Head Coach Mario Cristobal spoke to the media after day one of fall practice Tuesday morning. He stated that there was some progress with culture, understanding systems, and moving fast and said that there is some improvement in most areas.
On the increase in size of the football team:
"We're definitely bigger. We have more power. You want to hit certain benchmarks in the weight room, and you want to make sure that matches up on the type of player they are. They have to be both. You can't just have just a weight room guy or can't have a guys that just look the part. We have significantly increased our size, our power, our speed, it's been put to the test through our summer conditioning program, and they had a good summer and it showed up today because, there's always some rust, but it looked like a day one plus a little bit more. Depth-wise, it got better. Not exactly where you want it to be, but certainly an opportunity to build a lot more during camp. The focus is making sure that...look what sticks out the most is that there's competition at just about every position. That's going to make us better. It's the right type of competition, attitude as well. Guys are taking it on and understanding well if this is going to make me better. It's not a type of threat. We see growth and development, and we got to keep teaching and learning and teaching and learning and developing and getting better."
What he meant:
Miami's size and depth is beginning to be on par with championship-level programs. His players have to have a combination of size and skills. The players have been working in the summer to improve, and it shows. Many positions are up for grabs because of the amount of talent and competition seen from day one. No complaints from the players, as they know that each spot is earned.
On if any players stood out on day one:
"Yeah, some guys did. I'll be better off putting stuff together after watching film. You hate to mention a flash and another 40 plays; ugh. I guess what I'm saying is the biggest flash was the progress of culture. Running all the way on and all the way off the field. Making sure the attention to detail and finishing plays were at the forefront. Not perfect but improvement, right back to film and go get better."
What he meant:
Cristobal doesn't want to praise any specific players after day one without looking at the film. He was impressed with the effort of his team, however.
On rebuilding the secondary:
"As a coaching staff, we cannot get comfortable on just relying on James [Williams] and Kam [Kinchens]. They are great players; they're great leaders. You mention Jadais [Richard], yeah, Jadais is a really good player. He started at nickel, at corner, at the boundary safety spot, the field safety spot at Vanderbilt, so he's a very experienced player. He's long. He's big, strong, explosive guy. So yeah, he's more than flashed out there, but so have all those other guys. Darryl Porter's done a really good job. TC [Tecory Couch] continues to do really well. Jaden Davis is a really, really good player. Damari Brown, Davonte Brown, he picked up right where he left off in spring. He had a really good spring. We feel like the competition there has got better. We're going to amp it up, though, and they understand that."
What he meant:
Miami needs the cornerbacks to play at a high level. The competition at all the cornerback positions is wide open.
On the offensive line having a mix of veterans and young players:
"It's about the five guys that can play as one. You're right; there is a mix. There's a lot of experience at center and at left guard; guys are splitting reps at left tackle. At the right guard position does have a lot of experience, and the guys behind these guys, they've played well. With what Coach [Lance] Guidry does on defense, you see a lot. So you're gaining some really valuable practice experience. You just need more. That's on us to keep developing, keep recruiting, and bringing in body types that fit the mold of a big league power five offensive line. We got to be able to block. We got to be able to knock people back on both sides of the ball, control the line of scrimmage. We have our work cut out for us, but we've improved. We want to keep working at it and keep getting better."
What he meant:
The left tackle spot is far from solidified, but the O-Line reserves have shown improvement. Guidry's defense is helping the line prepare for various looks. Cristobal is not satisfied with the quality of the depth, but likes the trajectory.
On starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke's health:
"He looks good. He looks really good. He looks comfortable but urgent. So he understands the offense, he gets after it. He's proactive with his teammates, getting extra work in, making sure everyone's on the same page. He's practicing with a lot of intent. Very intentional in everything he does, which is always a blessing when your quarterback takes that type of initiative. Very pleased, fired up, happy for him all that stuff."
What he meant:
Van Dyke is healthy and, more importantly, takes ownership of the football team.
On tight end Elijah Arroyo:
"He's done everything full speed, we just limit the reps until we hit certain benchmarks for his rehab. Joe Girardi does an unbelievable job of returning to play. You've seen him before; you know how valuable he is; you know how much it hurt not having him last year, and he's an even better human being. A great person, he's a great leader. We're fired up to have him back."
What he meant:
They are still taking it slow with his rehab, so there aren't any setbacks. He is one of the most valuable players on the team and a great person.
On backup quarterback Jacurri Brown:
"He looked really good. Tyler, both Emory [Williams] and Jacurri looked really good. Got the ball out quick; they were very accurate. They did a great job of managing both the offense at the line of scrimmage and in the huddle. They're growing. You can see the maturity. The work they put in over the summer is starting to pay off."
What he meant:
All quarterbacks are grasping the offense very well.
On building the culture with several new players on the roster:
"Well, I never said the culture was completely built. We certainly made a lot of strides in that direction. We're not hard to figure out. We really believe in hard work. We believe in doing things the right way and going full throttle, sure that everything team-oriented is first. We were very selective in the guys that we recruited, in the portal and coming out of high school. They're the right type of fit, and if they're not all the way there, it's our job to help them get there. This whole thing is about teaching and learning and growing and credit to all the guys that were here and formed that leadership council because they got to go halfway there, to bring in the guys who just got here as they come halfway and pull them all together, and they've done an unbelievable job in connecting, and hanging, and getting to know each other through just countless activities, and investing time in the summer, and work right? You can't trust somebody unless they've put in work. These guys are smart, right? They want to play with guys they can trust. If they can't be trusted, they're not going to play. So they are holding each other more and more accountable, but there's still a lot of room to grow. Our focus is much on the intangibles and culture as it is on scheme."
What he meant:
The culture that Cristobal is implementing is continuing to grow, and the players are embracing the culture. Miami is looking for culture-fit players in which they can trust. Culture is extremely important and the formation of the leadership council is evidence of that.
Cristobal plans to have the team scrimmage for the first time a week from Saturday and the following Friday.
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