On the biggest fish that he landed this summer: You talking about fishing, fishing. We had a moment to get away, and then we caught some, well, an amberjack, but we don't really like to eat those too much. But we did catch some big grouper, some big mutton snapper, a couple dolphin. No real trophy fish. Haven't gotten there. We deep dropped, and, but, you know, the tax man, the sharks always take the real big ones. So we're still, we're out of time this summer. Maybe got time for one more late afternoon escape to get one, but I'll let you, I'll keep you informed on that. Amberjack,
On how he feels on the team: I think what we see is increased levels of accountability. We're making our way towards more consistency. And we've got, that's got to improve all the time. I think at this time every year, we're kind of in the same boat where we feel like, man, we got to get better, we have a long ways to go. And at the same time, every year, we look at ourselves at this time and we feel like, man, we are farther ahead than we were at this time last year. The continuity is good for us from a coordinator standpoint because both have done really well, and both are very adaptable and understand the importance of player over plays. And our schemes, our systems, our communication, all those levels and all those processes have improved, changed, adapted. And we, it's really about the mentality and the approach of our culture. And it's real simple. We've narrowed down to this. Culture is everybody, everything, every day. There's no BS room for anything else but that. We're internally driven, the outside does not concern us, affect us, and you got to be all the way in or completely all the way out. We're kind of there now. We feel like Miami is just getting better and better and better. And I could go on and on, I probably taking this question and gone on a tangent, but you know what, brother, we're just excited to get to work. That's why I probably can't stop talking.
Cristobal on freshmen buying into Miami's culture: Anytime you have success and progress, it does leave clues, and you want to take those and also remember the things that got in the way, that either prevented some success on certain Saturdays or that could have prevented you from going all the way, and then at the end realizing that the margins, as you get deeper and deeper into the season, get smaller and smaller. They just do. You know, pre-snap penalties, turning the ball over, technique and fundamentals, half position, hand placement, footwork, all that stuff, it's critical towards having really high-level success, and understanding that everybody has good players. There's no more, well, you know, this week is not going to be as challenging. That's a bunch of bull. Everybody has really, really good players, and every single game you better be at your best. If not, you run the risk of getting beat. So I think all that you can squench into this. Be where our feet are, and let's go to work, one and everything.
Cristobal on how Miami's roster depth will elevate fall camp: We've recruited really well. The moment we signed Rueben Bain, we were already looking for Marquise Lightfoot. And we were already looking for maybe one day bringing in Damon Wilson, Hayden Lowe. Armondo Blount the one was until the next year, the best of the best. Because we know that in college football, every three years, if they're really good, they're gone. And so when we look at our team, the part that we're excited about is, as opposed to having quality depth, we have, we have competitive depth. We have legitimate competitions at every single position on the field. Because, you know what, I don't ever like underestimating and underrating the importance of January all the way through July on what a guy could do if he really busts his *** to be a better football player. You never take away from the fact that if you're a, if you're like a tough-*** son of a you-know-what, and you're gonna take that time, and you're gonna find a way to get better and either become a contributor, become the full-time starter, take somebody's job, or just be the best player you can be. And that's what I'm excited to see more than anything, is now the competitive depth at every position just cut it loose, man, you know? And let's go find out.
Cristobal on building the next elite offensive line: Let Coach Mirabal ball cook. Let him do his deal, his regimen, his process. He makes all those guys versatile. They all play right tackle, right guard, left guard, left tackle, and a lot of them play center as well. Because you know what? It's good for a tackle to jump in at guard and feel the physicality of what it is to take on a three technique play after play after play, and then go back outside and dance with those really shifty and explosive edge players. It's important for a right tackle to play the left side because, you know what, at the end of the day, you've got to play the five that play best as one. And come midseason, if something happens where we have to get the five best, him at left and moving someone else or plugging in someone at right might be best. And this is the time to find all that out before we get into who the five, first five guys are.
Cristobal on Ryan Rodriguez's journey and earning his opportunity: You know what, and not only has he waited, I would say he's worked for his turn. You know what I mean? And football, it's different, man. I mean, sometimes it pops right away, and sometimes it pops late, and it's all good. It's still a development sport. There's injuries, there's setbacks, right? There's roster moves that sometimes delay when someone pops onto the scene. He, remember, two years ago, he was starting for us at Florida, right? Game we won 41 to 17, right? He was one of our starters and then got banged up. So Ryan has a ton of experience, extremely strong, tough, smart. We expect a great year out of Ryan Rodriguez.
On Coach Viti: Oh, he's the perfect guy for the job because the biggest thing we need at the tight end position is discipline, technique, and fundamentals, right? In every aspect of what they do, you know, on when they play tight end, short yardage, spread formations, detach, their roles on special teams, that requires someone to be very, very diligent in technique, fundamentals, and assignments. And I think that's what Coach Viti has brought to the table. And it's very evident in the spring that we've really enhanced ourselves in that respect. And these guys have taken to him because they see his level, his football IQ, his football acumen is off the charts. And he can teach the run game as an offensive line coach, which he was one of the best in the country. He is one of the best in the country. And at the same time, teach the passing game as an elite teacher of the passing game. Being a former fullback, you know what I mean? He understands the ins and outs of the entire offense. And he's been, him and Coach Upshaw, you know, have been tremendous blessings to our organization.
