FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
Cristobal: Expect a different football team
FIU coach Mario Cristobal said the hiring of offensive coordinator Bill Legg will make a big difference this season.
Posted on Sat, Jul. 19, 2008
BY JOSEPH GOODMAN
TAMPA --
It was a backhanded compliment from a fellow University of Miami football coach. Florida International coach Mario Cristobal will never forget it.
Cristobal, who played and coached for Miami, had just gotten the news from fellow UM assistant Greg Schiano that Schiano was headed to Rutgers to coach the Scarlet Knights. That meant Cristobal was about to get his first big break as a young college football coach. Then a graduate assistant at Miami, Cristobal was joining Schiano's new staff as a full-timer.
It was supposed to be a happy day.
That's when one of Cristobal's friends, an assistant at UM, tossed a cold glass of metaphorical water right in Cristobal's face.
'He came and congratulated me and then dropped a Sports Illustrated on my desk that said `Rutgers football: The graveyard of college coaches,' '' Cristobal said Friday at the FSWA college football media days. ``All that stuff, truly, just added fuel to the fire.''
If Rutgers was the graveyard, then FIU has been college football's coaching crematorium. Cristobal says that is about to change.
The Panthers broke the nation's longest losing streak last season, and this time around the program is beginning the season with a few things to brag about: a new stadium, a new weight room and a new offensive coordinator. Will it translate into newfound success?
''We had a great recruiting class, and we're off to a great start as well, and it's almost like a Rutgers déjà vu for myself,'' Cristobal said. ``I think the difference is we're in a better landscape and a better area, but the commitment is just as strong to get there.''
Proof of FIU's commitment can be seen this season in the first stage of the university's new football stadium. It will seat 18,500 this season but will grow in phases in the coming years. FIU opens its home schedule Sept. 20 with a game against South Florida.
Cristobal says to expect a packed house and a fun offense. On Friday, he called the hiring of new offensive coordinator Bill Legg a coup. Legg's spread-the-field offense at Purdue led the Big Ten in passing yards and total offense in 2006.
''Sometimes we'll huddle, and sometimes we will not huddle, but what you're going to see is a very-fast-paced offense,'' Cristobal said.
At the center of that offense could be incoming freshman wide receiver T.Y. Hilton of Miami Springs.
Cristobal said Hilton, a finalist for Miami-Dade County's Athlete of the Year award, could contribute immediately.
Cristobal called Hilton's ability electrifying.
''He was one of the most sought-after recruits in the state of Florida, and he chose FIU because he wanted to make a statement,'' Cristobal said. ``He wants to build this thing at home.''
Join the discussion
The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Not a registered user? It's Free!
Register here. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
