Mario Cristobal Is Confident In His Alpha Leader To Take Miami Back To Title Contention
Former Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera was known as the Riverboat Gambler. Despite that, Mario Cristobal is willing to roll the dice on transfer quarterback Cameron Ward who comes in from Washington State. Cristobal believes Ward can take Miami as far as they want to go.
"It's very well documented his productivity as a player throughout his career," Cristobal said. "What really stands out in the short time we've been around him is he's an Alpha leader. On the way in, when we were watching him on film, the reason everybody wanted him was his play making ability. Accurate, great arm strenth, ability to improvise, extend plays, a game changer."
In the past, Miami quarterbacks have allowed bad plays to become a bad series, which would then lead to a bad game. Cristobal does not have that fear with Ward. He believes that he can shrug off a negative play and come back to the table and roll a winner.
"Whenever there was a bad play, his ability to bounce back and make things right. He's aggressive," Cristobal said. "I would say his competitive nature to come back and make things right, to go and make things right, to go and make up for maybe a play that was negative, was really impressive. That has really stood out at his time at Miami through spring practice as he just built and gained the trust of his teammates."
One other problem that Miami has entertained in years past, is a problem that Ward also faced at Washington State. There was a problem with the offensive line keeping the quarterback upright. Over his last two seasons as a Cougar, he was sacked over 80 times.
With the line Miami has coming back, that should not be a problem this season.
"Protecting the quarterback has always been the forefront of any and every place that we've been at," Cristobal said. "It starts with guys like Jalen Rivers over there. Complete pro from top to bottom. A mentor to the younger guys. It starts with the guys up front, making sure there's complete alignment between the coordinator and the offensive line coach, right?"
Scott Salomon is a contributor to Miami Hurricanes On SI. He can be reached at sas@southfloridamedianetwork.com. He can be followed on X @ScottSalomonNFL.
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Scott Salomon joined On SI in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins site, and has since contributed to the Miami Heat, Back in the Day NBA, Miami Hurricanes and San Antonio Spurs sites. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. He's covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services.