TRANSCRIPT: Mario Cristobal goes in-depth with Joe and DBJ on roster, Ball State and more
13 min read
Mario Cristobal went almost thirty minutes with Joe Zagacki and Don Bailey, Jr. going in-depth on the state of the Canes. A transcript of his comments is below:
On the fan support for the FAMU game: Great atmosphere. The fans, they brought it. Hurricane family showed up strong and our players really appreciate it.
On keeping the momentum going: We're two games in. Is there excitement? Yes. Is there a strong buzz? Great. Let's go work. That's all we got to focus on.
On the FAMU game: We started fast. The defense played great the entire game. Offensively, we had a 99-yard drive, but we couldn't score from their 20 yard line when we got the ball. It makes no sense. You’ve got to get that done. So we went right at it, as simple as this in the locker room: we were cheating ourselves. We weren't playing up to our standards for whatever reason. But there's only one reason we play, and that's to play together to win. That was brought to the forefront. And I thought the response was awesome. Four straight scores, four straight stops. And then a lot of guys got to play, which is extremely valuable for the future of the program.
On the importance of game reps: It's a different world now. It really is. Those guys were commenting on that. And they were appreciative of their playing time. They showed it when they played early, the twos and some of the threes.
They were giving in some. They weren't quite playing to the standard. But when they finally started getting their cleats in the ground, you saw some really good performances by a ton of young guys. To have three interceptions by three different linebackers, that’s as rare as it gets. We protected fairly well. The guys up front on the defensive line did great. The linebackers played really, really well. So did the DBs. A lot of guys got good playing time. Guys like Jojo [Trader] caught their first pass. Ny Carr caught his first pass. You know, I think of Elija Lofton as a sophomore. He's such a good player. He's been playing so much anyways. But everyone got reps and it was great to see.
On developing young players in modern football: Things are different nowadays in college football. You always had spring ball, but now you have skill instruction. So you can work with your players some. And then they hold their own practices. It's almost like an NFL OTA. The rep count increases exponentially.
Our staff spoke amongst each other: we must do a better job of getting the other part of the roster ready to play right now. There's no more waiting game in college football. It's a transient-type business nowadays. You've got to get guys ready to play because there are injuries. The seasons are longer and not everyone sticks around forever. So there's a commitment to that. We're looking forward to reaping the benefits of it.
On Cam Ward: He's everything and more than what we thought. The best part about him is the mentality and the heart. The ability, no one's going to out be able to outperform that part of it. I just don't think anyone can catch him as it relates to what's in here (heart) and what's up in there (brain). The guy was raised right and he makes people around him better. It's what you want to play with, and he's really had a tremendous impact in that locker room.
On developing players like Wesley Bissainthe and Jaden Harris: And guys like Matt McCoy. You know what a great player he's turned out to be. And there's Cooper. There's guys like Bain and Francis that popped out of the box with no assembly required. We were able to inherit Jalen Rivers. What an unbelievable young man. So we've got a great blend on our roster.
It makes sense. It's layered. There are some great frontline players that are a lot older, but there's a good chunk of younger ones as well. And there's some excellent players that are either playing in spot duty or getting into rotation or just about ready to get in there. So it bodes well for the future.
On Tyler Baron: What a great surprise. I kid him all the time because I was chasing him like a maniac when I was working at Oregon. I just couldn't get him to go all the way out there. And so having him here now and getting to know him, what stands out is he has those qualities like we referred to for some of our other players. He is a very driven, smart, hardworking guy that is uber talented. He's another guy just getting started. For him, there's no ceiling.
On Markel Bell: He did a great job. Really proud of him. Everybody's proud of him. He earned the trust of his teammates early on, and he did not disappoint. He's only going to get better and better and better. You've seen how much his body has changed in the last nine months. He is a workaholic. Just an awesome human being. Loved watching Big Kel play out there.
