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

“Alright, so we’ve already gotten started on our opponent this week. You know, reviewing the film, kind of like what we talked about after the game the other night. Just had a lot of culture and execution is what showed up on tape, you know, really. Proud of the progress of our team, the fact that there's been such a change in our physicality up front on both sides of the ball, and that everybody really focused on really on doing their job and not pressing just to go out there and make a play. Sometimes, when you do that, you get out of sorts a little bit, and for the most part, guys were doing their job and on point with and let guys make a lot of plays, so, but that being said, all focus on Virginia. Coming off a big win this past weekend. They got a lot of good players, a lot of speed on the field, and very disruptive on defense. They do a bunch up front; they present some challenges. Good practice this morning and questions, please.”

What he meant:

Cristobal was proud of what he saw on film from his team. Players committed to their assignments and remained disciplined. Virginia will challenge Miami.

On if the physicality shown against Clemson:

“You know, I do think that’s something at the end of the year you really look at it and draw comparisons, but it's a major step when you look at it right? Rushing totals. Lopsided right? 2-11-30 when you look at pressures on the quarterback. I believe we pressured 18 out of 34 with five sacks, and I think we had two or three pressures, maybe more, maybe a fourth one, but no sacks. You feel really good about that progress, and we matched up against some really good players, so just a lot of hard work and development. I think style of play came into play also. I think our Tuesday, Wednesday, practice sessions also showed up as well. You know, things that we work on a lot showed up as well. So certainly excited about the progress, and truth of the matter is there's a lot of improvement to be made, and we attack those things right away on film, you know, without any, you know, no sensitivity, no you, know nothing but betterment in mind.”

What he meant:

Can't really determine at this point if the team is where it needs to be physically. The way that Miami is practicing is showing up in games. Statistically pleased, but there is much to improve upon.

On Backup Quarterback Emory Williams’ performance:

“I thought he was excellent. I do. And I think we all know, I know it sounds like a broken record, if that's your first start, there's going to be a speed adjustment. It's just going to happen a little bit faster. Things are going to move just a little bit crazier than what you can provide. But we do practice a lot of good on good during the season, so he does get a lot of speed on speed, but he went through his progressions extremely well. He articulated the play calls, you know because we are a huddle operation for the most part, we didn't huddle; he was able to communicate very well as well. There was no communication issue. He was very decisive. You know, he got some balls batted earlier. I think as a freshman quarterback, sometimes you don't find that, that throwing lane. I thought as the game went on, he got really comfortable, you know? I thought he really started settling in and made some big throws, certainly that third down shot to Colbie [Young]. That's a big-time throw and a big-time route, a big-time catch on third down on a must-have-it situation. So very pleased with his with his performance, and I know all his teammates were really excited for me. You saw Tyler [Van Dyke]'s emotion on the sideline, you know, towards him congratulating him. So really good job by him.”

What he meant:

Very pleased with the performance of Emory Williams, considering his first start. His teammates supported him through the process.

On Tyler Van Dyke getting Emory ready for his first college start:

“He was excellent. He's a great mentor. I know Emory really looks up to him. Just helping him learn. Again, it was a new offense for everybody, but just Tyler's experience and football at the college level requires a certain level of understanding, and Tyler has been instrumental in helping them along with that."

What he meant:

Van Dyke did a great job of mentoring Emory throughout the process.

On the health of Tyler Van Dyke:

“Yeah, he's good to go, you know, that's what I can tell you, I think. Last week was again caught, caught us off guard. You know, I know on game day, you know, people look up and say, whoa, wait a second. But it caught us off guard during the week, and sometimes, you know, he doesn't have anything that's that serious. But if it takes a certain turn, you could, it could delay it, you know, and that's really what ended up happening. And that we're in a good place right now, and you know, everything was back to normal at today's practice.”

What he meant:

Tyler Van Dyke should be healthy enough to start Saturday. The fact that he was not able to go Saturday was a surprise.

