Recap of the ACC Media, Cristobal, Van Dyke, Kinchens and Lee
College football was in the air yesterday for the Miami Hurricanes football program at the ACC Media Day. Miami was represented by head coach Mario Cristobal, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, offensive line Matt Lee, and safety Kamren Kinchens.
We will kick things off starting with, starting center Matt Lee:
– Matt Lee, Center:
Matt Lee shared a great Coach Cristobal story from his visit to Miami:
“It was me, Offensive Line Coach Mirabal, and we were sitting in the O-line room watching my film, watching some UM film, just talking football back and forth, whatever, offensive line play. Coach Cristobal was sitting in the back, all the way up the stairs, and sitting there observing like he always likes to do a lot. Me and Coach Mirabal went back and forth for like a five-minute tirade, just deep complex football stuff. Cristobal gets up and stomps down the stairs, he points at me and he’s like, ‘YOU’RE OUR GUY, WE NEED YOU HERE!'” Said Lee.
Matt Lee on why he chose Miami over Oklahoma after transferring from UCF this offseason:
“I came down on an official visit, for two days, staying on an official visit. They were on break; it was December, post-bowl game season. I had just played my last bowl game in the Military Bowl, and a week later, I came down, and TVD (Tyler Van Dyke), he’s from Connecticut, he decided to fly down for those two days, which meant a little more to me because he’s on break and he’s all the way, 1,000 miles away in Connecticut. He came down, spent the days with me, and really got to know me, and I got to know him well, and he did pretty much seal the deal.”
Matt Lee on the difference he’s seen with Miami this offseason since his arrival:
“I got here in January, so it’s been six or seven months. And even from then to now, I think there’s a difference in how guys respond culturally, from the top to the bottom. The guys are following leaders and being willing to work, having a ‘coach-me coach’ attitude on a daily basis, and going day by day, working every single day and not losing sight of the goals.”
– Kamren Kinchens, Safety:
Kamren Kinchens on his All-American banner inside the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility:
“I guess the feeling was great. I didn’t really care about it too much growing up; it was more about a family thing. My grandma would rather see it go up than me, but I think we just got more work to do, honestly. It means nothing; we were 5-7, so we didn’t go too far. So I’d rather it be another banner going up for the national championship.”
Kamren Kinchens prides himself on academics, a factor his family encourages him with:
“It’s something that my family harps on a lot, especially during that Covid year, we had a bunch of time with limited football and stuff like that. I took on some college classes and finished high school early, so I was able to graduate early. Now this year, I promised my grandma I will graduate college before pursuing any NFL aspirations or anything like that. Going into my third year, if God willing I have a great year, the next step is… so I’m trying to make sure I graduate in December.”
Kamren Kinchens on the impact of his historic 2022 season towards the team moving forward:
“I think it brings a lot to the table. It kind of put some experience under my belt and gives me more respect with the guys, even though I felt I had respect already. It was just one of those things that just to know that hard work, one of those things that Coach Cristobal was harping on was hard work, hard work, hard work, being a great person on the field and off the field. So just to see somebody, I guess myself, that does great on and off the field, to see them actually do great, it doesn’t get any better than that. Now all the guys know to follow suit and got to make sure they are great people on the field and off the field.”
– Tyler Van Dyke, Quarterback
Tyler Van Dyke got asked a question about what is the Miami Hurricanes Mount Rushmore. And he responded with Michael Irvin, Ed Reed, Vinny Testaverde, Jim Kelly, and Ray Lewis.
Tyler Van Dyke on having NFL Hall of Famers on Miami’s coaching staff throughout his collegiate career:
“Throughout my years, there has been a lot of household names that have coached at Miami. We still have Jason Taylor on the coaching staff, who’s a Hall of Famer. It’s cool seeing him out there coaching those guys up. Ed Reed was in the building for my first three years there, and for him to be there and teach me some of the things he knows about safety play and advice he gives me, it’s pretty cool to learn from guys that have done it at the highest level and are in the Hall of Fame.”
Tyler Van Dyke on his health coming off an injury during the 2022 season and blocking the outside noise:
“Yeah, it was tough. There were a lot of ups and downs, more downs last year, a tough year. I talked to my sports psychologist a lot, and so I understood that everything is not going to go your way. It’s not going to be so smooth in life; it’s all about how you get back up from it. I’m good now; my health is good, so I’m just excited for this year.””
