Following Miami's 33-20 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, Darian Mensah, Marquise Lightfoot, and Ethan O'Connor joined the podium to recap the win. Check out everything they had to say down below
QB Darian Mensah
On if he was aware that he started out 24-of-24: No. Not at the time, I wasn't. Yeah, I think it's just testament to the O-line. I think they played an excellent game up front. But to be honest, I can't even be that happy about it after what happened during the second half.
On balancing Miami’s first-half success with correcting its second-half struggles: Yeah, you just gotta rely on your teammates. We did that offensively. Our defense played a huge game in the second half. We got the huge fourth-down stops. So huge kudos to them. But yeah, we just gotta be better offensively. We have to be better, and I've gotta be better on my end.
On what changed during Miami’s second-half struggles: We just weren't as efficient on first and second down, and so that put us in third and long, and that's where the defense wants you to be . So just gotta be better. I gotta be better at just being more efficient on first and second down.
On Coach Alex Mirabal’s message that it’s better to learn from a victory than a loss: Yeah, it's absolutely true. I definitely would feel ten times worse if we lost tonight. So, yeah, happy win. We are all goals to just go 1-0. Proud of our guys. Proud of our fight and our grit to close out the game.
On how it feels to have Miami’s offense clicking with all of its weapons contributing: Yeah, it's just fun. And I live to play ball and to be able to play in the stadium at night in the ACC against a good team is rather fortunate, to be honest. And so, that's where you want to be.
DB Ethan O'Connor
On his game-winning interception: Right before that play, not getting the football. That was something I was thinking about. I was like, I gotta make it up my guys, and I just allowed my technique, but needed the guy behind me too, and I just made the play.
On the next-man up mentality in the defensive back group: Next man up. Everybody, I think everybody's a great player. They didn't come to 'The U' for no reason. I feel like everybody can play, and that's what we've been showing.
On what changed after Wake Forest scored consecutive touchdowns and Miami’s defense responded with several stops and an interception: It's our mentality. Wake Forest is a really good team. They bring a lot of energy, and it's a good atmosphere to play in as well. It's just based on momentum, so, f you just slow them down, it's gonna be hard for them to keep on going. I know Coach ****ert. I know a lot of those players on that team, so, they're a good team, and we knew what we had to do and bring the juice.
On remaining composed while Wake Forest targeted him frequently: It's our mentality. Next play. It's okay. Bad things happen. It's football. We're playing against guys on scholarship just like us, and they make good plays. So, just have to keep on winning mentality, as Coach preaches it every single day, and that's what we did.
On how Miami’s fourth-quarter defensive performance helped boost confidence and belief in the unit: We felt like we did a good job. Of course, there's a lot more to click on and make sure we expand on and get better at, but I think we did a really good job. I think that boosted our confidence a little bit, but we have a lot more to get better at.
On how last season’s four-man cornerback rotation prepared him and what he’s looking to build on this year: I just want to be the best player on the field. I'm not here to compete with other players. I just want to compete with myself. I just gotta look that guy in the mirror and see if he can do it every single day and bring it.
On Miami’s defensive mentality during a stretch of short offensive possessions: Go out there and go 1-0. It's a good team. They're close, and they bring energy. We just have to keep going out there, keep being consistent, and keep doing your job. And at the end of the day, it's gonna play out.
On the defensive pass rush: Those guys always bring pressure. When you practice at GreenTree and watch them compete against our offensive line everyday. You know, when we get to the game, we're gonna hunt. So, I have full confidence. I love every single one of those guys, and I think they're all gonna be great players.
On JJ Dunnigan: I love that kid. He's mature, he's fast, he's physical. He stepped up in a big way. That's my two-five. So, I always try to make sure me and him are talking on the field. I still think he's a young guy, but he brings a lot of maturity to the field.
EDGE Marquise Lightfoot
On how Miami’s pass rush was able to affect Wake Forest’s offense: We’ve been working through many different pass-rush scenarios and trying to create havoc. We send our best pass rushers and strongest players—the guys we trust—and tell them to go get the quarterback.
On how Miami’s defense responded with a safety, two fourth-down stops and an interception after Wake Forest’s two touchdowns: We come together and we talk, short-term memory. We just got to focus on 1-0 every play, the same way Coach Cristobal teaches us.
On the pride Miami’s defense took in closing out the victory after the offense received significant attention: It's a good feeling, but, you know, we all one team. So, they got our back when we need them, and we got their back when they need us.
On Miami’s fourth-quarter pass rush and the increased pressure on Gio Lopez: That's just how we work at, that's just how we work at on GreenTree. When you see us all holding up before, so, when it's fourth quarter, it's just time to turn it up, game not over until we get that whistle, we got more ball.
On Gio Lopez and his ability to escape pressure: Like I said, good quarterback, good team, slippery. So, we just got to keep working on finishing on the quarterback at practice. We're gonna keep working on it.
On learning from the win: The second half taught us a lot. I’m glad the game didn’t end that way. We still earned the win, but there is plenty to learn from and build upon. We’ll return to practice next week, continue working and improve. We approach every week and every game with a 1-0 mentality.
