Mario Cristobal enters year two as the head coach of the University of Miami and he addressed the media Monday afternoon in his weekly press conference.
He made sure to address the concern of the health of his starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke:
"Tyler's been practicing at full speed. I think you guys reported something relative to him missing some days of practice, and him and some of the guys were due to camp. He's 100 percent and has been practicing with our team, so in case, you guys like to write stuff, but figure you have the stuff that you need, hopefully."
What he meant:
He assured the fan base and media that Tyler has not missed practice time and is 100 percent healthy. He's going to play in the season opener.
On the passing game:
"They can't do it wrong, really. We've seen a lot of progress. There's trust in it. At this time last year, we were struggling with trust and confidence in the passing game, and right now we feel like it's one of the stronger parts of our team."
What he meant:
The passing game is ahead of where it was at this time last year and is one of the strengths of the team.
On the confidence he has in the tight ends:
"We do. We feel very versatile. We think that they can protect. They can run deep routes. They're good intermediate game. They're good blockers. They're good on the ball, they're good off the ball, They're good detached. I think that you have a versatile group of different body types ranging from 225 to 265 that could do a lot of different things for you. And provide some versatility offensively."
What he meant:
The tight ends are versatile.
On Miami (OH) Quarterback Brett Gabbert:
"He does it all, right? He's an excellent passer. He's a tough and physical and fast, explosive runner. Great feel for the system. He makes the magic happen for them. Great feel for the entire...the culture of the organization. You can tell he's one of their primary leaders. And it shows in the way that he plays the game, It shows in the production that he's had. And certainly, I know they count a lot on him, but he's surrounded by a great supporting cast now. He's not doing it by himself. He has some really good players around him."
What he Meant:
Gabbert is a playmaker that fits Miami of Ohio's culture. He has some playmakers around him as well.
On the physicality of the line of scrimmage:
"There has been. You know, I think you know you gotta play a game to really, you know, start getting engaged for where you're at. Have we enhanced the body types? I think you've had a chance to see that right? We're certainly there's a...there's there's been a buzz about that kind of stuff, but we bring those guys back down to earth. The buzz, you know, for the trenches that doesn't mean much, right? You got to put your hand in the dirt, you got to go play. We're playing against the team that defensively is known for, for knocking back the run and pressuring the quarterback. I mean, they're third-down packages are as exotic as it gets. A lot of pressure, you know, a lot of athleticism on the edge. And a lot of stunts and games inside, making things very difficult. So you know, for us, we feel that both the defensive side and the offensive side have improved because, yeah, they had a great summer, but we also, you know, had an opportunity to enhance our personnel and that person has been going head-to-head and toe to toe for an entire, I guess 8-9 months now. You know, in their player-led workouts in spring practice, in fall camp. You know, today was a perfect example. We have three certain...we have three sets throughout the course of practice where the ones go against the ones and twos, go against the twos, and you see legitimate battles and competitions. So that's going to pay off for us, we think you know now, and in the big picture in the long run. But we're we're enthused about what we're seeing. We just, let's go make it happen."
What he meant:
Miami has improved the overall size of the offensive and defensive line players. The coaching staff does well to keep the players humble. The one-on-ones have helped with building physicality, which will be needed against a team like Miami (OH).
On the expectation of the offensive line play:
"We're looking for performance across the board, you know? When say what we'll see? You know, that's like a prediction. I can't. I'm never going to predict any aspect of the game. Do we feel confident in our advances, in our progress? Absolutely. As a program, we do. We feel confident that we've worked hard. We feel confident that we're working and earning our way to playing better, and that's where we like to leave it before a game. I don't like to talk much. I know the way we work. I know the investment of the players, whether it be the film room, the practice field, all that stuff. So yeah, it's consistently just getting better and better, but we need to go play football. We're not, we're not on game day yet, but we're going to get there, and Miami will be ready."
What he meant:
"Cristobal is confident that the work that has been put in the spring and fall camp has helped Miami be better but can't predict that it will be at a level that it needs to be."
On the freshman class making an impact:
"You're going to see a lot of guys playing. You'll see that. I mean, it's, you know, it's funny, I know Cam[ron Ghorbi] has a responsibility of asking for a chart, like a depth chart. Who's playing or what? It's hard to tell, you know, because there's a lot of guys are going to be splitting in time. Some guys are going to be in there after one series, some after two, and if a guy gets hot, we're gonna roll with them, Okay? And you're playing guys that have earned playing time, and we did a good job in recruiting some high-level talent, and they know what they're doing. They've been coached well in high school. What they lack is experience. So that part, you know, you got to see what happens on game day that comes with the lights being on and live play and going against experienced guys. It's an experienced team we're playing against. You know what we do, our intention, our plan is, you know, we plan on playing all the guys, young or old. Been here for a while or just got here they have earned the right to play, alright? We're not just giving away playing time; that give us a chance to be successful, and win a football game."
