The 10 most interesting comments from UM’s Cristobal said on his mini media tour
The 10 most interesting things that Mario Cristobal said in his mini media tour this week, beyond his comments to WQAM’s Joe Rose about new quarterback Darian Mensah:
▪ Even after losing four starters, Cristobal is very confident in this new-look offensive line, which returns two part-time starters (Samson Okunlola and Matthew McCoy) but no full-time starters.
Based on Cristobal’s comments on Gaby Urrutia’s and David Lake’s “Through the Smoke” podcast, it appears Cristobal believes UM has enough on the line.
The starters figure to be Okunlola, McCoy and center Ryan Rodriguez — the three players that Cristobal specifically named — and a competition for two other spots among five-star freshman tackle Jackson Cantwell (who looks like a Day 1 starter) and guard/center SJ Alofaituli, second-year player Max Buchanan, Georgia transfer Jamal Meriweather and others.
The young veterans “got the benefit of watching some veterans play together for a good bit, and they understand the importance of five guys always working as one,” Cristobal said.
“But you look at the way Samson [Okunlola] played this year, Samson played as good as anybody else in the conference, and most of the guys in the country. He was a co-starter, right? Matt McCoy, the same thing, as big of an upside, like Samson, as anybody else that we’ve had go through the University of Miami.
“And Ryan Rodriguez didn’t play as much this year, but he was a co-starter, and actually started Game 1 the previous year, and we consider him that as well. So you have three staples: veterans that have a lot of experience coming back, and the young talent that has been developing, or they just got here, big, fast, strong, physical, very, very smart. And I think you guys know the culture that Coach [Alex] Mirabal creates in that room is unmatched. It’s second to none, just over time and time and time.”
▪ Complacency will not be permitted.
“This you can take to the bank: this offseason there will be an ass kicking and there needs to be,” he told Lake and Urrutia. “God knows, these guys have heard so many times — ‘hey what a good season, you’ve come so far.’ That’s awesome. This community is ignited. We have reactivated the most rabid fan base in America.
“But with that comes the phrase that makes you cringe” — presumably, rat poison.
Cristobal noted that “when Jimmy Johnson lined us up [he said], ‘You sons of bleep — not one of you won that championship last year. Michael Irvin, Melvin Bratton… won that; you guys haven’t done bleep.’
“That’s where we are at. We have accomplished a lot. Nothing is more important than shutting our mouths and going to work, make sure we get better.”
▪ On Duke transfer receiver Cooper Barkate, who was ninth in the nation in receiving yards last season and is joining former teammate Mensah at Miami:
“When he was a sophomore in high school, he was defensive player of the year in lacrosse. He was recruited as a safety by a lot of people, so you know he has that mentality. He was a great player at Harvard, in three years has his diploma, went out to Duke, follows his quarterback into the program.
“He is explosive. Another 1,000-yard guy. It is kind of neat, we have a lot of 1,000s. We have a 4,000 (yard passer) here, Mark Fletcher 1,000 (yard running back), Malachi Toney, 1,000 (yard receiver), so let’s keep adding those numbers, and we should be alright.”
▪ On Toney’s work ethic remaining impeccable even after a fabulous freshman season:
“I think he is just getting started. … When I am over there at 5:30 in the morning and check in with coach Mirabal, I walk in there and Malachi Toney is in there dapping it up and talking protections and I’m like `what are you doing? You are an alien.’ You are here with the offensive line coach as a wide receiver. He is a very uncommon and unbelievable young man. We are fortunate to have him.”
▪ On Fletcher deciding to return to UM instead of turning pro: “It wasn’t surprising; it was a matter of unfinished business in a couple of aspects. Obviously we want to make sure we are holding the big trophy at the end of the year, a couple of trophies, the 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.
“A great team, great culture here. It is not just getting to the NFL, it is about staying in there for a long time at the highest level, and he has a good shot at doing that with another year here.”
▪ On the defensive line, which loses Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor and David Blay but added five freshmen and three transfers — top pass rusher Damon Wilson (Missouri), Jarquez Carter (Ohio State), and Keona Davis (Nebraska):
“We’ve recruited really well there. Those guys have been groomed and mentored. Rueben and Akheem you couldn’t find better mentors. Think of Armondo Blount. That body is now 270 pounds; he’s been playing some elite football for us. And Herb Scroggins; nobody has mentioned some of the great plays he made for us.. [Marquise] Lightfoot, [Booker] Pickett.
“We are in a great position in that front — we’re athletic, we’re explosive. We’ve got to play a certain way. We’ve got to be very physical, relentless with our effort.”
▪ Eighteen players departed in the portal — most of whom weren’t expected to play a lot.
“We retained every starter and the high-level impact players,” Cristobal said. ”Sometimes [a player who leaves] in a logjam for playing time. Sometimes, he doesn’t fit and he’s got to go.
“We help them get somewhere. It’s always really smooth… as long as they don’t take shots. We are no longer that program that people take punches and shots at. Those days are done.”
▪ Because the team had a 16-game season and long playoff run, “guys that played over 400 snaps, we took high-impact stuff off of them” early this offseason, Cristobal told Rose.
UM studied “the Heat and Panthers and the NFL game, teams that had a deep run, what did they do in the offseason.”
▪ He still bristles when he hears anyone say ‘The U is back’, as he told On.3com’s J.D. Pickell: “‘The U is back.’ I cringe at that all the time. It just drives me bananas. ... I like to think UM is here.”
▪ He cited two underrated factors in the Canes’ turnaround — the fact this coaching staff has “really, really high-level teachers” and UM’s sports-science-conscience and in some ways, NFL-like approach, to practice.
“We practice different from a pace, intensity, physicality standpoint,” he said. “We orchestrate really thought out, well-planned, high-level practices.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 11:58 AM.