On Zaquan Patterson and OJ Frederique: OJ has already gotten starter reps, and Zaquan really had a strong week of practice. We put a lot on him this week. We said, “Hey man, you've got the ability. No more waiting. You’ve got to get it done. Let's get in here. Let's spend more time studying. Let's have better practices.” Zaquan responded extremely well. Super proud of him. He went out there and really did a great job. Just another example of a really talented freshman that's on his way to being a great player for us. Not later, but now.
On the defense: Fantastic play on that side of the ball. Coach Guidry, it's amazing to hear him speak. Being in his second year with a lot of the same guys, it's just a different world. He sees a game like no one I've ever been around on the defensive side of the ball. When he's dialing it up, he's hard to match and the players feed off of him. Really honored to have him here with us.
On his assistant coaches: Everyone around the country recognizes them as great coaches. The most important part to go with that is they’re elite human beings. Love being around those guys. They certainly have impacted the people in the building in more ways than just football.
On special teams vs. FAMU: That was the one ugly part of game one up at Florida. We didn't cover the kickoff very well. We have been hammering that. Every single coach – Coach Derek Nicholson, Coach Matt Merritt – these guys have done a phenomenal job of pushing it. Guys like Adarius Hayes and Bobby Pruitt and Robert Stafford, Popo Aguirre, these guys really took it upon themselves and made it personal. Bobby Washington is going to be really, really good at that as well. Dylan Day did a great job as well setting the edge on that also getting physical. We tackled one inside the 20 and one inside the 15. That's a dramatic improvement for our coverage team.
On Ball State’s personnel: They’ve got a great offensive line. They are big. They're nasty. They are physical. They get the ball out and they get it out in different ways. The screen game, down the field, play action shots, RPOs. The tight ends are really good players. They have explosive wide receivers, a very veteran group on offense. I believe they returned 10 starters, including four out of the five offensive linemen. They tally up maybe the second or third most offensive line reps in the country.
They're complemented by a defense that was giving up 15 points a game last year down the stretch. They lost some players, but they've added more talent. They've added longer, more explosive bodies, more power at the line of scrimmage. So this is a really good football team. We study everybody, but we pour a lot of time into our first six opponents. They were one we poured a lot of time into, and we recognized them right away as a really good football team.
On the Ball State’s defense: They bring pressure. Half the time, they're bringing something in some way, shape, or form. And they disguise it really well. They're going to hit you. They want to hit the quarterback. They want to hit the running back. They want to get their free hitters or plus one guy in the box. They want to confuse your IDs, your points. and get you offline so that they can come free and make some plays. So very well coordinated.
Their head coach, like myself, is coaching his alma mater. That always makes a tremendous difference. So a lot of respect for them and looking forward to the opportunity on Saturday.
On their running back, Braedon Sloan, who transferred from Kentucky: Everyone's watched the same transfer portal, so you know who's going where. We recognize them as a team. They got some really, really good players and they were already a good football team.
On time of possession: They've invested a lot in their trenches. So have we. We love seeing those those battles. They're a very well coached football team. The hype surrounding them is not noise and it's real.
On the Canes’ confidence as a team: It comes from time invested. It's real confidence because of the amount of work done and time around each other. It's a real high care factor right now. We've all recognized that what we do best is practice and preparation. If you could win on Greentree Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, you're going to give yourself the best shot on Saturday.
They recognize the best overall thing we have going on right now is our culture. When you combine that type of hard work and practice and preparation with culture, you get on the bus feeling good about where you're going to be come kickoff time.
On the tight end room: A lot of dynamic playmakers, different body types. They all bring physicality to the table and athleticism. They all can run. They all can catch. Just a really impressive group and we're blessed to have that tight end room.
On evaluations: We do it as a staff. It’s not just one person. It's a concerted effort by, everyone fully recognizing and understanding that's the life's blood of any program. It's always going to be about people, regardless of what you choose to do in life.