What he meant:
The depth chart will be a fluid situation and many players that have performed well in camp will get opportunities in games. There will be a rotation of players in and out of games, especially in the early part of the season. They will go with the hot hand no matter the age of the player.
On efficiency in game one:
"Until you play the game, you really don't know. It's always a fear, right? Special teams, substitutions, organization, right, all that kind of stuff. So if you work at it, you try to simulate those situations in practice, you go live headsets. You know, you orchestrate, and you set up your scrimmages and your live plays so that it feels as much of as a game as it could possibly be. But in terms of when the lights come on or whatnot, you want to...you recruit coaches and players that are attracted to the big stage and the bright lights so that if there's an error, it's not because of stage fright or because of lack of time invested or preparation or whatnot. Because I, you know, we just happen not to do well on this play. So that's what we want now. Again, when you when you play...well, we'll leave it at that. That's good."
What he meant:
Cristobal will not know how well the Hurricanes will perform until he see them in an actual game setting. He and his staff have recruited players who have big game experience so they are prepared for high-pressure situations.
On telling whether the team can handle adversity:
"I think it's hard. I think that's hard. You wish. You really wish you could predict that part. What you can see in practice is the flow of practice, right? If the defense is beating down the offense, does the offense have that response mechanism to say, hey man, enough's enough? We're going to put our foot in the ground, and we're going to go, we're going to get this done. Or do they just kind of, you know, wave the white flag? Do they roll over? And what we've seen in practice so far is a team that's willing to dig deep and fight and turn the momentum right partisan in college football is to get momentum and then keep momentum or to turn momentum. So we've seen a team that has shown growth in that part as it relates to practice, okay. I always tell...and I kid our strength coach all the time, you know, we have a great strength and conditioning program, but the weights don't push back. You know, the cones and the whistles, they don't, they don't push back, right, when you're running sprints and all the other stuff you do. Football, you know, people, humans, it's resistance, right? That pushes back. So it's a great question, and looking forward to finding out."
What he meant:
It's tough to tell whether this team can handle adversity, but in practice, he's seen growth in character and execution.
On having a veteran quarterback Tyler Van Dyke:
"Well, you know it's...Guys like that are hard to find, right? That have experience, and the thing that sticks out about him there, there's a guy that wanted to be here, right, and went through a tough time because, number one, he's a competitor, number two, he loves Miami, and number three, he understands where Miami is going. So to have a guy like that that understands what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, why it's being done and is willing to go at it, you know, a thousand miles per hour every single day, it's awesome. He's got a great supporting cast, too, you know, which I think is really helped, and that's where we see a lot of growth, not only in him but in our team."
What he meant:
It's awesome to have a quarterback, who competes, who has bought into the culture and believes in the future. The supporting cast is helping Van Dyke become a better player.
On the punting team and special teams unit:
"Well, he looks great in practice. You know, he looks great. When we recruited him... Lou is special, right? I mean, Lou really...Lou's a game-changer. If you look at how many times he flipped the field and whatnot, and you know, certain times last year, we didn't take advantage of it. Like we could have caused some force. He forced some errors with the way he put a spin on the ball and the way he made it flip over and whatnot, and where he put it on the field. So, but we're, excuse me, we feel very confident in what we've seen. And now, also, in year two, schematically with what we do, we feel the advances in what we do and how we do it is going to help us. It's going to help our punters; it's going to help our kicker. I think it's neat too...If you notice Andy [Borregales], Andy's bigger, you know. Andy and big are probably not a synonymous thought, but Andy has put on, you know, about 16-18 pounds. And the balls, it's just rocketing off his leg, okay. And he is accurate, and he's accountable, and he's fun to be around. I mean, that guy is...we're excited for him. You know Mason has done a great job snapping the ball as well. We feel like we have a seasoned, dependable special teams. Specialist group, I should say."
What he meant:
He is confident that special teams will get the gob done despite the loss of Lou Hedley. Kicker Andy Borregales has gained weight which has helped with his power.
On the competition at quarterback throughout fall camp:
"I love the fact, okay, we haven't talked about it much that both Emory [Williams] and Jacurri [Brown] have stepped up big time. Where those guys have shown that they can play winning football and their grasp of the offense, their ownership of our scheme and they're just continual, just their approach to the game is continuing to take steps, you know, continues to elevate. Which makes you feel good about the present, God forbid there's a situation, and makes you feel really good about the future as well."
What he meant:
The backup quarterbacks have made strides and Cristobal is confident that they can win games for the team if need be.
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