Miami Canes star is back, but after last-second wins, his mom’s nerves are shot

The Rueben “Hurricane” Bain train is rolling again, but not without stressing his mother, Lachande Thompson, to her limit. Thompson said she has Jessica Cristobal, University of Miami coach Mario Cristobal’s wife, to thank for keeping her sane with prayer late in the fourth quarter of UM’s outrageous, 25-point comeback victory at Cal.

“I almost peed in my pants,’’ said Thompson of the atmosphere. “Between the nasty fans, the score, the referees and everyone around me, our nerves were shot.”

Turns out Cristobal was sitting a few rows behind Thompson, who got a ticket in that section because her older son Reggie Bain is a UM graduate assistant for the offensive line. Reuben Jr. returned as a defensive end starter Saturday after missing all but three plays of the previous five games with what the head coach described as a “soft tissue injury.’’

“With about five minutes left, Jessica came down and said, ‘Let’s just pray,’” Thompson said.

“We embraced each other and said ‘Amen’ when she finished. She said, ‘We got this. The football gods will be on our side.’’’

That, they were, as now-No. 6 UM (6-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) is still in the hunt for a perfect season.

Bain Jr., the young man who began his on-field oppression as a two-way, 5-year-old dynamo for the Northside Panthers in Miami, continued it with four consecutive state titles (including 58 ½ sacks his final two seasons) at Central High and earned ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year as a 2023 University of Miami freshman, started at Florida in the opener and was injured during the first defensive series.

An immensely popular consensus freshman All-American last season, Bain immediately made an impact Saturday in UM’s 39-38 last-minute win against the Golden Bears. He slammed into Cal running back Jaydn Ott for a 7-yard loss on UM’s first defensive play. Bain also shared in another tackle for loss and a sack.

His fourth-quarter sack, which he shared with lineman Akheem Mesidor, came on third-and-7 from the Cal 37-yard line. UM was down 38-25 at that point, but rallied with two straight touchdowns.

“Rueben looked great tonight,’’ Cristobal said after the game, “so he’ll be at full strength. You saw some of the impactful plays he made.’’

Miami is off this weekend, and returns to play at Louisville (3-2, 1-1) at noon Oct. 19 on ABC.

Last season, Bain and linebacker Francisco Mauigoa led the Canes with 7 1/2 sacks apiece. Bain had 44 tackles, 12 ½ tackles for loss, one pass breakup, four quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles. He might not be able to reach those numbers again with the games he sat out injured. But if UM gets to the ACC Football Championship Game and subsequent playoffs, anything is possible.

Mauigoa said after UM’s victory at Cal that Bain’s contribution doesn’t just come in sacks and tackles, but by drawing double coverage “He looks great,’’ Mauigoa said. “He looks tremendous out there, applying a lot of pressure. They had to put two guys on him sometimes. He’s a great dude. He’s a dog.’’

Starting opposite Bain on Saturday was Tyer Baron, a defensive end transfer out of Tennessee. Baron has 18 tackles and leads Miami with 4 1/2 sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for loss. Mesidor and Simeon Barrow started at tackle.

Bain’s timing for his return at Cal was impeccable. Marshall transfer Elijah Alston, who replaced Bain as the starter for four games after Bain was hurt, left the previous game against Virginia Tech with an undisclosed injury and didn’t play Saturday. Alston has excelled, garnering 2 1/2 sacks, 3 1/2 tackles for loss, an interception and quarterback hurry.

Bain had spent the past few weeks working with younger linemen.

“Can’t wait to get him back,’’ UM defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said in the days leading to the Cal game.

Bain didn’t disappoint, but Mom said she “can’t take another nail-biter” after back-to-back last-second wins. “We have a good enough team to dominate other teams from the beginning. I know that we can do it, and the players need our support.”

Thompson said that once the game ended and Rueben came out of the locker room, “he was all smiles.”

“He said his body felt good and he felt good because he was excited to be back.”

Now, if he can only ensure that the Canes can win without giving their fans — and moms — heart palpitations.

“I’ll need oxygen and maybe an EKG machine if we go through another game like that,’’ Thompson said. “Between Virginia Tech and Cal, my nerves are gone.”