‘I’m living the dream’: Hurricanes freshman Rueben Bain Jr. feeling the love as he grows into a star
Rueben Bain Jr. and his parents drove up to the Sonic drive-in around the corner from Hard Rock Stadium following the Hurricanes’ double-overtime win over Clemson. People quickly recognized the Miami freshman.
“I’m walking in and . . . I could hear them saying, ‘Oh, that’s Bain. That’s Bain,'” Bain said. “I took a couple pictures and everything like that. I feel like that’s the main reason why I stayed home: for the love of my community and to put the city back on the map.”
Bain, who has carried the nickname “Hurricane” since he was young, is getting recognized outside Miami Gardens. The ACC named him the conference defensive lineman and rookie of the week after his dominant performance in the win over the Tigers. It’s a realization of the dream the Miami native had when he was a child, and it has come just two months into his college career.
‘It’s definitely surreal,” Bain said. “Especially when I look back at it. It’s like I’m living the dream, my childhood dream. That’s the best thing I could do right now. Every time I think about it, it just puts a smile on my face because it’s all I’ve wanted since I was five.”
To say Bain’s success is unexpected would be stretching the truth. South Florida football fans witnessed Bain terrorize opposing quarterbacks for years as a star defensive lineman at Miami Central. He had dozens of sacks to his name, and 247Sports’ composite rankings listed him as the No. 11 edge rusher in the 2023 class.
Bain drew rave reviews in spring and fall camps. He starred in the spring game, and Miami coach Mario Cristobal called him “a complete monster” as the team prepared for the season.
All the preseason hype fell away when Bain first took the field. When given the chance to prove he could play at the college level, he showed quickly that he would be an impact player. Bain knew he was ready from the moment he completed his first play.
“I was containing outside on the rush and I got past the tackle . . . with a little bit of a power move and almost got a sack,” Bain said. “My teammate, Jahfari (Harvey), got there before me. That just gave me all the energy and all the confidence that I needed. I felt like I was strong enough to do anything.”
After seven games, Bain has 19 tackles and five tackles for loss. He leads Miami (and all of the nation’s freshmen) with five sacks.
Pro Football Focus gives Bain an 89.2 defensive grade, which is No. 1 among freshmen with more than 100 defensive snaps and 18th overall. He has a 73.2 run-defense grade, a 59.1 tackling grade and a 90.1 pass-rushing grade.
“He’s unique,” Cristobal said. “And the thing is he’s doing it with power, also. It’s not like it’s just a speed guy or a guy that comes in situationally. He’s doing it on an every-down basis, and his play count is probably the highest on the defensive line, so conditioning is in there as well. He’s been able to put veteran-like numbers and high-end, veteran-like numbers as a true freshman.”
Against Clemson, he had a team-leading eight tackles with two sacks. Pro Football Focus credited him with a season-best 10 quarterback hurries.
Asked what the most impressive part of Bain’s game is, UM defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said, “Just how he manhandled them, to be that young in a P-5 game like that and him being able to throw people around.”
Guidry speculated that Bain could eventually move from the edge of the defensive line to the interior because of his size. But he also said he is “not putting any limitations on Rueben.”
For now, the Hurricanes are going to keep lining Bain up on the edge so he can continue making plays in opponents’ backfields. They will need him to keep it up, as veteran defensive end Akheem Mesidor remains out with a foot injury, and fellow starting defensive end Nyjalik Kelly is likely out for the season with an undisclosed injury.
If Bain keeps playing at this level, more honors than just ACC weekly awards likely await him.
“It’s amazing. I feel blessed right now,” Bain said. “God has blessed me with some talents and my path, and I feel like that’s something I can always appreciate Him for. But also my teammates. They push me each and every day. They help me make the plays that I make and we just play as one, we play as a team.”
