MIDSEASON GRADING THE HURRICANES: DL has depth, talent and return of Rueben Bain makes group that more dangerous

Yes, the Miami Hurricanes allowed 34 and 38 points their last two games. So the inclination might be that it was failure of the entire defense in those crazy come-from-behind wins led by Cam Ward and the offense. But if there’s a strength of this defense, it’s certainly up front. That’s led by ends Tyler Baron (18 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks), Elijah Alston (15 tackles, 2.5 sacks, INT) and a now-healthy Rueben Bain (shared a sack last game after being out since early in the opener) plus surprisingly good next-man-up play from Malik Bryant (5 TFL, 1.5 sacks). At tackle Simeon Barrow (17 tackles, 3.5 sacks) is playing at an all-conference level, and Akheem Mesidor (12 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks) is a proven talent who used to work more outside but has been just fine on the interior. CJ Clark (9 tackles, 2 TFL) and Ahmad Moten (7 tackles) have also factored in here as DT backups and been good enough.