Cristobal discloses two areas where more is needed. And UM personnel news
A six-pack of Canes notes on a Thursday, after the final practice before Saturday’s 10:15 a.m. on-campus spring game (no tickets remaining, no TV):
▪ All coaches praise players who deserve it, and Mario Cristobal has done that plenty during his time here. But occasionally, he also will make clear what he’s not entirely pleased about.
And there were two such things that he volunteered Thursday:
1). The play of the linebackers excluding Mo Toure and Chase Smith.
“Chase and Mo are absolute studs,” he said. “The rest of that room? They have to grow up, be mature, be about football or they’ll get their ass kicked every single day and won’t be able to play at Miami.”
He added there has been “progress,” but he was clearly challenging them to show more.
He didn’t name names, but that group of backup linebackers include Kamal Bonner, Cam Pruitt, Ezekiel Marcelin and Kellen Wiley Jr.
2). Cristobal said “our outside receivers have to be more competitive in the 50-50 balls... Today the defense dominated, and it’s been a back-and-forth. Need to see more. It’s going to be demanded of them.”
When I asked him earlier this spring about transfers Cam Vaughn and Vendrevius Jacobs, Cristobal said the same things.
▪ Cristobal, understandably and predictably, wasn’t ready to identify Jackson Cantwell and Matthew McCoy as the starting tackles. But it seems they’re the front-runners. And Max Buchanan appears to have staked a claim to a starting guard job, though he will need to perform in August, as well.
McCoy — who split left guard reps with Samson Okunlola last season — has done well at tackle. “We always considered him a starter,” Cristobal said of McCoy.
Regarding the offensive line, which loses four starters to the NFL, Cristobal said: “I feel comfortable with what we have on the roster. Max Buchanan, we felt at the end of last year was ready to play.”
Cristobal said that guard/center SJ Alofaituli “got extensive work” in a pseudo tight end role: “These are young, big, talented guys. We feel we’re going to put together a talented offensive line.”
▪ Even after losing Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, Cristobal said he’s happy with UM’s group of edge players, a room led by Missouri transfer Damon Wilson, Marquise Lightfoot and Armondo Blount.
“I feel very strongly about that position — in terms of running to the football, extreme effort, maniacal go-get it,” he said. “It’s the position that has done the best job [at that]. They know nothing is going to be handed to them.”
Ballyhooed second-year edge player Hayden Lowe remains away. “He’s taking care of personal matters at the moment,” Cristobal said.
▪ There’s no longer a spring portal window — and no mechanism to add veteran players who didn’t enter the portal during the December/January window.
“God forbid if there’s an injury, there’s nothing to access,” Cristobal said. “It’s a tremendous disadvantage for teams trying to supplement their rosters.”
▪ There are no remaining tickets for UM’s spring game at 10:15 a.m. Saturday on campus; all 5,500 tickets have been distributed. The game will not be televised.
Cristobal said the first half of the game “will be practice” because “we don’t want to compromise a day of technique and fundamental work. It’s an opportunity to create some 1-on-1, 2-on-2 work. Then some live football. It’s an extended practice in full pads.”
In the second half, “you have to stay vanilla,” he said.
▪ Safety/nickel/corner notes: Safeties coach Will Harris declined to say if UM prefers Omar Thornton at nickel and Bryce Fitzgerald at safety — the positions they have played a lot this spring — or vice versa. He said both players can handle both roles…
He said freshman JJ Dunnigan is “wired the right way.” He said former Oregon State and FSU safety Conrad Hussey “brings some experience. The biggest thing is making sure he learns out scheme.”...
Harris said freshman cornerback Camden Portis “is very versatile, can play multiple positions. The biggest thing with him is getting bigger, stronger and faster.”...
Ja’boree Antoine is pushing the veteran cornerbacks. “He’s wired the right way and mature,” Harris said. “Even though he wasn’t a starter, he practiced each and every week like he was.”...
The fact that Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas improved considerably when they arrived at UM — and became pro prospects — is something UM has used as a talking point in recruiting defensive backs.
Before joining the Canes, “Keionte wasn’t on NFL draft boards. Jakobe wasn’t on draft boards. It’s how we can use these guys and put them in [positions] they can do well. That has been helpful in recruiting.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 1:35 PM.
