Everything Mario Cristobal said Ahead of Historic Matchup Against Virginia Tech

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes will be without one of their best players for the rest of the season, and the Canes also know their future is bright.

Mario Cristobal is preparing for the second-to-last week of the regular season for the Canes as they prepare to face off against Virginia Tech once again.

Opening Statement…

"I appreciate you guys being here. Certainly fired up. Excited to get back to work with our guys. After that strong performance, dominant performance on Saturday, lots of stuff to be excited about, lots of stuff to improve upon. And the best part is the energy, the attitude going right back to work with a great start today. Got to sustain that. Got a great opportunity this coming weekend to go up to one of the most iconic places to play football, right? An unbelievable atmosphere. A very talented team, a lot of really good football players, and certainly there's a long history between Virginia Tech and Miami, so really excited about the challenge and that opportunity."

On Carson Beck settling into the offense…

"Well, I think anytime you don't participate fully in spring practice, there's a lot of value to spring, let me start by saying that. And I thought that we had overcome a lot of that. Do you ever fully get that back? You don't. There's been some really good moments, and then some others where you wish you would have had more time, but certainly we feel great about the last couple of weeks of all the things that are transpiring offensively. And there's a very distinctly higher level of just energy, and I would say, just approach by everyone in the building and the complimentary football when that thing kicks in. Now it's special to watch, and I think that's what we all witnessed on Saturday, and we're looking forward to improving upon that, because there's a lot of stuff on tape, a lot of stuff on tape, that we have an opportunity to improve upon.

On if DB Keionte Scott is out for the season…

"I don't know. Like we mentioned, it is a more significant injury. You certainly hope and pray for. But you know, it doesn't look like it's very likely, but I'd hate to rule it out completely, because you just never know.

On the culture of older guys out but still involved…

"Keionte's leadership, I mean, it screams loudly. I think one of the better things I witnessed all year in my time here was him taking it upon himself to approach [CharMar Brown] after the fumble and just going right to him and looking him right between the eyes, and bringing the right type of not the coddling encouragement, but like, 'Hey man, you're that guy, and you're going to come back, you're going to bounce back, you're going to get after it, and you're going to make some critical plays in this game.' So you see it from him, and you saw from CJ Daniels. Just very involved. They're always moving. They're men of action. They just, they always have to be doing something that's impacting the rest of the team, and they themselves understand the value of that. They've seen it when they were young players in other spots, I should say. So invaluable. And certainly guys that we're counting on week in and week out to whether they're playing or not, to bring that kind of juice."

On Bryce Fitzgerald's versatility stepping in for Scott…

"Did a great job. I mean, he's uber talented and but he's also uber motivated. He brings that approach every day, a lot like we talk about guys like Malachi Toney. He's been led by a guy like Keionte Scott, guys like Zech Poyser, Jakobe Thomas. These are guys that have really helped lead him to understand the ways of becoming a really good football player and a lot of versatility with him. And you know, he got a shot in there. We pretty much got three or four guys playing that spot on Saturday and in different packages. I think they all had their some really bright moments, some other ones we got to correct. So looking forward to just watching him continue to evolve as a player."

On RB Girard Pringle's performance…

"Well, looked like a mature player out there. The extra yards, the make-you-miss opportunities. Really patient to the hole, but explosive through the hole, yards after contact, ball security, certainly the check down right to get, I think it was 12-13 yards. Just a lot of stuff, really played, really played well, and only going to get better, really never got tired. And just a really, really good performance by G."

On TE Elija Lofton bouncing back with a touchdown…

"Well, I think he deserves a lot of credit because he has played through some pretty good injuries and nicks and bumps or whatnot that have slowed him down. But he's never complained. He just keeps showing up. And has it hindered him some? It has, but he still keeps coming. When you make a play like that, it can really start the momentum to some bigger and better things. So his approach has never, ever wavered. He is a guy that's very strong-minded. We're counting on for continued high-level play, and I think it's coming his best steps ahead of him, but again. I'm really proud of the guy, because he's fought through a lot, and his future here is really, really bright. So looking forward to more to come.

On a second consecutive week of cleaned-up pre-snap play from the offensive line…

"Well, you know [Alex Mirabal] really well. So it's everything. It's team first, everything. I believe, I think now two weeks without a pre-snap. Know we had holding in there somewhere along the lines, but sustaining blocks, finishing blocks, chasing the ball, chasing guys down the field, a lot of pride. You see it every day. So it's not surprising. It's good to see the extra effort put into cleaning that up, because that certainly was affecting us. It's good to see that pay off. Got to say, I pointed to a noisy environment this week, certainly different than playing at home. A crowd very involved. The crowd there has impacted so many games for so many decades that we certainly got to crank it up and improve even more to give ourselves the best chance."

