Everything Mario Cristobal said on local radio after first fall scrimmage

"Well, the defense had been after the offense pretty good all of camp, and Saturday, it just looked like a determined group that set the tone early. After really two big plays, they got rolling. The defense came back and made some really good plays as well, but overall, the day really belonged to the offense. So it's good to see that bounce-back because the defense had been getting after it for a good number of days.

On if it's a good sign that the offense took a step forward over the defense in the scrimmage:

"We assess down-to-down, drill-to-drill, series-to-series to see what's actually going on. But you make the progress. Are guys competing? Are guys getting better? And it has been very competitive. I think, as a coach, you really start to worry if there is a butt-whooping on one side every single day. That's no way here the case. There are a ton of legitimate back-and-forth competition. It bodes well for us. There's a lot of improvement, a lot of enthusiasm within the walls. Just going out there and getting better."

On having dependable leaders on the football team:

"Well, the best part about it is that they are up to the test. For example, this week, we are throwing the kitchen sink at them. From a situational standpoint, adversity standpoint, working in the heat standpoint, extending drives, right? Try to gut it out, play ten, eleven into a drive. And they are going to respond. They are going to have to find a way to respond to get their teammates to respond, and they're all about it, and that's what makes working with these guys so much fun, and it gets everybody so fired up because they love ball, they love the work. They run to it. They are going to get a heavy dose of that this week."

On Washington transfer safety Mishael "Meesh" Powell:

"He's as good as any of the guys that I've been fortunate to be around. It's because he's a professional about everything he does. He wastes no time, there's no BS. He's all about the work. Tremendous human being. Super high IQ, and brother, he just goes. He goes one speed and one speed only. Whether it be in walk-throughs, whether it be in live drills. He knows ball. He knows how to leverage the ball, he knows how to play man-to-man. He knows and understands all of our defensive concepts. So, not only is he a great player. He's a great teacher and example for the guys around him."

Is there an area that he's pleased with:

"Oh, I'm not going to give any of these guys sugar; they know that. You praise the stuff that's good, but you really pour your focus on just getting better, and you're around a group of guys that likes that. These guys kinda don't like that fluff, 'hey, great job,' we're not into that stuff. We got to focus on getting better. Certainly, we reward the guys that perform well and praise the stuff that's done well, but there is a lot of focus on the intensity and the physicality of football and getting better at it."

On the secondary:

"In terms of talent, I think we have, you know, more talent that has been here in recent years, and I think that's progress. Part of the reason why we're here. We got to keep doing that more and more at every level. I think everyone in the building is incredibly impressed with our secondary. I think sometimes we mistake having a lot of young guys for guys that aren't capable of being ready or whatnot. We are one thousand percent confident in our guys, and not because we fluff them up or pretend that it's right. We got some flat-out players, and they're smart, and they're tough, and they can tackle, and they can cover. So, there is absolutely zero limitations to what we've been doing on defense. In fact, we expect to see the competition heat up a lot more in the coming week."

On keeping things simplistic going into game one:

"Well, remember, in college, you also have spring practice, right? You have a winter conditioning program which allows for skill and instruction for a certain amount of time throughout the course of the week. And then, in the summer, besides the actual training session, you have eight weeks, right? Nine weeks to get eight weeks of training, and those guys as players, I guess that would be the equivalent of OTAs. The players really conduct their own practices. Player-led practices so you do advance like...Joe, you remember back in the day selling encyclopedias or work construction all summer, eat a hot dog, and run your four hundreds. There's training year-round. As we get to camp, that would be the fourth or fifth time you install your systems."

On QB Cam Ward:

"The best way to describe him is hungry and driven. You're not going to find a morning where that guy is not in before everyone else. He's in there grinding on film, getting with coordinators, going through every aspect of what we're installing and what we're doing. We all know he's a great player; he can flat-out go, and it's been stated often that he's an alpha, but the guy is hungry and driven. There's no taking the foot off of the gas for him on that. He's just going to keep bringing it.

On if the season-opener feels like a long way away or around the corner:

"Practice number eleven or twelve seems right around the corner. Meetings start in about 45 minutes, and you know what, that's where it's gotta stay until we get more focus on the details of the game plan versus opponent number one. And the players know that. We gotta get better. We gotta improve our systems, our communication, technique, fundamentals, schematically what we do. Get more players to be capable of contributing, that's the focus right now. I'm sure we'll be hitting up on here in a few weeks and talk about game one."

On if the 2024 version of the Hurricanes will be a running or passing team:

"No, I don't think you can be one-dimensional in football nowadays. Everyone wants to be 50/50, I'd like to be scoring 50 points a game. In whatever way we can get that done. Coach [Shannon] Dawson has done an unbelievable job, along with the rest of the staff, formulating a plan that really highlights and makes sure that we get the ball in the hands of the guys that can make plays happen. To make us more explosive. We were more efficient last year, we scored more points, we controlled the ball better. We weren't overly explosive, right? Our big runs and big passes weren't in the numbers that you'd like a championship team to be in. So, that being said, whatever it takes to move the ball. When you have a quarterback like this and an offensive line like this, you have a running back, you know, guys we feel are high-level guys, you gotta make sure it gets spread around. You aim to be as explosive as you can possibly be, and I think our coordinator is doing that."

On bringing in defensive linemen via the transfer portal in the offseason:

"Well, I wish it was like the NFL, where you can bring them in now. A lot of progress. That was an area we felt like from day one had to be attacked and had to be enhanced just because the line of scrimmage takes longer to develop at the college level. These guys aren't NFL guys that come in ready to play. So, we're very happy with the progress that we make, but that's a never-ending, relentless attack. You have to add offensive and defensive linemen. You must be able to affect the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball to be able to win, and there's a ton of progress. Joe, you caught a piece of what it looks like. Let's get better, man. We want more. But it's getting better."

On freshmen getting playing time this season:

"Without a doubt. The way this team is layered and what we have from a depth chart standpoint, it would be hard to say that most of them will have some contribution or in the rotation or competing for being a starter. There's a lot of great young talent. They know what they know, and they don't know what they don't know, and that's okay. Let's go in there, let's find out, and these next couple of weeks will determine exactly what their role is to begin the season, but that role as the season goes on, it's on us to keep expanding it and improve our guys."

On the difference between freshmen who participated in spring football and the ones that were not:

"Some guys are...they're ready. Some guys need more time. Football will always be a developmental sport, and sometimes, the extra seven months ramps guys up to a point where they can do it. You got guys last year. A great example is Mark Fletcher, Damari Brown, right? They get there in the middle of June, but in the middle of the season, they are starting and playing significant reps on just about every phase. So, it all depends, man, you know. A guy like Penei Sewell, the guy walked in the door and took a job. It depends on what phase they are in their development. But they are going to be given an opportunity. If they can do it, we're rolling."

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