Everything Miami coach Mario Cristobal said before Week 1 matchup vs. Notre Dame

Miami coach Mario Cristobal spoke to the local media earlier this week to give updates on his Hurricanes ahead of their season opener against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 7:30 p.m. ET this Sunday.

Here’s everything Cristobal said about Notre Dame and more.

Opening statement

“Good afternoon and welcome. Certainly, as you know, a ton of momentum and excitement and energy around here as we get ready for game week. Finally, right, after a great offseason and great camp.”

On the Miami depth chart ahead of the Notre Dame game

“I don’t think you’re ever all the way there, but certainly a ton of progress. We feel a lot better about it. And some competitions will go all the way up until the Thursday, Friday of game week. But we do feel very confident in the guys that will be playing. Who goes first or who gets how many reps will certainly be determined next couple of days. But we do feel very confident and comfortable with who’s going to be going in there.”

On leaning on quarterback Carson Beck’s experience vs. Notre Dame

“I think when you look at our team, the makeup of our team, particularly the guy snapping the football to the guy getting snap to the guy behind him, to the middle of our defense, the defensive tackles, the linebackers, the safeties, the core of our team has experience. And we feel that when you have the type of game experience those guys have, the big moments don’t faze you. They came here to Miami to have that opportunity.

“And Carson, of course, has been in a bunch of those. So he has had a great camp. He doesn’t stop preparing, like the rest of the team. The culture fit has been perfect. So really all his focus is on preparation at the highest level he can do it.”

On seeing more fire from Beck as the game gets closer

“We’re turned up pretty good around here. So we try to make every day like game day as much as possible. So I think some things naturally get turned up as you get closer and closer to the game. But it’s not like a light switch where it’s on and off depending on who you’re playing, when you’re playing, or what not. We like to keep that thing on all the time. But his level of professionalism is truly impressive, and it certainly affects other people in a positive way.”

On the Miami vs. Notre Dame rivalry and his experiences with it

“Those were awesome, awesome experiences, right? You know, growing up wanting to come to Miami. Games like this had a lot to do with that. We know the answer to that question, so we’ll keep the focus on the 2025 Canes and Fighting Irish. But I appreciate it.”

On why Miami had such a healthy fall camp

“Probably a little bit of everything. The thing that we certainly reduced are the number of soft tissue injuries, so we’ve been able to just maintain a healthier team overall, for the most part. I think guys are maturing as well. They recognize and understand the importance of nutrition, of rest, like sleep is actually important. Putting down that phone, that blue light, getting off the game system for some extra rest, getting over and getting some hyperbaric chamber treatment and some red light, all that other stuff that we never had, right? The old ice tub used to do the trick, if that. But I think our guys understand that. I think our medical staff, our sports science staff, and our spring staff together, have worked diligently to put our guys in the best spot they could be in physically.”

On Notre Dame and what to expect from the Irish in Week 1

“Well, a lot of notes. Certainly. That’s why I like to have this area [points to podium] kind of clear with all the notes we have on these guys there.

“It’s an excellent football team, right? They got to the national championship, and the way they got there was probably the most impressive thing because it was the resiliency needed to overcome the early season loss like they did and going on, I believe, a 10-week, 12-week winning spree is impressive. They did it with physicality, playing violent football, playing team football. But they have dynamic players everywhere, and they’ve made people pay the price. They played very complimentary football. They lead the country in forcing turnovers, they lead the country in block kicks, and their converting rates off of those turnovers and blocks have been off the charts.

“They’re loaded with experience, big, jumbo athletes. Physical guys up front on both sides of the ball. They return 11 starters, and the portal guys they got were starters at other places.

“So in terms of game one, what to expect, you prepare your players to play within your system as best you can. And you dig deep into the stops of their coordinators, where they’ve been, right? They had to change at the coordinator spot, but they’ve had great success there. But you have to tap into Rutgers and Texas and Wisconsin, right? You gotta do your homework on LSU on offense as well, and some of the things they did. There’s plenty of stuff and there’s plenty of time. So what you don’t know and the uncertainty, you have all summer to find your best way to figure it out and prepare your team.”

On Miami defensive end Rueben Bain

“Ruben’s approach to the offseason was awesome. He made it a point to get down to 275 pounds and lean up, become more explosive and stay healthy. Last year, obviously, we lost him, I think play number two, and didn’t get him back until game five. And as you saw as a freshman, he was one of the more impactful freshmen in the country.

“This system allows him to play fast and free. He’s extremely intelligent. He’s able to coach the guys around him as well, and his effort levels, his levels of leadership and just culture have really taken another step. We’ve seen it in practice on a daily basis, and we expect an awesome year out of Rueben Bain.”

