Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal and player reaction post Iowa State

Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal and players shared his take after the Canes’ tough loss in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Tune in for what they are saying:

MIAMI PRESS CONFERENCE

Mario Cristobal Press Conference

MARIO CRISTOBAL: Well, again, feel for guys like this, Jalen Rivers, guys that have really exhausted every ounce that they have for the University of Miami and have done a great job this year of finding a way to win ten games and we fell short in three of them in very close games. Disappointed that we couldn’t pull out a victory for them and the rest of the guys in their final game, in the final game of the season, as well, for the rest of our players. Certainly these guys have always fought, have always competed in every single opportunity they have had. This is no exception. But really honored to have coached a guy like this and several others in that locker room. It’s painful. It’s as painful as it gets when you don’t win. But a lot to build on, a lot accomplished by these guys, and moving forward on.

Q. Obviously you would have preferred the victory but a Miami Bowl game record in rushing. What does that mean for you boys up front to do it in a game with this notoriety?

JALEN RIVERS: It would have felt better with the win. But regardless I dedicate it to all the O-Line. We have been rotating six guys and you’ve got to commend every single one of us, commend the running backs, commend everybody on the offense, really, and I appreciate blocking for our running backs and blocking with my O-Line, too, and blocking for our quarterback and blocking for the receivers to get the ball. But it means a lot that we were able to rush like we did today but it would have been better with the win.

Q. Win or lose, this was obviously going to be the last time you coached a lot of these guys, Jalen among them. It’s probably too early but can you put into words what the class means, like what the stories mean to you and the impact of the group that won’t be here next year is leaving behind?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: Incredible human beings. Incredible competitors. Guys at the University of Miami, the orange and Green wearing it means everything to them and they put it on display every single Saturday. Again, these guys, a lot of firsts in a long, long time. They were undefeated at home. They won the State Championship, so to speak. They won ten games for the second time in 20 years, and all those were positives and then in three games we fell short by a drive, a play, a series. And those things are painful, and it makes you understand and realize how the details in football, they come into play against really good teams. These guys have put Miami back on the map as a team that’s rising, and their efforts, their resilience, the culture that they have set, they are early to everything. They do everything to the best of their abilities. They hold themselves to high standards. These guys are elite human beings, and they are going to be elite in life in everything they do. I look forward to watching these guys play for a long time on Sundays. But they have certainly raised the standard and one that now, it’s the next generation’s turn to uphold the legacy and make it better.

Q. When did you and Cam decide he would play a half, and what did you view As the pros and cans of having Cam Ward play the first half?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: Well, I think all meetings with players and decisions like that, we make them in private and we keep them in private. So I’ll defer to not answering questions as it relates to that. I know he played his best while he was in there, and certainly Emory tried his best as well. Like Jalen said, we were rushing the ball really, really well, and just came up short.

Q. On Cam, after being with him for a full season, when you look down the road at what he did for you guys this season, what will stand out the most and what do you think his legacy with the Hurricanes is?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: Even more so than the plays and touchdowns and the highlight reels were the fact that he played a major role, along with guys like Jalen on bringing a team together, which as we know, again, don’t want to beat a dead horse. But came back to Miami after 20-plus years to make sure that Miami gets back to a certain level and these guys have elevated it tremendously. His play was spectacular. But again, I think all the other stuff, the intangibles, the behind the scenes stuff, the getting to the, bringing players together, galvanizing a team and galvanizing a program and teaching guys how to watch tape, you name it. All the things that are required to be a really good Division I football player and great teammate, he was exemplary.

Q. We talked about a lot of the players that have made contributions throughout the year. We know Xavier doesn’t play, obviously, today. Cam is headed to the pros. But to have guys like Andy and other guys that are definitely pro prospects, how much are you looking forward to tracking their progress as they move forward in their pro careers, whether it’s the NFL or CFL or UFL?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: I look forward to watching them be successful in everything they do. I gave each one of them a note last night letting them know besides the appreciation that we have for them; that we will always be there for them if they should ever need us. If you’re a coach, you should be coaching these guys and be a mentor for life, and that doesn’t change. Good days or bad days, whether they go to a league or go off and do something else in life. And that’s how strongly I feel about these guys. I would do anything for them. Painful that we couldn’t get the victory for them. That’s the part that hurts the most right now, and certainly not something we get over. We work ungodly hours and do ungodly, just, rounds and rounds of reps and effort and whatnot. So it certainly pisses you off and at the same time, respect to the team that we just played against. They do a really good job as well but I think two really strong cultures showed up today, and you know just sometimes you just run out of time. They did a little bit of a better job than we did. But it is, to me, the biggest thing to take out of this is the heart, the toughness, the resiliency of our team to just keep coming, and they are going to keep doing that in everything they do in life.

