Mario Cristobal explains why offensive line is so important to him as a coach

Throughout his career, Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal has made his name along the offensive line. Today, it remains the position he feels is most important to building a program up.

Cristobal explained his feelings for the offensive line on Always College Football. There, the former offensive lineman in his playing days broke down why that position matters so much and what it can mean for Miami.

“I’m always going to believe that it’s going to start and end there,” Mario Cristobal said. “Both sides of the ball, the offensive line and the defensive line. Those guys — you just can’t run your offense and you really can’t set the tone of the game unless you can control the line of scrimmage.”

The success of offensive lines that Mario Cristobal has had is undeniable. That’s included coaching stars like Penei Sewell and Francis Mauigoa. Last year, it saw him lead an offensive line that ranked 57th in sacks allowed, giving up 1.77 per game, and sixth in rushing yards per attempt, with 5.67 yards per carry, last season.

“You can recruit the best quarterback in the world,” Cristobal said. “But if he’s on his back all the time and if your yards per carry are in the hundreds in the country, you’re not gonna function very well. Those guys, typically, take longer to develop. So, we take a lot of pride. Coach [Alex] Mirabal is the best in the business. His developmental system for these bigs is unmatched. The combination of that and just some really intense strength and conditioning has led to some really tough, strong, offensive lines.”

After becoming a coach, Cristobal quickly became an offensive line coach in 2001. He would go on to coach the position at four different schools and now carries that as a head coach. So, unsurprisingly, it looks to be a strength at Miami in 2025.

“You’re going to see a guy like Anez Cooper this year be one of the best linemen in the country. Doesn’t get as much attention as some of the other guys. Guys like Markel Bell, James Brockermeyer, Matt McCoy. These guys — Ryan Rodriguez — these guys are real deal NFL players that are going to be heading up our offensive line,” Cristobal said. “And they’re going to be going up against Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor and Justin Scott. I mean, iron sharpens iron is a real thing here.”

Miami recently made waves by landing the top recruit in the Class of 2026, Jackson Cantwell. That relationship with the offensive line that Mario Cristobal has is, undoubtedly, a key reason why he chose to commit to Miami.

“That transcends everything else as it relates to conference, to past, present, all that stuff. This is a place that was built in the trenches,” Cristobal said. “And has allowed us to now recruit special players outside.”