On the health of Akheem Mesidor:

“He's been out for a little while. I can tell you, Nijalik [Kelly] will be out, probably the rest of the season. Okay. His is a little bit more significant. Akheem is; I feel like he's close. I feel like maybe not ready to comment completely on him right now. We do have some evaluations today, later today, and then another one later this week. I mean he's we're doing a lot of stuff with him, so I think we're close, but we also want to just keep the confidentiality of his situation and also just not fully having a complete, like, just knowledge of where it's at to make a comment.

What he meant:

Kelly is out for the season. Mesidor is likely out for the next two weeks, but there is not enough information to say when he'll return.

On the health of Tre’Vonte Citizen:

“He’s close, you know he is. He's repping indy. He is due for some work, some team work this week. He's doing all the running, all the cuts. All the drills is due for some contact this week as well, and you know we're very, we're very careful about that stuff. I mean, his was, his was a very significant injury. There was a lot that went on there, and then he had a setback, you know, during his recovery process. He looks great. I mean, it's uh…he's at that point where you can't tell he had an injury, you know. So now it's a matter of confidence. Now it's a matter of not so much physical. I would say uh rehabilitation as it is mental. Making sure that he feels confident enough and that he can play fast enough to really not subject himself to, you know, any type of injury situation.”

What he meant:

Citizen could be a couple of weeks away, but he will not be rushed to return. He's making great progress. Still looking for him to gain confidence in sustaining physical contact.

On what Citizen can add skillset-wise:

“Big, powerful guy, you know? He's a put-a-foot-in-the-ground-and-go guy, as well, I mean, he's got legitimate speed for a guy his size. He can make you miss. He's got great hands. Excellent in protection. He's an every down back.”

On offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson managing Emory Williams's first start:

“No, I think we mentioned before, Shannon, he did a great job. That's hard. That's hard. I mean, that's a top-ten defense, right? We've had a, I think, we faced two top ten defenses this year. And both with, you know, with a veteran quarterback and another one with a brand new quarterback in his first start, and you know, to be able to call it and still put yourself in a situation to win. And two very different games, very, very different games. And knowing what we had to do to play complementary football against Clemson's offense and whatnot. That's an art, you know, and he really did a masterful job of it. You know, I think we gobbled up over 13 minutes in the fourth quarter, nine-plus in the third, and the play count at the end ended up just about even right 70 and 70. Just goes to show you how important it was to have that type of time of possession and still keep the sticks moving at that point in the game.”

What he meant:

Dawson's management of both the game and Williams was superb. The time of possession was a critical factor in Miami winning.

On if the nine-minute drive showed up in overtime:

“Without a doubt, you know, it was a factor in us getting there, you know so.”

On the health of running back Henry Parrish:

“Good to go. We thought he was ready to play. You know Tyler was almost ready to play, but it was okay he hasn't really gotten, you know, enough reps to be there. Henry was starting to get some reps and was, he was about there. But not enough reps to think that he was going to be in better position to help us win than the other guys that got all the reps. So he yeah, he's back, full go.”

What he meant:

Parrish had a setback in warmups, and the coaches felt the other backs would be more effective. He should be ready against Virginia.

On the importance of true freshman Rueben Bain stepping in to replace injured starters:

“Yeah, it's you know he's, he's unique, you know? He's done…and the thing is, he's doing it with power also. It's not like it's just a speed guy or a guy that comes in situationally. He's doing it on an every-down basis, and his play count is probably the highest on the defensive line. So conditioning is in there as well. So he's been able to put veteran-like numbers and high-end veteran-like numbers as a true freshman. And doing the doing the dirty work, too, now you know? Jumping in there and getting the A-gap sometimes when he's called to do so, and rushing to the edge and taking on tight ends and tackles and chip blocks as well. So no, he's been incredible. And he just goes, you know? Doesn’t say much, just focus on playing great, great football. And he's, he's impacted the team not only as a player but also as a leader and as a person.”

What he meant:

Rueben Bain's versatility has been vital to the team's success. He's played like a veteran, and he has also been effective as a leader.

