Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal spoke to the media after the Hurricanes beat the Central Michigan Chippewas 52-3 at Hard Rock Stadium. Check out everything he had to say down below:
Opening statements: Good evening everybody, of course appreciate you being here. The first shoutout goes to the fans. What a turnout. And what amazing energy they brought. Our players, they felt it big time. I hope they had a great time. They certainly looked like they had a great time, and we want to provide that for our community, our fans, and our families. We think it's great. And I also, it was great seeing the '91 team. I was a member of that team, and those memories are off the charts and really one of the main reasons why I jumped at the chance to come back to Miami when it was offered. So, but that being said, after that first drive by Central Michigan, and credit to them first and foremost, because they are a really good football team. Very well coached, tough players, hard workers. But after that first drive, we got our cleats in the ground, and I believe after that the defense allowed maybe one first down. Offense scored on its next six possessions to really create separation there. I think we outgained them 360 to 365, whatever it was. But the penalties certainly were an issue and something that we have to work on and improve. We rotated some guys in there on the offensive line. I know you guys saw that. A couple guys were held, more precautionary and a little bit banged up, making sure that they were, again, always following medical procedures. And by the seven-minute mark in the third quarter, most of our front line players gave way to some of the other guys to get opportunities. They made the most of it. Proud of our guys for cheering the other guys on while they were in. So it's a long opening statement. I hope I answered all your questions.
On getting younger players quality reps through the first four games: I mean, you never know what you need, right? It's almost like a maybe response to something like that. I mean, game one, our starters played, what, two quarters and a series, two and a half quarters. We found ourselves, same thing, game two. Game three, obviously a really good game last week up at Wake Forest. Good opponent. And then our guys this week, I believe our defensive play count was about 28 to 32 before the reserve started rolling in. So it's a little bit of both. You want to play football. You don't want to get, believe it or not, a low play count can create bits of rust, which you don't want ever. But you do want guys to gain experience, because that's the best thing for our football team, is to develop guys, give them a chance to play and see what they can do under the lights. And I think we got that. We accomplished that tonight.
On how the running back group did: I think all those guys ran hard. Certainly we mixed some things up front. They put us, in that first drive, some really good down-and-distance situations. Third down wasn't the issue. We didn't have the same issues on third down that we had towards the end of last week's games. A lot of it was due to the fact that we were doing a much better job up front. So, but I thought Jordan, getting back in there, you know, shaking some of the rust off. But he's going to be all right. He's going to be back to form sooner than later. Chris Wheatley-Humphrey with his first 100-yard game ever. I mean, credit to him, man. That guy really works his butt off. Really good football player. And Mallory and Pringle continue to excel and get better and better. So we feel really good about the depth. We feel Mark is healthy and ready to go. He was banged up to the point where it may not have been the best choice to put him in there tonight, especially with his running style. He kind of runs hard. So he's excited. It was more holding him back than him. He's ready to roll. Three turnovers forced by the defense, obviously. Didn't get any of the first couple to start seeing your defense start to generate in that aspect. Yeah.
On the offensive line: I mean, we'll see. We'll see on film. I mean, it's always hard to tell out here, but you saw guys. You saw the guys that have been starting and the guys that came in. You saw guys sustaining blocks. You know, so much of this game is the simplicity of chasing and finishing, right? I mean, the will to outwork your opponent, right, and keep yourself between him and the ball, right? So it's a huge point of emphasis. I think, again, certain guys, and for the most part the entire unit — I'm talking about tight ends and receivers as well — are getting better. We did have some holding calls tonight, and a couple of them down the field, which we got to clean that up. You know, we got to do a better job coaching it. We got to do a better job running our feet through contact, keeping our hands inside, and being, again, less guilty of penalties.
On Mark Fletcher, Ahmad Moten and Armando Blount’s injuries: [Blount] got banged up early, lower body stuff. You know, all the tests were negative. Negative as in, you know, good for us. So he's going to be okay. Ahmad, Ahmad did get a little bit nicked up last week, and we felt, again, just his process is getting him ready to roll. Just he's such a physical player. He's right there. He's right there, and he's ready to roll. I don't see any limitations on him going forward.
