Where Rueben Bain Jr. Ranks Among the Most Important Players in the 2025 College Football Season
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The Miami Hurricanes have a good problem. They have two of the most important players in college football this season according to ESPN.
New quarterback Carson Beck was ranked in the top ten most important players this season, as many eyes will be on him in the orange and green. The other player in ESPN's 40 most important players in the 2025 college football season is standout edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr.
After an incredible freshman debut in 2023, Bain was hurt just three snaps into 2024, sat out more than a month and flashed a true fifth gear only a few times while the Miami defense crumbled down the stretch. But as with Harold Perkins Jr., the potential here is obvious, and if he is all the way back up to speed and Miami's transfer-heavy secondary holds up, the Canes could leave most league contenders in the dust.
His freshman All-American season was a glimpse into what he could be for the Hurricanes in the future. It just did not play out the way many hoped last season. Bain's sophomore year was plagued by nagging injuries. It held him back, and after missing a month of action, the lack of explosiveness could be seen on the field. He is healthier now and is prepared to take himself to the next level.
What will also help is a new defensive coordinator who will let him be the game wrecker everyone wants him to be.
“Stick together and stay disciplined," Bain said. "Last year, I feel like we kind of lost track of that. They brought that up to us in the meetings, how we ended out the year last year. Like I was telling the team, we’ve just got to be consistent from the first game to the last whistle of the season. Just be the same person, same player, every day.”
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Bain will have a lot of eyes on him this season, similar to Beck. With a new defense, he will have to be one of the star players that everyone knows he can be. Moreover, he will have to be the reason that the Hurricanes win several key games, starting with Notre Dame to open the season on August 31.
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.
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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.