On a recent episode of Always College Football, host Greg McElroy welcomed Mario Cristobal to discuss the program's progress. A transcript of their discussion is below:
Greg McElroy: With everything you accomplished last season — school record for wins, No. 2 final ranking, first national championship appearance in over two decades — how do you balance pride in that progress with the disappointment of not finishing the job?
Mario Cristobal: It starts with acknowledging tremendous progress and great accomplishments, but also recognizing there’s so much more room to grow. You want to win every single game. There are a lot of different carrots we still want to get after. What we can’t do — and I can’t allow the program to do — is let the final game taint all the great things. But at the same time, let it drive and motivate you. There’s a balance there. Acknowledge it honestly and transparently, then say, “Let’s go get better. Let’s go work our butts off. On to the next one.”
Greg McElroy: Watching your team last year, the culture was incredible. Nobody wanted to play you. It felt violent. It felt like your team embodied you. With some new players this year, how do you recreate that edge?
Mario Cristobal: I think it’s a combination of the entire staff. We’re very like-minded individuals. We think the same way. We’re all out of our minds in the right kind of way. The team allowed us to be us. Everybody was themselves but with one mindset. These guys love to mix it up. They love to work. For the most part, we kept our mouths shut and worked. We love ball. We love the physical aspect of it. We just want to get better at it.
Greg McElroy: A lot of coaches now are concerned about intensity in practice because of depth and the portal. Your practices are bare knuckle. How do you identify players who want that environment?
Mario Cristobal: We give them the opportunity to watch us in our natural element. Every intense moment. Every hard coaching point. Every physical drill. No misunderstandings. Prior agreements prevent later misunderstandings. It has everything to do with helping someone achieve his absolute best. As the season wears on — October, November, December, January — you better be your toughest and most physical self because those teams are so good. You better be equipped to go toe-to-toe in rounds 11 through 15.
Greg McElroy: You’re going to be well represented in the NFL Draft. How does that validation help with your proof of concept?
Mario Cristobal: I’ve got to take you back to 2022. We were about to have our 25-year draft streak broken. We hadn’t coached a single practice yet. Finally, one of our guys got picked in the seventh round. I looked at our general manager and said, “Brother, we’ve got a lot of work to do.” Those things are direct reflections of each other. If you’re winning during the season, you’re winning in April, and then back again in the season. It’s cyclical. And not only are guys getting drafted, they’re leaving with diplomas, double diplomas, and life-after-football opportunities because of where we live. It’s a neat time. All we’ve got to do is shut up and work.
Greg McElroy: You’ve had success in the portal but incredible roster retention. How do you balance bringing in competition and keeping your guys?
Mario Cristobal: We’re good to people. We push ourselves, we challenge each other, but we’re honest and transparent. We’re truth tellers. As a parent, that’s what you want for your kid. I’m going to groom them, mentor them, push them, put my arm around them when they need it. But they’re going to get the truth every day. Come game time, we cut it loose and have fun playing football. That’s contagious. We’re attracting guys that love that.
Greg McElroy: With Bain and Mesidor gone, how do you identify the next Miami-style disruptor on the edge?
Mario Cristobal: You want monsters. Game wreckers. Those guys were groomed over a couple years and changed how people played us. Coach Hetherman’s system allows those guys to play fast and free. If we identify the traits — right motor, physical, play reckless with their body but intelligent from an assignment standpoint — we go after them. We’ve gotten longer and more explosive. We feel confident in the guys we’ve recruited. Now we want to cut them loose and play ball.
Greg McElroy: What makes Darian Mensah the right fit at quarterback?
Mario Cristobal: He’s really good. Accurate. His pocket awareness is off the charts. His off-script and on-schedule stuff is elite. He’s got the right temperament. He’s an alpha. People gravitate to him. He’s athletic, hard-working, smart. He checks all the boxes. He’s a game changer. And there’s a great young quarterback group behind him that can be game changers as well.
Greg McElroy: It feels like you’re deeper at wide receiver than last year. Is that fair?
Mario Cristobal: We are. And I’ve got to mention CJ Daniels and Keelan Marion. You couldn’t have a bad day around those guys. Their energy was unbelievable. They changed that room. They were the most unselfish guys I’ve been around. They blocked, threw their bodies around, and impacted everybody. Now we’ve added more depth — long bodies that can run, productive players, talented young guys. But we haven’t done anything. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Shut up and work.