On the penalties: I'd call them more aggressive than anything else, because they are, like, down the field blocks and guys trying to get a piece of somebody else. We have to be a little bit more sensible as it relates to a block on a quarterback. I didn't see it on film. I got to see what it looks like. Like Malachi's offensive pass interference. I'm not going to criticize the officials. I didn't agree with it because I didn't see a push-off, but it's still called. So there is no — this is not a court case. There is no jury, brother. There's one. There's a dictator, and that's the guy that's throwing the yellow hankies. And so if it's there, if it's called, it's something that we have to work on, and we can't rationalize it. We have to clean it up and be just airtight in technique and fundamentals. But I did see a lot of aggressive play that ended up in penalties that we hadn't had that in the first three games. It showed up tonight. So I got to do a better job.
On Ben and Jamal earning trust and creating movement up front: Ben and Jamal both tonight got reps with the ones. They were alternating every other series. And I thought S.J., Max, Ben, and Jamal, at least out there just seeing it with the naked eye, it was a lot of— created a lot of movement up front, created some vertical push. So those guys, I mean, the entire organization, if someone's on the field, they have earned a form of trust. So credit to them for working hard and finding a way to earning trust.
On Darian Mensah: Yeah, he spread the ball around pretty good as well. He extended plays, great pocket presence, protected pretty well, but a couple times when it got sticky, he found a way. And you know what? He used his feet tonight in an awesome manner, especially right before the half. That's a pretty extensive drive, you know, try to do that from our own three-yard line, but there was an opportunity there after that first play, and so we let it rip. And he's so— him and the entire offense have been so good at two-minute throughout camp and throughout the, these practice sessions throughout the course of the early season that we had a lot of confidence in him. He let it rip.
On the 1991 team: Yeah, a lot of arguments this week about who the best team in Miami history was. You know, those '91 guys, as years go by, they get bigger than King Kong and Godzilla, man. Those guys just grow and grow, and the legends grow, and they practice harder than anybody and made more tackles. But you know what they are? They're my brothers. And that's the magic of football, and especially at the University of Miami. I never could have imagined coming in, and man, that hits you hard now, because we are as different and from as different parts of the country as you can imagine: ethnicities, skin colors, languages, hairstyles, and man, just absolute brothers for life, you know? And that's what being a Cane's all about. The old school guys just say it's a Cane thing. You wouldn't understand, right? Appreciate you guys. Have a good night, guys.
Opening statements: Good evening everybody, of course appreciate you being here. The first shoutout goes to the fans. What a turnout. And what amazing energy they brought. Our players, they felt it big time. I hope they had a great time. They certainly looked like they had a great time, and we want to provide that for our community, our fans, and our families. We think it's great. And I also, it was great seeing the '91 team. I was a member of that team, and those memories are off the charts and really one of the main reasons why I jumped at the chance to come back to Miami when it was offered. So, but that being said, after that first drive by Central Michigan, and credit to them first and foremost, because they are a really good football team. Very well coached, tough players, hard workers. But after that first drive, we got our cleats in the ground, and I believe after that the defense allowed maybe one first down. Offense scored on its next six possessions to really create separation there. I think we outgained them 360 to 365, whatever it was. But the penalties certainly were an issue and something that we have to work on and improve. We rotated some guys in there on the offensive line. I know you guys saw that. A couple guys were held, more precautionary and a little bit banged up, making sure that they were, again, always following medical procedures. And by the seven-minute mark in the third quarter, most of our front line players gave way to some of the other guys to get opportunities. They made the most of it. Proud of our guys for cheering the other guys on while they were in. So it's a long opening statement. I hope I answered all your questions.
On getting younger players quality reps through the first four games: I mean, you never know what you need, right? It's almost like a maybe response to something like that. I mean, game one, our starters played, what, two quarters and a series, two and a half quarters. We found ourselves, same thing, game two. Game three, obviously a really good game last week up at Wake Forest. Good opponent. And then our guys this week, I believe our defensive play count was about 28 to 32 before the reserve started rolling in. So it's a little bit of both. You want to play football. You don't want to get, believe it or not, a low play count can create bits of rust, which you don't want ever. But you do want guys to gain experience, because that's the best thing for our football team, is to develop guys, give them a chance to play and see what they can do under the lights. And I think we got that. We accomplished that tonight.
