Mario Cristobal joined the ACC Network at the annual spring meetings to provide the latest on the Canes. A summary of his interview is below:
On the progress in spring: Our staff has worked really hard at acquiring some high-level competitors, some really high-caliber talent, and bettering the depth of our program. It's been our focus, just getting to work, increasing our levels of effort, of discipline, of performance. It's been a really, really good spring, and we look forward to a great summer.
I felt strong progress in the form of culture, in the form of roster, in the form of people, and work ethic.
On Cam Ward’s leadership: You see all the great stuff on film. He can throw the ball all over the field, makes dynamic plays with his arm and with his feet. But right away as a transfer he fit in because of his work ethic and his ability to bring people together. He's going to just grab people and take them upstairs after practice and watch extra film. He's going to have people come over his house. They're going to sit down and break bread. They're going to talk. They're going to connect. He's going to make them come in on weekends. And he's going to get a ton of extra work with them. He is very focused and intent on bettering the program, bettering his play, everything that comes with it. So he's been a tremendous boon for us.
On the quarterback room: We treat that room like we do every other room. If not, you just have an imbalance of perception and culture. We don't want to have any subcultures. It's one culture and one philosophy. Reese, Emory and Judd have provided the right type of competition. They don't just accept being a reserve. They want to compete and gain their playing time as well.
Cam does a great job with them. They do a great job pushing Cam. It's the right kind of competition. It's a competition where people want to make each other better, as opposed to viewing that as a threat.
On the progress in talent and up front: We've been getting better. We've been at this for two years now, and we've been building this roster, building this culture, and there's been steady progress. Actually, last year, there was a lot of progress statistically. The exceptions are the areas of turnovers and penalties, which end up costing you. We’ve taken another jump in terms of caliber of talent, development and culture. You need to address those other things to take that next step as a program.
It's got to start with the big guys up front. The level of physicality of toughness has improved. It's got to take another step this summer. We've got to develop more young guys. We've got to develop more high-level players to operate the way we want to operate.
On the next Rueben Bain: I'll let them and their play dictate who you speak about, because it's not fair. There's a lot of young guys that have performed really well. A guy like Elijah Alston, he transfers over and does a really good job.
We're still on the hunt. We need more help at the defensive line position. Portal season's never over, so we're always at work. Hopefully, we'll be able to solidify that here in the next couple of days or so.
On the importance of the ACC meetings: Number one is being able to come together and sort out a lot of things. If you wait too long, they don't get sorted out before the year starts. The player-to-coach communication, scheduling. We cover it from A to Z. I think everyone is doing a really good job thinking conference first, as opposed to just their programs. We share a lot in there. We might teeter on arguing, but we leave there with a purpose of just making the conference and the teams better.
The big topic is the calendar. What does recruiting look like? How many contacts are you going to have in the spring if there's an early signing date? Are there three signing dates? Are there two? Are we accelerating this thing too much? Are we going down a hole that might take us to even more unknown and cause further changes? All good ideas, a lot of stuff on the table. The most important thing is to be unified and have really, really good talking points to push the right type of change for the NCAA.
On iPads and player-to-coach communication in the helmet: We still have a couple coaches that if they had to write a term paper, they would write on a typewriter. They're going to have to get used to the technology and the iPads on the sideline. So far, what we've experimented with in spring, they've really liked it. The increase and the speed by which you get information is incredible. I think our coaches have adapted really well. They're excited about it. The players live in the day and age of instantaneous feedback and information. So they're excited about it.
On the additions of Stanford and California to the ACC: First of all, two great programs and two great coaches, Coach Taylor and Coach Wilcox. I actually met Coach Taylor way back in recruiting in the California area, and also obviously having competed against Coach Wilcox. I’m very familiar with them and their programs. They're great additions, great institutions, great fan bases, and now our players get to see a part of the country they probably would have never seen.
I played my first game at Cal, so I can specifically remember just how awesome that was and our players get to experience that. We better buckle up because those are good football teams.
On the opening game against Florida: The next game is always the most important game. One thing I won't do here in the month of, what are we in? I don't even know. May? In May, we won't start discussing an opponent. Now, Miami, Florida, and Florida State playing each other is paramount, in my opinion. Those games are always as intense and as important as they could possibly be.
On how he plans to enjoy the summer with his family: It’s the month of June now. It's a beast within itself. But in July, coaches do have an opportunity to really reconnect with their families. My wife, Jessica, is a super mom. And I have a 14-year-old, Mario Mateo, and a 12-year-old, Rocco. And they're playing. One's going to high school. The other one's still playing seven-on-seven. It's constantly on the go. What will we do? We'll probably do football, and we'll probably fish somewhere, but we find the pockets of time, and we find a way to connect as a family. We're super blessed, thank God, to be healthy and to have the opportunity at the University of Miami.