QB Darian Mensah
On if he was aware that he started out 24-of-24: No. Not at the time, I wasn't. Yeah, I think it's just testament to the O-line. I think they played an excellent game up front. But to be honest, I can't even be that happy about it after what happened during the second half.
On balancing Miami’s first-half success with correcting its second-half struggles: Yeah, you just gotta rely on your teammates. We did that offensively. Our defense played a huge game in the second half. We got the huge fourth-down stops. So huge kudos to them. But yeah, we just gotta be better offensively. We have to be better, and I've gotta be better on my end.
On what changed during Miami’s second-half struggles: We just weren't as efficient on first and second down, and so that put us in third and long, and that's where the defense wants you to be . So just gotta be better. I gotta be better at just being more efficient on first and second down.
On Coach Alex Mirabal’s message that it’s better to learn from a victory than a loss: Yeah, it's absolutely true. I definitely would feel ten times worse if we lost tonight. So, yeah, happy win. We are all goals to just go 1-0. Proud of our guys. Proud of our fight and our grit to close out the game.
On how it feels to have Miami’s offense clicking with all of its weapons contributing: Yeah, it's just fun. And I live to play ball and to be able to play in the stadium at night in the ACC against a good team is rather fortunate, to be honest. And so, that's where you want to be.
DB Ethan O'Connor
On his game-winning interception: Right before that play, not getting the football. That was something I was thinking about. I was like, I gotta make it up my guys, and I just allowed my technique, but needed the guy behind me too, and I just made the play.
On the next-man up mentality in the defensive back group: Next man up. Everybody, I think everybody's a great player. They didn't come to 'The U' for no reason. I feel like everybody can play, and that's what we've been showing.
On what changed after Wake Forest scored consecutive touchdowns and Miami’s defense responded with several stops and an interception: It's our mentality. Wake Forest is a really good team. They bring a lot of energy, and it's a good atmosphere to play in as well. It's just based on momentum, so, f you just slow them down, it's gonna be hard for them to keep on going. I know Coach ****ert. I know a lot of those players on that team, so, they're a good team, and we knew what we had to do and bring the juice.
On remaining composed while Wake Forest targeted him frequently: It's our mentality. Next play. It's okay. Bad things happen. It's football. We're playing against guys on scholarship just like us, and they make good plays. So, just have to keep on winning mentality, as Coach preaches it every single day, and that's what we did.
On how Miami’s fourth-quarter defensive performance helped boost confidence and belief in the unit: We felt like we did a good job. Of course, there's a lot more to click on and make sure we expand on and get better at, but I think we did a really good job. I think that boosted our confidence a little bit, but we have a lot more to get better at.
On how last season’s four-man cornerback rotation prepared him and what he’s looking to build on this year: I just want to be the best player on the field. I'm not here to compete with other players. I just want to compete with myself. I just gotta look that guy in the mirror and see if he can do it every single day and bring it.
On Miami’s defensive mentality during a stretch of short offensive possessions: Go out there and go 1-0. It's a good team. They're close, and they bring energy. We just have to keep going out there, keep being consistent, and keep doing your job. And at the end of the day, it's gonna play out.
On the defensive pass rush: Those guys always bring pressure. When you practice at GreenTree and watch them compete against our offensive line everyday. You know, when we get to the game, we're gonna hunt. So, I have full confidence. I love every single one of those guys, and I think they're all gonna be great players.
On JJ Dunnigan: I love that kid. He's mature, he's fast, he's physical. He stepped up in a big way. That's my two-five. So, I always try to make sure me and him are talking on the field. I still think he's a young guy, but he brings a lot of maturity to the field.
EDGE Marquise Lightfoot
On how Miami’s pass rush was able to affect Wake Forest’s offense: We’ve been working through many different pass-rush scenarios and trying to create havoc. We send our best pass rushers and strongest players—the guys we trust—and tell them to go get the quarterback.
On how Miami’s defense responded with a safety, two fourth-down stops and an interception after Wake Forest’s two touchdowns: We come together and we talk, short-term memory. We just got to focus on 1-0 every play, the same way Coach Cristobal teaches us.
On the pride Miami’s defense took in closing out the victory after the offense received significant attention: It's a good feeling, but, you know, we all one team. So, they got our back when we need them, and we got their back when they need us.
On Miami’s fourth-quarter pass rush and the increased pressure on Gio Lopez: That's just how we work at, that's just how we work at on GreenTree. When you see us all holding up before, so, when it's fourth quarter, it's just time to turn it up, game not over until we get that whistle, we got more ball.
On Gio Lopez and his ability to escape pressure: Like I said, good quarterback, good team, slippery. So, we just got to keep working on finishing on the quarterback at practice. We're gonna keep working on it.
On learning from the win: The second half taught us a lot. I’m glad the game didn’t end that way. We still earned the win, but there is plenty to learn from and build upon. We’ll return to practice next week, continue working and improve. We approach every week and every game with a 1-0 mentality.
