Mario Cristobal Illustrates Approach to Finding New Players
The past few years in the college football world have been much different than the previous few.
That's mainly due to the emergence of the transfer portal. It seems like every day, fans will see on X (formerly known as Twitter) that a player has decided to turn their collegiate football career in a different direction.
This new wave in college football can be tough for a lot of programs and on Wednesday's ACC Kickoff, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal opened up about it and how it has impacted his decisions alongside the rest of the Hurricanes football program.
"It's almost like the emergency room," Cristobal said. "You have to be on call 24-7. Every program has its starting point, and for us, there weren't a ton of juniors and seniors to me that were the caliber of a player that we wanted to have to compete for championships. But we do have a handful of some unbelievable players that have been here for 4-5 years and they need to be complimented for being mature impact players."
Cristobal said that he's happy with Miami's turnout in the transfer portal and their recruiting class as both are among the top in the nation. This includes starting quarterback Cam Ward, who played at Washington State and former Oregon State running back Damien Martinez.
Nevertheless, Cristobal isn't necessarily just going for the No. 1 ranked player in the portal. He revealed his approach to finding players in the transfer portal.
"When we already have the needs to identify and once those guys pop up in the portal, you just need to go right at it with an assessment, evaluation and character check," Cristobal said. "If it fits what we do, because we grind, work hard, play in practice very physically, then we are full throttle on it. Then we feel like we have big-time hits of guys who are like-minded and match the characteristics that we're looking for at that particular position"
The other main reason why college football is much different now than in previous years is due to the ability for players to profit off of their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). Cristobal expressed that the University of Miami's expertise in this new but crucial asset in college sports has likely been a big reason why his transfer and recruiting classes are highly ranked.
"Not only do we have an excellent NIL program but one that is completely and utterly responsible and accountable all the time," Cristobal said. "It's an unbelievable business. It's a collective, we're not allowed to deal with those inner conversations, but there's nothing that Miami cannot offer a student-athlete."
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