Said Vs. Meant: Mario Cristobal addresses media ahead of game vs NC State

Head Coach Mario Cristobal spoke at his weekly pregame press conference ahead of the home game versus NC State this week. He started with an opening statement.

"Several things stand out in a positive way, and of course, other things to fix as well. We jumped right on it right away. The team was very aggressive for correction and betterment and improvement, and it's taking a really, you know, professional approach on finding ways to get better. And I think it was very evident in not only meetings but walkthroughs and practice, and looking forward to a great challenge and opportunity up Raleigh this weekend on North Carolina State."

What he meant:

The players are eager to improve in preparation for the game against NC State.

On backup quarterback Jacurri Brown:

“He's doing really well. Going to be really great player for us. His reads, his accuracy. He's always running really well. He's become a really good quarterback as well. He's had natural leadership skills since they set foot on campus was such a great player in high school. Yeah, we haven’t had a chance to see him out in public yet, but his strides are very significant, and we expect them to be a great player. Well, he's developing, he's doing a great job. He's going to be a great player for us.”

What he meant:

Brown is improving as a quarterback.

On Tre’Vonte Citizen:

“Not sure. He is cleared, he is ready, he is rusty, you know? And we want to make sure that when he does get in there, that it's because he has a chance to help us win games. The best part about it is there's no question he is going to be full…he is fully healthy, but he's going to be himself whenever that point hits, you know? I think it's a little bit different when you're running back, you know? It's such an instinctive position like the middle linebacker that your body is almost going to do things, you know, at a rate and a speed and from a reaction standpoint that it just takes reps. So, he's getting a lot of reps in practice. Everyone's really happy for him because what he went through was obviously a tough thing, but I can't put a timeline on when exactly he’s going to get reps.”

What he meant:

Citizen is healthy enough to play but may not play this season.

On the disconnects of the passing game:

“Well, probably a little bit of everything. I think when the passing game is off, it's, you know, the passing game is so much about precision. You mentioned being synchronized, being on the same page, and all it takes is being off here and there. Some of it was coverage was good. Some of it was, could have made a better decision, some of it was, a route could have been better, or protection could have been better, and so, in essence, we could have coached it better. So, that's the way we take it. You probably didn’t expect a different answer, you know? We're going to take it. Completely as an organization, but the improvements in the areas that we identified are all fixable and things that we have done well early in the year. So we've certainly gone at it, you know, directly, bluntly and every emphasize and gotten out the things that we feel are going to make it better because we're capable of doing it, and we expect to make it happen.”

What he meant:

There are various reasons why the passing game did not work last week. Miami is working to improve the passing game with honesty.

On winning in overtime and how that builds team character:

“Well, I think, like we mentioned the other night, you kind of get to the point where you see so many scenarios that you start really believing that there's not many things that you can't overcome. That's really important. It's easy to talk about it. It's easy to simulate it in practice, but until you actually get overtime, until you're actually pressed up against the one-yard line, two-yard line until you have to come back and tie a game or take the lead late in the game, then defend your own side of the field. Until you actually do that in live action, it's so, you know? It's just really hard to replicate. Well, we've had live work at that now and have had some really good responses and some good results, particularly in overtime. So, belief and culture gets stronger, which gives us a chance to get better.”

What he meant:

It's tough to replicate specific scenarios in practice, and because Miami now has experience in those areas, it can only help the team going forward. Cristobal is pleased with how his team has responded thus far in those situations.

On the high-level of play of the offensive line:

“They got a lot of pride. They work really hard. They’re talented. They’re tough. Coach [Alex] Mirabal grinds them. They believe in him; he believes in them. It's a great, great room. Those guys are a lot of fun to be around, and they are pushed really, really hard, and there's no sensitivity in there. None of them are going to in any way, shape, or form be taken aback when we get after him, and so it's a, again, it's a great room."

What he meant:

The offensive line has worked hard to excel. There is a togetherness among the group.

On the commonalities to having a successful November:

“Well, you got to get stronger as the year goes on, right? Hopefully, you'll avoid some injuries. Your team leaders become your hardest workers and play their best football in clutch situations. The team starts understanding that it's not about, hey, someone making a play. The team starts understanding that it's about everyone doing their job and doing it really, really well. Because when that happens, the plays just come to you, you know? And as the year goes on, you know, it's Week 9, everybody around the country in the same week, you know? Our fatigue, our pain that we feel when we go out there to practice. It's not unique to us. Everybody's going through it. But, to be able to wake up regardless of what you feel, how you feel and still have like that drive, that appetite to go get better and understanding that Tuesday and Wednesday, become your game reality. The teams that understand that and that push through that and on those days are the ones that really separate themselves in the closing months of the season. They also understand that those other days that there's walkthroughs, you know, the Mondays, the Fridays, that the mental intensity of those days has to match the physical intensity of Tuesday and Wednesday so."

