May 19, 2025 • 35 mins
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal is the latest guest on the Pate State Speaker Series.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Twenty twenty four is in the rearview mirror now when
you just look back on that in totality and people
ask you, hey, how twenty twenty four go for you?
Like they were in a freeze chamber and they didn't
watch anything last year? How did twenty twenty four sit
with you?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
It sat with me, I would say, along the lines
of tons of progress and got right to a point
where had a chance to really get over the hump
and at the end of disappointing ending because we were basically.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
A drive a short of qualifying.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
For the AEC Championship Game and getting into the playoffs.
That being said, I can't ignore the progress part because
Miam has come a long way in these last three
years and it's led to another great class and it
propels us into the future.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
But I would sum it.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Up like that, do you ever find yourself having a balance?
I mean, if you're a driven type a kind of person,
the success is great, but you tend to focus on
what's not right and you want to get what's not
right fixed.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
But then at the.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Same time, okay, you can do that behind the scenes,
but when you're front facing, when you're at a press conference,
or when you're talking like this, you got to make
sure that you're acknowledging, Hey, we went five wins, seven wins,
ten wins. That's linear progression. That's about as clear cut
as it gets. We're winning double digit games, which we
haven't done around here, at least collectively, for a long time.
(01:31):
I mean, do you do you kind of find yourself
having to say, hey, you know, there's still a lot
to scrutinize, but it's okay for about two nanoseconds to hey,
good job, we're better than we were two years ago.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I mean, I approach every single press conference like a
team meeting, like almost like a PTA meeting, right, parents
Teachers Association meeting, because you want clarity and transparency for
everyone in the organization and the family's involved as well.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
And how do you do that.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You acknowledge the facts, you set goals and plans for
the future, but you make sure that everyone is very
very aware and understands exactly where we are, where we
plan to go, what's going to be tolerated, it's not
going to be tolerated. So I think if you use
that approach all the time, everybody is hearing the same
message and gives you.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
It gives your best.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Chance to stay within one culture and not deviate towards
like subcultures and narratives.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
When you're talking to guys that you're possibly going to
get out of the portal, you don't have long extended
relationships with them a lot of times, and so you're
having to expedite that recruiting process. You're getting to know
guys in an expedited timeframe when you're talking about that
stuff non negotiables. Here's what is and isn't tolerated here,
(02:42):
Like it's a competitive environment. You're trying to get them
that the clock's ticking. How do you make sure also
we've delivered that we've disseminated that message. They check those
boxes as well.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I think our players play a big role in that
particular area because they let them know exactly what's up.
And I still think recruits and prospects they get more
out of talking to your players and actually speaking with
the coaches. And Look, I've never been involved in speed dating,
but this has got to feel like what speed dating
is like. You've got to get everything on the table,
(03:17):
you know, it's got to be a mutual agreement. You've
got to see things a certain way, and you've got
to prepare to go to work together. It's got to
be a partnership as opposed to a verbal commitment, a
pledge sort of speak. And like you said, it's scrunched
and the only way to find out is when things
start happening live.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
But you do do a ton of research.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
You try to get with people that you really trust
and know something about that particular person, and you go
directly and hard at the questions and the things that
you cannot compromise.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
See where they sit at the end of the visit.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
I mean, I can't ask about the portal without asking
about Carson Beck. You guys this time last year, I'm
walking the halls and you're telling me cam Man everything
we hoped he would be. And then some way do
you see him this fall? Well, he played at a
Heisman caliber level all year for you guys last year.
So then you go get Carson back, probably a much
different personality type than cam Ward, but a guy you're
(04:12):
once again hoping can come in and take that job
by the throat and you know, do what you do
during the season. But there's also the health piece of
it with him coming off injury. So as much as
you can tell as public le user, where's he at
right now and what's the you know, sort of meshing
of him with this program been like.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well, the first part that's really encouraging for us. He's
almost at one hundred percent and I'm talking about maybe
a week away from being there. I mean, he's been
thrown four weeks now. He joins our team on Sunday
and everything is full throttle. There is no limitations for him,
and he looks great and in terms of you know,
he is different than cam personality wise, but not from
(04:51):
a drive and determination side, And I think that really
hit us strong and that very short process with Carson.
His knowledge of the game speaks very loudly of a
guy that has been prepping his entire life. And I
also think where we brought in a person that has
a lot to prove, but more in the sense of winning,
(05:13):
more in the sense of team than anything else. Like,
I think he really understands clearly after what he's been
through in this college football journey, what's important, right and
what's important is it relates to the next level. Because
Cam's a great example. Everyone knew cam Ward could throw
the football well, everyone knew he was accurate, he could improvise,
(05:34):
make plays. But people want to see cam Ward help
change the trajectory of a program and win right and
not be concerned with actually and Cam is not cam
could care, couldn't care any less about an award, I
mean a presentation. I mean it's obvious in the draft,
like he just want to hear his name, what times
of plane leading, when do I land in Tennessee?
Speaker 3 (05:55):
And when do I get the playbook? You know?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
And along those lines, there's a ton of some letters
with him and Carson and both of their knowledge of
the game, the knowledge of the run game, their knowledge
of the protections involved in every single concept that we have.
That has me, as a former offensive line coach, really
fired up. And then the reasoning behind his move to Miami.
(06:19):
So he wants to be pushed. He's not going to
be disappointed. He'll get plenty of that here and he's
going to be surrounded by guys that are like minded,
that want.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
To be elite at what they do, and that they
want to wudn't.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Be I think what you were talking about, there's sort
of the it's like the DNA of a transfer. It's
the behind the scenes, the making of the sausage, so
to speak, of the way that happens. But the public
just gets to see the headline Carson Beck's going to Miami.
But you get to be a part of every step
of the way, beginning to finish. What is it like
when it first becomes a parent. Hey, there's mutual interest
(06:54):
here in those first conversations happen. What are you talking about?
And I assume on his side we were sitting right
next to you, I could ask him, what are you
trying to learn from them? What's he trying to learn
from you?
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Like?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
What are those early initiation initiated conversations.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Like, I mean the very first one is can we
actually have a conversation? I mean, because if we can't
even connect on a very simple, superficial basis, might be
hard to connect on a deeper level, right and go
from there. So everything at first is getting to know somebody.
I mean, you can't trust or respect someone unless you
know them, and you can't really know them unless you
(07:28):
invest time in them. That was a really small window,
you know, really really short, really small. The people that
I know really well and that I have enough trust
in spoke the world of him as a person, as
a competitor, as a player. You know, a team guy
that's willing to do whatever it takes for a team
to win. And so I think his natural like immersion
(07:52):
into the locker room after a Heisman candidate just left,
was something that you know, you have to keep.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Okay, let me see how this is going to look.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Right, because you had a really popular guy, I was
really outspoken, and all of a sudden, you know, a couple,
you know, a week process has culminated in the signing
of a player that's going to be under a lot
of scrutiny. And it didn't take long for him to
for his teammates to realize, this is a dude. This
guy's not here to bs to mess around. This guy's
(08:22):
here to win, and he's a team guy. And that's
what we get. That's the vibe that we feel with
Carson the rest of his teammates.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
You guys made a change a defensive coordinator, and it
it just reminds me how conflicted I felt watching you
guys last year. I'm watching Cam Moore do his thing.
