We are a little under 24 hours from the Miami Hurricanes taking on the Florida State Seminoles this Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal spoke one more time before the team takes on the Seminoles. Here is everything he had to say.
On what has pleased him so far this season: Well, whatever it is, it's way in the rearview mirror. We're looking forward completely, but we're growing, we're developing, we're becoming a more physical, a team that's more detailed in terms of its execution, and all that being said, we still got to chase and finish better, swarm to the football better, have better pre-snap discipline and post-snap composure. We've got to continue to secure the football and be more disruptive. We finally got a couple of those last game, and all that is earned and worked for on Greentree practice field, so you can cut it loose on game day. So processes are improving, got a ways to go.
On Ryan Rodriguez: Levels of physicality are certainly taking another step. Ryan has been, I mean, since the day we've gotten here, Ryan has been great. He just went through a bunch of injuries and a lot of stuff, and it's awesome to see him now, the rewards of working so hard and finding a way to get better every day and just keep working. He's played great football for us, and his best days are ahead of him.
On the pass rush: We did a better job at getting to the quarterback and closing on the quarterback, and mind you, one that could really get out of there and create some explosive plays, really good feet, and Tait Reynolds is just a really, really good quarterback that's just going to keep getting better. A lot of respect for him and the program, but we're starting to do a better job just, caging the quarterback and doing a better job containing guys in the pocket.
On Miami Hurricanes Nation traveling: It did. It did, and proud of our guys, great environment, great college football environment, and our guys did a really good job just focusing on taking care of business one play at a time and got back and watched the film and realized, man, there's a lot of plays left on the field. Let's go focus on getting better. That's what we did last week.
On player development: Talent acquisition, player development, personnel use, and to be able to use those guys, you got to be able to develop them, get them ready. So a lot of credit goes to first and foremost players for buying in, becoming more mature, professionalizing their responsibilities and their regimen, their routines, and then for the coaches pushing the envelope and getting guys ready and exercising versatility and rotation so guys can get used to playing in different spots and learning more football and playing on special teams. All that adds up to more quality reps, seeing good on good and seeing true speed, and eventually getting more time.
On the freshmen class: Yeah, it's a special class, and it needs to be more special. We need more guys playing. So we have hammered guys about being more professional, more mature, and we don't hold back on that. It's not a kind and cuddly approach. It's not. I mean, we all have a responsibility at the University of Miami, and you know what? If you've been here since January, your butt needs to be ready to be contributing to this football team. And there's nothing standing in the way except, right, work ethic, error and opportunity. So let's keep pushing that. Proud of the guys that have played. They're going to keep getting better, and we need more guys playing.
On Bryce Fitzgerald: Completely unselfish. He is a guy that's super talented. He can do it all. I mean, he's got corner skills and safety skills. He could do it all, and a guy that, when it was called upon him to help the football team and do whatever is necessary on special teams as well, he just don't flinch. And so he's special now, and he's got an extremely special future as well, and a great human being. Raised the right way, a guy that, again, I can't say enough great things about him.
On Mohamed Toure and Chase Smith: Those are really high football IQ guys. Coach Heatherman, he puts a lot on those linebackers and need them to keep getting better and better. They're big guys. They're 240-pounders, and they need to be because, especially coming up this week, you're playing against a team that has forced more missed tackles than just about everybody in the country and that runs through people, right? Contact plus two, three, four, five yards. So the fact that those guys are really starting to gel, really from a physical and mental standpoint, continuing to elevate their levels of play, it's much needed.
On staying sharp during the bye week: Without a doubt. We, here we go good on good, and they look—they're your regular camp-style practices. And we believe in it. Our players believe in it, or at least they're compliant, and they go along with it. But it's a necessity, because if you don't do that, where it's going to show up is on game day, right? And that's one place it cannot show up. Stay physical. Stay in great shape. Coach [Jimmy] Johnson always said, man, stay in elite shape. Pat Riley: stay in elite shape. Eliminate mistakes, right, especially pre-snap penalties. You saw so many post-snap composure issues this weekend in college football, right? Just keep growing and developing. Just become addicted to it and understand this: you're going to be hurting. It's week six of the season, plus four weeks of camp. It's not supposed to be fun, right? It's supposed to be challenging, but it's going to be rewarding.
On the success in the red zone: Yeah. We've got to keep getting better, because in our conference, you know, everyone could score a lot of points, and the defenses all have guys that can rush the passer and guys that can cover. So you have to be able to work yourself into good situations and then capitalize. And the margins continue to get smaller and smaller. You watch all these games this weekend, I saw games that were decided by a team jumping offsides, another one by a personal foul at the end, another one by a personal foul, then a pick-six. I saw so many different endings, and one thing that you don't want to do, you don't want to leave it in the hands of the officials, right? And to do so, you've got to do everything possible to execute at the highest levels and eliminate unforced errors. Unforced errors could be terminal if you let them.