What he meant:

Teams have to persevere through fatigue, and the focus for Miami needs to be on every player doing their job at a high level.

On what has been seen from NC State on film:

“They are physical, they are violent. When they tackle, their defense is extremely stout fast, play with a great pad level, great technique, great fundamentals, great hands. They all get to the football. I mean, it's evident. I mean, you see them retracing on screens, you see them chase down plays that somehow broken got behind them, and not many do. You see, when they get to the quarterback, they get there with with intentions, to let them know that they got there. Just a really impressive team, really impressive. They're kicking game is equally impressive. I believe they had a 56, 57 yarder this year. They cover down really well. Again, technically sound, you know? You could tell when you look at their team, you look at their roster, you see, a lot of guys that are in their fourth, fifth year, some in their sixth, I believe, so. A lot of them, most of them are high school recruits. So they've been in the program in the system for a long, long time. So they've been repping the systems, and they know the systems really well, and you can tell. And then on the offensive side of the ball, you see a very, you know, that the young freshman, [Kevin] Concepcion has done an unbelievable job. He’s been the player of the week for the conference or whatnot. But you know, I'm always focusing on the trenches, and they are physical and really, really tough and athletic up front. They move people; they finish their blocks; they communicate really, really well. Quarterback’s playing really well. Just a really impressive football team."

What he meant:

NC State has plenty of veterans who are disciplined and efficient in their play.

On the problems a 3-3-5 defense poses:

“Well, it’s just different, you know? It's very different than anything we've seen all year long. You always get some, you know, some type of version of an odd front, this 3-3 nickel. There's a lot of things that come with it, you know? Pressure comes from everywhere. There are internal pressures. There's a field missile, the boundary missile, corner fires incorporated, safeties coming with it. Umm. They’re so athletic that if a guy is out of his gap, it’s quickly filled, you know? They can replace themselves in the way it's spaced out. It makes those passing windows difficult. Their structure on the back end, they do a great job in disguising it because it looks it could look like zero, it could look like quarters, it could look like some form of two, invert some form of three. They do a great job communicating and actually executing some pretty complex, you know, calls.”

What he meant:

Miami has not seen the type of defensive formation that NC State runs. The defense will attempt to confuse Miami with blitzes.

On running back Ajay Allen:

“Yeah, we're starting to see the guy that we saw, you know, on film, when he entered the portal, some of his high school film as well. And in camp, he was excellent, you know? There were times in camp was like, wait, this guy's he's going to be a difference maker for us right away. And then I feel like as a season started, you know, different game plans, different opponents, I think that may be slowed him down a little bit from an understanding development standpoint. In the last couple of weeks[MB1], he’s really, really, picked it up, and you could see…he’s played against some…obviously, Clemson was a top five, top ten defense, and you saw the tough yards that he found and then this past game, he was able to find…even though he came out of the game had a cramp back there or whatnot, he really started finding his way. He’s making some tremendous strides. A lot of headway into just becoming a really, really good football player.”

What he meant:

Allen has improved throughout the season

On when Allen started show his ability:

“Yeah, I would say that first scrimmage, over at Hard Rock, you know, when you saw him kind of break out of there. He bounced a couple, in some, he split the defense on, he caught the ball out of the backfield well. So, he's showing that he's a complete guy and he could do a lot. He's a really good athlete, you know? If you had to play another position, like if you say, hey, go out there and cover somebody, he could probably do it, you know? Ajay’s that kind of a guy, and he's just A really hard worker and a great human being, great family, so we’re all really happy for him and for us that he’s playing well.”

What he meant:

Allen first flashed in fall camp and is a tremendous athlete and person.

On Tyler Van Dyke’s mentality:

“He's been good. Tyler’s are resilient, tough guy, and you know, he went through a lot last year, and you know it wasn't his best game. But like I tell him, like I tell our players, it's never one guy, you know? We all have to do a better job by you, and for you, you know? You're supporting cast, and your coaching staff always has to do better so that you can do better as well. There's no flinch in him at all. He's a really good football player, and he's going to play well.”

What he meant:

Van Dyke is tough mentally and has been through much already. The team has to continue to support him for him to improve. Cristobal trusts he will improve.

