Rueben Bain Jr. prepares for emotional final game as Miami faces Indiana for national title
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Rueben Bain Jr. is about to cry.
Time will tell if the standout Miami defensive lineman — who is widely expected to forgo his senior season and enter this year’s NFL draft, where he’ll likely be among the first picks — will be shedding those tears in a sad way or a celebratory way, whether he’ll be doing so inconsolably after a loss or with orange-and-green confetti from a championship celebration stuck to his face.
Bain and the Hurricanes will play for the College Football Playoff national title on Monday night, when Miami (13-2, No. 10 CFP) will take on Indiana (15-0, No. 1 CFP) to decide a champion. The game will be played on Miami’s home field at Hard Rock Stadium, 10 miles north of where Bain went to high school.
“I was actually sitting on the bench at practice with my dad like two days ago and I told him I’m going to cry. No matter the outcome of the game, I’m going to cry,” Bain said. “It’s really my last game. It’s been a long but quick three years, spending all my time here at Miami. It’s like a fairytale story for me because I get to start it at Hard Rock and end it at Hard Rock. I’m going to cry. I know I’m going to cry.”
Bain hasn’t had much to cry about this season. He and defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor are perhaps the best 1-2 punch at that position in college football, causing problems for every offensive line they have faced all season long. They spent tons of time working together with Miami defensive line coach Jason Taylor — a Pro Football Hall of Famer — before and after practices, and people gather just to watch how hard they go at each other in pregame warmups.
“Those two guys do whatever it takes,” Taylor said this season.
Bain could have played anywhere. He stayed home, easily one of the biggest recruiting gets for Miami in years.
He committed to the Hurricanes at a time when Miami was going 5-7 in Mario Cristobal’s first year as coach. Bain had a stellar freshman year in 2023, but the Hurricanes went only 7-6 that season.
A year ago, Miami won 10 games and was in the running for a CFP spot even after Bain got hurt on the second play of the season. He missed four games (five, really, when adding in how he missed the majority of the opener at Florida, where he was injured); he was very good again, though still never really seemed to hit his best stride. This year, he was better than ever — an Associated Press All-American and the Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year.
Not coincidentally, Miami is better than it has been in about a quarter-century.
“Seems like every true competitor takes those setbacks and turns it into something positive that launches them and elevates their game and their spirit and their ability to be a great teammate, and I think this is a perfect case and an example of that,” Cristobal said Sunday. “Rueben Bain was born and raised down here in South Florida and was always a huge part of the community, and it was his dream to play for the Miami Hurricanes, and him watching on the sideline just stoked a fire in him where he just refused to be denied going forward.”
Watching teammates play may have stoked that fire.
Haters also have helped.
Bain makes no secret of the fact that he reads what’s out there. Negative stories, negative comments, negative things on social, he takes notice and then takes it out on the next opponent that tries to get in his way. A perfect example: A Texas A&M offensive lineman was quoted last month as saying that he didn’t think Bain would be someone the Aggies needed to worry about too much in their CFP first-round game. Bain had three sacks and a blocked field goal in a 10-3 Miami win.
He keeps on his phone clips that suggest doubt about his game and even has a notebook for further reminders, like the draft chatter in recent weeks suggesting he’s too light and his arms are too short for him to excel in the NFL.
“My notebook is filled up now. I ain’t got no more space to write,” Bain said. “I don’t really pay attention to all the outside noise because right now just the love I get from being in Miami and the city of people I grew up with, how they’ve got immense pride in this program and university and me, that’s all I need. I don’t need no outside noise. Just the love from people from Miami.”
Bain is going to have that love from Miami forever.
As an All-American, his name will be added to the rafters of the Hurricanes’ practice facility. He’ll always be known as one of the guys who decided to stay home to help the Hurricanes get back into the national title picture. His place in Miami history is secure.
On Monday, he’ll get to see how the story ends and why those tears will be streaming.
“He’s become a great leader,” Cristobal said. “And now he’s, I would say, confident enough to be outspoken as a leader as well.”
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