Head coach Mario Cristobal knew this was going to happen and yet, he was still critical of his team like all great coaches do.
Here is all he said after the victory against Florida A&M:
Opening Statement:
Errors, We got to coach and play that part better, but really good response in the second half be it some of the penalties and post-down penalties where we have to be better at. All and all it was good to play a lot of players tonight. Certainly, a lot of young guys got action and played at a high level, particularly the defensive line. They seem to get relentless pressure on the quarterback and do a good job stopping the run. It’s good to see some of the freshman backs getting some interceptions as well. All and all, we handled our business. We have a lot to do to get better at too.
Speaking On The Reps For Younger Players:
There is nothing like repetition. Nothing. There is nothing you can do in practice, there is nothing you can do in the meeting room, or walkthrough that could ever replace the value of those reps. That’s why we keep playing. I think both sides respect that. They want their guys to get reps, we want our guys to get reps and you saw a lot tonight.
On the absence of Jalen Rivers:
Jalen [Rivers] was a little bit banged up, so we decided to hold him this week. I think he’ll be back really soon. There’s nothing that is too serious there, but it was the right thing to do. And I’m proud of Markell [Bell]. I know he had the one holding call but we kind of ring-around-the-rosie’d that, right, and that’s hard to protect, but he played really well. I thought he played really well.
On the teams Depth:
Yeah, you know, the honest truth is that we have got to do a better job coaching the other half of the roster and developing it and the players. All of us, we just have got to do a better job getting that side developed because that’s the reality of it. Games are going to come down to who is next that steps in and not during just mop up duty, during critical times. We have a very strong commitment to developing those guys in practice, spending extra time with them, watching film, learning the systems so that they can actually go out there and not only compete, but bring value to the team. So, yeah, I can’t stress the value enough.
On Tyler Baron:
He’s built like an avatar and he’s just explosive and just [has] one of the most natural feels for the game of anyone I’ve seen. He understands leverage angles. He’s really smart. He’s locked in. He’s in tune with what is going on. He’s always trying to figure out how to get better. He works hard. He’s tough. He checks all the boxes and now he’s full throttle and I think he’s showing everybody what he’s about. That guy is another hungry, driven dude. We’ve been blessed with some really good players who have come to our program and it’s our job to push them and help get them better.
On Florida A&M quarterback Daniel Richardson:
Great player, tough. That guy knows how to play football. He’s been playing football for a long, long time. [He] extends plays. He is on time with the ball, [has] great pocket-awareness, accurate…He’s not afraid. I just saw him in the hallway right now. Certainly, wished him the best with the rest of the season. I respect him, Coach Colzie, the rest of their team. They are a bunch of really good football players and tough guys who are going to have a great season.
Run vs. pass game:
Well, it’s never a pre-set determination. Our coordinators, they put together good game plans and, when those guys get on a roll, you let them go and if something doesn’t quite work out, they’re always assessing. We’re always assessing together moving forward. You want to think about questioning this or questioning that. You know, in football, the entire time, these guys are trying to find ways to get yards and get points and move the sticks, get the ball to certain guys, which we have got to stay engaged. Sometimes, we don’t get the ball to guys and they get a little bit disengaged and you can’t do that…But there’s no set number of snaps we want to hand the ball off.
On Zaquan Patterson…
He was locked in. He was locked in. He had an interesting realization this week that was like, ‘man, this college football stuff is hard. It requires a lot of time and I got to learn my stuff to be effective and be successful.’ And that he was going to do it. He had much better practices and he really trusted it going out there to play and he did not disappoint. He’s another one that we have to continue to do a really good job of developing.
On the play of Cam Ward:
“You can see what he brings to the table and what he’s not bringing to the table. That is kind of what the question is now. For us, not the challenge but the exciting part about a guy like that is you find ways to challenge him because there is so much more that is in him and that he wants to do for the team. He’s very hard on himself, but he is the alpha dog leader. I know I’ve stated that term ad nauseum just about but that’s what he is, man. It changes thing. Certain guys bring a spark and it catches with everybody. He’s that guy. On defense, it’s been different guys. You see Tyler Baron, Wesley [Bissainthe] did it, Ahkeem [Mesidor], [Mishael Powell] has done it. He’s a real one man. He’s a stud.
On the Cam Ward rushing touchdown…
He’s not one of those ceramic quarterbacks. He doesn’t want to be. He’s a flat-out baller. He wants to play ball. He wanted to come to Miami to win and win a championship and he wanted to improve himself as a player and he is doing all of those things. He has actively and with purpose, has identified those thing and is pursuing betterment in all those areas. That was one of them right there…Great game by him.