Greg McElroy: With several offensive linemen gone, how much of this spring is reteaching versus finding the next five violent guys?
Mario Cristobal: It’s full throttle. It’s finding eight to ten guys that could be starters. Coach Mirabal is one of one. The first-team All-American is coached as hard as a walk-on. Same intensity, same technique, same fundamentals. Same reps. It’s unmatched. Those guys have been playing against elite defensive linemen every day for years. Now it’s time to put it into action. Being close to a national championship guarantees nothing. It has nothing to do with this coming season. They’ve got to show it every day.
Greg McElroy: You’ve been vocal about weeknight games. How do you balance that with “anytime, anywhere”?
Mario Cristobal: We’ll play anytime, anywhere against anybody. I just like respecting high school football. Thursdays and Friday nights belong to them. And if you play Friday, you can’t bring high school prospects to the game. It’s about respect for that. But we’re honored to play any night.
Greg McElroy: You’ve had success in big non-conference games. With cancellations happening across the sport, how do you feel about it?
Mario Cristobal: I like those games. Our players like it. It adds juice to the offseason. Fans want to see it. It provided momentum and confidence for us. I hope we keep those games. Maybe there’s a better way to structure the schedule. I like big games, conference or out of conference. Let’s keep playing each other.
Greg McElroy: You’ve been vocal about playoff spots being earned, not gifted. Thoughts on expansion and automatic bids?
Mario Cristobal: I’m not a fan of automatic anything. What in this life that’s competitive is automatic? You’ve got to earn it. This sport was built on earning victory. I don’t have the perfect formula, but I’d be against anything that takes away the value of earning and winning. Let’s put teams in that have earned it.
Greg McElroy: Is there a marker you’re looking for over the next six months that tells you the culture is self-sustaining?
Mario Cristobal: When it’s completely player-led. When you can see the appetite for betterment. When hard is really good. Being in elite shape is important. Discipline is part of our DNA. We’ve got to find ways to win in the margins we can control. When you see how they govern, push, challenge, and galvanize themselves — that gives you a good indication going into the summer. Then we start all over again.
Greg McElroy: With everything you accomplished last season — school record for wins, No. 2 final ranking, first national championship appearance in over two decades — how do you balance pride in that progress with the disappointment of not finishing the job?
Mario Cristobal: It starts with acknowledging tremendous progress and great accomplishments, but also recognizing there’s so much more room to grow. You want to win every single game. There are a lot of different carrots we still want to get after. What we can’t do — and I can’t allow the program to do — is let the final game taint all the great things. But at the same time, let it drive and motivate you. There’s a balance there. Acknowledge it honestly and transparently, then say, “Let’s go get better. Let’s go work our butts off. On to the next one.”
Greg McElroy: Watching your team last year, the culture was incredible. Nobody wanted to play you. It felt violent. It felt like your team embodied you. With some new players this year, how do you recreate that edge?
Mario Cristobal: I think it’s a combination of the entire staff. We’re very like-minded individuals. We think the same way. We’re all out of our minds in the right kind of way. The team allowed us to be us. Everybody was themselves but with one mindset. These guys love to mix it up. They love to work. For the most part, we kept our mouths shut and worked. We love ball. We love the physical aspect of it. We just want to get better at it.
Greg McElroy: A lot of coaches now are concerned about intensity in practice because of depth and the portal. Your practices are bare knuckle. How do you identify players who want that environment?
Mario Cristobal: We give them the opportunity to watch us in our natural element. Every intense moment. Every hard coaching point. Every physical drill. No misunderstandings. Prior agreements prevent later misunderstandings. It has everything to do with helping someone achieve his absolute best. As the season wears on — October, November, December, January — you better be your toughest and most physical self because those teams are so good. You better be equipped to go toe-to-toe in rounds 11 through 15.
Greg McElroy: You’re going to be well represented in the NFL Draft. How does that validation help with your proof of concept?