On the dominant rushing drive against Clemson: It validates, the investment in the weight room. It validates the investment in practice, the chase and finish and whatnot. And it's a boost in confidence as well. And credit to everybody involved, from the receivers, the tight ends, the quarterback putting in the right play, putting in the right check, our offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, tight ends coaches, everybody working together. Really good drive and certainly something that was a game changer for us.
On Darian Mensah saying we left puts on the board against Clemson: That's the way he's wired, and he continues to wire himself even more so in that manner, which is critical for your quarterback, because everybody feeds off your quarterback's energy and demeanor, right? There's probably not a single position in sports as influential as the college football quarterback. And we're fortunate to have a guy, and an entire room really of guys, that bring the right energy, are completely committed to betterment and to winning, and it's had a tremendous impact on our team.
On the home field advantage: Hard Rock, we love playing in front of our people in our community, and I know they really enjoy this rivalry. To me, is always the most intense thing that there is in sports. So looking forward to being back home against an excellent football team.
On Florida State's NFL talent: We'll be long gone, centuries down the road, it'll still be the same thing, right? Tons of NFL talent on both sides, but they're just a really explosive team. They can hurt you a lot of different ways on offense. Run the football, the quarterback throwing and running, a very physical offensive line, well coached. Their O-line coach, Coach Hand, does a great job with that offensive line. Their tight ends—you watch the tape—they're the ones finishing guys to the back of the end zone, out in the perimeter as well. And they're complemented by a defense that is extremely disruptive, top ten in sacks, top twelve in tackles for losses, really tough in the red zone, preventing people, keeping them out of the end zone. They're very versatile. They do so many things up front from a movement and pressure standpoint, and the back end gives you a different picture. And they've done a really good job taking the ball away from opponents. So all in all, it's just a really, really good football team.
On starting hot: It's always important, you know, and sustaining good starts are important, and responding, right, to adversity. They just football. You just keep going, right? You finish, you chase and finish, and then it's the next play, right? You don't look back. You don't look past it. You're in that play. But a team like this that has so many explosive players, your level of detail, your level of focus and communication, it's got to be at a premium.
On their 10-sack day against Virginia: They were down 7-nothing, and then that game turned quickly, and it was, you saw, like, series three, like that defensive line, those linebackers just start getting really, really physical and really disruptive, causing negative plays, getting to the quarterback, finishing on the quarterback. Just all in all, a very impressive performance.
On FSU RB Ousman Kromah: One of the best players I've seen the last several years in terms of running the football, and all of them are really, really good, but to mention him, his contact balance, his ability to make you miss, his ability to break tackles, there's so many times where he's wrapped up, and those feet keep moving, those knees keep pumping, he gets behind his pads, people have a tough time wrapping him up if they can, and he just goes, and he's made some monster plays for them against everybody. Just a really, really impressive football player, one of the best in the country.
On FSU wide receivers: And certainly we saw them firsthand last year. They hit you in different ways. They stretch the field. They catch the short, intermediate stuff, make people miss or break tackles and go. They use them in reverses and some of their other gadget plays. They do a really good job disguising what they do with the different formations that they use, and their quarterback has been fantastic. He's done a great job just making that offense go.
On FSU QB Ashton Daniels: Well, you want to keep an eye on him. He's as good as there is out there, a guy that can do it, like you mentioned, as a dual-threat quarterback. And I think it's important to point out some guys, they have a tough time scrambling right versus scrambling left. Defender right or left, he goes both ways, and is very accurate. But again, a righty that can scramble left and still put one on the money on the run is impressive. So you have to account for him for all the things that he's capable of doing.
On FSU defense: They mix it up really, really well, jumping from the odd front to four-down to bear, and then mixing what they do up front with their stunts, their NTs, their TNs, Texas, Xs. That's a lot of stuff: field missile, boundary missile, free safety, corner fire, nickel fire. It comes at you from all over the place, and it's high. It's a high percentage. It's over 50%, and sometimes some games it gets in the 70s and 80s. So you can expect to see a lot from them, but the impressive part is they handle it very well. They communicate very well. They get lined up, and they're able to play fast and trigger quickly. So impressive unit.
On special teams: Dangerous returners over there on both sides: punt return, kickoff return. You saw how this weekend how a block punt can change a game, right, and turn a rivalry upside down. So yeah, it's week in and week out, this is a three-phase game: offense, defense, special teams. You got to be able to win in those phases. We have a lot of our starters on offense and defense playing on special teams. And special teams is not the handout where you try to get guys ready, right? You want guys to get ready. You want experience on special teams, but you want those positions earned. And we're improving in a lot of areas. After that first kickoff where they returned it, we got better, and after that special teams really tightened up. But just all in all, just really excited to watch our guys play.