On whether Tyler’s physical limitations had any effect on him last week against Virginia:

“It's hard to say. Obviously, when you miss a week, I mean, it's still college football. When you're 18, 17, 21, 22, you just don't have all the reps logged like some of the guys. Again, we mentioned that, you know, I don't know if it's completely analogous to…you know, what I was trying to put together in terms of Pro Football, but those guys have so many reps logged that they can maybe go a few days without, you know, getting the reps. And I think in college you have to. And he's, he missed him some time. You know, we missed some time. But we don't want to really put it on anything or rationalize it or make an excuse for any player. We just want to just look at it right in the eye and say, hey, let's go make it better, right? Let's, with confidence, with no, not being sheepish, or shy or in any way, shape or form buckling, you know? Let's be men, and let's go attack this in the right way.”

What he meant:

Hard to tell if his injuries had an effect on his play. Cristobal believes Van Dyke missing a game was part of why he was not as efficient in his previous games.

On if Emory Williams confidence growing:

“He’s got that ugly mustache he wears, that's about the only thing you see growing on him, but he is… Emory is…he's like Tyler, he's like Jacurri. Those guys are just; they're like human beings. They're supportive teammates. They're competitors. They all want to play, you know, and they also recognize the importance of who has earned the right to play and the importance of supporting them and learning from them at the same time, you know? Those guys are so helpful throughout the course of the game in terms of support, in terms of something that they see on the back end that might be able to help the quarterback, so that's a great room.”

What he meant:

The quarterback has been a great support system for each QB in the room.

On the importance of the scout team:

“All a lot of those guys are playing on special teams, too, you know? Yeah, the scout team has been a really big difference. Scout teams here have always been the difference, you know? I remember being a graduate assistant, and, man, it’s like the Hall of Fame on the scout team. Just whooping on the offense and the offense, and the offensive coordinator can't figure out why they can't get a yard in practice, you know? I remember the same thing as a player. So again, going back to Tuesday and Wednesday, that's where that value comes in. Because if it is, if it's as similar to the opponent as it could possibly be and sometimes, you know, with some of the scout team guys show, sometimes it could be as good or maybe even better. You're going to have success on Saturday. Our team is…doesn't fully understand that yet, but we're starting to understand that. We still need more bodies. We're still building the roster. We're still building the walk-on part of our roster as well, which is critical, you know? We recruit walk-ons just as hard as anything else, preferred to walk-ons, and they were given great opportunities here so. But we're making our way there, and yes, they are critically important.”

What he meant:

The scout team has always been critical at the University of Miami. Some of the best athletes the program has produced have elevated from the scout team. Much of the scout team plays on special teams. Their importance is vital for the football team.

On the running back room:

“We feel Don [Chaney] is all the way there, ready to go, and so is Henry [Parrish]. Last week, the right move was both Ajay and Mark [Fletcher]. It's kind of a neat balance right now, you know, and it's good pressure by them, on them, on themselves, right? Guy gets banged up, or a guy’s missing a little bit of time, or maybe he's not at his best. Well, couple guys are ready to take some carries. So, it's the right kind of competitive culture. It's a healthy competitive culture, you know? Got to have more of that at all the other positions.”

On Wide Receiver Brashard Smith getting enough touches:

“I don’t think you can get him enough touches, you know? I think that was the lowest snap count we've had all year. What were we at 55 plays or something like that? If you include the penalty of 55 or 56. So you know we want to keep getting the ball in a lot of players' hands. We were not our best on Saturday so."

What he meant:

Miami didn't run enough plays to get Smith the ball.

On Running Back Mark Fletcher:

“Oh, he looked good, you know? He looked good in practice. You know the return play specialist here, Joe Girardi, actually played here, and that guy, he's, he's exceptional. By the time they get back to playing a game, they are…it's not the first live-action they've seen, and they've seen enough like high speed, like real realistic practice looks where they're prepared to have a good game. So it was no surprise that he picked up right he left off before he was hurt. So far, so good. He’s best football’s ahead of him, quite frankly, I think for Mark Fletcher, sky’s the limit.”

What he meant:

The training staff does a great job of rehabilitation with the players. Fletcher experienced live-action before the game, so he was fully ready.

On Elijah Arroyo:

“He got rolled up. You saw him; he came on out. He is day-to-day, you know? We feel pretty optimistic from what we saw this morning. After the game was like, well, you know, it's going to be touch and go. We're pretty optimistic. I think we're going to be in good shape.”

What he meant:

Arroyo is a game-time decision and likely will be limited if he plays Saturday.

On the expansion of teams in the ACC and the new scheduling model:

“The recruiting footprint grows, you know, grows, right? It stretches out. We head out that way anyways for that, but having coached out in the PAC 12 and whatnot. Just recognizing there's just a really good football out on the West Coast, more opportunities for us, for them, for our conference, for alumni, for recruiting. So I think it's all win-win. I haven't had a chance to peek at it yet, but you know, at some point in time, I will, but yeah, it’s all plus.”

What he meant:

Traveling to Texas and California should improve the recruiting landscape for Miami.

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