On experiencing the overtime game last year against Virginia:

“I mean, you work all those scenarios, four minute, two minute, overtime. I think what comes into play there is, you know, your red zone planning, obviously, you're playing red zone football, right? And then also your conditioning, you know, what you've done since January all the way up until there. And then you're again, what are you doing in practice? You know it's now week 6,7,8 for a lot of people; some nine that played week zero, I believe. And so what's going to show up during that time, right? Because it's hard. It's hard to run the ball in the red zone. Hard to throw the ball right because of the width and space to defend so. So, do I feel like we have an advantage? I feel like, psychologically, we’re very confident. But credit to them, that’s an excellent football team we played. That is as talented of a team as you’ll see. All in all, I'm just really proud of our guys. Whatever we talked about, whatever we worked on, it actually showed up, right? We protected the football, and we took away the football. And that has been, it's always been as big of a stat-line as you can imagine as it relates to winning and losing.”

What he meant:

Psychologically Miami should have an advantage, having played in overtime. All the short-yardage scenarios are practiced.

On the versatility of Brashard Smith:

Well, he does it all. You saw him play some running back, you saw him play slot, he plays outside. He’s on every special teams. He’s a returner. He’s broken some monster kickoff returns as well. He’s a punt returner as well. We’ll probably use him back there in a little bit, also. So he can handle a lot. He’s like a piece of iron he just doesn’t break. He can just go forever. He’s built that way. He’s over 200 pounds. Just so natural as a football player. An awesome human being, you know. I’m all over him. I’m a pain in his neck because I just feel like the sky’s the limit for him, and my obligation to make sure he leaves here absolutely elite, so I’m always on him. I think he appreciates him. I’m sure it makes him mad all the time, but he really is an explosive football player, and so he’s worked himself in a position where we’ve created stuff for him as well, as he’s part of the natural game plan.”

What he meant:

Cristobal is constantly driving Smith to be better at his craft. He believes that he has the potential to be elite. He is the most versatile weapon on the team. He has earned plays specifically designed for him.

On the biggest differences in the improvement of the run defense:

“We tried a couple of different things structurally. I think that showed. We did our job. It was a theme, and the guys will tell you everyone did their job and they did it well, they did it fast, they did it power, they did it with physicality, and they played with a lot of effort, you know? Really took on the attitude of it’s got to be this way. It’s got to be or will not be denied attitude on every single play, whether it works out your way or not. So, structurally, we threw in some things. Aside from that, we just, we just.. we elevated our level of play. We played to the standard that we need to keep improving upon, and certainly, we need to build upon.”

On if the ACC has provided any clarification on the safety that was not called:

“It I could break this I would…next question please. We’re awaiting a response.”

On Emory Williams burning his redshirt:

“I think the day and age of redshirting is, you know? There’s a transfer portal, there’s injuries, there’s three and dones, you know? If you can help the team and play, you play, you know? If you bring value to a team. To waist someone on meaningless downs, no. If you’re playing special teams, that’s ultra-valuable because you're one step closer to being a full-time player on offense and defense. The training of the speed of the game, angles, leverage, understanding concepts, special teams is far and away the best way to acclimate players. You know, Emory’s a different situation, but he just started the game, you know? That’s obviously the most value right you get out of that, but he’s ready to go, and all systems go.”

What he meant:

Miami will play players that can help the team win. The team is not concerned with burning redshirts because of the multiple ways teams can fill rosters.

On what Virginia has shown on film:

“Well, watching them up front, they bring a lot of pressure. I mean, they are anywhere from 36 to 40 percent pressure. They’re disruptive up-front because they’ll run a lot of stunts. Not only on third down but on first and second down to try and disrupt your run game. Lot of TEs, ETs, double TEs, which is something we haven’t seen yet. You know, America’s blitz, field missile, bring the Sam and the Mike and the Mike and the Will respectively, depending on what part of the field you’re on. They involve their secondary pressures as well. They got a really nice menu of pressures. On third down, they’re exotic. We put in already extra time into all that stuff. Knowing that third down, they’ve really made it difficult for North Carolina last week. Forced some high balls. Forced an interception at the end, that actually was a quarterback hit to seal the game with an interception. But they are really stout up front; their linebackers can absolutely roll. They’re great tacklers on the back end. A lot of speed. I think their offense, they're just gelling. I mean, they are making explosive plays all over the place. They’re hard to cover. They run really hard. They’ve done a lot of work on their offensive line. You can tell because, just the way they fit their combination blocks, the way they communicate is just in sync. They operate at a very high level this past week.”