I'm watching you guys score thirty five, forty forty five
points every week but I'm also saying they better score
thirty five or forty or forty five because it's needed
because you're having trouble stopping the other team. So that's
the other half of this thing where you brought in
(08:52):
Heatherman from Minnesota, And like, I'm interested because I haven't
asked until now intentionally, what did you see in him?
And what did you identify before you went and made
the higher What did you identify about defense here that
needed to change aside from just well we need to
play better, Like, how did you drill down?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
What were the specifics? No, that's a great question.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I mean we lost our way last year because we
opened the season playing really good defense. We communicated well, organized,
lined up well. We suffered a couple injuries in an
area where we weren't really deep, but that shouldn't be
the result. After losing a couple of guys, we lost
our way. That's what happened, and it came in the
(09:33):
form of communication, alignment and assignment, which the simplicity of
that makes you play fast. So we went from playing
fast and physical to being uncertain and losing a step
and playing slow and looking confused. And it was painful
because that's a generational offense. I mean, that was made
for TV type of stuff right there. And at the
very end, you know, again we're there.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Okay, that might as.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Well be this there, you're not there, and we recognize that.
So we recruited this team to be a four down
aggressive defense.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
And in coach Heatherman, actually, you know, and I hate
to compare, people just saw a lot of what Miami
saw and Greg Ciano back in ninety eight ninety nine,
which was a guy who is not only a high
level of knowledge, level of expertise, but a system that
kicks ass. You know, a system that's very aggressive, that
communicates well, that's very sound, that gives you very complicated
(10:32):
looks on the back end, that disguise things well on
in the back end, and can play you in base
can play you with movement, can bring pressure, can simulate
those pressures, and still create situations for the offense that
are much more difficult.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
I think.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Last year we were very easy to figure out, especially
after a Game three in Game four.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
I also love the fact that coach.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Heatherman is a tough ass son of a gun, and
he's exactly what we need.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Sometimes let's say things don't go the way you want
it to during the season. Sometimes you'll get to December
and a guy will tell you, man, we kind of
we had a good idea it was headed that way
in spring and then August. Other times you'll have a
guy say, you know, I didn't really think it was
going to be that bad. Like this or this or
this kind of surprised me. Defense for you guys last year,
(11:22):
which side of that fence did you fall on?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I don't think anyone envisioned it, envisioned it going, you
know that sideways. You know now when we lost, you know,
Demori got hurt, Jatus was playing his best football. Those
were two big, physical, playing man of man ball, you
know back there on the back end. And when they
got when they were nicked up, when they were injured,
(11:45):
it it really, it really became a slippery slope. It
went downhill fast. But I still don't think that it
shouldn't have been, you know, to the level it got to.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Now.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Again, I don't one thing I don't want to do.
I don't want to like say, hey, this coordinator or
that coach or that coach. You know, at the end
of the day, man, you went together you lose together,
and I always look at myself and say, you know what,
I maybe should have done this for the coordinator, or
maybe should have brought them another assistant, maybe should have
helped them change something, you know. But one thing for sure,
when there's a chance to fix it, you fix it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I didn't think during the year was the time.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
I don't think during the year trying to fix it
that we had enough answers to make a complete change
in overhaul. But it certainly it was nowhere near standard it.
You know, it's it affected us in a big time
negative way. So a change had to be made and
we move forward.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You and I are talking right now. It's May twenty
twenty five. Recruiting's pretty hot right now. It's not the
time of year where we can mention specific names, but
in a general sense, things have gone really well for
you the past twenty four forty eight hours. And people
at home, they check recruiting rankings, they watch on National
Signing Day. But you got to do it year round,
(13:00):
and you got to immerse yourself in it. Y're around.
You've always been known as being a guy who does that.
So let's say you recruit me. It's you and about
three other major programs, Neck and Neck. I got my
announcement coming up at noon Eastern time. You're making calls,
You're doing all you can right up until the finish line.
But what is the energy, like, what are you feeling
on the inside when the clock ticks down and a
(13:22):
guy is about to make the announcement. Because fans know
how they feel at home, how do you feel as
a head coach?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Find a way?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Find a way and the announcement is I guess the
conclusion of the first and second quarter and then the
rest of the calendar year until signing days, halftime, third
fourth quarter and overtime.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
You know, get it done.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I just go compete, do all the things that the
mentors that I played for, coach I played for taught
me to do. Just go and don't settle and find
a way to get it done. So but also again,
be genuine, I mean, be passionate, intense, in a genuine manner.
Don't be a don't go to the negative route.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
You know that stuff.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I don't think that stuff's ever worked maybe for some people,
I don't know. But just go, man, you know it's
that simple.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Just go.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
You find throughout history like when you've been around high
level recruiting staffs, when you've put together a high level
recruiting staff, there's always the implication out there. Anytime a
program would land a kid, the rival fans of the
other programs are going to either try and downplay it,
or well we'll see it come signing day, or well
they bought the kid, or it's everything, but well they
(14:29):
just out recruited us. You can hear that occasionally. It
never really affect how you go about your business. But
do you sometimes hear the outside noise or outside opinion
on how a recruitment went, and you're on the inside,
you know how it went, and just kind.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Of say, all right, does it?
Speaker 1 (14:45):
At least it would make me laugh every now and
then when I listened to it.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
I mean, I could imagine some of the things that
are set out there. I just I don't know what
value that type of noise or people really have. Actually,
I guess the value lies in the fact that you
can take your son, you can take a prospect and
say you see all that noise and trash. There's an
(15:10):
example of what's irrelevant in life and the processes of
hard work.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
That's maybe the only value to it.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
And I think you could also take a parent and say, look,
your son is a high profile guy.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
This is great practice because.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
When you're playing in college and you miss a tackle
or you throw a bad pass, or when you're onto
the NFL and you enter a certain city and I mean,
they're going to throw tomato cans at you, you know,
at every stop they can, Like you have to get
used to what comes with sports, right, but I guess
that would be the only value practice for it in
(15:44):
the future, and or just point out what's irrelevant.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I think.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
I mean, you deal with it as a head coach.
High level players deal with it, just the immense amount
of focus, attention, therefore pressure, therefore criticism when you don't
do a good job. But there's a there's like a
protectionist mentality that society sometimes takes. Let's put an umbrella
over everyone. We don't want anyone to deal with anything.
(16:08):
And you're preaching the exact opposite message there of not
only is it inevitable that it is going to happen,
but exposing yourself to it every now and then it
is probably not the worst thing in the world, because
I mean, those elbows are rougher than the forearm for
a reason they've just dealt with more.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I just.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
I mean, you ask, so why do you do this?
