people on and off the field.”
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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