Everything Mario Cristobal Said During Miami's Cotton Bowl Media Day

Arlington, Tx. — The Miami Hurricanes are embracing the Cotton Bowl spirit as media day was one for the books. It was an unusual time for the team that walked in, having fun talking to other people, and embracing the experience with one another.

One person who enjoyed it the most was head coach Mario Cristobal. Smiling from ear to ear, he looked around the environment and enjoyed the day, but his focus remained on getting his team prepared for the game of their lives.

Cristobal talked about Ohio State and all the challenges that they bring while also highlighting why his team has what it takes to win this game.

Opening Statement...

Just appreciate certainly the hospitality and the accommodations to be able to keep preparing like we usually do back home, and certainly our team is extremely excited to be here for this opportunity. So, questions, please.

The Message to the Team...

Our messaging always takes place behind closed doors, and we like to keep it that way. But certainly, we've progressed a lot as a program, and these guys have worked really hard to keep earning that progress, and now we find ourselves with an opportunity here in the College Football Playoff. So, we're really excited about that opportunity.

Game planning against Jeremiah Smith...

Well, I think he, the entire roster for our opponent is extremely talented. They're really well-coached. They have challenging schemes. And again, our guys have prepared really, really hard. We continue to prepare. This is obviously a big preparation day for us as well. And certainly, again, they're the defending national champions. So just an unbelievable opportunity for our program.

On Leaning on Carson Beck in times like this...

Certainly, it's a great benefit to have a quarterback that's been in situations similar to this. They're all very different and unique, right? But he does have tremendous experience against some really high-level competition. And if you look at a lot of guys on our roster, they maybe not have played in a playoff game, so to speak, but certainly a lot of experience in a lot of different positions. And the guys are very professional about their approach, about their work, and have done a great job preparing through last game, and now as we head into this game as well. So, between him and the rest of those guys, certainly, it gets you excited as a coach, knowing that those guys approach every single day like a true professional.

On who He Leans in for Emotional Support...

Well, I think we're very process-oriented. So, when -- it's a good question. I'm not sure how to answer it. We push each other. We have high expectations of ourselves and for each other; and therefore, I would say the lean is on each other. Players and coaches, coaches and players. I always like to say that as much as you feel that you're teaching, you're also learning a lot as a coach with the different guys that come through your program and the things that you learn about them to help you become a better coach, a better father, a better leader as well. So, I would say that the unity of this team has been founded in just really hard work. Been through some really trying times and situations and adversity, and it's been exciting watching the growth and development of our guys just galvanize throughout the process.

On being Labeled the Underdog...

Well, we don't place any value or strategic changes as it relates to a term like "underdog" or "favorite." It's never been a part of the process. Our messaging has been consistent the entire year on how we approach our opponents, how we approach our processes. We're very process-oriented. We're very intense and very intentional in how we approach every single opponent, and this one is one that we approach in the same manner. It's what we know. It's what has granted us success throughout the course of the year, and certainly we're going to stick to that.

On the team pass Rushing abilities...

I think the fact that they're really good at playing the run, has really allowed them to become really good pass rushers, because they afford us the opportunity to put teams in difficult down and distance situations. But I also think that when you have a couple guys that can play at a really high level, they each attract attention. I think we're complemented by some really good interior guys that allow us to -- I would say when you're game-planning opponents, and we've played some really good
offensive lines, and this one coming up is the best one that we have faced. You have to account for our players, we feel like, and it gives us a chance to just give them -- put them in a position to be successful. And by that, I mean, it's not only winning a one-on-one pass rush, but taking on double teams, holding the point, doing their job, being efficient and effective, and disruptive on your stunts.
So, I think that we benefit from two really high-level human beings that are great competitors that will do whatever it takes for the team to win.

On the Competition between Rueben Bain Jr. and Ahkeem Mesidor...

I think it's healthy competition is what it is. So many guys that are in the media world and are coaching now that played the game, there's nothing better than when you have someone to compete with on your team at the same position that you really, really like and love. It's a great driving force and a great driving factor. So, the fact that those two guys have that kind of a relationship and that they get to compete against each other every day and against really good offensive linemen, it bodes well for us. It helps to keep developing. And also, part of their legacy is leaving the high standard for the guys that are coming after them.

On James Brockermeyer being a Texas native back in his State...

Well, I think it's cool that he's been on our team all year. He has been exceptional, as a person, as a leader, as a teammate. He is one of those first guy in the building type of guys, always prepping, whether it be from a physical standpoint, mental standpoint, extra film. He is so on point come game time, and he's physical and he's tough. There's nothing that he wouldn't do for the team and for the team to be successful. So, we're blessed to have him. Comes from an awesome family. It's great that guys -- you know, we're so nationally oriented in terms of our roster. We have a lot of local guys. We have guys from all over the country, and for guys from the State of Texas to be able to play in a game like this in front of a lot of family and friends, it's an awesome opportunity for them.