Q. Damien limped off late in the game. How critical was that in your final few drives?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: He got banged up pretty good. He was hot. He was a hot hand. I mean, from his first carry all the way to when he got banged up. And when a guy is running like that, Damien, Game 5, 6, 7 on, he was really something, and certainly would have been great to have him available.

Q. Seemed like this game followed a similar script as other losses where the defense struggled. I know this game only ended a few moments ago but what would you as similar issues that carried through the year on defense?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: When we win as a team we win as a team. When we lose, we lose as a team, as well. When you look at certain aspects of our game, yeah there, were some issues. Sometimes it’s communication and sometimes it’s alignment. And you know, obviously it’s nowhere near where what is the standard for us. Now, when we go in there and as a team and we are in the middle of a game, we don’t harp on that. We don’t blame. We just going forward and we try to make things work. But yeah, there were some issues, and it’s not acceptable.

Q. Obviously Cam is leaving, one of the greatest quarterbacks this program has ever had. How do you feel about the position going forward, maybe some of the depth that you have at that position.

MARIO CRISTOBAL: Quarterback-wise, you always assess every position on your team and to everything you can to make it better. As it relates to personnel and personnel moves, and what we do in that, it’s something I never discuss publicly out of respect for our program and the players involved. But we are always looking for ways to develop the guys within the program and we are always bringing the best possible talent we can.

Q. As a guy who has been here for the past five years, where do you see the trajectory of the program going right now?

JALEN RIVERS: You’ve been seeing it ever since he’s got here, we’re getting better and better, we’re going to get better next year and the years after that. We believe in and I feel like the whole program believes in Coach Cristobal and everybody on the staff to get the right guys in and win games. You see, we went from 5-7 to 7-5 to 10-3. Of course this year wasn’t the best that we assumed that it would have been. But next year is going to be even better because we believe in Coach Cristobal and the staff and the guys that he brings in. That’s why I stayed. I stayed here all five years because I saw something in this program and when Coach Cristobal came in here, I saw what he can do. Because if he did it at the last place, he can do it at this place. I feel like the trajectory of this program is going in the right place.

IOWA STATE PRESS CONFERENCE

Iowa State Cyclones Matt Campbell, Rocco Brecht, Jaylin Noel Press Conference

MATT CAMPBELL: From our standpoint, obviously first and foremost, let me just say, obviously, again what an awesome week it was. It’s rewritten history every step of the way, and to put a great exclamation point on it tonight was really, really awesome. Proud of our team, and think the world of Coach Cristobal and obviously that Miami team. But great opportunity for us to finish the season the right way.

Q. To get the first 11-win season in program history, how special is it to do it with this group?

MATT CAMPBELL: I think probably the reality of what that question is, what you said is this group. Some of the greatest leadership that I’ve ever witnessed in my career to be quite honest with you, fortunate to play in some of these games, be a part of these games as a player and a program that won a lot. But to watch great, unbelievable selfless leadership, it’s hard to find that today in our culture, and try really hard to find it in our sport. But our senior leadership, great junior leadership and sophomore leadership, it was leadership for the ages for us. You saw every step of the way, and you got a chance to witness it tonight, how our kids don’t flinch and keep playing and give us an unbelievable opportunity to win, is because of the character of the leadership of this team.

Q. One of the coolest ceremonies for a Bowl game there is in the sport. Curious about your decision to pick Cinnamon Roll, and how did it actually taste?

ROCCO BRECHT: I really like cinnamon rolls, so what I heard about the choices, that was my immediate go-to. And it tasted better than I thought it was going to taste, to answer your question.

Q. Rocco, on that point, you guys are down with that drive, and you’ve had drives like that throughout the course of the season. What was the emotion? What was the focus going into that go-ahead drive?

ROCCO BRECHT: I think you said it. We have been in those situations before. We practice it all the time. I think our team just has the poise and the calmness to just execute in the biggest moments, and that’s what we did.

