Miami has had an insane journey to the national championship game. The Hurricanes opened the CPF with a 10-3 road win at No. 7 Texas A&M, followed by a 24-14 stunner over No. 2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl quarterfinal, and capped the run with a 31-27 thriller against No. 6 Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal. As the momentum builds, former Hurricane player Dwayne Johnson is now strongly backing the Hurricanes and HC Mario Cristobal.

“Big ups to the U…come on, we’re going. Going to the championship back again.”That was Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, sounding like a former Hurricane who still bleeds orange and green.

Johnson played at Miami during its most dominant era. He played 39 games as a defensive tackle from 1990 to 1993, recording 77 tackles and 4.5 sacks while mostly filling in as a backup for future NFL and Hall of Fame players like Sapp. He lined up alongside names that still echo through college football history, including Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp, and competed in three national championship games and won the 1991 title. “We won one, we lost two,” Johnson said, reflecting on a run that defined The U’s swagger.

Even now, decades later, that pride hasn’t faded. “Can’t wait for them. So proud of them,” he added, watching Miami surge back onto the national stage. Even if football didn’t turn out the way he had hoped, Johnson has never denied how much Miami influenced him.

This sense of brotherhood is what gives Johnson’s praise of head coach Mario Cristobal real credibility.

“I’m so proud of Mario Cristobal, the work he’s doing… that was my teammate. When we were back there, we won national championships together, so I can’t wait to watch the game. I’m proud of my boys,” Johnson said.

From 1990 to 1992, the two trained together at Miami, pushing one another in practices. Cristobal, an offensive lineman and future All–Big East selection, took a very different path after football with NFL Europe, a near-career with the Secret Service, then a last-minute decision to stay in coaching. Now, decades later, Johnson is watching his former teammate lead the same program they once fought for.

In many ways, Johnson’s own journey and the turn it ultimately took can be traced back to the moment when his football dream collided with a once-in-a-generation talent.

The man who ended Dwayne Johnson’s NFL dream

Before he became The Rock, Dwayne Johnson was just a hungry defensive lineman trying to survive in the most ruthless locker room in college football. He came to Miami with NFL dreams. He was on his way. Then Warren Sapp showed up. And the future Hall of Famer swallowed the whole depth chart.

“I didn’t make it to the NFL because of one man,” Johnson said in an interview. “That’s Warren Sapp. Hands down.

“I had the greatest D-lineman in the history of the game playing in front of me… There’s a reason why I’m here right now, and it’s because of the grace of God, because you’re the best at what you do. And because you came in and said, ‘You go sit on the sidelines real quick, and I’m going out there to kick some ass.’”

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Still chasing the dream, Johnson took his shot in the Canadian Football League, even switching positions from defensive line to linebacker to survive. It lasted about two months. He moved back into his parents’ small apartment in Tampa, broke and unsure of what came next.

“That was so sobering for me because it’s like, there’s the dream, it all goes away,” Johnson admitted.

When his CFL coach later called, offering another chance at camp, Johnson surprised even himself. “I said, ‘Coach, I appreciate it, but I’m going to have to close this chapter of my life.’”

Walking away from the game nearly cost him his relationship with his father. There was a huge fight when Johnson informed him that he wanted to pursue pro wrestling.

“He hated it. Oh, we got into a huge fight that night… But that became very defining for me,” Johnson said.

But that moment became the turning point. Wrestling gave him a way. Then he became The Rock, and the kid who once sat behind Warren Sapp on a depth chart became a global icon.