On Ohio State Receving Core...

Well, they're as good as you've seen in college football over decades. Explosive and fast. Schematically, they do things to make sure those guys have opportunities to make plays and to create matchups, and I think what also sets that up is the fact that they're complemented by a great offensive line and a great running game. Those guys can put themselves in great down and distance situations, eat up chunk yardage on the ground, and then protect the quarterback really well, a quarterback that's I think the most efficient quarterback in the country this year, a guy that was, again, up for a Heisman. Should have been one of the top five guys. So, I think holistically, plus the addition of that type of talent, I think that combination certainly is an elite combination.

On what's it been like during film this week...

Well, I think the first thing is not having the mindset of just being here. I think that's probably the opposite of our mindset. If we're blessed enough to earn the opportunity to keep playing, our only goal was to keep getting better every single week, and we feel like we did that in our last game. And now I've had the opportunity for two weeks to keep practicing and prepare for an elite team with elite players, elite coaching staff, elite schemes, and that's been the focus completely, is making sure our guys stay on process. They've done a really good job attacking that.

On how the team has been able to stay locked in...

Well, I think all the work and the process has validated a lot of things. We certainly have progressed more this season. We got ourselves a chance to win ten games, and then get an opportunity to play in the playoffs and go on the road against a really talented team and win that game. The processes keep getting better, and it's at the point in time in the season where the older guys have taken over that process. You see not only seniors, but juniors understand the importance of being player-led and them steering.

On if He thinks about MIssing out on Jeremiah Smith...

Not during this time of year. I mean, I think you're always assessing and analyzing, because you're always -- this game moves too fast to sit still. But while you're preparing for an opponent, the entire focus starts with your team, first and foremost, and the preparation that goes with it. And, of course, you're assessing and analyzing what other teams do, their level of talent, what they do schematically, how they adjust, the physicality of their team. And Ohio State certainly checks all those boxes at the highest level. So that's been our focus, making sure we prepare our guys to the best of our ability.

On if one player can change a recruiting cycle...

I don't know. I mean, I think subjectively, each and every year, it can go so many different ways, and I think each and every player that you sign can affect your program in a positive or negative manner. It can go both ways. Sometimes a miss is a blessing; and sometimes a miss, you better recruit someone to negate that miss, right? So, I think if you stop, and you just conform to, okay, we're okay, I think that's when teams fall off. When you keep the appetite really strong for recruiting and keep acquiring high-level character, high-level talent, I think everything else takes care of itself.

On the comparisons between Malachi Toney and Jeremiah Smith

Those seem to be narratives, as it relates to games and the media and whatnot. We just don't live in that space. We don't. We're as simple as, when is our next meeting? When is our next practice? What about my next rep? And we stay the course that way. We stay in the moment. Anything outside of that would sound so foreign to our players, they wouldn't -- I'd be an alien to them. So we stay along the lines of that train of thought, and our guys have done a really good job with that.

More on James Brockermeyer...

A professional, top to bottom, from A to Z. Everything he does, his approach to the dailies, his approach to teammates, his toughness in practice, his levels of effort, his levels of wanting to get better and making his teammates better. You could tell, raised the right way. Awesome family. All about ball. No nonsense. All about business. Great personality, great leader. We are blessed to have him. The guy that touches the ball on every play, the center and the quarterback, you want that, you need that. We have started the last two seasons against really good football teams, and you want to enter -- you want the entire season to have great players on your team, but you want to enter the season being able to battle at the highest level against great teams with experienced great players as well. And so having him join us and be able to go through our processes in spring and everything else, along with the rest of our team, it's invaluable. So, he's been invaluable, and certainly, he's playing his best football down the stretch as well, and looking forward to him just continuing to get better and better.

On being Back in Dallas after the SMU Loss...

Yeah, that was a low point for us in the season, and in that locker room, it was as simple as a decision has to be made. As that set in and we traveled back, it was important to collect our thoughts as to how we were going to approach this going forward, where the messaging was going to be direct, right between the eyes, right in the gut, because we had to change and get better. And it came down to the simplicity of taking all the clips of us in our first five games and putting it on a reel and just letting it play. No audio, no one talking, no nothing. Just shut the lights, remind ourselves of who we are. And there's nothing more powerful than the power of choice. So, we chose to regain our form and actually improved down the stretch and played our best football those last four weeks, and that's where things changed. As simple as just choosing to do better.