Mario Cristobal on balancing Hurricanes’ present and future. Plus Ward and portal news
Every day during football season is a balancing act for Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal is a balancing act.
The priority, of course, is on the task immediately in front of him, and that’s preparing for the upcoming game. He has to stay focused on the present.
But on the periphery are all the other aspects of leading a college football team to sustained success — recruiting and the transfer portal chief among them. Those can’t be ignored for the sake of the present.
Cristobal and the No. 13 Hurricanes (10-2) are at that juncture again as Miami prepares for the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 28 at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium against No. 18 Iowa State (10-3) while the transfer portal is wide open and rosters for next season need to be put together.
So how does Cristobal plan to balance the limited hours he has into making sure both tasks are adequately accomplished?
“You dedicate the same amount of time you always would throughout the course of the year,” Cristobal said. “You have to realize that as a coach your day is already long, but you don’t compromise either.”
Especially with Miami in this position. No, they’re not in the College Football Playoff, finding themselves just on the outside looking in of the 12-team field. But a win would give Miami 11 victories in a season for the first time since 2003 and their first win in a bowl game since 2016.
“I want to be really clear about that: The opportunity to play in the postseason is an honor that is earned,” Cristobal said. “And I always want to treat that as such. And I think that’s important for the University of Miami and everyone associated with the University of Miami to understand that earning a chance in the postseason is something that is earned and that has to be approached with absolute professionalism and eagerness to do really, really well.”
But Cristobal acknowledged the “other moving parts of building and continuing to progress” start first and foremost with talent acquisition. That comes via recruiting and the transfer portal, which needs his attention at this time as well.
“It doesn’t stop,” Cristobal said. “You just stay the course. We’ve always been a very driven, hardworking program, and that’s not going to change. As a matter of fact, it will be upped and amped up even more.”
Ward doubles down on playing in bowl game
Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward, speaking Wednesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter, doubled down on his commitment to play for Miami in Pop-Tarts Bowl.
“The plan is to still play in the bowl game,” Ward, a Heisman Trophy finalist, said on the show. “The whole team is still here right now and so we are preparing for them, relax our body a little bit and try to win our last game of the year.”
Ward’s first such announcement about playing in the bowl game came during the weekend, when Ward indicated as such in a FaceTime call posted on social media Sunday night by Deion Sanders Jr. that also included Colorado quarterback Shadeur Sanders.
“I’ve got to get ready for the Pop-Tarts Bowl,” Ward said on that call, later adding “you’re gonna see the best thing that’s ever happened in the Pop-Tarts Bowl — the Canes, baby.”
Whether Ward does actually play in the game or has a change of heart over the next two weeks is to be determined.
However, it is also notable that, as of Thursday morning, no key Hurricanes players have announced that they plan to opt out of the bowl game.
Ward set the single-season school records for passing yards (4,123) and touchdowns (36). His 67.4 percent completion rate stands to be the UM single-season and career record as well (Tyler Van Dyke holds both of those marks — 63.7 percent for his career, 65.8 percent in the 2023 season).
Portal visits
▪ In addition to hosting FIU wide receiver Eric Rivers this weekend, the Hurricanes have scheduled visits with LSU wide receiver CJ Daniels on Sunday and Alabama wide receiver Caleb Odom on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to on3.
Daniels caught 42 passes for 480 yards as a redshirt junior this season for LSU after beginning his career at Liberty. Odom, who moved to wide receiver this season with Alabama after playing tight end in high school, caught seven passes for 65 yards as a true freshman with the Crimson Tide.
▪ Auburn tight end Micah Riley is also set to visit Sunday and Monday, according to 247Sports. He fits the role that Cam McCormick held the past two seasons as an in-line blocker and short-yardage receiver
▪ Tulsa running back Lloyd Avant, who ran for 259 yards and one touchdown on 76 carries as a true freshman, is reportedly setting up a visit with Miami according to on3. Running back isn’t necessarily a position of priority this cycle with Miami returning Mark Fletcher Jr. and Jordan Lyle (along with potentially Damien Martinez if he doesn’t declare for the draft) plus signed Gerald Pringle in their recruiting class, but the team needs depth after the departures of Ajay Allen and Chris Johnson Jr. to the transfer portal.
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 11:19 AM.
.JPG)