You know, and a million things could come out. Some
people play for their families, some for the love of
the game. I have to love football aside from you know,
my family and faith more than anything.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
In the world. You know, couldn't live without it.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
And I think if anyone ever mentioned why I do
it because of all this noise and attention, if that
answer comes out, they got to get out and this
is this is not for them. I just again, I
just I've never you know, I'm being very honest. I
just never once have thought of that as any part
of any equation.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Man.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Just I mean, I had awesome parents, like insane grinders,
like kick your ass at every opportunity until you got
the job done. And if you didn't, God help you,
it's going to be a reckoning. So that's that's what
we do in my household. And I think it's my
obligation to you know, besides other lessons. Is such a
valuable lesson is to teach all these guys the value
(17:22):
of hard work, you know, because hard work and being
a great human being, that combination is just about undefeated,
you know in life, you know, and and it carries
over to football as well. So we're pretty simple, man,
We don't we don't overcomplicate things.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
When you have a guy who walks in and you
recruited him because he's got all the physical and intangibles
that you want, but he hasn't had that hard work
part ingrained in him since birth. And there may be
they maybe some other non negotiables that you think are
in him that you could pull out, but he's not
exhibiting them right away as a true freshman. How many times,
(17:59):
just along the course of your career have you seen
a guy where you're stirring with him, but you're also
I'm going to have a little patience because I trust
that one day he'll get there, and then he finally
gets there.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
You have to keep that in mind. You know, these coaches,
I'm always busting their chops. They're like those kids at Christmas.
They want those boxes that say no assembly required, right,
just roll them out there, and he's going to be
an All American.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
And that's not coaching.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
If that was coaching, there's no need for us take
away the funny shorts and the whistles get out.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
You know, they can handle it themselves. That's the beauty
of it.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Just in the process you have to you really have
to note and understand, Okay, why isn't he there yet?
Speaker 3 (18:37):
And are those things that we can help? Right?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Because if he's a good person and he's smart, and
he hasn't been exposed to hard work, but you do
see it in him, and most importantly, if you brought
him to practice and he watched the way we get
after it, because we do, we get after it, and
he's attracted to that, you know, and all the specs fit. Man,
I'm willing to roll the dice that we could be
(19:00):
great mentors because you know what my son's like. Like
I was growing up, I was missing a ton of
things and someone took a chance on myself, and I
want someone to take a chance on my son and
whatever he does as well for the right reasons, knowing
that you know what it's It may not look like
Francis Mino day one. I mean, I look like Pinay
(19:20):
School day one, but over time it might look as
good or better, you know, And that's that's the beauty
of development. And I don't think you stop developing or
you just never stop until the.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Day you retire.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
You know, development is in every piece and opportunity throughout
every single day.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
What part of you from playing days, but especially through
coaching days up until present day have you seen evolve
the most or maybe what characteristic aside from physicals, had
improved the most in yourself?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
And I feel like it's a NonStop process. I mean,
I feel like I'm learning all the time. I feel like,
you know, I come from the old school mentality where
I was fired up when a coach would just absolutely
rip me to shreds, knowing that I was going to
motivate me to go harder a coach, I wish you
(20:14):
weren't pad that kick you're at, you know. And I
but that that doesn't really, you know, translate well to
this day and age. That doesn't mean that people are different.
That just means that there's different ways to get to
the mind and to the heart. And I'm I've learned
more and more that you know what it's everybody's really
(20:35):
really different. And you could still coach them just as
hard and with just as much passion and intensity, but
different they understand like they're programmed, different, they have different languages,
they're you know, different kind of kilobytes. Certain things work
for certain computers, they don't work for others, and just
understanding and learning about that more and more and more.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Because as coach you're always digging to the.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Right technique, fundamental scheme, right different processes. But the the
human interaction, this is about people, always has been about
teaching people, learning from people, managing people, also being supervised
and managed. You know, this is like a give and
it take in a lot of different ways. And if
you go in there with the mentality and the conviction
(21:17):
that you're always right and there's no other way, I
think you have no chance. So I've learned to open
up and realize, hey, I have great people. I could
learn a lot from them as well, and they can
help us when they can help us get better.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
So I'm still growing man fair enough me too.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
You're talking about kind of the psychological aspect of players
and managing them, helping them, coaching them, and how the
psychology the mental makeup of your average eighteen year old
in twenty twenty five maybe a lot different than nineteen ninety,
but that's always been the case. I would imagine in
nineteen ninety the same coaches were talking the same way
about when they played in the sixties, So I would
(21:58):
imagine it's always like an evolutionary aspect of just society
in general. But because of that, you're talking about focusing
as a head coach on much more than just ex's
nose and scheme and who are we playing next week.
You've really got to be in touch with the mental
makeup of someone who is fractionally as old as you
(22:19):
are and a generation that's much younger than you. And
I would imagine sometimes sticking your thermometer in like the
younger generation, you probably get some surprising results and see
some things that make you go really.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Yeah, well okay, I mean every day I try to
inject at least one to eighty song in the warm ups.
You know, no, little ACDC she never heard anybody never
start the day right. But again, I don't think players change.
I think adults have changed, you know, And any falter
or issues I blame adults, I do. I think it's
all on the adults to maintain the principles and values
(22:56):
of football that should never change, right, the sport itself,
the integrity of the sport that shouldn't ever have to
be compromised, no matter if it's twenty twenty five or
nineteen seventy four. You know, we take a lot of
pride in that. And I think when we sit down
with parents and we we always look at it as
an opportunity to create a partnership as opposed to attain
(23:18):
a verbal commitment. I think those are two different. Those
are polar opposites, different sides of the earth of the world,
you know, And that's sun due time. And what besides,
you get to know them. They got to get to
know you, right, And it's got to be to a
point where a parent can put their heads down at
night and feel like I can sleep knowing my son
(23:40):
is in great hands that player above maybe not above
all else, but right in line with you know, the
trust factor being able to go to you in a
tough moment. He also has to feel that you're getting
him better, that we're not just out there just getting tired.
We're out there getting better. We're doing things to help
you and prove yourself. In the airs of either a
(24:01):
technique or fundamentals, conditioning, I discipline the mental part of
the game. In some way, shape or form. Players need
to and should feel like they're getting better in your program.
You know, what are you doing with them in the
off season. What are you doing for them in terms
of nutrition, in terms of recovery, in terms of an assiste,
of a guest speaker, you know, from financial literacy to
(24:24):
life skills, you name it, because that is our job.
We are teachers. A coach is a teacher and educator. Okay,
there's no punching the clock and rolling the ball out
there and you know, hoot and hollering and just calling
plays like that's that's not college coaching in my opinion.
So I think we have an unbelievable group of teachers,
(24:45):
booth men and women in the department.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
And they know that, I mean, this is Miami, man.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
It's like my heart and soul twenty four to seven
that this thing like coming back here was to make
sure that Miami again attained a certain level around you know,
college football and sustainable this time. And they know how
I feel about it. They do, And I want to
bring in people that impacted that will impact our guys
(25:12):
like I was impacted here.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
So full throttle.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
When you guys came out of spring, if you were
to you know, go to lunch with me and I said, hey,
what's the strongest part of that team right now? Where
are you looking at on that roster?
Speaker 2 (25:26):
I'd say I'd go a couple of different ways with
the answer. I wouldn't let you leave after just one question.
