'Last Year was a Major Breakthrough': Mario Cristobal Opens Up About Miami's Recent Success
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A sleeping giant was waiting for the right person to wake up, what the Miami Hurricanes program could be again.
The rich history and football royalty of the program are now turning back to the Canes' future, something that head coach Mario Cristobal spoke about for years before Miami returned to the National Championship Game.
Now, in a sit-down interview with ESPN's Rece Davis, Cristobal finally opened up about what last season meant to him and the program.
"I think everyone always recognized what Miami can be, but it's just I think it's been brewing," Cristobal said with Davis. "You know, the trajectory's been steadily going up, and I think last year was was a major breakthrough."
Cristobal is your typical Nick Saban tree coach. One who doesn't like to reflect on what was the best coaching season of his career, but because Miami didn't win its sixth national championship, "it was progress, but there is still a long way to go."
Progress this upcoming season comes at the quarterback position, as Darian Mensah entered the transfer portal out of Duke amid much controversy.
Moreover, Cristobal also notes with the changes in college football, the best way for the Canes to move forward is to only focus on what makes Miami better, for a better chance at winning.
"I think that instead of making noise, if there's any issues with any, there should be change and efforts towards change," Cristobal said. "But I don't really care much about what other programs do or how they do it. I care about the way we do things and what we do. And we take a lot of pride in that. And that's where it stands. That's where it ends."
That is also the fear that Miami has brought back to the college football world that hasn't been felt in decades. Miami is a good team, and if they continue to roll the way they are, they could be one of the most hated programs in the country again.
Cristobal knows this, and that pride in what Miami is becoming drives him to reach that point each day.
"It's just been a long time. It's been 20-plus years, right? Couple of decades," Cristobal said. "Um, and I think there was something where I don't know if everybody wanted Miami to um started having success again because when Miami gets rolling, it's really hard to stop. Really, you have to you yourself are the only person that can stop it, right, as an organization."
Miami opens its season against Stanford on Sept. 4.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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