On the progress in spring: Our staff has worked really hard at acquiring some high-level competitors, some really high-caliber talent, and bettering the depth of our program. It's been our focus, just getting to work, increasing our levels of effort, of discipline, of performance. It's been a really, really good spring, and we look forward to a great summer.
I felt strong progress in the form of culture, in the form of roster, in the form of people, and work ethic.
On Cam Ward’s leadership: You see all the great stuff on film. He can throw the ball all over the field, makes dynamic plays with his arm and with his feet. But right away as a transfer he fit in because of his work ethic and his ability to bring people together. He's going to just grab people and take them upstairs after practice and watch extra film. He's going to have people come over his house. They're going to sit down and break bread. They're going to talk. They're going to connect. He's going to make them come in on weekends. And he's going to get a ton of extra work with them. He is very focused and intent on bettering the program, bettering his play, everything that comes with it. So he's been a tremendous boon for us.
On the quarterback room: We treat that room like we do every other room. If not, you just have an imbalance of perception and culture. We don't want to have any subcultures. It's one culture and one philosophy. Reese, Emory and Judd have provided the right type of competition. They don't just accept being a reserve. They want to compete and gain their playing time as well.
Cam does a great job with them. They do a great job pushing Cam. It's the right kind of competition. It's a competition where people want to make each other better, as opposed to viewing that as a threat.
On the progress in talent and up front: We've been getting better. We've been at this for two years now, and we've been building this roster, building this culture, and there's been steady progress. Actually, last year, there was a lot of progress statistically. The exceptions are the areas of turnovers and penalties, which end up costing you. We’ve taken another jump in terms of caliber of talent, development and culture. You need to address those other things to take that next step as a program.
It's got to start with the big guys up front. The level of physicality of toughness has improved. It's got to take another step this summer. We've got to develop more young guys. We've got to develop more high-level players to operate the way we want to operate.
On the next Rueben Bain: I'll let them and their play dictate who you speak about, because it's not fair. There's a lot of young guys that have performed really well. A guy like Elijah Alston, he transfers over and does a really good job.
We're still on the hunt. We need more help at the defensive line position. Portal season's never over, so we're always at work. Hopefully, we'll be able to solidify that here in the next couple of days or so.
On the importance of the ACC meetings: Number one is being able to come together and sort out a lot of things. If you wait too long, they don't get sorted out before the year starts. The player-to-coach communication, scheduling. We cover it from A to Z. I think everyone is doing a really good job thinking conference first, as opposed to just their programs. We share a lot in there. We might teeter on arguing, but we leave there with a purpose of just making the conference and the teams better.
The big topic is the calendar. What does recruiting look like? How many contacts are you going to have in the spring if there's an early signing date? Are there three signing dates? Are there two? Are we accelerating this thing too much? Are we going down a hole that might take us to even more unknown and cause further changes? All good ideas, a lot of stuff on the table. The most important thing is to be unified and have really, really good talking points to push the right type of change for the NCAA.
On iPads and player-to-coach communication in the helmet: We still have a couple coaches that if they had to write a term paper, they would write on a typewriter. They're going to have to get used to the technology and the iPads on the sideline. So far, what we've experimented with in spring, they've really liked it. The increase and the speed by which you get information is incredible. I think our coaches have adapted really well. They're excited about it. The players live in the day and age of instantaneous feedback and information. So they're excited about it.
On the additions of Stanford and California to the ACC: First of all, two great programs and two great coaches, Coach Taylor and Coach Wilcox. I actually met Coach Taylor way back in recruiting in the California area, and also obviously having competed against Coach Wilcox. I’m very familiar with them and their programs. They're great additions, great institutions, great fan bases, and now our players get to see a part of the country they probably would have never seen.
I played my first game at Cal, so I can specifically remember just how awesome that was and our players get to experience that. We better buckle up because those are good football teams.
On the opening game against Florida: The next game is always the most important game. One thing I won't do here in the month of, what are we in? I don't even know. May? In May, we won't start discussing an opponent. Now, Miami, Florida, and Florida State playing each other is paramount, in my opinion. Those games are always as intense and as important as they could possibly be.
On how he plans to enjoy the summer with his family: It’s the month of June now. It's a beast within itself. But in July, coaches do have an opportunity to really reconnect with their families. My wife, Jessica, is a super mom. And I have a 14-year-old, Mario Mateo, and a 12-year-old, Rocco. And they're playing. One's going to high school. The other one's still playing seven-on-seven. It's constantly on the go. What will we do? We'll probably do football, and we'll probably fish somewhere, but we find the pockets of time, and we find a way to connect as a family. We're super blessed, thank God, to be healthy and to have the opportunity at the University of Miami.