I'd say, I'd say the trenches really stand out. I'd
say the secondary is the most improved. I'd say that
the lineback and corps has taken a drastic, dramatic step up,
significant step up. I would say that the young quarterback
(25:46):
room really stepped up. Really proud of those guys because
they all showed they could play winning football. And we're
really young at wide receiver and that was the big
question mark. So much production has left. What are these
is going to look like? And they did a great job.
They're not a finished product, No part of our team
is not even close. But I can honestly say, for
(26:07):
the this is now our four spring again progress.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
And that was the goal.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
You know, Obviously the defensive side needed massive and significant improvement.
But not only did they get better. I thought that everybody,
every phase of our program, some more than others, but
did get better. And as we head into you know,
our team workouts starting on Monday.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
That's how we feel.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
That's how you know, and now through the transfer portal additions,
we feel like we can take another jump.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Yeah, what when you guys practice, are you still able
to practice the exact way you want to? With the
way depth looks a little bit different in today's game
than it looked like ten years ago when you may
have been at Bama and you just got guys running
with the threes that are future all Americans are virtually
every position, so you can practice any way you want to.
(27:00):
Are you still able to practice the exact way you
want to?
Speaker 2 (27:02):
I think for the most part, yes, I think we're
very mindful on some of the other days as the
season wears on. I think your use of your Monday
or Sunday, you know, you got to choose which one
you use. The use of Monday and Thursdays where it
gets where you have to balance what's best for the
team first and foremost and tied into okay, what do
(27:23):
we need to do also to be prepared for this game?
But Tuesdays and Wednesdays, that is that's full throttle. Now
you know your team, These are still seventeen to twenty
two year old guys, and not everybody needs a gazillion reps,
but young guys they do. And I know that, you know,
I feel like sometimes we try to take away developmental moments.
(27:45):
To be really good at football, you have to play football,
and you have to practice football, especially when you're in
the trenches, and those guys need to work and they
have to be physical at the line of scrimmage. And
the only way to do that is to practice bodies
on bodies right and actually live. When I say it live,
it doesn't have to be tackled. But you know, whether
it be in shells or full pads, you've got to
(28:06):
practice football. You've got to practice technique and fundamentals against
live bodies.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
All this stuff happening right now. You could talk about
the rev share thing that's coming right around the corner. Actually,
you could talk about potential changes to the way NIL
is policed. You could talk about the different portal windows
you're going to go the OTA route, Is spring practice
going to change in college football? All that stuff's on
your plate, but you don't know how any of it's
(28:32):
going to turn out. So as you sit here, you
know you can't control that, But are there personal preferences
you have as you look at the game right now
versus you know all the potential changes coming, Are there
a couple of them that you're kind of rooting for? Man,
I actually hope we do get this or that.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I'm rooting for one portal window that lets everyone set
their team for the spring. I'm rooting for developmental opportunities,
maybe in the form of I don't know if OTA
is the right word, but something where instead of the
players having player led practices, you could do something of
that nature, but actually be out there and coach and teach,
because again, guys need reps. And the good part is
(29:10):
the guys that I've logged a lot of reps. Theirs
is not as intensive, so you're being smart with your team.
You're not trying to look for ungodly amounts of extra work.
You're trying to get work to the guys that really
really need it. So I think that's really important. I
like to get back in homes right now. The calendar
has this so that head coaches are not getting in
the homes of prospective student athletes, which is wild because
(29:31):
when I first started coaching, I used to be able
to go on the road at all times and recruit
and that's an aspect that you know, for a lot
of programs that hurts. You know, a lot of head
coaches are good evaluators and good recruiters. Man, I got
a lot of other stuff. I don't know how much time.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
You got on my camera.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
I could keep going and going and going.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Brother.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
You know, I like the idea of maybe not spring
inter squad scrimmage, but I do like it in the fall,
like a preseason game works for the NFL that has
some value to it.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Don't know if we do it, but I like the
option to do it to get some other you know,
different looks, different people. What else.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
I just like the fact at the end of the day, man,
on Saturday, Friday, Thursday, or whatever it may be, the
ball is still going to be placed on the tea
and it's going to be kicked off and you're playing football,
and football is always going to be football, And I
get it. There's a lot of stuff and a lot
of noise, a lot of you know, there's a lot
of stuff, you know, and some of that stuff is
a pain in the neck. But I love football a
(30:35):
lot more than I dislike all the other stuff. That's
kind of trying to mess with it. So football for life,
same absolutely same. Let me get you out here on this.
You're talking about football games on Saturday. Everyone gets to
watch those.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
They're all big broadcast networks and it's publicly available. A
lot of the more fascinating parts usually are the parts
people don't get to see, and naturally there's more interest
and intriguing and I wonder what's going on over here
or over there. And I've always found the feedback I
get from fans is, well, what are coaches saying? So
we give them as much as we can in these
kind of interview settings, but also I think there's a
(31:13):
lot of interest in what coaches are talking about most
readily with each other, of what those league meetings and
those coaches meetings are like, because on one hand, you're
competing against all those guys and you're recruiting against them,
you're going to play against them. But yet it's also
sort of fraternal in nature that hey, we're kind of
all in this together. It's our game. So what are
(31:35):
those settings like these days?
Speaker 2 (31:38):
I mean, they're necessary because at the end of n
we're all keepers of the game, and we all it's
our responsibility to make the game better.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
And the neat thing I think people lose sight of this.
All those guys.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Sitting down at some point in time, they were sitting
in the player seats. Yeah, you know, these guys are
sitting fall out of the sky and we're handing over
a shirt and a whistle and say a man, go coach.
So they've had experience on both sides, and for the
most part you find truly like keepers of the game
that want to.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Make it better.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Now do I love sitting there with rivals and opponents?
I hate that. I don't be honest with you. I
never said that publicly, but I don't like that. I
don't like part of It's like what are we doing?
Speaker 3 (32:18):
You know?
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And you have to really check yourself and say, it's
beyond that. It's about the game, and the game is
still about developing people, about developing culture as a community,
as a society, as a country man. Football is Football
is as valuable as I mean, at least for me,
as for developing human beings, as anything you know out there,
(32:41):
and we have to put all that other stuff aside
for a few hours, you know. I mean, I'm sure
if you rang a bell, you'd have WrestleMania, you know,
right in the middle of it.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
But you have to put all that.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Stuff aside and realize, look, there's still you know, thousands
of student athletes that could really benefit from this. I
just I do want us, you know, going forward as
coaches to I'm all about discussing some of the rights
and privileges of the student athletes, but I want to
get more into talking about the duties and obligations of
them as well, because in your own household, of course,
(33:14):
you want to raise your son's daughters a certain way
and you want to grant them rights, but you also
want to teach them their duties and their obligations. You know,
with performance comes reward. With lack of performance comes consequence.
With doing the right things becomes impact. With not doing
the right things will comes this. You know, like that's
(33:35):
our job. You know, if you're really in it for
the right reasons, if you're really a teacher, I think
that has to be at the forefront of conversations of regiments,
of policies and procedures. And that's one thing I would
like to see more from college football.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
It's a good one and on we appreciate it. Coach
(34:29):
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in New York
Twenty twenty four is in the rearview mirror now when
you just look back on that in totality and people
ask you, hey, how twenty twenty four go for you?