On what stands out about Virginia Tech…

"A DNA to that program. They're always extremely physical, extremely tough, and play really, really hard. When you look, when you break down, it analytically, and you really dive into the relative part of the game, they're a top-five rushing offense. They get after you up front, and they do it in a lot of different ways. And they'll scheme you up series to series. They understand leverage, numbers, and angles as good as anybody. And it's not quarterback runs only. I mean, that's part of their game, but both their running backs, really, all the guys that they use, they get downhill in a hurry, they got great contact balance, they run with power, they run behind their pads, they're very versatile, they catch the ball to the backfield well, and their offensive line and tight ends, they get after it. They really do.

"They're complemented by some really, in our opinion, really explosive receivers that really do a great job of creating separation and making the contested catch. It's what makes them dangerous on offense and on defense. I think the fact that they're front four, they jump from the odd front to the four down front, where they're base and nickel, respectively.

But they're versatile enough to do it out of both packages as well. But their defensive line kind of sets the tone. They're big and they're physical. There's a lot of one gap movement stuff that comes with it, just really powerful, like with their hands. They come out of their hips, they get their feet in the ground. They get hands on blockers, and their block destruction. You could tell they're really, really well-coached, really well-coached, talented guys, because they get off of blocks in a hurry and they got a lot of hats to the football, and it's really impressive. And they are hard to block, and they've proved it against a lot of different offensive lines. So on their back end, they're so active. I mean, they've just got a lot of good players, and their depth has been tested at times with injuries, but they find a way to come out and play at a high level. So looking forward to again, a great, great opportunity against these guys."

On WR Keelan Marion bringing an explosive element to the offense…

"He's been great. He's been great. The neat thing about the offense is, we're getting better and better. But again, Coach Dawson, really smart, hard-working dude that just knows ball, and we're two things. Obviously, we're doing some things to help ourselves, but we're also getting the right guys on the field, right? Players over plays all the time, right? That's how it works. But Keelan has been one of those guys, and he attracts a lot of attention now because of his ability to create separation, make explosive plays, contested catches. On special teams he hasn't gotten loose yet, but he's been close. He's been a great player for us the entire year. Unbelievable energy and attitude. I mean, he really, he brings a fire to him that that gets everybody else just lit up and and fired up, and he's another guy every single day. Attitude with him is just always, it's always up there. He's always going to bring the right type of mentality to practice and a game day. So love to see him have the success he's having. We expect him to continue to get even better."

On the status of WR CJ Daniels…

"He was ready. He was ready last game, and felt, I'll take full responsibility in talking with him, and being the limited amount of reps, like game plan reps that we actually got, felt that [Daylyn] Upshaw and [Jojo] Trader had got enough reps were maybe it's best where, if we're not all the way, all the way there, let's, let's go with what we saw all week in practice. But I feel great about his availability this week as well.

"We're trending great with Mark Fletcher as well. Waiting on word with OJ [Frederique], but that one's certainly trending as well. It was great to see [Ahmad] Moton get the snaps this past week, which he'd been missing for a while. And we were missing him. We've been missing OJ, David Blay, Keionte, CJ, Mark Fletcher, [Wesley Bissainthe], that's a lot of really good players. It's almost a third of our starters. So to have some of these guys on the men's and working their way back, it's exciting. So, but I'll keep you updated on those. But I do expect CJ, for sure, Mark trending well, training well with OJ, Wes, Moore, and Moton looks to be on the mend as well."

On his thoughts on head-to-head results as it pertains to comparing CFP resumes…

"I would say the number one criteria for anything is always head-to-head. I mean, it's why we play the game, right? So I think that always has been, and always will be, the number one factor in determining whatever relates to whatever."

On DB Jakobe Thomas…

"I thought he said the tone, obviously, the interception and the finish was epic, right? I mean, that was an exclamation point and but I thought the way he tackled, I don't know if you saw that first wide zone over to their left or right. When he got downhill. And again, a reminder, I believe they had the highest yards per carry in the conference, or close to it, or second, and they haven't crossed the 50-yard line until that last drive when we had most of the threes and some of the fours in.

A lot of that was because of our safety play. The way they supported the run went up there, and were just very physical. Really, we've become such a much better tackling team, and there's still a lot of area, lot of room to improve upon there. He's one of those guys that he loves contact. He's a very physical and violent football player. He's helped change our defense, right? The DNA of the team with what he does. He's another guy that's just nowhere near satisfied. He wants to get better. He's looking forward to practice tomorrow and looking forward to going out there on Saturday, getting better."

On DB Damari Brown and his performance…

"I think he's quickly becoming one of the better ones in the conference and in the country, is what I can confidently say. He's been through a lot, right with the injury last year, I mean, derailed him game one, like play 8,10 into the season, and it takes time to recover from something like that. So to see him play at the level, he's playing as physical as he's playing such a natural and instinctive player, and continuing to clean up all the details that come with it, but outstanding human being, outstanding family. Awesome to see him have the type of success that he is having, and sky's the limit for him. I believe he's just scratching the surface. I believe he's just getting started."