The Hurricanes face off against the Aggies in the First Round
Texas A&M left tackle Trey Zuhn III walked into media availability Sunday and handed Miami’s Reuben Bain Jr. some major bulletin board material. Asked about the Hurricanes’ star edge rusher, Zuhn brushed off the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and said Texas A&M would not need to worry about Bain. He said the Aggies’ offensive line would handle him.
The clip hit social media and Canes fans exploded. Aggie blogs framed it as “taking the gloves off,” while national sites and TV segments slapped a giant bulletin-board material label on Zuhn’s answer. Even former players and analysts jumped in and told the A&M captain to calm down before poking a Top 5 NFL draft pick.
Zuhn’s confidence feels wild once you run through Bain’s résumé. The junior defensive end just captured ACC Defensive Player of the Year after a season full of game-wrecking performances: 4.5 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, 57 total pressures and a defense that held opponents to 13.8 points per game. Scouts already project Bain as a high 1st-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Now that guy, the one every offense chips and slides protection toward, apparently “won’t threaten” Texas A&M. The narrative sets up the biggest matchup of the entire first round: Bain flying off the edge against Zuhn, a veteran tackle with All-SEC credentials and captain status. One side rushes the passer as well as anyone in college football; the other just told the world it plans to erase him.
Mario Cristobal never needs extra motivation for his defensive line, yet Zuhn just mailed a custom package straight to DE Coach Jason Taylor’s office. Bain already anchored a front that harassed Notre Dame in the opener, carried Miami into the playoff and made quarterbacks miserable for three months. Now, the ACC’s top defender walks into a playoff game with a specific name and a specific quote attached to every rep.
Zuhn might simply trust his guys and speak like any confident captain. Fine. But once cameras roll, words travel. Those words just landed on the timeline of every Hurricane player and fan.
Bain already earned his respect with production, awards and tape that offensive line coaches hate to study. Texas A&M chose swagger over caution and basically dared him to add one more chapter. On Dec. 20, the talking stops. The ball snaps, and Trey Zuhn III finally learns what Reuben Bain Jr. can do.
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