Many question if the Miami players are still entirely bought into what the coaches are selling after the deflating 23-20 loss to Georgia Tech.
The players spoke with the media Tuesday via Zoom press conference and answered questions of trust with the coaching staff.
"I wish we could have learned this lesson while winning the game; that would have been nice," Miami Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke said. "I think everyone's still locked in no matter what. I think we have a great group of guys who are willing to work no matter what happens. We're ready to go to work this week. We've had two good days of practice so far, and we'll continue to do that and get ready for Saturday."
Van Dyke is looking to bounce back from a three-interception game. He had one interception going into last night's contest.
Center Matt Lee expressed that the team is focused on the next opponent and is looking to forget what happened last week.
"You have a short memory," Lee said about focusing on the next opponent. "I woke up the next day, Sunday, and it is what is. It's my fifth year of football. Won a lot of games, lost a lot of games, you get up and you move on. Sun goes up. We got to play UNC on Saturday, you can't dwell on it at all. That goes for the whole team. That goes for the coaching staff, and you can be disappointed, you can be upset, but no matter what Sunday morning, and this week, and you got to get up and be like, alright, let's gameplan, and let's get ready to play North Carolina and that's what we've done. I think we've done a great job of that this week."
Lee also talked about having complete faith in the coaching staff, particularly Head Coach Mario Cristobal and Offensive Coordinator Shannon Dawson:
"I have unwavering faith in both of them. Absolutely. Since the day that I met Coach Cristobal and the first day that I even enrolled at the University of Miami. And Coach Dawson when he got to UM in the spring or whatever that time was. Both great minds, great men. I have nothing at all bad to say about either of them. I love both of them and extreme faith in both of them for the rest of the season for today, tomorrow, and moving forward, absolutely."
Lee took to social media after the loss and explained Tuesday why he felt the need to express his thoughts on X.
"I just felt like I wanted to, just express myself a little bit. In a positive manner, and hey guys, it's okay, you move on."
It's business as usual for the Hurricanes as the same week-to-week focus is instilled in this team despite an emotional loss.
"I think for us, the energy's always the same," Defensive Linemen Branson Deen said. "We have a head coach who is a great leader and sets the tone for us every week. He lets us know that every week we have to bring the intensity, we have to bring the energy, because every week, we're being hunted, and we accept that, and we look at it as a challenge every week, and we're ready."
"We have a lot of faith in our coaches," Defensive Lineman Rueben Bain said. "The decision that was made, we're not living in the past. We're just focusing on this week. We're supporting our coaches a thousand percent."
Miami plays its first road conference game at North Carolina. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM Eastern and will be televised on ABC.
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