As it relates to recruiting, talent can’t be compromised, but neither can character and work ethic. They’ve got to go hand in hand. They don't work very well without each other. These guys go from being high school superstars to, “Hey, man, get in line. You’ve got to earn this now”. If the DNA isn't where it needs to be, sometimes those things don't work out very well. You want to get your hit ratio – meaning the guys that you really hit on that become really good players, really good citizens for you – to be at a really high clip. So you just do tons and tons of background checking and research, and you spend every ounce of time you can with them. You watch them in adverse situations. You watch them when they're riding high and doing great as well to see, “What are they made of? What are they like? How are they around their family? How are they around their teammates? How are they when they're losing a game? How are they when they're winning a game? How are they in practice?”
Go over to the bursar's office. Go to the attendant's office and find out, “Hey man, is he paying his bills on time? Is he showing up to class and school?” So there's a lot. But again, this is Miami. We live and die for the University of Miami. When we talk about Miami, it's not selling. It's just telling the truth.
On the sales pitch: This is an elite private institution. We had some families that were here this weekend and they were walking around campus and they were blown away. It's like, “How do you not come here?” This setting is perfect for people that are really serious about their academics, their ability to network and find the best career opportunities all over the world. And it's an awesome place for people that want to be elite at football because you have an unbelievable group of people, men and women in the training staff, mental health support, strength and conditioning, recruiting, development, coaching that are here to just do everything humanly possible to make you the best you can be.
On the existing players being your best recruiters: it's a perfect example. Mark Fletcher getting off to an awesome freshman year, bam, really tough injury. “How's the staff? Are they there for you? Are they moving on from you? What are they going to do?” Well, look what he's doing. Let's go all over the globe. Go to Francis [Mauigoa]. How's that adjustment gone? Freshman All-American. Let's go over to a local guy, Rueben Bain. Let’s talk about how that's gone. So the list goes on and on and on and on. We stand by our people, by our work, by our word. And we don't compromise that for anyone or anything.
On his experience in personnel: It all started here. I remember being a G.A. and I remember guys like Chuck Pagano talking to me about the industry and how it works. And he's like, “Hey, man, I know there's coaches going here or there because ‘they pay more’ or because of a country club membership or whatnot.” He goes, “Don't ever trade anything for great players.” This is still a player-led industry, and great players that are great people are what it's all about.
On the fan support for the FAMU game: Great atmosphere. The fans, they brought it. Hurricane family showed up strong and our players really appreciate it.
On keeping the momentum going: We're two games in. Is there excitement? Yes. Is there a strong buzz? Great. Let's go work. That's all we got to focus on.
On the FAMU game: We started fast. The defense played great the entire game. Offensively, we had a 99-yard drive, but we couldn't score from their 20 yard line when we got the ball. It makes no sense. You’ve got to get that done. So we went right at it, as simple as this in the locker room: we were cheating ourselves. We weren't playing up to our standards for whatever reason. But there's only one reason we play, and that's to play together to win. That was brought to the forefront. And I thought the response was awesome. Four straight scores, four straight stops. And then a lot of guys got to play, which is extremely valuable for the future of the program.
On the importance of game reps: It's a different world now. It really is. Those guys were commenting on that. And they were appreciative of their playing time. They showed it when they played early, the twos and some of the threes.
They were giving in some. They weren't quite playing to the standard. But when they finally started getting their cleats in the ground, you saw some really good performances by a ton of young guys. To have three interceptions by three different linebackers, that’s as rare as it gets. We protected fairly well. The guys up front on the defensive line did great. The linebackers played really, really well. So did the DBs. A lot of guys got good playing time. Guys like Jojo [Trader] caught their first pass. Ny Carr caught his first pass. You know, I think of Elija Lofton as a sophomore. He's such a good player. He's been playing so much anyways. But everyone got reps and it was great to see.
On developing young players in modern football: Things are different nowadays in college football. You always had spring ball, but now you have skill instruction. So you can work with your players some. And then they hold their own practices. It's almost like an NFL OTA. The rep count increases exponentially.