Q. Coach, obviously during the game, this was an exchange with a lot of offense and a big comeback at the end. You mentioned the events throughout the year being stuff you guys learned from. Was this the culmination of all those lessons?

MATT CAMPBELL: Yeah, this team has faced a lot of adversity from some really tough injuries that we’ve had to deal with all year, and they have never flinched. We have been in some really hard spots and we have been in some tough situations, and our ability to just keep playing, it’s easy to say those things, right, keep playing, and stay in it. But you only do that if the locker room demands it, and you only do it if the seniors and the guys that lead the football team show up every single day since January, and they believe in that, and that’s how they work and that’s the standards that they set. Here is this guy who may be one of the highest-drafted guys in the game and comes out and has, you know, he has eight catches for 117 yards and a touchdown, and easily could have chose not to play, right. And the reality of it, you had Beau Freyler, one of the great leaders I’ve ever seen in our program, a two-time captain, and what that guy has meant to Iowa State Football and who this guy is becoming and what is he’s given to Iowa State Football. When you have a great locker room and your players demand it every day, it’s pretty easy for everybody else to fall in line. And we are really fortunate because in our locker room, our players demand greatness, every day since January, and really you’ve seen it in some really tough moments. We are really proud and grateful for our guys.

Q. Rocco, you are someone who has come from the West Coast of Florida. What does it mean to come back to Florida and end your season this way?

ROCCO BRECHT: This is my first game back in Florida at the collegiate level. It was awesome. I had a bunch of my friends here for the first time to see me play. It was special to me to get this win tonight.

Q. Tough to see the way it ended for Beau. What’s his legacy now that his career is over at Iowa State?

MATT CAMPBELL: You know, I think any time there’s an injury, that’s tough. But as you guys that have covered us know that Beau has fought through injury for the last every single game he’s stepped on that field for the last three years. There’s no greater warrior that has given everything, his body, his heart, his mind, his sole, to a program than that player has. Obviously it’s devastating that it ends probably a half early for him. But Beau is going to be so special in life. Somebody is going to gain somebody really, really special out there. I’ve coached a lot of players, and that doesn’t demean any of our players because we have got a lot of great ones. But man, what that guy has stood for, his selflessness, his ability to give more of himself, even his body to this program, it’s nothing short of incredible. So he’ll go down as one of the great leaders of all time in this football program and he should be considered that forever.

Q. Has it hit you yet that it’s over? And kind of go through maybe what was going through your mind, that decisive drive at the end and the big catch you had down the right sideline?

JAYLIN NOEL: We’ll go with the drive, first. We’ve been in that position multiple times and I know Rocco trusted me and the team trusts in each other. Since January we have put ourselves in those situations to be able to be ready for those moments, so when that time come, we were ready for it. It has not hit me yet. I love this team so much. I love Coach for everything he’s done for me. This team means the world to me, and there’s no better way to go out than a champion.

Q. You said after the Big 12 title game that you were going to play in this game. What kind of rewarding experience did you get actually playing and the way it unfolded?

JAYLIN NOEL: It’s meant the world to me. For me to be able to be a leader on this team, and God’s trust in me and listened to me. I had to play for them. Those guys come in every day and look up to me, and if I wasn’t going to play, then that’s just not what leaders do, I feel like. So to be able to play in this game and be able to go out there one last time with this team, it means everything to me.

Q. You talked a lot about how last year’s Bowl game was a leaping point for this team. How can a similar mechanism take place for this year heading into 2025?

MATT CAMPBELL: Yeah, I think that’s a great question. Obviously we are going to have a lot of work to do because it’s a brand new team. You leave and you’re losing leadership for the ages. What you hope, and in real football programs, I don’t know if you can still build them today, I hope you can. But the reality of it is that the next group learn from the great leaders, and they have the ability when it’s their turn to pick up and continue to lead what greatness looks like. You heard this guy talk. Some NFL team is going to get one of the greatest draft picks in the NFL nearby drafting this guy. Doesn’t matter if it’s college or in the NFL. You want guys that demand and show up every day and be the best. We had a lot of those great seniors. Now, we are fortunate because you have got guys like Rocco and guys that got great experience this year. I think the fool’s gold is, Oh, man, you have guys that played. But do you have guys that can lead like this every day? Do you got guys that show up in January and February and March and April and May and June and July when nobody is watching? That’s where greatness lives. And we’ll see if we’ve got it. The reality of it is, we learned some great lessons along the way, and we’ll have a lot of work to do here in a couple weeks back at Ames, Iowa.