On how he feels on the team: I think what we see is increased levels of accountability. We're making our way towards more consistency. And we've got, that's got to improve all the time. I think at this time every year, we're kind of in the same boat where we feel like, man, we got to get better, we have a long ways to go. And at the same time, every year, we look at ourselves at this time and we feel like, man, we are farther ahead than we were at this time last year. The continuity is good for us from a coordinator standpoint because both have done really well, and both are very adaptable and understand the importance of player over plays. And our schemes, our systems, our communication, all those levels and all those processes have improved, changed, adapted. And we, it's really about the mentality and the approach of our culture. And it's real simple. We've narrowed down to this. Culture is everybody, everything, every day. There's no BS room for anything else but that. We're internally driven, the outside does not concern us, affect us, and you got to be all the way in or completely all the way out. We're kind of there now. We feel like Miami is just getting better and better and better. And I could go on and on, I probably taking this question and gone on a tangent, but you know what, brother, we're just excited to get to work. That's why I probably can't stop talking.
Cristobal on freshmen buying into Miami's culture: Anytime you have success and progress, it does leave clues, and you want to take those and also remember the things that got in the way, that either prevented some success on certain Saturdays or that could have prevented you from going all the way, and then at the end realizing that the margins, as you get deeper and deeper into the season, get smaller and smaller. They just do. You know, pre-snap penalties, turning the ball over, technique and fundamentals, half position, hand placement, footwork, all that stuff, it's critical towards having really high-level success, and understanding that everybody has good players. There's no more, well, you know, this week is not going to be as challenging. That's a bunch of bull. Everybody has really, really good players, and every single game you better be at your best. If not, you run the risk of getting beat. So I think all that you can squench into this. Be where our feet are, and let's go to work, one and everything.
Cristobal on how Miami's roster depth will elevate fall camp: We've recruited really well. The moment we signed Rueben Bain, we were already looking for Marquise Lightfoot. And we were already looking for maybe one day bringing in Damon Wilson, Hayden Lowe. Armondo Blount the one was until the next year, the best of the best. Because we know that in college football, every three years, if they're really good, they're gone. And so when we look at our team, the part that we're excited about is, as opposed to having quality depth, we have, we have competitive depth. We have legitimate competitions at every single position on the field. Because, you know what, I don't ever like underestimating and underrating the importance of January all the way through July on what a guy could do if he really busts his *** to be a better football player. You never take away from the fact that if you're a, if you're like a tough-*** son of a you-know-what, and you're gonna take that time, and you're gonna find a way to get better and either become a contributor, become the full-time starter, take somebody's job, or just be the best player you can be. And that's what I'm excited to see more than anything, is now the competitive depth at every position just cut it loose, man, you know? And let's go find out.
Cristobal on building the next elite offensive line: Let Coach Mirabal ball cook. Let him do his deal, his regimen, his process. He makes all those guys versatile. They all play right tackle, right guard, left guard, left tackle, and a lot of them play center as well. Because you know what? It's good for a tackle to jump in at guard and feel the physicality of what it is to take on a three technique play after play after play, and then go back outside and dance with those really shifty and explosive edge players. It's important for a right tackle to play the left side because, you know what, at the end of the day, you've got to play the five that play best as one. And come midseason, if something happens where we have to get the five best, him at left and moving someone else or plugging in someone at right might be best. And this is the time to find all that out before we get into who the five, first five guys are.
Cristobal on Ryan Rodriguez's journey and earning his opportunity: You know what, and not only has he waited, I would say he's worked for his turn. You know what I mean? And football, it's different, man. I mean, sometimes it pops right away, and sometimes it pops late, and it's all good. It's still a development sport. There's injuries, there's setbacks, right? There's roster moves that sometimes delay when someone pops onto the scene. He, remember, two years ago, he was starting for us at Florida, right? Game we won 41 to 17, right? He was one of our starters and then got banged up. So Ryan has a ton of experience, extremely strong, tough, smart. We expect a great year out of Ryan Rodriguez.
On Coach Viti: Oh, he's the perfect guy for the job because the biggest thing we need at the tight end position is discipline, technique, and fundamentals, right? In every aspect of what they do, you know, on when they play tight end, short yardage, spread formations, detach, their roles on special teams, that requires someone to be very, very diligent in technique, fundamentals, and assignments. And I think that's what Coach Viti has brought to the table. And it's very evident in the spring that we've really enhanced ourselves in that respect. And these guys have taken to him because they see his level, his football IQ, his football acumen is off the charts. And he can teach the run game as an offensive line coach, which he was one of the best in the country. He is one of the best in the country. And at the same time, teach the passing game as an elite teacher of the passing game. Being a former fullback, you know what I mean? He understands the ins and outs of the entire offense. And he's been, him and Coach Upshaw, you know, have been tremendous blessings to our organization.