Like they were in a freeze chamber and they didn't
watch anything last year? How did twenty twenty four sit
with you?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
It sat with me, I would say, along the lines
of tons of progress and got right to a point
where had a chance to really get over the hump
and at the end of disappointing ending because we were basically.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
A drive a short of qualifying.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
For the AEC Championship Game and getting into the playoffs.
That being said, I can't ignore the progress part because
Miam has come a long way in these last three
years and it's led to another great class and it
propels us into the future.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
But I would sum it.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Up like that, do you ever find yourself having a balance?
I mean, if you're a driven type a kind of person,
the success is great, but you tend to focus on
what's not right and you want to get what's not
right fixed.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
But then at the.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Same time, okay, you can do that behind the scenes,
but when you're front facing, when you're at a press conference,
or when you're talking like this, you got to make
sure that you're acknowledging, Hey, we went five wins, seven wins,
ten wins. That's linear progression. That's about as clear cut
as it gets. We're winning double digit games, which we
haven't done around here, at least collectively, for a long time.
(01:31):
I mean, do you do you kind of find yourself
having to say, hey, you know, there's still a lot
to scrutinize, but it's okay for about two nanoseconds to hey,
good job, we're better than we were two years ago.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I mean, I approach every single press conference like a
team meeting, like almost like a PTA meeting, right, parents
Teachers Association meeting, because you want clarity and transparency for
everyone in the organization and the family's involved as well.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
And how do you do that.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You acknowledge the facts, you set goals and plans for
the future, but you make sure that everyone is very
very aware and understands exactly where we are, where we
plan to go, what's going to be tolerated, it's not
going to be tolerated. So I think if you use
that approach all the time, everybody is hearing the same
message and gives you.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
It gives your best.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Chance to stay within one culture and not deviate towards
like subcultures and narratives.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
When you're talking to guys that you're possibly going to
get out of the portal, you don't have long extended
relationships with them a lot of times, and so you're
having to expedite that recruiting process. You're getting to know
guys in an expedited timeframe when you're talking about that
stuff non negotiables. Here's what is and isn't tolerated here,
(02:42):
Like it's a competitive environment. You're trying to get them
that the clock's ticking. How do you make sure also
we've delivered that we've disseminated that message. They check those
boxes as well.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I think our players play a big role in that
particular area because they let them know exactly what's up.
And I still think recruits and prospects they get more
out of talking to your players and actually speaking with
the coaches. And Look, I've never been involved in speed dating,
but this has got to feel like what speed dating
is like. You've got to get everything on the table,
(03:17):
you know, it's got to be a mutual agreement. You've
got to see things a certain way, and you've got
to prepare to go to work together. It's got to
be a partnership as opposed to a verbal commitment, a
pledge sort of speak. And like you said, it's scrunched
and the only way to find out is when things
start happening live.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
But you do do a ton of research.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
You try to get with people that you really trust
and know something about that particular person, and you go
directly and hard at the questions and the things that
you cannot compromise.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
See where they sit at the end of the visit.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
I mean, I can't ask about the portal without asking
about Carson Beck. You guys this time last year, I'm
walking the halls and you're telling me cam Man everything
we hoped he would be. And then some way do
you see him this fall? Well, he played at a
Heisman caliber level all year for you guys last year.
So then you go get Carson back, probably a much
different personality type than cam Ward, but a guy you're
(04:12):
once again hoping can come in and take that job
by the throat and you know, do what you do
during the season. But there's also the health piece of
it with him coming off injury. So as much as
you can tell as public le user, where's he at
right now and what's the you know, sort of meshing
of him with this program been like.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well, the first part that's really encouraging for us. He's
almost at one hundred percent and I'm talking about maybe
a week away from being there. I mean, he's been
thrown four weeks now. He joins our team on Sunday
and everything is full throttle. There is no limitations for him,
and he looks great and in terms of you know,
he is different than cam personality wise, but not from
(04:51):
a drive and determination side, And I think that really
hit us strong and that very short process with Carson.
His knowledge of the game speaks very loudly of a
guy that has been prepping his entire life. And I
also think where we brought in a person that has
a lot to prove, but more in the sense of winning,
(05:13):
more in the sense of team than anything else. Like,
I think he really understands clearly after what he's been
through in this college football journey, what's important, right and
what's important is it relates to the next level. Because
Cam's a great example. Everyone knew cam Ward could throw
the football well, everyone knew he was accurate, he could improvise,
(05:34):
make plays. But people want to see cam Ward help
change the trajectory of a program and win right and
not be concerned with actually and Cam is not cam
could care, couldn't care any less about an award, I
mean a presentation. I mean it's obvious in the draft,
like he just want to hear his name, what times
of plane leading, when do I land in Tennessee?
Speaker 3 (05:55):
And when do I get the playbook? You know?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
And along those lines, there's a ton of some letters
with him and Carson and both of their knowledge of
the game, the knowledge of the run game, their knowledge
of the protections involved in every single concept that we have.
That has me, as a former offensive line coach, really
fired up. And then the reasoning behind his move to Miami.
(06:19):
So he wants to be pushed. He's not going to
be disappointed. He'll get plenty of that here and he's
going to be surrounded by guys that are like minded,
that want.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
To be elite at what they do, and that they
want to wudn't.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Be I think what you were talking about, there's sort
of the it's like the DNA of a transfer. It's
the behind the scenes, the making of the sausage, so
to speak, of the way that happens. But the public
just gets to see the headline Carson Beck's going to Miami.
But you get to be a part of every step
of the way, beginning to finish. What is it like
when it first becomes a parent. Hey, there's mutual interest
(06:54):
here in those first conversations happen. What are you talking about?
And I assume on his side we were sitting right
next to you, I could ask him, what are you
trying to learn from them? What's he trying to learn
from you?
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Like?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
What are those early initiation initiated conversations.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Like, I mean the very first one is can we
actually have a conversation? I mean, because if we can't
even connect on a very simple, superficial basis, might be
hard to connect on a deeper level, right and go
from there. So everything at first is getting to know somebody.
I mean, you can't trust or respect someone unless you
know them, and you can't really know them unless you
(07:28):
invest time in them. That was a really small window,
you know, really really short, really small. The people that
I know really well and that I have enough trust
in spoke the world of him as a person, as
a competitor, as a player. You know, a team guy
that's willing to do whatever it takes for a team
to win. And so I think his natural like immersion
(07:52):
into the locker room after a Heisman candidate just left,
was something that you know, you have to keep.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Okay, let me see how this is going to look.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Right, because you had a really popular guy, I was
really outspoken, and all of a sudden, you know, a couple,
you know, a week process has culminated in the signing
of a player that's going to be under a lot
of scrutiny. And it didn't take long for him to
for his teammates to realize, this is a dude. This
guy's not here to bs to mess around. This guy's
(08:22):
here to win, and he's a team guy. And that's
what we get. That's the vibe that we feel with
Carson the rest of his teammates.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
You guys made a change a defensive coordinator, and it
it just reminds me how conflicted I felt watching you
guys last year. I'm watching Cam Moore do his thing.