Our staff spoke amongst each other: we must do a better job of getting the other part of the roster ready to play right now. There's no more waiting game in college football. It's a transient-type business nowadays. You've got to get guys ready to play because there are injuries. The seasons are longer and not everyone sticks around forever. So there's a commitment to that. We're looking forward to reaping the benefits of it.
On Cam Ward: He's everything and more than what we thought. The best part about him is the mentality and the heart. The ability, no one's going to out be able to outperform that part of it. I just don't think anyone can catch him as it relates to what's in here (heart) and what's up in there (brain). The guy was raised right and he makes people around him better. It's what you want to play with, and he's really had a tremendous impact in that locker room.
On developing players like Wesley Bissainthe and Jaden Harris: And guys like Matt McCoy. You know what a great player he's turned out to be. And there's Cooper. There's guys like Bain and Francis that popped out of the box with no assembly required. We were able to inherit Jalen Rivers. What an unbelievable young man. So we've got a great blend on our roster.
It makes sense. It's layered. There are some great frontline players that are a lot older, but there's a good chunk of younger ones as well. And there's some excellent players that are either playing in spot duty or getting into rotation or just about ready to get in there. So it bodes well for the future.
On Tyler Baron: What a great surprise. I kid him all the time because I was chasing him like a maniac when I was working at Oregon. I just couldn't get him to go all the way out there. And so having him here now and getting to know him, what stands out is he has those qualities like we referred to for some of our other players. He is a very driven, smart, hardworking guy that is uber talented. He's another guy just getting started. For him, there's no ceiling.
On Markel Bell: He did a great job. Really proud of him. Everybody's proud of him. He earned the trust of his teammates early on, and he did not disappoint. He's only going to get better and better and better. You've seen how much his body has changed in the last nine months. He is a workaholic. Just an awesome human being. Loved watching Big Kel play out there.
On Zaquan Patterson and OJ Frederique: OJ has already gotten starter reps, and Zaquan really had a strong week of practice. We put a lot on him this week. We said, “Hey man, you've got the ability. No more waiting. You’ve got to get it done. Let's get in here. Let's spend more time studying. Let's have better practices.” Zaquan responded extremely well. Super proud of him. He went out there and really did a great job. Just another example of a really talented freshman that's on his way to being a great player for us. Not later, but now.
On the defense: Fantastic play on that side of the ball. Coach Guidry, it's amazing to hear him speak. Being in his second year with a lot of the same guys, it's just a different world. He sees a game like no one I've ever been around on the defensive side of the ball. When he's dialing it up, he's hard to match and the players feed off of him. Really honored to have him here with us.
On his assistant coaches: Everyone around the country recognizes them as great coaches. The most important part to go with that is they’re elite human beings. Love being around those guys. They certainly have impacted the people in the building in more ways than just football.
On special teams vs. FAMU: That was the one ugly part of game one up at Florida. We didn't cover the kickoff very well. We have been hammering that. Every single coach – Coach Derek Nicholson, Coach Matt Merritt – these guys have done a phenomenal job of pushing it. Guys like Adarius Hayes and Bobby Pruitt and Robert Stafford, Popo Aguirre, these guys really took it upon themselves and made it personal. Bobby Washington is going to be really, really good at that as well. Dylan Day did a great job as well setting the edge on that also getting physical. We tackled one inside the 20 and one inside the 15. That's a dramatic improvement for our coverage team.
On Ball State’s personnel: They’ve got a great offensive line. They are big. They're nasty. They are physical. They get the ball out and they get it out in different ways. The screen game, down the field, play action shots, RPOs. The tight ends are really good players. They have explosive wide receivers, a very veteran group on offense. I believe they returned 10 starters, including four out of the five offensive linemen. They tally up maybe the second or third most offensive line reps in the country.
They're complemented by a defense that was giving up 15 points a game last year down the stretch. They lost some players, but they've added more talent. They've added longer, more explosive bodies, more power at the line of scrimmage. So this is a really good football team. We study everybody, but we pour a lot of time into our first six opponents. They were one we poured a lot of time into, and we recognized them right away as a really good football team.
