Miami Hurricanes 50-1 Countdown: Ranking the top 50 post-spring players … No. 21 Zach Carpenter
The Miami Hurricanes have massively reshaped the roster from a year ago with five primary offensive starters gone (QB Tyler Van Dyke, RB Henry Parrish, WR Colbie Young, OL Javion Cohen and Matt Lee) along with seven on the defensive side (DT Leonard Taylor, DT Branson Deen, DL Jared Harrison-Hunte, S Kam Kinchens, S James Williams, CB Jaden Davis and CB Te’Cory Couch).
50. RB JORDAN LYLE … 49. RB CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON … 48. DE COLE MCCONATHY … 47. S ZAQUAN PATTERSON … 46. TE CAM MCCORMICK … 45. NY CARR … 44. JUSTIN SCOTT … 43. OT Markel Bell … 42. RB AJAY ALLEN … 41. TE RILEY WILLIAMS … 40. OL MATTHEW MCCOY … 39. LB CAM PRUITT … 38. DT JOSHUA HORTON … 37. LB RAUL AGUIRRE … 36. S MARKEITH WILLIAMS … 35. S JADEN HARRIS … 34. QB EMORY WILLIAMS … 33. WR JOJO TRADER … 32. D’YONI HILL … 31. RAY RAY JOSEPH … 30. ISAIAH HORTON … 29. MARLEY COOK … 28. JAYLIN ALDERMAN … 27. JADAIS RICHARD … 26. SAMSON OKUNLOLA … 25. ELIJA LOFTON … 24. ELIJAH ALSTON … 23. DAMARI BROWN … 22. REESE POFFENBARGER
Which brings us to our annual series breaking down the top 50 players on the current roster. As we go along on this list you’ll get an idea of the overall depth of talent on Mario Cristobal’s team this year as he seeks Miami’s second 10-win season in the last two decades.
Today we are at No. 21:
NO. 21 C ZACH CARPENTER
Why He’s No. 21
Miami went out and nabbed Carpenter in the first transfer portal window as the replacement for Matt Lee, who had a standout 2023 season for UM after arriving from UCF. Carpenter is a senior Indiana transfer who started 27 games in his career there. He originally signed with Michigan in the Class of 2019, redshirting that year and serving as a backup in 2020, then transferred to Indiana where he started five games at right guard in 2021 before becoming a full-time starter in 2022. He didn’t allow any sacks that year playing center and guard – he began the season playing center, missed two games due to surgery for a torn hand ligament and then played guard with a club protecting his hand before moving back to center (he taught himself to snap lefty while the injury was affecting him, and he can still snap effectively with either hand). This past season at center Carpenter allowed 10 quarterback pressures in 445 pass blocking reps, and his 2.3 percent pressure rate was third-best in the Big Ten. Per Pro Football Focus in 804 overall reps this past year he graded out at 64.4 percent overall (was 53.3 percent in 2022) with a 71.8 percent pass block grade (54.6 in 2022) and 61.0 run block grade (49.7 in 2022). He fits nicely in an OL lineup that returns three starters: Jalen Rivers, Anez Cooper and Francis Mauigoa.
What he needs to do to move up this list
Carpenter showed at Indiana he’s a solid performing interior linemen, but what we’d really like to see from him is that gutsy leadership you want in the guy in the middle of the line … he’s softspoken and didn’t really take the bull by the horns with the line this spring. He has all the tools to be as solid as Lee and catch the eye of NFL teams, but Carpenter really has to continue to mesh with the line and dominate every rep in practice … and then take that to the games.
Realistic season objective
Carpenter will start in the middle of the line, and the team needs him to perform well given there’s not much else proven experience/talent at the position. So landing him was a must and really solidifies the Canes’ O line. We expect Carpenter to perform similarly to how he did at Indiana. Is he the best center in the nation? Probably not, but he can be top 10 if he puts it all together as a veteran with a lot of knowledge under his belt and the frame you want in a center at 6-5 and 295 pounds.
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