What he meant:

Virginia will try to confuse offenses with their variety of defensive looks. The Virginia defense is the greater concern for Cristobal.

On playing a team coming off of a big win:

“I think for 150 years, everyone has been trying to figure that out, and I feel like if you watch college football, you get a different result and different dynamic, right? Depending on what you watch, and it keeps coming down to what’s going on between the ears, you know, what’s going on upstairs. Where is that mind? What is the mindset of the football team? Are you unified? Are you willing to fight through the tough times? Are you willing to take a shot right in the nose and be able to keep getting up and up until it turns your way because we just had to do that, right? They were facing with that, and they did it. You know, so there’s tangible evidence, right? There’s film and proof that they are a team that is very capable of playing at a high level, and they did that so, which is great for our guys to realize that because probably one of the hardest things to convince players and the coaches in college football for whatever years is that everybody has good players. Everybody has really good players in some way, shape, or form. Some have a ton of good players, but if you walk into a game thinking that you are going to do well because you’re better or they don’t have good players, you’re out of your mind. And this doesn’t relate to who we’re playing; it’s just college football in general, and that’s why I think you see some of the…you they’re called upsets, but it’s really who played better that day. It’s not the best team, right? It’s who plays best. So whatever goes on between the ears has got to be the priority. It is for us on a week-by-week basis.”

What he meant:

Any team can beat any team on any given Saturday. Mental preparation is the key to preventing upsets.

On honoring Virginia after the tragedy from last year:

“We’re setting up some stuff that, you know. It’s really important to us, you know. Gulliver’s right down the road. Can you imagine as a parent? That’s tough stuff. So we're we're surely going to do everything we can to honor them, you know?”

On running back Don Chaney’s health:

“He's doing well, you know? He's doing well. He, you know, he got up, you know, getting back in the game, but you know, he got up really slowly, you know. So it was concerning at the time, but we feel like he's in a good place right now.”

What he meant:

Chaney should be able to get some carries on Saturday.

On wide receiver Colbie Young’s play:

“The best thing he did was after the ball got knocked out of his hands. Get right back up. The dig route, the other, the jump ball, you know, the underthrown fade. That guy, I mean, he's a machine. That guy just works. He is. Unbreakable. You know, he fights through injury, he fights through nagging stuff. Always a positive attitude. We got to slow him down during the week because GPS numbers are so high. We don't want him to just use up all the gas in the tank before the game comes around. He's that kind of guy. I mean, he is…we are super fortunate to have Colbie Young in this program.

What he meant:

Young is an outstanding football player with mental toughness.

On the offensive line:

“They are a legitimate, hard working, tough, resilient, accountable, physical, smart, cohesive human beings that are team first guys. They want to see the team win. They're willing to do…they all think they're super athletes. That's the only thing that's, you know. They all think they should have the ball or a play where they get the ball, which, you know, we're not doing that. But they've got great personality. They're natural leaders by what they do and whatever comes out of their mouth by example. Those guys are a lot of fun to be around, and the culture of that room just gets better and better and better. Coach [Alex] Mirabal, you know, just sent an awesome job. Coach [Edwin] Pata was with them earlier. He's now working more the defense. But coach Reggie Bain and Ryan Walk, you know, we had brought also from Oregon. Those guys just do an unbelievable job with that group and they make it fun, man. They make it fun because they go.”

What he meant:

It's a pleasure coaching the offensive line, and the coaches do a great job developing them.

Talk with Miami fans on Canes Talk, Inside Canes Hoops, and Canes on the Diamond

• Subscribe to the Storm Tracker Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, and Spotify

• Subscribe to the Canes County YouTube Channel

• Follow us on Twitter: @Canes_County, @BenjaminRivals, @TheCribSouthFLA, @AnthonyYero1, and @MichaelYero

• Follow us on Instagram: @Canes.County

Follow us on Facebook