Miami Hurricanes DL Rueben Bain setting a high bar: Playing DE/DT, a starting job in Year 1 and … eventually … a Heisman Trophy
There is no lack of confidence when it comes to Miami Hurricanes true freshman DL Rueben Bain. Maybe that was instilled from a ridiculous 77 sacks during his Miami Central High School career, helping him land the 2022 Nat Moore Trophy as South Florida’s top player. Maybe it was from the three sacks he had in the UM spring game after essentially having a sip of coffee in his time at UM.
Or maybe it was his grandfather telling him way back when that he would win the Heisman Trophy.
Yeah, that last part has stuck with Bain a little bit.
“I want to be the first D lineman to ever win a Heisman,” Bain said. “I have big hopes for myself, hold myself to a high standard. I’m just trying to improve. … My granddad always told me I’m going to do it, so I’m going to make sure I do it.”
The hard work toward starting … and the Heisman … begins in fall drills, which kicked off two days ago. Bain is out to prove he shouldn’t just be a rotation guy. Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said Monday that he thinks the 6-3, 280-pound Bain will be an NFL defensive tackle, but right now Bain’s main spot is defensive end with work also coming inside (probably mainly as a third down pass rusher from DT this year).
Bain certainly has college level strength, testing at 405 in the bench and over 500 pounds in the squat two weeks ago.
“Wherever I am I’ll get the job done,” Bain said. “It’s a big challenge (to start as a freshman) but I’m up for it. I never back away from anything, I’m looking to take it on head-on.
“I’ve been doing it all, (lining up) inside and outside. I’m a Swiss army knife. The quicker I can get on the field, the better.”
With Akheem Mesidor a solidified starting Miami DE, Bain is looking to unseat Jahfari Harvey (part time starter last year) and promising second-year DE Nyjalik Kelly atop the Miami depth chart at end.
Off the spring, Bain says this fall “I’m playing the game a bit faster, more confident.”
Bain chose Miami over pretty much all the top programs in the nation out of high school as a high 4-star rated recruit. He stayed home, and aiding Bain’s transition to this level is the fact that he has his older brother Reginald in the building as a graduate assistant as well as his former Miami Central High coach Roland Smith.
Yes, Bain is enjoying a smooth transition.
And the guys he studies on film are the guys he plans to emulate on the field.
“I watch Myles Garrett and Nick Bosa on the edge; if I’m inside Aaron Donald – that’s somebody close to my size,” Bain said. “The biggest thing I look at is hands and eyes. How fast they move and their footwork, how they bend. And athleticism off the chart.”
His final thought?
“My confidence is an all-time high,” he says.
Indeed.
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