On what has pleased him so far this season: Well, whatever it is, it's way in the rearview mirror. We're looking forward completely, but we're growing, we're developing, we're becoming a more physical, a team that's more detailed in terms of its execution, and all that being said, we still got to chase and finish better, swarm to the football better, have better pre-snap discipline and post-snap composure. We've got to continue to secure the football and be more disruptive. We finally got a couple of those last game, and all that is earned and worked for on Greentree practice field, so you can cut it loose on game day. So processes are improving, got a ways to go.
On Ryan Rodriguez: Levels of physicality are certainly taking another step. Ryan has been, I mean, since the day we've gotten here, Ryan has been great. He just went through a bunch of injuries and a lot of stuff, and it's awesome to see him now, the rewards of working so hard and finding a way to get better every day and just keep working. He's played great football for us, and his best days are ahead of him.
On the pass rush: We did a better job at getting to the quarterback and closing on the quarterback, and mind you, one that could really get out of there and create some explosive plays, really good feet, and Tait Reynolds is just a really, really good quarterback that's just going to keep getting better. A lot of respect for him and the program, but we're starting to do a better job just, caging the quarterback and doing a better job containing guys in the pocket.
On Miami Hurricanes Nation traveling: It did. It did, and proud of our guys, great environment, great college football environment, and our guys did a really good job just focusing on taking care of business one play at a time and got back and watched the film and realized, man, there's a lot of plays left on the field. Let's go focus on getting better. That's what we did last week.
On player development: Talent acquisition, player development, personnel use, and to be able to use those guys, you got to be able to develop them, get them ready. So a lot of credit goes to first and foremost players for buying in, becoming more mature, professionalizing their responsibilities and their regimen, their routines, and then for the coaches pushing the envelope and getting guys ready and exercising versatility and rotation so guys can get used to playing in different spots and learning more football and playing on special teams. All that adds up to more quality reps, seeing good on good and seeing true speed, and eventually getting more time.
On the freshmen class: Yeah, it's a special class, and it needs to be more special. We need more guys playing. So we have hammered guys about being more professional, more mature, and we don't hold back on that. It's not a kind and cuddly approach. It's not. I mean, we all have a responsibility at the University of Miami, and you know what? If you've been here since January, your butt needs to be ready to be contributing to this football team. And there's nothing standing in the way except, right, work ethic, error and opportunity. So let's keep pushing that. Proud of the guys that have played. They're going to keep getting better, and we need more guys playing.
On Bryce Fitzgerald: Completely unselfish. He is a guy that's super talented. He can do it all. I mean, he's got corner skills and safety skills. He could do it all, and a guy that, when it was called upon him to help the football team and do whatever is necessary on special teams as well, he just don't flinch. And so he's special now, and he's got an extremely special future as well, and a great human being. Raised the right way, a guy that, again, I can't say enough great things about him.
On Mohamed Toure and Chase Smith: Those are really high football IQ guys. Coach Heatherman, he puts a lot on those linebackers and need them to keep getting better and better. They're big guys. They're 240-pounders, and they need to be because, especially coming up this week, you're playing against a team that has forced more missed tackles than just about everybody in the country and that runs through people, right? Contact plus two, three, four, five yards. So the fact that those guys are really starting to gel, really from a physical and mental standpoint, continuing to elevate their levels of play, it's much needed.
On staying sharp during the bye week: Without a doubt. We, here we go good on good, and they look—they're your regular camp-style practices. And we believe in it. Our players believe in it, or at least they're compliant, and they go along with it. But it's a necessity, because if you don't do that, where it's going to show up is on game day, right? And that's one place it cannot show up. Stay physical. Stay in great shape. Coach [Jimmy] Johnson always said, man, stay in elite shape. Pat Riley: stay in elite shape. Eliminate mistakes, right, especially pre-snap penalties. You saw so many post-snap composure issues this weekend in college football, right? Just keep growing and developing. Just become addicted to it and understand this: you're going to be hurting. It's week six of the season, plus four weeks of camp. It's not supposed to be fun, right? It's supposed to be challenging, but it's going to be rewarding.
On the success in the red zone: Yeah. We've got to keep getting better, because in our conference, you know, everyone could score a lot of points, and the defenses all have guys that can rush the passer and guys that can cover. So you have to be able to work yourself into good situations and then capitalize. And the margins continue to get smaller and smaller. You watch all these games this weekend, I saw games that were decided by a team jumping offsides, another one by a personal foul at the end, another one by a personal foul, then a pick-six. I saw so many different endings, and one thing that you don't want to do, you don't want to leave it in the hands of the officials, right? And to do so, you've got to do everything possible to execute at the highest levels and eliminate unforced errors. Unforced errors could be terminal if you let them.
