July Player Performance Index top 30 deep dive: No. 18 DL Rueben Bain

CaneSport is breaking down the top 30 Miami players on the roster, and today we’re at No. 18, DL Rueben Bain.

THE BIG PICTURE

Bain arrived at Miami in January as a highly touted 4-star prospect out of Miami Central High School. He quickly made waves in spring practice, including three sacks (and almost a fourth) in the spring game. He has a relentless motor and tremendous quickness for his size. Bain is primarily a defensive end right now but also can work inside in pass rushing situations, which makes him a valuable versatile piece of a Lance Guidry defense that doesn’t have much high level tackle depth aside from Leonard Taylor. Is it likely Bain is a starter? That’s not expected. Right now the starting tackles are likely Taylor and Purdue transfer Branson Deen, with one end spot manned by Akheem Mesidor and the other a battle between Nyjalik Kelly and Jahfari Harvey. But don’t let that deceive you – Bain will play, and play a lot. In Guidry’s aggressive D he wants guys that can explode into he offensive backfield for TFLs and sacks, and Bain is one of those guys.

THE ANALYSIS

If you want to sample true freshman DL Rueben Bain’s ability level, you can look at a high school career that netted him 77 sacks and the 2022 Nat Moore Trophy, awarded to South Florida’s top player. Or you can check out his scholarship offers from top programs around the nation including Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida State, LSU, Michigan etc. etc. etc. Or maybe just check out his highlights from Miami’s Spring Game with the three sacks. At 6-3 and now pushing past 270 pounds, Bain has the speed, size and strength to succeed at end or inside in passing situations. We anticipate Miami will not leave him on the sidelines this year and that he’ll have a sizable role.

THE PROJECTION

We can see Bain pushing past 350 reps this season (for reference Jahfari Harvey played 412 and Akheem Mesidor 396 last season). And he should earn more and more playing time as the year goes on and he gets comfortable playing this level of football. We aren’t going to predict anything crazy here, but it would be a disappointment if he can’t come up with a handful of sacks and push past seven or eight tackles for loss. There’s a reason he was one of the nation’s most highly acclaimed defensive linemen out of high school, and given Miami’s depth issues there is just no reason not to play him and play him a lot.

THE JUMP HE NEEDS FROM SPRING TO FALL CAMP

There always needs to be a jump from a true freshman defensive lineman, in size, strength, agility, technique and defensive understanding. So while Bain looked really good in the spring, he should look even better this fall. The learning curve can’t just stop because he had an excellent 15 practices in March and April. So we’ll see when the Canes get back on the practice field what kind of strides he’s made. Bain’s ability level is off the charts, and as Mario Cristobal said after the spring game “He’s got a relentless motor, ton of pride. He’s been coached really, really, really well. … He’s very, very tough. Does not shy away. It doesn’t matter if it’s a senior offensive lineman or a freshman that came in with him, the guy’s going to get after somebody’s butt.” So look for Bain to be in the two-deep and play a lot with his biggest impact in passing situations.

THE QUOTE

“Rueben Bain is as advertised. He’s a Bain and here doing his thing.” –DL coach Jason Taylor, on Rueben Bain

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