On the energy he’s seen during game week

“Again, I think here it’s so competitive, or it’s becoming more and more competitive, to the point where, I mean, when we’re playing out there, it feels like a game. And they want to make it that way. For our players, the goal is to make it so that the best team we play all year is a team that we face on our practice field. And do you ever really get there? You never know. You just pour every ounce of effort and every ounce of preparation into that. So you see that on a daily basis.

“And yesterday we had a chance to practice at Hard Rock and it was, it was great to be there. And the intensity levels were high, but they’ve been high all along. And honestly, as the season goes on, that’s what we expect out of our players. That’s another step for Miami, right? We talk about taking steps every year. One step is to make sure that we don’t treat one opponent up here and lower those expectations and standards for the next one.”

On the atmosphere he expects with Notre Dame in town

“It should be as maniacal as a Miami game should be. I think there’s a lot of us here that have experienced those games from the Orange Bowl, Hard Rock and what not, and we expect it to be as loud and as wild as it could possibly be.

“And we encourage that.”

On Miami’s vocal leaders

“I think Akheem Mesidor has taken the biggest step. I think him and Anez Cooper, they play off each other. They’re always trying to knock each other around. One’s a guard, one’s at end, but, you know, you end up colliding. And to that point, I think it’s worth pointing out the benefit of having great alumni, a guy like Jon Vilma, who lives locally, who had an opportunity to address the team and the importance of making it a player led team, of the accountability that comes with that and what it really means on a daily basis. Not by name, not by title, not by post or tweet, but what it really demands and commands of a team that’s led by its own players. So those two guys really stick out.

“I think Carson [Beck], in a short amount of time, has really shown that. Mark Fletcher has really shown that. Francis Mauigoa has shown that Rueben [Bain] has shown that. I think both Wesley [Bissainthe] and [Mohamed Toure] have. [Zechariah Poyser], he’s come along in a big-time way. And now you see guys like OJ Frederique stepping up as well. So all in all, it’s been building throughout January all the way up until now, and we’re seeing some really good returns.”

On the Miami kicking game and special teams

“We feel good. We feel we feel really good about kicker. We invested a lot of time and effort into scouting that part, and why we went that direction with a couple of guys, and really a third guy battling it out, and we’re really close there on making that decision. We feel great about the operation itself — the protection, the snap, the hold. Same thing on the punt team, about the protection, about the coverage that goes with that.

“Our biggest issue last year was kickoff coverage, right? We allowed two, and that really hurt us. We won the games, but certainly could have avoided or prevented us from winning those games. So I think our coverage units, two things; better talent, more big, big runners, big strikers, being able to get down the field and ball placement. The accuracy of ball placement is critical for that part as well. Our return game, we’ll see. We’ve got some guys that have been taking reps at the different return spots, and they seem capable of certainly helping us get there.”

On cornerback OJ Frederique

“Yeah, he came in with a lot to prove. And being a big, long, physical guy that can run, we saw what we saw when he was here in camp. I think he surprised, or he took everybody by surprise, with the level of which he played at.

“He’s a guy that really can do everything in your system. He could play man coverage, he could play zone, he could play off, he could play force, he could play the nickel spot, play safety. He is a really good tackler. He’s a guy that can set the edge as well. Those guys are hard to find. When a guy that’s now approaching, he’s well over 190, probably between 190 and 200, it makes him that much more of a physical presence.”

On Miami’s lines being ready for Notre Dame

“What are we with the lines? Where I’m at is I’m tired of praising them, a little bit, because that’s not what they expect from myself or from our coaching staff. I think because they are self-motivated, they’re driven, they’re self-starters. And you know what the best part about them is? They let us push them. They let us push them like our coaches pushed us here for every single day you felt like, ‘Man, you know, like, this is hard,’ and it’s good hard, because every day they’re making ground, and every day they’re you’re finding ways to break through. So we feel great about them as competitors, as people, as performers, and we also feel great about getting more out of them and them understanding that there’s more in them to give.”

On if he has a sense for how Miami responds to adversity or if he has to figure out against Notre Dame

“I don’t think you could close the book on that until the final chapter of the year, quite honestly. So many times a scrimmage, a game, particularly early in the season, it’s so easy to jump to conclusions. But you know what? Fatigue will set in, right? Injuries set in. Depth chart moves right. Kicking, as well. All those things require some type of competitive response. And we are driven by a common goal. Everyone has individual goals, but this team is very purpose-driven, and they want to win. And I think because of that, we feel, again, confident that their responses in the tough situations will be legitimate ones of a winning football team.

“Now, that being said, a lot of these guys have played a lot of football, and I think they are surrounded by some very young, talented guys that they haven’t flinched out there. And now going forward, there’s only one way to find out how they’ll perform under the lights — put them out there and let them go play.”