I'm watching you guys score thirty five, forty forty five
points every week but I'm also saying they better score
thirty five or forty or forty five because it's needed
because you're having trouble stopping the other team. So that's
the other half of this thing where you brought in
(08:52):
Heatherman from Minnesota, And like, I'm interested because I haven't
asked until now intentionally, what did you see in him?
And what did you identify before you went and made
the higher What did you identify about defense here that
needed to change aside from just well we need to
play better, Like, how did you drill down?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
What were the specifics? No, that's a great question.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I mean we lost our way last year because we
opened the season playing really good defense. We communicated well, organized,
lined up well. We suffered a couple injuries in an
area where we weren't really deep, but that shouldn't be
the result. After losing a couple of guys, we lost
our way. That's what happened, and it came in the
(09:33):
form of communication, alignment and assignment, which the simplicity of
that makes you play fast. So we went from playing
fast and physical to being uncertain and losing a step
and playing slow and looking confused. And it was painful
because that's a generational offense. I mean, that was made
for TV type of stuff right there. And at the
very end, you know, again we're there.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Okay, that might as.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Well be this there, you're not there, and we recognize that.
So we recruited this team to be a four down
aggressive defense.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
And in coach Heatherman, actually, you know, and I hate
to compare, people just saw a lot of what Miami
saw and Greg Ciano back in ninety eight ninety nine,
which was a guy who is not only a high
level of knowledge, level of expertise, but a system that
kicks ass. You know, a system that's very aggressive, that
communicates well, that's very sound, that gives you very complicated
(10:32):
looks on the back end, that disguise things well on
in the back end, and can play you in base
can play you with movement, can bring pressure, can simulate
those pressures, and still create situations for the offense that
are much more difficult.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
I think.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Last year we were very easy to figure out, especially
after a Game three in Game four.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
I also love the fact that coach.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Heatherman is a tough ass son of a gun, and
he's exactly what we need.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Sometimes let's say things don't go the way you want
it to during the season. Sometimes you'll get to December
and a guy will tell you, man, we kind of
we had a good idea it was headed that way
in spring and then August. Other times you'll have a
guy say, you know, I didn't really think it was
going to be that bad. Like this or this or
this kind of surprised me. Defense for you guys last year,
(11:22):
which side of that fence did you fall on?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I don't think anyone envisioned it, envisioned it going, you
know that sideways. You know now when we lost, you know,
Demori got hurt, Jatus was playing his best football. Those
were two big, physical, playing man of man ball, you
know back there on the back end. And when they
got when they were nicked up, when they were injured,
(11:45):
it it really, it really became a slippery slope. It
went downhill fast. But I still don't think that it
shouldn't have been, you know, to the level it got to.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Now.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Again, I don't one thing I don't want to do.
I don't want to like say, hey, this coordinator or
that coach or that coach. You know, at the end
of the day, man, you went together you lose together,
and I always look at myself and say, you know what,
I maybe should have done this for the coordinator, or
maybe should have brought them another assistant, maybe should have
helped them change something, you know. But one thing for sure,
when there's a chance to fix it, you fix it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I didn't think during the year was the time.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
I don't think during the year trying to fix it
that we had enough answers to make a complete change
in overhaul. But it certainly it was nowhere near standard it.
You know, it's it affected us in a big time
negative way. So a change had to be made and
we move forward.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You and I are talking right now. It's May twenty
twenty five. Recruiting's pretty hot right now. It's not the
time of year where we can mention specific names, but
in a general sense, things have gone really well for
you the past twenty four forty eight hours. And people
at home, they check recruiting rankings, they watch on National
Signing Day. But you got to do it year round,
(13:00):
and you got to immerse yourself in it. Y're around.
You've always been known as being a guy who does that.
So let's say you recruit me. It's you and about
three other major programs, Neck and Neck. I got my
announcement coming up at noon Eastern time. You're making calls,
You're doing all you can right up until the finish line.
But what is the energy, like, what are you feeling
on the inside when the clock ticks down and a
(13:22):
guy is about to make the announcement. Because fans know
how they feel at home, how do you feel as
a head coach?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Find a way?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Find a way and the announcement is I guess the
conclusion of the first and second quarter and then the
rest of the calendar year until signing days, halftime, third
fourth quarter and overtime.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
You know, get it done.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I just go compete, do all the things that the
mentors that I played for, coach I played for taught
me to do. Just go and don't settle and find
a way to get it done. So but also again,
be genuine, I mean, be passionate, intense, in a genuine manner.
Don't be a don't go to the negative route.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
You know that stuff.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I don't think that stuff's ever worked maybe for some people,
I don't know. But just go, man, you know it's
that simple.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Just go.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
You find throughout history like when you've been around high
level recruiting staffs, when you've put together a high level
recruiting staff, there's always the implication out there. Anytime a
program would land a kid, the rival fans of the
other programs are going to either try and downplay it,
or well we'll see it come signing day, or well
they bought the kid, or it's everything, but well they
(14:29):
just out recruited us. You can hear that occasionally. It
never really affect how you go about your business. But
do you sometimes hear the outside noise or outside opinion
on how a recruitment went, and you're on the inside,
you know how it went, and just kind.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Of say, all right, does it?
Speaker 1 (14:45):
At least it would make me laugh every now and
then when I listened to it.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
I mean, I could imagine some of the things that
are set out there. I just I don't know what
value that type of noise or people really have. Actually,
I guess the value lies in the fact that you
can take your son, you can take a prospect and
say you see all that noise and trash. There's an
(15:10):
example of what's irrelevant in life and the processes of
hard work.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
That's maybe the only value to it.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
And I think you could also take a parent and say, look,
your son is a high profile guy.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
This is great practice because.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
When you're playing in college and you miss a tackle
or you throw a bad pass, or when you're onto
the NFL and you enter a certain city and I mean,
they're going to throw tomato cans at you, you know,
at every stop they can, Like you have to get
used to what comes with sports, right, but I guess
that would be the only value practice for it in
(15:44):
the future, and or just point out what's irrelevant.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I think.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
I mean, you deal with it as a head coach.
High level players deal with it, just the immense amount
of focus, attention, therefore pressure, therefore criticism when you don't
do a good job. But there's a there's like a
protectionist mentality that society sometimes takes. Let's put an umbrella
over everyone. We don't want anyone to deal with anything.
(16:08):
And you're preaching the exact opposite message there of not
only is it inevitable that it is going to happen,
but exposing yourself to it every now and then it
is probably not the worst thing in the world, because
I mean, those elbows are rougher than the forearm for
a reason they've just dealt with more.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I just.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
I mean, you ask, so why do you do this?