Mario Cristobal: I’ve got to take you back to 2022. We were about to have our 25-year draft streak broken. We hadn’t coached a single practice yet. Finally, one of our guys got picked in the seventh round. I looked at our general manager and said, “Brother, we’ve got a lot of work to do.” Those things are direct reflections of each other. If you’re winning during the season, you’re winning in April, and then back again in the season. It’s cyclical. And not only are guys getting drafted, they’re leaving with diplomas, double diplomas, and life-after-football opportunities because of where we live. It’s a neat time. All we’ve got to do is shut up and work.
Greg McElroy: You’ve had success in the portal but incredible roster retention. How do you balance bringing in competition and keeping your guys?
Mario Cristobal: We’re good to people. We push ourselves, we challenge each other, but we’re honest and transparent. We’re truth tellers. As a parent, that’s what you want for your kid. I’m going to groom them, mentor them, push them, put my arm around them when they need it. But they’re going to get the truth every day. Come game time, we cut it loose and have fun playing football. That’s contagious. We’re attracting guys that love that.
Greg McElroy: With Bain and Mesidor gone, how do you identify the next Miami-style disruptor on the edge?
Mario Cristobal: You want monsters. Game wreckers. Those guys were groomed over a couple years and changed how people played us. Coach Hetherman’s system allows those guys to play fast and free. If we identify the traits — right motor, physical, play reckless with their body but intelligent from an assignment standpoint — we go after them. We’ve gotten longer and more explosive. We feel confident in the guys we’ve recruited. Now we want to cut them loose and play ball.
Greg McElroy: What makes Darian Mensah the right fit at quarterback?
Mario Cristobal: He’s really good. Accurate. His pocket awareness is off the charts. His off-script and on-schedule stuff is elite. He’s got the right temperament. He’s an alpha. People gravitate to him. He’s athletic, hard-working, smart. He checks all the boxes. He’s a game changer. And there’s a great young quarterback group behind him that can be game changers as well.
Greg McElroy: It feels like you’re deeper at wide receiver than last year. Is that fair?
Mario Cristobal: We are. And I’ve got to mention CJ Daniels and Keelan Marion. You couldn’t have a bad day around those guys. Their energy was unbelievable. They changed that room. They were the most unselfish guys I’ve been around. They blocked, threw their bodies around, and impacted everybody. Now we’ve added more depth — long bodies that can run, productive players, talented young guys. But we haven’t done anything. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Shut up and work.
Greg McElroy: With several offensive linemen gone, how much of this spring is reteaching versus finding the next five violent guys?
Mario Cristobal: It’s full throttle. It’s finding eight to ten guys that could be starters. Coach Mirabal is one of one. The first-team All-American is coached as hard as a walk-on. Same intensity, same technique, same fundamentals. Same reps. It’s unmatched. Those guys have been playing against elite defensive linemen every day for years. Now it’s time to put it into action. Being close to a national championship guarantees nothing. It has nothing to do with this coming season. They’ve got to show it every day.
Greg McElroy: You’ve been vocal about weeknight games. How do you balance that with “anytime, anywhere”?
Mario Cristobal: We’ll play anytime, anywhere against anybody. I just like respecting high school football. Thursdays and Friday nights belong to them. And if you play Friday, you can’t bring high school prospects to the game. It’s about respect for that. But we’re honored to play any night.
Greg McElroy: You’ve had success in big non-conference games. With cancellations happening across the sport, how do you feel about it?
Mario Cristobal: I like those games. Our players like it. It adds juice to the offseason. Fans want to see it. It provided momentum and confidence for us. I hope we keep those games. Maybe there’s a better way to structure the schedule. I like big games, conference or out of conference. Let’s keep playing each other.
Greg McElroy: You’ve been vocal about playoff spots being earned, not gifted. Thoughts on expansion and automatic bids?
Mario Cristobal: I’m not a fan of automatic anything. What in this life that’s competitive is automatic? You’ve got to earn it. This sport was built on earning victory. I don’t have the perfect formula, but I’d be against anything that takes away the value of earning and winning. Let’s put teams in that have earned it.
Greg McElroy: Is there a marker you’re looking for over the next six months that tells you the culture is self-sustaining?
Mario Cristobal: When it’s completely player-led. When you can see the appetite for betterment. When hard is really good. Being in elite shape is important. Discipline is part of our DNA. We’ve got to find ways to win in the margins we can control. When you see how they govern, push, challenge, and galvanize themselves — that gives you a good indication going into the summer. Then we start all over again.