Q. What is Rocco’s toughness and ability to keep plays alive mean to you?

MATT CAMPBELL: Yeah, you know, I would just say what Rocco means to me is a great deal because the position that he plays is, in my opinion, the hardest position in sport. You know, everybody has a thought on what should happen with the ball on every play. Man, the ability to sit there and the game is in your hands on every single play that you play; and when you have a guy that stands for what’s right behind the behind the scenes, who he is is far greater than what he does. Man, it’s awesome that he’s doing great things out there and he’s getting better every game. But what this guy stands for in the locker room, how our kids will fight for this guy every single day, it’s been that way in the last two years. The first game he came in was in 2022 at TCU, and our entire sideline change that had day when he went into the football game. And from that point on, this guy has been on a mission to be great. And there’s been good days and tough days. But his ability and his character to have great selflessness; he’s the guy that’s going to give everybody else the credit when it goes really good, and he’s the first guy to stand up and take the blame when it goes bad. To me, that’s real leadership. Hard to find it today. But man, I’d go to war with this guy any day because what of he’s about and what he stands for.

Q. I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on Miami making the quarterback change. Is that something you expected, and with your defense getting key stops at the end of the game, do you think that helped you guys build momentum to close it out?

MATT CAMPBELL: Yeah, I don’t know. Obviously, shoot, you know, that’s all speculation, obviously, what it is. I don’t think we had any idea what it was or wasn’t going to be. The game obviously had to change a little bit. I thought the flow of the game changed, and they came right out in the first drive and got in some 12 personnel and really started attacking the running game. And then I thought Coach Heacock and our defensive staff really did a great job adapting. Because I think that’s hard to be honest with you. Now all of a sudden, the flow of the game changes and you’ve got to be able to do some different things. We are able to move Domonique Orange in the fourth quarter to play a little bit of four-i and some five technique and I thought Dom did a really great job, and I thought Coach’s adjustments in the second half were tremendous. So yeah, tricky situation for sure for all of us.

Q. The one thing I’ve noticed about you is you have a tremendous amount of humility, and I’m impressed with that; that you signed an extension to stay with Iowa State. How important would it be for you to know that with all the changes going on in college football and that temptations will be there for the better jobs that you can build your own legacy and people will appreciate you in this type of environment where other coaches and players would be tempted to go elsewhere, and you have it all to yourself? How important is that type of thing for you?

MATT CAMPBELL: Yeah, I don’t know. Honestly what’s important to me is my family, is really important to me. The people that I work for and with is really important to me. And standing for something that’s bigger than a win and a loss. Obviously it’s great we won but the relationship that we have, the relationship in that locker room, man, this sport is a unique sport, and the reality of it is we are dealing with somebody’s children. They are 18 to 22 years old and our job is still to — we have all forgot it, but our job, our responsibility is take a young man to become a man. And the fact that parents trust myself and our coaches to be able to do that, it’s my responsibility. So the fact that we get to do that, man, that means a lot to me. I don’t take it lightly, and really just grateful to be able to do what I do every day and don’t think about the rest of it. So I appreciate the question.

Q. You guys started preseason picked sixth in the Big 12, and you won 11 games. What does that mean and what does it mean to continue to make history at Iowa State?

MATT CAMPBELL: It’s been a really unique journey here. I’ve said this before with so many people — when we took the job and we came to Iowa State, I think, said, man, you’re going to the coaching graveyard. To be able to now nine years later sit here and look what these young men stand for and what so many before them have done. You know, 2017 and David Montgomery and Joel Lanning and Allen Lazard. And then Brock comes along and what he was able to do and elevate with Breece Hall and Charlie Kolar and Chase Allen and Will McDonald and some great players. Now to be able to sit here today, and man, they are going to talk about Jaylin Noel forever, and they are going to talk about Beau forever, and they are going to talk about Rocco forever. That’s just a lot of great value. And to be able to do that with great people, Coach Heacock, a great coaching staff, and to be able to do it with so many great leaders that believe in each other. Again, this is still team sport. It’s not tennis and it’s not golf, and there’s nothing wrong with those sports. But this is about team, and getting everybody to believe in something bigger than yourself. It’s one of the great rewards and we are fortunate