On how the running back group did: I think all those guys ran hard. Certainly we mixed some things up front. They put us, in that first drive, some really good down-and-distance situations. Third down wasn't the issue. We didn't have the same issues on third down that we had towards the end of last week's games. A lot of it was due to the fact that we were doing a much better job up front. So, but I thought Jordan, getting back in there, you know, shaking some of the rust off. But he's going to be all right. He's going to be back to form sooner than later. Chris Wheatley-Humphrey with his first 100-yard game ever. I mean, credit to him, man. That guy really works his butt off. Really good football player. And Mallory and Pringle continue to excel and get better and better. So we feel really good about the depth. We feel Mark is healthy and ready to go. He was banged up to the point where it may not have been the best choice to put him in there tonight, especially with his running style. He kind of runs hard. So he's excited. It was more holding him back than him. He's ready to roll. Three turnovers forced by the defense, obviously. Didn't get any of the first couple to start seeing your defense start to generate in that aspect. Yeah.
On the offensive line: I mean, we'll see. We'll see on film. I mean, it's always hard to tell out here, but you saw guys. You saw the guys that have been starting and the guys that came in. You saw guys sustaining blocks. You know, so much of this game is the simplicity of chasing and finishing, right? I mean, the will to outwork your opponent, right, and keep yourself between him and the ball, right? So it's a huge point of emphasis. I think, again, certain guys, and for the most part the entire unit — I'm talking about tight ends and receivers as well — are getting better. We did have some holding calls tonight, and a couple of them down the field, which we got to clean that up. You know, we got to do a better job coaching it. We got to do a better job running our feet through contact, keeping our hands inside, and being, again, less guilty of penalties.
On Mark Fletcher, Ahmad Moten and Armando Blount’s injuries: [Blount] got banged up early, lower body stuff. You know, all the tests were negative. Negative as in, you know, good for us. So he's going to be okay. Ahmad, Ahmad did get a little bit nicked up last week, and we felt, again, just his process is getting him ready to roll. Just he's such a physical player. He's right there. He's right there, and he's ready to roll. I don't see any limitations on him going forward.
On the penalties: I'd call them more aggressive than anything else, because they are, like, down the field blocks and guys trying to get a piece of somebody else. We have to be a little bit more sensible as it relates to a block on a quarterback. I didn't see it on film. I got to see what it looks like. Like Malachi's offensive pass interference. I'm not going to criticize the officials. I didn't agree with it because I didn't see a push-off, but it's still called. So there is no — this is not a court case. There is no jury, brother. There's one. There's a dictator, and that's the guy that's throwing the yellow hankies. And so if it's there, if it's called, it's something that we have to work on, and we can't rationalize it. We have to clean it up and be just airtight in technique and fundamentals. But I did see a lot of aggressive play that ended up in penalties that we hadn't had that in the first three games. It showed up tonight. So I got to do a better job.
On Ben and Jamal earning trust and creating movement up front: Ben and Jamal both tonight got reps with the ones. They were alternating every other series. And I thought S.J., Max, Ben, and Jamal, at least out there just seeing it with the naked eye, it was a lot of— created a lot of movement up front, created some vertical push. So those guys, I mean, the entire organization, if someone's on the field, they have earned a form of trust. So credit to them for working hard and finding a way to earning trust.
On Darian Mensah: Yeah, he spread the ball around pretty good as well. He extended plays, great pocket presence, protected pretty well, but a couple times when it got sticky, he found a way. And you know what? He used his feet tonight in an awesome manner, especially right before the half. That's a pretty extensive drive, you know, try to do that from our own three-yard line, but there was an opportunity there after that first play, and so we let it rip. And he's so— him and the entire offense have been so good at two-minute throughout camp and throughout the, these practice sessions throughout the course of the early season that we had a lot of confidence in him. He let it rip.
On the 1991 team: Yeah, a lot of arguments this week about who the best team in Miami history was. You know, those '91 guys, as years go by, they get bigger than King Kong and Godzilla, man. Those guys just grow and grow, and the legends grow, and they practice harder than anybody and made more tackles. But you know what they are? They're my brothers. And that's the magic of football, and especially at the University of Miami. I never could have imagined coming in, and man, that hits you hard now, because we are as different and from as different parts of the country as you can imagine: ethnicities, skin colors, languages, hairstyles, and man, just absolute brothers for life, you know? And that's what being a Cane's all about. The old school guys just say it's a Cane thing. You wouldn't understand, right? Appreciate you guys. Have a good night, guys.