On the Ball State’s defense: They bring pressure. Half the time, they're bringing something in some way, shape, or form. And they disguise it really well. They're going to hit you. They want to hit the quarterback. They want to hit the running back. They want to get their free hitters or plus one guy in the box. They want to confuse your IDs, your points. and get you offline so that they can come free and make some plays. So very well coordinated.
Their head coach, like myself, is coaching his alma mater. That always makes a tremendous difference. So a lot of respect for them and looking forward to the opportunity on Saturday.
On their running back, Braedon Sloan, who transferred from Kentucky: Everyone's watched the same transfer portal, so you know who's going where. We recognize them as a team. They got some really, really good players and they were already a good football team.
On time of possession: They've invested a lot in their trenches. So have we. We love seeing those those battles. They're a very well coached football team. The hype surrounding them is not noise and it's real.
On the Canes’ confidence as a team: It comes from time invested. It's real confidence because of the amount of work done and time around each other. It's a real high care factor right now. We've all recognized that what we do best is practice and preparation. If you could win on Greentree Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, you're going to give yourself the best shot on Saturday.
They recognize the best overall thing we have going on right now is our culture. When you combine that type of hard work and practice and preparation with culture, you get on the bus feeling good about where you're going to be come kickoff time.
On the tight end room: A lot of dynamic playmakers, different body types. They all bring physicality to the table and athleticism. They all can run. They all can catch. Just a really impressive group and we're blessed to have that tight end room.
On evaluations: We do it as a staff. It’s not just one person. It's a concerted effort by, everyone fully recognizing and understanding that's the life's blood of any program. It's always going to be about people, regardless of what you choose to do in life.
As it relates to recruiting, talent can’t be compromised, but neither can character and work ethic. They’ve got to go hand in hand. They don't work very well without each other. These guys go from being high school superstars to, “Hey, man, get in line. You’ve got to earn this now”. If the DNA isn't where it needs to be, sometimes those things don't work out very well. You want to get your hit ratio – meaning the guys that you really hit on that become really good players, really good citizens for you – to be at a really high clip. So you just do tons and tons of background checking and research, and you spend every ounce of time you can with them. You watch them in adverse situations. You watch them when they're riding high and doing great as well to see, “What are they made of? What are they like? How are they around their family? How are they around their teammates? How are they when they're losing a game? How are they when they're winning a game? How are they in practice?”
Go over to the bursar's office. Go to the attendant's office and find out, “Hey man, is he paying his bills on time? Is he showing up to class and school?” So there's a lot. But again, this is Miami. We live and die for the University of Miami. When we talk about Miami, it's not selling. It's just telling the truth.
On the sales pitch: This is an elite private institution. We had some families that were here this weekend and they were walking around campus and they were blown away. It's like, “How do you not come here?” This setting is perfect for people that are really serious about their academics, their ability to network and find the best career opportunities all over the world. And it's an awesome place for people that want to be elite at football because you have an unbelievable group of people, men and women in the training staff, mental health support, strength and conditioning, recruiting, development, coaching that are here to just do everything humanly possible to make you the best you can be.
On the existing players being your best recruiters: it's a perfect example. Mark Fletcher getting off to an awesome freshman year, bam, really tough injury. “How's the staff? Are they there for you? Are they moving on from you? What are they going to do?” Well, look what he's doing. Let's go all over the globe. Go to Francis [Mauigoa]. How's that adjustment gone? Freshman All-American. Let's go over to a local guy, Rueben Bain. Let’s talk about how that's gone. So the list goes on and on and on and on. We stand by our people, by our work, by our word. And we don't compromise that for anyone or anything.
On his experience in personnel: It all started here. I remember being a G.A. and I remember guys like Chuck Pagano talking to me about the industry and how it works. And he's like, “Hey, man, I know there's coaches going here or there because ‘they pay more’ or because of a country club membership or whatnot.” He goes, “Don't ever trade anything for great players.” This is still a player-led industry, and great players that are great people are what it's all about.
