Mario Cristobal and Miami Players Ready For Spring Game
Article photo of Kamren Kinchens; photo credit to Brian Smith
Following the Miami Hurricanes’ 14th spring practice, an all-star lineup that included head coach Mario Cristobal, safety Kamren Kinchens and quarterback Tyler Van Dyke spoke to reporters on Thursday morning just ahead of Friday’s spring game at DRV PNK Stadium.
“We’ve done enough where we feel like we’re prepared to have our game tomorrow,” Cristobal said. “ … but today we worked on some other stuff that we’re going to use and progress to in the summer and keep evolving with in the summer.”
Friday will offer fans the first glimpse of a Miami team full of new transfers and staff members after an underwhelming 2022 season, including first-year coordinators Shannon Dawson and Lance Guidry. The most notable difference in this year’s spring game are the new schemes on both sides of the ball, according to Cristobal, who says Van Dyke is picking up the new concept quickly.
“With new coordinators in place … it’s new terminology, the scheme is new, the formation, the plays [and] all that stuff, but [Van Dyke] is doing a good job.” Cristobal said. “A really, really good job, and every day he’s getting more comfortable, and the supporting cast gets more and more comfortable.”
Said Van Dyke: “[Everyone’s] learning it pretty good …I think everyone’s locked in, really trying to get better and learn the offense quickly.”
For the freshmen, the game is a chance to don the historic orange and green in front of a home crowd for the first time. In particular, offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, who has been practicing with the first team for most of the spring, wide receiver Isaiah Horton and edge defender Rueben Bain are first-year players expected to take on important roles Friday.
Personnel-wise, the plan is to make every matchup as even as possible. Cristobal said he will run the first team against the first team, while the second and third teams will intermingle more. He won’t fully display the playbook, and said anyone would be “foolish” to do so, but assured fans they will still have a good time.
“We’re going to play football, we are,” Cristobal said. “How exotic will it be? It depends, there’s going to be some stuff that’s a lot of fun and some other stuff [we’re] going to hold back … We’re not going to hold an open scrimmage in the spring game and not go out there and play ball. Our fans deserve that.”
Next, it was clear that Kinchens was not focused on All-American Status.
Last week, Kinchens’ name was raised in the rafters of Miami’s indoor practice facility after his 2022 All-American campaign, joining the likes of Hurricanes’ legends Warren Sapp and Devin Hester, to name a few.
The 5-11 safety snagged six interceptions, tied for third-most in the nation, his sophomore year, which included an astounding three-interception game against Georgia Tech. The Miami native also led the team with 59 total tackles.
However, Kinchens has more important things than a banner on his mind.
“It’s a great feeling. I only try to pay [so] much attention [to] it,” he said. “We got more work to do, self goals ain’t really nothing.”
Instead, the first-team All-ACC safety is focusing on his leadership role that began last year. In Miami’s regular season finale against Pittsburgh, which it lost 42-16, Kinchens addressed the locker room postgame, telling reporters he told teammates to “come every day ready to grind” next season “because we don’t want this taste in our mouths again.”
As practice concludes on Friday with the spring game, what’s next for this team?
“Just making sure we don’t take a step back and just regress,” Kinchens said. “ … don’t let these few weeks that we might not be out there physically practicing take away from the mental side of the game.”
Lastly, Van Dyke talked about recruiting a now top teammate from the Transfer Portal.
Cristobal may have a secret weapon to help with recruiting this summer — starting quarterback Van Dyke. Turns out, Miami’s signal-caller played an instrumental part in convincing UCF transfer Matt Lee to become a ‘Cane, flying down from Connecticut during the center’s official visit.
“I didn’t know he was coming down at first, and then when we met up at dinner and all that and spent those two nights and days together,” Lee said. “It was awesome because it showed me … that Tyler’s very mature, he’s a serious, he’s a smart, he’s a good dude that I’d love to have as my quarterback.”
Van Dyke said he “definitely” wants to be involved in the recruiting process in the future.
“If [Cristobal] likes a guy, he’ll give me his number and I’ll definitely go reach out to him, talk to him … try to get those guys to come here,” he said.
Van Dyke will soon have that opportunity after spring ball, when coaches leave Coral Gables to seek new additions before fall camp. The Hurricanes aren’t done in the portal yet.
“You see your strengths and weaknesses in the spring and try to fill those spots when needed,” Van Dyke said. “And not even if it’s weak, but depth wise. We might be short on some depth and some positions, so definitely getting some guys in here would definitely help us.”
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