Miami Hurricanes 2019 Player Profile: DJ Scaife

DJ Scaife had one of the more impressive freshman campaigns for an offensive lineman at Miami in quite some time. Scaife, a six-foot-three, 300 pound guard/tackle out of Miami-Southridge High School (FL), is a former four-star prospect per 247 Sports. As former offensive line coach Stacy Searels struggled to ever find a steady combination on the line, Scaife was there to play multiple positions.

As a true freshman in 2018 he played both guard and tackle while starting the final seven games of the season and playing in 13 total. New offensive line coach Butch Barry is looking for the best five that can start along the offensive line and Scaife has to make the cut after what we’ve seen from Miami linemen over the past three seasons.

As a prospect, Scaife played in the UnderArmour All-America Game and attended The Opening. He is a true blue chip prospect that has to be developed and deployed to get the most out of his talents.

What this means for the O-Line

The offensive line is the most worrisome position on the Hurricanes, right along side the quarterback position. The ‘Canes need to figure out their line play in a hurry and Butch Barry has already started dominating the recruiting scene, however that’s a year or two away.

In 2019, Scaife could be a great fit at right tackle allowing Navaughn Donaldson to stay at right guard, with Cleveland Reed at left guard, the young freshman Zion Nelson (I write about his potential growth here) at left tackle and Corey Gaynor at the center position. While Scaife can play inside, he did a great job at tackle and staying there allows Donaldson to stay inside and not get stuck out of position- although he could play center, too.