July Player Performance Index top 30 deep dive: No. 16 OL Jalen Rivers

CaneSport is breaking down the top 30 Miami players on the roster, and today we’re at No. 16, OL Jalen Rivers.

THE BIG PICTURE

Entering his fourth year at Miami, Rivers has played in 19 games and started 10 … but injuries cost him all but three games in 2021 and another three games this past season. So health remains a concern for him, and to that end he dropped about 5 percent body fat and added muscle off last season. He previously worked as a guard at Miami, but this spring he moved out to left tackle because of the tackle depth issues on the team. Rivers’ more natural position is guard, so if Zion Nelson is back off injury or if 5-star LT spring second-team true freshman Samson Okunlola is ready then we’d expect Rivers to be the team’s starting right guard (with Alabama transfer Javion Cohen set as the starting left guard). Rivers is a very capable player who has looked good when he’s been healthy. But he just hasn’t really been able to make it through a full season as a starter to this point, so Miami needs that to change in 2023. The expectation is he’s likely the only guy who will be starting again off last year’s underperforming OL … assuming Nelson or Okunlola emerge at LT. That’s because, along with Cohen, Miami also brought in UCF transfer Matt Lee as the starting center and has true freshman 5-star Francis Mauigoa slotted as the starting RT.

THE ANALYSIS

Rivers is a guy with a really high ceiling who just hasn’t really emerged yet, in part due to injury. His most natural position is guard, but he’s versatile enough with length and strength to play tackle. So it’ll be really interesting this fall to see if coaches can find an answer at LT that would allow River to slid back to guard. This is a reshaped OL that should be much better than a year ago when the group was one of the nation’s worst statistically (ranked No. 95 in the nation in rushing offense and No. 108 in sacks allowed per game. As for Rivers, he’s a former highly touted four-star prospect out of Jacksonville (Fla.) Oakleaf High School. Last season he was injured against FSU and never got back on the field. He wound up playing in nine games, starting seven at left guard. The year prior, 2021, he won the starting left guard job but suffered a season-ending injury in Game 3. As a true freshman in 2020 he played in seven games off the bench. He hasn’t graded out particularly well per Pro Football Focus, with a 55.3 overall grade in 2021 (159 reps, 45.9 percent grade pass blocking, 55.0 run blocking) and a 60.6 grade last season (631 reps, 73.3 pass blocking, 53.6 run blocking). Note that 70 is considered a good grade.

THE PROJECTION

We consider Rivers a solid lineman, but he may rank fourth on the team or even fifth when the season is over … if true freshmen Samson Okunlola and Francis Mauigoa come through (Matt Lee and Javion Cohen transferred in and are expected to be top performers on the line). Rivers will start at either LT or RG, and the benefit here is that Rivers can play four positions on the line. His versatility will allow Miami to make sure the best guard/tackle combination is in the game. If Rivers stays healthy he has the potential to be an All-ACC level lineman.

THE JUMP HE NEEDS FROM SPRING TO FALL CAMP

Rivers always has looked good in practices and earned praise from coaches, but he doesn’t have the quickness and length to really hold his own against the nation’s top defensive ends. So unless he can really show something different in fall camp he probably will have issues at different times if Miami sticks with him as the starting left tackle. At guard he’s a really good fit and would give this team a veteran and talented interior along with Cohen and Lee. This very much is a new-look OL so there will need to be more cohesiveness built in fall camp. Rivers needs to be a big part of making sure that happens and that this line protects Tyler Van Dyke and consistently opens holes in the run game.

THE QUOTE

“This year is all about bringing that positivity and new energy. With a new OC, coach Dawson, it’s great to have him as a new addition and learning his type of offense, how his style of play is. All of us are gelling together and creating a powerful offense.” –Jalen Rivers

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