You know, and a million things could come out. Some
people play for their families, some for the love of
the game. I have to love football aside from you know,
my family and faith more than anything.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
In the world. You know, couldn't live without it.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
And I think if anyone ever mentioned why I do
it because of all this noise and attention, if that
answer comes out, they got to get out and this
is this is not for them. I just again, I
just I've never you know, I'm being very honest. I
just never once have thought of that as any part
of any equation.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Man.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Just I mean, I had awesome parents, like insane grinders,
like kick your ass at every opportunity until you got
the job done. And if you didn't, God help you,
it's going to be a reckoning. So that's that's what
we do in my household. And I think it's my
obligation to you know, besides other lessons. Is such a
valuable lesson is to teach all these guys the value
(17:22):
of hard work, you know, because hard work and being
a great human being, that combination is just about undefeated,
you know in life, you know, and and it carries
over to football as well. So we're pretty simple, man,
We don't we don't overcomplicate things.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
When you have a guy who walks in and you
recruited him because he's got all the physical and intangibles
that you want, but he hasn't had that hard work
part ingrained in him since birth. And there may be
they maybe some other non negotiables that you think are
in him that you could pull out, but he's not
exhibiting them right away as a true freshman. How many times,
(17:59):
just along the course of your career have you seen
a guy where you're stirring with him, but you're also
I'm going to have a little patience because I trust
that one day he'll get there, and then he finally
gets there.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
You have to keep that in mind. You know, these coaches,
I'm always busting their chops. They're like those kids at Christmas.
They want those boxes that say no assembly required, right,
just roll them out there, and he's going to be
an All American.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
And that's not coaching.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
If that was coaching, there's no need for us take
away the funny shorts and the whistles get out.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
You know, they can handle it themselves. That's the beauty
of it.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Just in the process you have to you really have
to note and understand, Okay, why isn't he there yet?
Speaker 3 (18:37):
And are those things that we can help? Right?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Because if he's a good person and he's smart, and
he hasn't been exposed to hard work, but you do
see it in him, and most importantly, if you brought
him to practice and he watched the way we get
after it, because we do, we get after it, and
he's attracted to that, you know, and all the specs fit. Man,
I'm willing to roll the dice that we could be
(19:00):
great mentors because you know what my son's like. Like
I was growing up, I was missing a ton of
things and someone took a chance on myself, and I
want someone to take a chance on my son and
whatever he does as well for the right reasons, knowing
that you know what it's It may not look like
Francis Mino day one. I mean, I look like Pinay
(19:20):
School day one, but over time it might look as
good or better, you know, And that's that's the beauty
of development. And I don't think you stop developing or
you just never stop until the.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Day you retire.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
You know, development is in every piece and opportunity throughout
every single day.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
What part of you from playing days, but especially through
coaching days up until present day have you seen evolve
the most or maybe what characteristic aside from physicals, had
improved the most in yourself?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
And I feel like it's a NonStop process. I mean,
I feel like I'm learning all the time. I feel like,
you know, I come from the old school mentality where
I was fired up when a coach would just absolutely
rip me to shreds, knowing that I was going to
motivate me to go harder a coach, I wish you
(20:14):
weren't pad that kick you're at, you know. And I
but that that doesn't really, you know, translate well to
this day and age. That doesn't mean that people are different.
That just means that there's different ways to get to
the mind and to the heart. And I'm I've learned
more and more that you know what it's everybody's really
(20:35):
really different. And you could still coach them just as
hard and with just as much passion and intensity, but
different they understand like they're programmed, different, they have different languages,
they're you know, different kind of kilobytes. Certain things work
for certain computers, they don't work for others, and just
understanding and learning about that more and more and more.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Because as coach you're always digging to the.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Right technique, fundamental scheme, right different processes. But the the
human interaction, this is about people, always has been about
teaching people, learning from people, managing people, also being supervised
and managed. You know, this is like a give and
it take in a lot of different ways. And if
you go in there with the mentality and the conviction
(21:17):
that you're always right and there's no other way, I
think you have no chance. So I've learned to open
up and realize, hey, I have great people. I could
learn a lot from them as well, and they can
help us when they can help us get better.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
So I'm still growing man fair enough me too.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
You're talking about kind of the psychological aspect of players
and managing them, helping them, coaching them, and how the
psychology the mental makeup of your average eighteen year old
in twenty twenty five maybe a lot different than nineteen ninety,
but that's always been the case. I would imagine in
nineteen ninety the same coaches were talking the same way
about when they played in the sixties, So I would
(21:58):
imagine it's always like an evolutionary aspect of just society
in general. But because of that, you're talking about focusing
as a head coach on much more than just ex's
nose and scheme and who are we playing next week.
You've really got to be in touch with the mental
makeup of someone who is fractionally as old as you
(22:19):
are and a generation that's much younger than you. And
I would imagine sometimes sticking your thermometer in like the
younger generation, you probably get some surprising results and see
some things that make you go really.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Yeah, well okay, I mean every day I try to
inject at least one to eighty song in the warm ups.
You know, no, little ACDC she never heard anybody never
start the day right. But again, I don't think players change.
I think adults have changed, you know, And any falter
or issues I blame adults, I do. I think it's
all on the adults to maintain the principles and values
(22:56):
of football that should never change, right, the sport itself,
the integrity of the sport that shouldn't ever have to
be compromised, no matter if it's twenty twenty five or
nineteen seventy four. You know, we take a lot of
pride in that. And I think when we sit down
with parents and we we always look at it as
an opportunity to create a partnership as opposed to attain
(23:18):
a verbal commitment. I think those are two different. Those
are polar opposites, different sides of the earth of the world,
you know, And that's sun due time. And what besides,
you get to know them. They got to get to
know you, right, And it's got to be to a
point where a parent can put their heads down at
night and feel like I can sleep knowing my son
(23:40):
is in great hands that player above maybe not above
all else, but right in line with you know, the
trust factor being able to go to you in a
tough moment. He also has to feel that you're getting
him better, that we're not just out there just getting tired.
We're out there getting better. We're doing things to help
you and prove yourself. In the airs of either a
(24:01):
technique or fundamentals, conditioning, I discipline the mental part of
the game. In some way, shape or form. Players need
to and should feel like they're getting better in your program.
You know, what are you doing with them in the
off season. What are you doing for them in terms
of nutrition, in terms of recovery, in terms of an assiste,
of a guest speaker, you know, from financial literacy to
(24:24):
life skills, you name it, because that is our job.
We are teachers. A coach is a teacher and educator. Okay,
there's no punching the clock and rolling the ball out
there and you know, hoot and hollering and just calling
plays like that's that's not college coaching in my opinion.
So I think we have an unbelievable group of teachers,
(24:45):
booth men and women in the department.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
And they know that, I mean, this is Miami, man.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
It's like my heart and soul twenty four to seven
that this thing like coming back here was to make
sure that Miami again attained a certain level around you know,
college football and sustainable this time. And they know how
I feel about it. They do, And I want to
bring in people that impacted that will impact our guys
(25:12):
like I was impacted here.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
So full throttle.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
When you guys came out of spring, if you were
to you know, go to lunch with me and I said, hey,
what's the strongest part of that team right now? Where
are you looking at on that roster?
Speaker 2 (25:26):
I'd say I'd go a couple of different ways with
the answer. I wouldn't let you leave after just one question.
