Mario Cristobal still working to show Miami Hurricanes' identity on the field

No. 13 Miami is preparing for a major road trip to take on No. 24 Texas A&M, with the opportunity to fully establish itself as a national contender with the right result. Of course, for coach Mario Cristobal it’s another chance to establish the Miami Hurricanes’ identity as a program.

He doesn’t just want to talk about it, either. Pardon the cliché, but he wants the ‘Canes to be about it.

“I don’t think you proclaim your identity,” Cristobal said Monday. “I don’t think you go out and say, ‘I’m this,’ or ‘I’m that.’ I think you go out and you play it and you show it with what you do on the field. Your film is your resume. It’s not your tweet or your T-shirt.”

Miami still learning toughness in the trenches

One thing Cristobal is pleased with so far is that the ‘Canes appear to be starting to create their identity on both lines of scrimmage.

In two games against Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss, Miami has managed to rush for 239.5 yards per game, while allowing just 63.0 per game defensively. The Hurricanes have dominated up front.

“I think in the two games we have played, there were certainly, on both sides of the ball up front, (signs) that we’re showing progress,” Cristobal said. “We’re working our way towards being a more physical team. We’re starting to use our hands better, we’re coming out of our hips better. I say that like a broken record because that’s part of it. You’ve got to come off the ball, you’ve got to strike people.”

That’s not to say Miami has been perfect. There were points Saturday against Southern Miss where quarterback Tyler Van Dyke wasn’t particularly sharp in the first half and the offense wasn’t firing on all cylinders.

Cristobal didn’t necessarily expect everything to click at once, though. He is, however, encouraged by the progress.

“There are really good moments of execution,” he said. “Other ones that are close and other ones that are not so close. When we come together on Sunday we don’t shine a positive light on stuff, that’s not real. You shine a realistic, just lights, and take a realistic snapshot of what you are. We’ve progressed a lot since the spring time when we first got together. And we feel that there’s a lot to be improved upon, a lot of things that are right there in front of us that we need to work into reality and not so much just hope and wish that it comes out that way.”

So what will the Miami Hurricanes’ identity be?

That’s a question the ‘Canes have yet to fully answer.

But Cristobal is looking as much as what happens during the week in practice as he is at what shows up on game tape on Saturdays. If Miami wants to win at Texas A&M it’ll need a strong week of practice.

That has to be the mindset in the program.

“It starts with the preparation,” Cristobal said. “I’m talking about every scout team card. I’m talking about if they’re running a zone pressure and that punch contain guy is really wide and works right through the shoulder of the tackle and then pops out it’s got to show up like that on the card and our players have got to see it. That’s on every coach, every analyst, every GA in the building.

The ‘Canes know Saturday in College Station won’t be a breeze.

“It’s no different than a prize fighter training for the big, heavyweight fight,” Cristobal finished. “If he’s training against competition that’s not pushing him he’s probably going to have a rough day in the ring, right? Same thing for football. So we’ve got to continue to elevate the standards of every part of our program, and that’s the exciting part for us. Our players like that, our staff really likes that. So it’s been a good start to the week.”