Road has been long and winding but Mitchell Agude is ready to finally be a Miami Hurricane

The journey to the Miami Hurricanes practice field he will step foot on for the first official time on Friday has taken defensive end Mitchell Agude from Riverside Community College in California to UCLA and now to Coral Gables.

The intent of each stop has been to find a way to get better, no matter what it takes.

“I didn’t come across the country for no reason,” Agude said.

No he did not. Agude is here to be Miami’s answer to a pass rush this season, with an NFL Hall of Famer in Jason Taylor at his side as a Mario Cristobal defensive analyst to help guide him each step of the way.

It’s a rare opportunity that Agude hopes will eventually land him in the first round of the NFL Draft.

“I just want to get back onto the field and get back to work really,” he told CaneSport. “It’s been a lot of time since I had shoulder pads and a helmet on, so I’m just ready to go.”

Agude’s stats were not overwhelming at UCLA which is a big part of the reason he sought out a new home for this season. He had just 4 1/2 sacks and 15 1/2 tackles for loss in 19 games and 15 starts over the past two seasons. But he also was credited with 38 quarterback pressures, 54 tackles and four forced fumbles. That was good enough to make second team All Pac-12. There is a lot of potential there.

“It’s a blessing to be here with the Canes and be recruited over here,” Agude said. “I’m taking one day at a time and just keep working on it so when it’s all said and done, I’ll be proud of the work I’ve done.”

Agude has been amazed by the coaching he has been receiving by the tandem of Joe Salave’a, Rod Wright and Jason Taylor.

“Every one of them is bringing something to the table,” Agude said. “We’re just just sponges, trying to learn every different technique, the different ways to do things. It means a lot because I’ve never had this.”

“It’s really good to be at a spot where they’re pushing you to your maximum levels so that there’s no other option but being great. I have to be great. I am working every day to be great.”

MITCHELL AGUDE

While the defensive coaches help him hone his craft, Agude is trying to feed off the intensity and passion that Cristobal has brought to the program.

“The passion he has for the game changes everything,’ Agude said. “I think he played here it’s just a different type of like mentality. It’s definitely a blessing to be to be pushed in this in this type of way. Because you know, sometimes in a different type of program there’s a lot of like potholes and stuff where guys slack off over here or there.

“Here there is no slack and it’s just work hard because with Cristobal if you’re not gonna do the work, you’re not gonna play. So it’s really good. It’s really good to be at a spot where they’re pushing you to your maximum levels so that there’s no other option but being great. I have to be great. I am working every day to be great.”

The opportunity to work with Taylor at Miami is obviously special to the defensive ends on the team. The lessons learned obviously involve pass rush techniques, but Agude said that the wisdom Taylor is imparting on him transcends football.

“I think with Coach Taylor, like he really, really cares,” Agude said. “He obviously cares about football. But like he really cares about us as human beings and I really appreciate it. He takes all of us under his wing. I think you just have a human being that wants to care about us. It’s nice and just being coachable has been like a personal habit for me.”

Agude sees it all coming together with Miami’s season about a month away. Success this year will not only be a result of all the hard work being put in that has led up to the opening of training camp, but also what he knows will take place these next four weeks.

“I think that we’re gonna have a really good team,” Agude said. “But that’s not going to happen unless we continue to work every day. This week, in the fall camp is going to come along. We have to keep on grinding. The defense is not going to be good unless we keep on grinding.”