Mario Cristobal Prepares for 'Unfinished Business' in the 2026 Season
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The Miami Hurricanes enter the 2026 season maybe a bit better than this season than last.
That comes after being one drive away from winning a national championship in their home stadium with limited talent. Now they have players all over the field who can be impactful players, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Head coach Mario Cristobal has resurfaced as he prepares for the 2026 season with new offensive talent that he finds "neat."
"It is kind of neat, we have a lot of 1,000s," Cristobal joked during an appearance on The Joe Rose Show on WQAM on Monday morning. "We have a 4,000 (yard passer) here, Mark Fletcher 1,000 (yard runner), Malachi Toney, 1,000 (yard receiver), so let's keep adding some more, and we should be alright."
Cristobal has been deep focusing on the recruiting trails for high school and the transfer portal. After he landed Darian Mensah from the portal after he entered from Duke, he loves what he sees from the quarterback, who reminds him of his previous two gunslingers.
"He is deadly accurate and he can create explosive plays on schedule and off schedule," Cristobal said about Mensah. "He has pocket presence. After meeting him, he has the right personality and made of the right stuff and he's an alpha. He is the right guy for us to continue to get better, but he is also the right guy to help develop that young quarterback room…He is no different than the recent quarterbacks. You surround them with an elite supporting cast and you have a great chance at success and we are excited to see him cut it loose."
Cutting loose is what many players did during the national championship run, but none more important than running back Mark Fletcher Jr.
Many expected him to enter the 2026 NFL Draft after the year that he had, but he didn't. He always had a plan for the Miami Hurricanes and his legacy, and Cristobal wants to do the best to get that "unfinished business" done for his star running back.
"It is a matter of unfinished business in a couple of aspects," Cristobal said of Fletcher's return in 2026. "We want to make sure we are holding up the big trophy at the end of the year. We want that big one and we want that conference one as well. I think there is also the unfinished business of continuing his development to establish himself as the best in the country. It is not just getting to the NFL, it is about staying there for the longest time, and he has a good shot at doing that with another year here."
Spring practice nears as the Hurricanes prepare for another run at a championship. They have the talent around them to be competitive, but first, they have to start the season off with a bang.
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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.