CaneSport’s Inside the Lines with Miami Hurricanes center Zach Carpenter

Ask fans to name the man in the middle of the Miami Hurricanes’ offense this year, and perhaps most would jump right to star QB transfer Cam Ward. But the guy that’s snapping him the ball – and his linemates – will have just as much impact on this year’s attack as the prolific passer who was recently named the ACC’s preseason player of the year.

Center Zach Carpenter arrived for the spring after starting at Indiana and had a bit of a slow transition at first but has very much looked the part as a solid replacement after Matt Lee left for the NFL.

“I feel probably more ahead this year than I ever have,” Carpenter said. “I probably prepared better than I ever have.”

Carpenter is joined on the O line by returning starting LT Jalen Rivers, RG Anez Cooper and RT Francis Mauigoa. The left guard spot remains a battle, and players in the mix to be the fifth starter are mainly Samson Okunlola and Matthew McCoy.

“I know left guard is up in the air, but whoever is there, we have the right guys to get the job done,” Carpenter said.

The cohesiveness is coming together.

“Center is a critical position, the system we run centers have a lot of responsibility,” Carpenter said. “Immediately they have to trust that you know what you’re doing, are making the right call. How we’ve done that is by getting into meetings, really. That’s the biggest thing. The offensive line, we’ve been in meetings all summer with the whole offensive line.

“The chemistry is there. We all kind of know what we’re all thinking. Communication is big, we all have communication.”

Carpenter started 27 games in his Indiana career after originally signing with Michigan in the Class of 2019. He redshirted 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).

“This feels like home already,” Carpenter said. “It’s really people, relationships. This spring was big, I was trying to build relationships not just in the building but outside as well. It’s been good.”

A final thought from Carpenter?

That’s on the level of talent he sees around him.

“We have great athletes on this team,” Carpenter said. “That means there’s a high level of competition. You’d rather have that than not. I’ve been at places where there’s not much competition. You need to have your brother pushing you every day to be your best.

“There shouldn’t be politics in this, it should be the best player is going to play. And that’s who is going to win. … We all have the same objective – if you’re winning, everyone is winning. Everybody pushing each other to be their best will help us win.”

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