Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal looks ahead to the Texas A&M challenge: “They are doing things that are really high level”

Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal was pleased with how the season began in a blowout win over Miami (Ohio), calling it on the Mario Cristobal Show a “good way to start the season, lots of progress.”

He added “Solid performance by our guys, played with a lot of energy, physicality and fundamentals.”

Cristobal said the execution for game 1 was on point and that other than some penalties there were a lot of positives from which to build.

“Looking forward to carrying that over,” Cristobal said.

That will need to happen, with ranked Texas A&M up next off its own game 1 blowout win vs. New Mexico.

On offense the Aggies are led by 5-star QB Connor Weigman. Last year in his first season at College Station he got opportunities late in the year and finished with 896 yards and eight passing TDs with no interceptions; he also showed his mobility with 96 rush yards. Oh, and all he did in the opener this year was toss five TDs while adding 31 yards on a pair of scrambles.

“Their quarterback had a career day this past week,” Cristobal said. “He doesn’t only do it with his arm, his feet as well.”

His targets are some of the most talented Miami will face all year. Evan Stewart (649 yards last year) caught 8 passes for 115 yards in Game 1 and Noah Thomas reeled in six balls for 74 yards and three TDs. Meanwhile Ainias Smith, who had a pair of 500-plus yard receiving seasons before getting injured last year, had 40 yards on three catches, and you can’t sleep on Moose Muhammad (had 610 yards last year, three catches with a TD in opener). It’s going to be a tall task for Miami to contain this group.

“You have to be prepared for what they know how to do, because the real good ones make it work with the personnel they have,” Cristobal said. “(Texas A&M offensive coordinator) Bobby Petrino has done a tremendous job everywhere he’s been.”

In the run game Texas A&M has 5-star freshman Rueben Owens, who played 40 snaps in the opener and had 25 yards on seven carries, Miami Central graduate Amari Daniels (7 carries, 51 yards) and Le’Veon Moss (6 carries, 26 yards, TD). They run behind a line that has three returning starters.

“The supporting cast – they have great running backs, great wide receivers and tight ends,” Cristobal said. “They did it just about every way offensively (vs. New Mexico).”

On defense?

Up front Texas A&M is loaded with 4- and 5-star talent. The tackle position is a major strength behind Walter Nolen and McKinnley Jackson. Nolen, a former 5-star, had 16 QB pressures last year and was disruptive in the opener with 7 tackles, one for a loss. Jackson had 14 QB pressures last year with 37 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two sacks. Then you’ve also got to deal with guys like Shemar Turner who can play end or tackle and had 4.5 TFL last year, DE Fadil Diggs (5 TFL, 3 sacks, 3 FF last year), LT Overton (3 starts last year) and Shemar Stewart (Miami native had 14 QB pressures last year).

“Their defense, if you just look at the work done by their front and the way they shut down the run and how they did it against New Mexico, pushing them back – a very talented football team that plays hard,” Cristobal said.

At LB Texas A&M has a playmaker in Edgerrin Cooper, who started eight games last year and had 61 tackles with eight tackle for loss. He had 58 tackles in 2021 as a freshman, making the SEC All-Freshman Team. So he has some talent. The other main guys here are Chris Russell, Jr. (66 tackles, 7 TFL as starter last year) and Taurean York, a freshman with a lot still to prove. Cooper had 8 tackles, 3 for loss, in the opener; York had 2 tackles and Russell had 1. In the secondary for the Aggies there’s a big threat in fifth-year starting safety Demani Richardson. He led the team with 73 tackles last year and had 5 pass breakups. The others of note here are Jardin Gilbert (started last year, 61 tackles, 2 INT), Tyreek Chappell (44 tackles, 8 PBU last year) and BC transfer Josh DeBerry (All-ACC second team as a junior with the Eagles, and the CB had 10 tackles, a sack and INT in the opener this year).

“They are off to a great start,” Cristobal said. “Watching film – the way they are coached and way they play the game, they are doing things that are really high level.”

A final thought from Cristobal?

“We have to keep improving, especially against an opponent like we have this week,” Cristobal said. “You have to focus in on playing your best football, understanding what we do and what we do well and how we got to do it well, understand how they attack opponents and how they plan to attack us. … A tremendous opportunity for our guys on Saturday.

“Our team is really excited to apply all the techniques and fundamentals as it pertains to our system now, because they have a lot of confidence in what we’re doing. … This team can be limitless as long as you keep getting better.”

* Perhaps in the Texas A&M game a hidden key will be TE Cam McCormick, an Oregon transfer who helps add an even more physical element to the offensive line.

“He didn’t get his touches this game, but he will,” Cristobal said. “He’s tough, he’s big.”

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