On the dominant rushing drive against Clemson: It validates, the investment in the weight room. It validates the investment in practice, the chase and finish and whatnot. And it's a boost in confidence as well. And credit to everybody involved, from the receivers, the tight ends, the quarterback putting in the right play, putting in the right check, our offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, tight ends coaches, everybody working together. Really good drive and certainly something that was a game changer for us.
On Darian Mensah saying we left puts on the board against Clemson: That's the way he's wired, and he continues to wire himself even more so in that manner, which is critical for your quarterback, because everybody feeds off your quarterback's energy and demeanor, right? There's probably not a single position in sports as influential as the college football quarterback. And we're fortunate to have a guy, and an entire room really of guys, that bring the right energy, are completely committed to betterment and to winning, and it's had a tremendous impact on our team.
On the home field advantage: Hard Rock, we love playing in front of our people in our community, and I know they really enjoy this rivalry. To me, is always the most intense thing that there is in sports. So looking forward to being back home against an excellent football team.
On Florida State's NFL talent: We'll be long gone, centuries down the road, it'll still be the same thing, right? Tons of NFL talent on both sides, but they're just a really explosive team. They can hurt you a lot of different ways on offense. Run the football, the quarterback throwing and running, a very physical offensive line, well coached. Their O-line coach, Coach Hand, does a great job with that offensive line. Their tight ends—you watch the tape—they're the ones finishing guys to the back of the end zone, out in the perimeter as well. And they're complemented by a defense that is extremely disruptive, top ten in sacks, top twelve in tackles for losses, really tough in the red zone, preventing people, keeping them out of the end zone. They're very versatile. They do so many things up front from a movement and pressure standpoint, and the back end gives you a different picture. And they've done a really good job taking the ball away from opponents. So all in all, it's just a really, really good football team.
On starting hot: It's always important, you know, and sustaining good starts are important, and responding, right, to adversity. They just football. You just keep going, right? You finish, you chase and finish, and then it's the next play, right? You don't look back. You don't look past it. You're in that play. But a team like this that has so many explosive players, your level of detail, your level of focus and communication, it's got to be at a premium.
On their 10-sack day against Virginia: They were down 7-nothing, and then that game turned quickly, and it was, you saw, like, series three, like that defensive line, those linebackers just start getting really, really physical and really disruptive, causing negative plays, getting to the quarterback, finishing on the quarterback. Just all in all, a very impressive performance.
On FSU RB Ousman Kromah: One of the best players I've seen the last several years in terms of running the football, and all of them are really, really good, but to mention him, his contact balance, his ability to make you miss, his ability to break tackles, there's so many times where he's wrapped up, and those feet keep moving, those knees keep pumping, he gets behind his pads, people have a tough time wrapping him up if they can, and he just goes, and he's made some monster plays for them against everybody. Just a really, really impressive football player, one of the best in the country.
On FSU wide receivers: And certainly we saw them firsthand last year. They hit you in different ways. They stretch the field. They catch the short, intermediate stuff, make people miss or break tackles and go. They use them in reverses and some of their other gadget plays. They do a really good job disguising what they do with the different formations that they use, and their quarterback has been fantastic. He's done a great job just making that offense go.
On FSU QB Ashton Daniels: Well, you want to keep an eye on him. He's as good as there is out there, a guy that can do it, like you mentioned, as a dual-threat quarterback. And I think it's important to point out some guys, they have a tough time scrambling right versus scrambling left. Defender right or left, he goes both ways, and is very accurate. But again, a righty that can scramble left and still put one on the money on the run is impressive. So you have to account for him for all the things that he's capable of doing.
On FSU defense: They mix it up really, really well, jumping from the odd front to four-down to bear, and then mixing what they do up front with their stunts, their NTs, their TNs, Texas, Xs. That's a lot of stuff: field missile, boundary missile, free safety, corner fire, nickel fire. It comes at you from all over the place, and it's high. It's a high percentage. It's over 50%, and sometimes some games it gets in the 70s and 80s. So you can expect to see a lot from them, but the impressive part is they handle it very well. They communicate very well. They get lined up, and they're able to play fast and trigger quickly. So impressive unit.
On special teams: Dangerous returners over there on both sides: punt return, kickoff return. You saw how this weekend how a block punt can change a game, right, and turn a rivalry upside down. So yeah, it's week in and week out, this is a three-phase game: offense, defense, special teams. You got to be able to win in those phases. We have a lot of our starters on offense and defense playing on special teams. And special teams is not the handout where you try to get guys ready, right? You want guys to get ready. You want experience on special teams, but you want those positions earned. And we're improving in a lot of areas. After that first kickoff where they returned it, we got better, and after that special teams really tightened up. But just all in all, just really excited to watch our guys play.