I'd say, I'd say the trenches really stand out. I'd
say the secondary is the most improved. I'd say that
the lineback and corps has taken a drastic, dramatic step up,
significant step up. I would say that the young quarterback
(25:46):
room really stepped up. Really proud of those guys because
they all showed they could play winning football. And we're
really young at wide receiver and that was the big
question mark. So much production has left. What are these
is going to look like? And they did a great job.
They're not a finished product, No part of our team
is not even close. But I can honestly say, for
(26:07):
the this is now our four spring again progress.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
And that was the goal.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
You know, Obviously the defensive side needed massive and significant improvement.
But not only did they get better. I thought that everybody,
every phase of our program, some more than others, but
did get better. And as we head into you know,
our team workouts starting on Monday.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
That's how we feel.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
That's how you know, and now through the transfer portal additions,
we feel like we can take another jump.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Yeah, what when you guys practice, are you still able
to practice the exact way you want to? With the
way depth looks a little bit different in today's game
than it looked like ten years ago when you may
have been at Bama and you just got guys running
with the threes that are future all Americans are virtually
every position, so you can practice any way you want to.
(27:00):
Are you still able to practice the exact way you
want to?
Speaker 2 (27:02):
I think for the most part, yes, I think we're
very mindful on some of the other days as the
season wears on. I think your use of your Monday
or Sunday, you know, you got to choose which one
you use. The use of Monday and Thursdays where it
gets where you have to balance what's best for the
team first and foremost and tied into okay, what do
(27:23):
we need to do also to be prepared for this game?
But Tuesdays and Wednesdays, that is that's full throttle. Now
you know your team, These are still seventeen to twenty
two year old guys, and not everybody needs a gazillion reps,
but young guys they do. And I know that, you know,
I feel like sometimes we try to take away developmental moments.
(27:45):
To be really good at football, you have to play football,
and you have to practice football, especially when you're in
the trenches, and those guys need to work and they
have to be physical at the line of scrimmage. And
the only way to do that is to practice bodies
on bodies right and actually live. When I say it live,
it doesn't have to be tackled. But you know, whether
it be in shells or full pads, you've got to
(28:06):
practice football. You've got to practice technique and fundamentals against
live bodies.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
All this stuff happening right now. You could talk about
the rev share thing that's coming right around the corner. Actually,
you could talk about potential changes to the way NIL
is policed. You could talk about the different portal windows
you're going to go the OTA route, Is spring practice
going to change in college football? All that stuff's on
your plate, but you don't know how any of it's
(28:32):
going to turn out. So as you sit here, you
know you can't control that, But are there personal preferences
you have as you look at the game right now
versus you know all the potential changes coming, Are there
a couple of them that you're kind of rooting for? Man,
I actually hope we do get this or that.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I'm rooting for one portal window that lets everyone set
their team for the spring. I'm rooting for developmental opportunities,
maybe in the form of I don't know if OTA
is the right word, but something where instead of the
players having player led practices, you could do something of
that nature, but actually be out there and coach and teach,
because again, guys need reps. And the good part is
(29:10):
the guys that I've logged a lot of reps. Theirs
is not as intensive, so you're being smart with your team.
You're not trying to look for ungodly amounts of extra work.
You're trying to get work to the guys that really
really need it. So I think that's really important. I
like to get back in homes right now. The calendar
has this so that head coaches are not getting in
the homes of prospective student athletes, which is wild because
(29:31):
when I first started coaching, I used to be able
to go on the road at all times and recruit
and that's an aspect that you know, for a lot
of programs that hurts. You know, a lot of head
coaches are good evaluators and good recruiters. Man, I got
a lot of other stuff. I don't know how much time.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
You got on my camera.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
I could keep going and going and going.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Brother.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
You know, I like the idea of maybe not spring
inter squad scrimmage, but I do like it in the fall,
like a preseason game works for the NFL that has
some value to it.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Don't know if we do it, but I like the
option to do it to get some other you know,
different looks, different people. What else.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
I just like the fact at the end of the day, man,
on Saturday, Friday, Thursday, or whatever it may be, the
ball is still going to be placed on the tea
and it's going to be kicked off and you're playing football,
and football is always going to be football, And I
get it. There's a lot of stuff and a lot
of noise, a lot of you know, there's a lot
of stuff, you know, and some of that stuff is
a pain in the neck. But I love football a
(30:35):
lot more than I dislike all the other stuff. That's
kind of trying to mess with it. So football for life,
same absolutely same. Let me get you out here on this.
You're talking about football games on Saturday. Everyone gets to
watch those.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
They're all big broadcast networks and it's publicly available. A
lot of the more fascinating parts usually are the parts
people don't get to see, and naturally there's more interest
and intriguing and I wonder what's going on over here
or over there. And I've always found the feedback I
get from fans is, well, what are coaches saying? So
we give them as much as we can in these
kind of interview settings, but also I think there's a
(31:13):
lot of interest in what coaches are talking about most
readily with each other, of what those league meetings and
those coaches meetings are like, because on one hand, you're
competing against all those guys and you're recruiting against them,
you're going to play against them. But yet it's also
sort of fraternal in nature that hey, we're kind of
all in this together. It's our game. So what are
(31:35):
those settings like these days?
Speaker 2 (31:38):
I mean, they're necessary because at the end of n
we're all keepers of the game, and we all it's
our responsibility to make the game better.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
And the neat thing I think people lose sight of this.
All those guys.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Sitting down at some point in time, they were sitting
in the player seats. Yeah, you know, these guys are
sitting fall out of the sky and we're handing over
a shirt and a whistle and say a man, go coach.
So they've had experience on both sides, and for the
most part you find truly like keepers of the game
that want to.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Make it better.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Now do I love sitting there with rivals and opponents?
I hate that. I don't be honest with you. I
never said that publicly, but I don't like that. I
don't like part of It's like what are we doing?
Speaker 3 (32:18):
You know?
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And you have to really check yourself and say, it's
beyond that. It's about the game, and the game is
still about developing people, about developing culture as a community,
as a society, as a country man. Football is Football
is as valuable as I mean, at least for me,
as for developing human beings, as anything you know out there,
(32:41):
and we have to put all that other stuff aside
for a few hours, you know. I mean, I'm sure
if you rang a bell, you'd have WrestleMania, you know,
right in the middle of it.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
But you have to put all that.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Stuff aside and realize, look, there's still you know, thousands
of student athletes that could really benefit from this. I
just I do want us, you know, going forward as
coaches to I'm all about discussing some of the rights
and privileges of the student athletes, but I want to
get more into talking about the duties and obligations of
them as well, because in your own household, of course,
(33:14):
you want to raise your son's daughters a certain way
and you want to grant them rights, but you also
want to teach them their duties and their obligations. You know,
with performance comes reward. With lack of performance comes consequence.
With doing the right things becomes impact. With not doing
the right things will comes this. You know, like that's
(33:35):
our job. You know, if you're really in it for
the right reasons, if you're really a teacher, I think
that has to be at the forefront of conversations of regiments,
of policies and procedures. And that's one thing I would
like to see more from college football.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
It's a good one and on we appreciate it. Coach
(34:29):
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