Head Coach Mario Cristobal joined local radio 560 WQAM on The Joe Rose Show at the ACC Kickoff on Wednesday.

He started answering a question about his level of excitement for the season:

"Joe, you hit it right on the head man, it's a great combination of guys that have been here. A couple that have been here for four, five years, and then some really high-caliber transfer portal guys, and then some uber-talented freshmen. That's a good blend because what they share in common is that they all love to work. They run to the work, they run to the fight and so it's led to a great offseason, a great spring. I know we talked about the quarterback a lot, but it starts there, and it starts up front, so far, so good."

On the importance of having a high-caliber quarterback in order to be successful:

"If you don't have that everything else has to be elite. And you have to play...I don't want to say perfect football, but man you really got to eliminate anything humanly possible that you can eliminate from a mistakes standpoint. You know what, the guy's an eraser. All of a sudden a tough play, a guy or whatever, stumbles, falls, makes a mistake and all of a sudden he breaks contain, he's out in space and he's making a throw, making a run, yeah those guys can certainly make a lot of wrong things right."

On if Cam Ward has surprised him:

"Yeah, he's a real one, straight alpha. I think everybody wanted him because of what they saw on tape. The guy makes some unbelievable plays. He's super talented, but the part that we felt separated him from the rest, whenever he made a mistake, he attacked the very next play, the very next series like everything was dependent upon that. He's a true competitor. Was never phased. And that part of him shows in his daily work ethic and the way he approaches everything."

On keeping players in the program:

"I think it all starts with what's the starting point of the place you get to because for us it was there was a massive need for older players, mature players. The juniors and seniors players that were to be, they were few and far between that were going to be starting caliber players. So, what do you got to do? You got to make sure you access. Alright, what do we need? What positions do we need? And then what positions can play now as freshmen, and which are going to require some time, and then you create your balance from there. But we've always been very open and honest about that stuff, and we never had to use the transfer portal anywhere we've been up until arriving at Miami due to the starting point. Again, we never ever once were anything but honest about that and our approach to it has been really, really good, and we've been able to get some great players. To put in perspective, as it relates to the portal, our first class, they were freshmen last year. They were freshmen and redshirt freshmen. Our second class, which is the best in school history, well they finished prom a couple months ago, and then they've been at practice with us and lifting, right? So they have yet to play a game. And then our third class, they are about to play a high school season, so all those guys aren't here yet or have just arrived here and is about to get going. So you had to fill in the rest of the spots with mature players that are seasoned and experienced."

On the transfers fitting into the team:

"Yeah, you know you mentioned those guys right there they are all defensive linemen and I remember being a player here, and Miami was really good because the defensive line used to beat the snot out of everybody. I remember trying to block those guys and you just can't. The young guys have an opportunity to learn from some really good older guys. Like these transfer portal guys that we brought in. They are all of the same mentality. They got the right mindset. They're about the work and they're going to be good mentors for some of these young guys. Yeah, these young guys, they don't have a governor, they just go. They're really smart. They're hard-working so the future is really bright for the trenches."

On how long it takes for the team to gel with several newcomers:

"Every single program is different. I've seen it happen almost instantaneously, and I've seen it take time. I think the combination of older that have been here, transfers that have gotten here but have experience and want to win and want to be great, and some really talented freshmen that always wanted to be Hurricanes that love the opportunity to be at Miami, that's a good combination, so that accelerates a lot of it. And then it's on the coaches man. We're in a day and age where college football, it's very mobile. Things are in and out all the time and it's just the way of the world. And you know what? Because of it, you got to keep bringing in great players and get them ready to play early, and make sure your systems are airtight so they can learn it, and execute it to the best of their abilities."

On having the continuity of having both offensive and defensive coordinators return for another season:

"It really is, so now when you install, they know it and you can evolve quicker. You can adjust quicker. They are teaching it to other people. They are running it faster. There is less or no hesitation in the way they execute. Continuity is king man, you know? It really is. When you get to have systems in place and make those systems better by, again, self-scout, accessing what you have, and then moving forward by bringing in new people, new ideas, it's a tremendous boom, a tremendous advantage."

On the expectations of the team going into the 2024 season:

"Joe there's never going to be expectations higher for ourselves than myself and then our players. We came to Miami, this was our end all be all man. Always has been to make it look a certain way. Bit by bit, step by step, Miami is looking more and more like what Miami should look like and you know what let's call it what it is, nothing's going to stop it. We just got to keep putting time and hard work and great people, great competitors, because hard work, great people, and great effort, it's undefeated man. Just keep doing the work. Keep doing it the right way with the right people."

On how he manages his time:

"You're just not very popular at home and you got to deal with it. It comes with it. If you're out here trying to spearfish a grouper and you have to go up because there is a phone call coming in and your son's down there with a bull shark trying to battle with him. The most important recruits are the ones in your building. They are the most important ones. And I think what happens too, is that you have to really be efficient throughout the day. You got to resign yourself to, if you love this, you got to do it and you're going to do it. And the other part is too, if you're doing really right by your players, your people, they're your best recruiters. Our players are by far our best recruiters because at the end of the day, they are always going to get pulled aside by families, by prospects and they are going to be asked the questions that maybe they hesitate to ask you. It all works out man, as long as you're fully invested. If it's in your heart they can see it through your eyes and the way you present yourself about your place. If it's real, well real is going to show and it's going to be effective."

On changing the program:

"That was part of it now. I mean we had established ourselves pretty well out west and to turn around 20 years of not Miami standard, is the best way to put it, you're going to have to invest a lot. It comes with it. You can't turn something around like that. It didn't get like that overnight. It's not going to be something that you snap your fingers and it's going to turn around. You got to peck away at it, but you got to stay consistent. The culture thing man, with all the talent that we're getting, the culture part of it has got to stay at the forefront, because that will build upon itself. That will push this thing forward to different levels and that will get the most out of everybody. And when I mean culture, I'm talking about the staff as well. The staff has to be even that much more accountable and responsible than anybody else, because we only have these guys for sometimes now one year, six months, right? And up until five years, but that number I think is down to 15 percent. You don't see guys go the whole gambit anymore. So, with that being said man it's got to be all the way in mentality all the time. And you know what, enjoy it. No one should ever complain about the work. We're super blessed to have this opportunity. Besides having your job, which is the best job in the world, I can't imagine having a better job, you know?"

On making adjustments with Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL):

"I'm sure this comment will take a lot of shots later. NIL has been around a long, long, time, it's just actually legal now, okay. Those out there complaining and everything else, I don't care, they're not my concern. I have no comments about them, even though I just did, but for us to focus on Miami, we do it the right way. We have a great NIL program and the truth of the matter is the people involved do such a good job that it allows us to run free and clean and efficiently, and focus on the things that are important. Their education, their training, their development, their opportunities with life after football, and then truly teach them the team concept. Which you can never lose. If you are going to be in football and you are going to be a teacher and a coach, you better teach what that means. You better help them understand and learn what true work ethic means and what it means and what it leads to. And what poor work ethic leads to. And we've always been a teacher and it's because we've always been teachers because our high school coaches and our college coaches were phenomenal and now it's our obligation/responsibility to be the same type of mentors."

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