Tyler Van Dyke on the development of the team since the 2022 season ended:
“I’ve had immense trust in Coach Cristobal throughout this entire process, the guys he’s brought in to help our team, the coaches he brought in to help us as players, it’s been great. This offseason we’ve worked hard, a lot more guys in our leadership council, a lot of the guys stepped up. Nobody wants to be 5-7, so it set a fire under us and like I said before, we’re just excited to get things going. I think we have a lot of talent, and we just got to take it day by day, one game at a time and keep working.”
Tyler Van Dyke mentioned Kamren Kinchens, Xavier Restrepo, and James Williams as some of the leaders on the team:
“It was awful last year with all the injuries we faced, and wish things went a little differently, but we’re here now, and everything happens for a reason. I’m excited for this year.”
Tyler Van Dyke on having his third offensive coordinator in his collegiate career and what his relationship is like with Shannon Dawson:
“Things are good, I love his offense. The way he just lets the quarterback play with a lot of freedom, it’s explosive. Based on what the defense gives you, you can change run plays to pass plays, change receivers routes. Put everybody in the right position, get out of their sticky ones and like I said before, the explosiveness that he brings to the table, stretching the defense out, letting the ball rip down the field.”
Tyler Van Dyke on when a play goes wrong and how he handles it:
“I just try to give positive reinforcement. Some guys just start yelling at them and say ‘come on,’ and they’ll get down on themselves, kind of quit on you a little bit. So, I try to give guys positive reinforcement because I’m going to miss some throws too, and I don’t want guys yelling at me because I know what I can do, and I kind of get down a little bit when someone’s kind of yelling at me. I need some positive reinforcement; it’s just the person I am. So just giving those guys some positive feedback or notes or whatever, just to move on and make the next play.”
– Mario Cristobal, Head Coach:
Mario Cristobal on new OC Shannon Dawson and new DC Lance Guidry
“Those two guys, they’re elite human beings, and in our part of the country, exciting football attracts some of those tremendous superstars that live right there in our community. Shannon Dawson has had some of the most exciting offenses in the country over the last several years, and he has a great combination; he blends a great and powerful running game with that. I think him and a guy like Lance Guidry, who has had a top-5 defense for consecutive seasons, the way he moves and changes the picture, pressure, and movement, man. These two guys, we feel that they are difference-makers, but it starts because they are great people, they are high-level professionals, and they connect well with our players. They’ve made a tremendous impact already.”
Mario Cristobal on the expectations for QB Tyler Van Dyke in 2023
“We expect to be a much more explosive offense, but it starts with protection, and it falls on myself. We’ve got to protect the quarterback better; we’ve got to put him in a situation, whether it be moving the pocket, mixing it up, our run-pass ratio, and the types of protection and concepts we use are conducive to him having success. The pieces around him knowing what they’re doing and being in the right spots, the timing and precision of the pass game, is all important but combined with a great running game. We’ve got some powerful guys up front and some really—I would say—improved, mature backs with an influx of some young talent that should make for a really good ground game.”
Mario Cristobal statement:
“I think whenever you start up at a program again and it has a rebuilding aspect, you have to sometimes go through a season like that and not make any excuses or sugarcoat it. But you go directly at the things that need to be addressed, and it starts with people—people in the locker room, people on the coaching staff, people in a support staff role. What we feel that we have done is that we have added some elite components in the personnel department, some unique additions at the line of scrimmage, outside on the perimeter, in the secondary, and at linebacker. I felt like our culture, led and driven by our team leaders, has created ownership in our program. In other words, the steps you cannot skip, those things have been in full force since the end of last season, and it has led to a great offseason, a great signing day class—the best in our school’s history—a top-10 portal class, and most importantly, the retainment of our top players and top leaders. It led to a great spring, and now we’ve had a great summer, so we’re eager to get to camp so we can put all that to good use. The bottom line is to get to work, not worry about anything or anyone, and just get to work and put to good use this hard work we have done.”
Mario Cristobal on having multiple First-Round projected players on the 2023 Miami roster:
“I think it always starts and ends with personnel, so we don’t pay much attention to the mock draft stuff, but at the same time, we make sure that any type of publicity and brand enhancement that we can have for our players, we emphasize. That’s important. So, there’s no question that we do have some really talented young men who are working really hard, and we’re surrounded by more and more. When Miami looks a certain way, the locker room is littered with that caliber of player and person, and then also littered with a coaching staff that knows how to put personnel to good use. Put guys in the right positions to make plays, making sure that we’re teaching at a high level, that the onus of learning the system is as much on the player as it is the coach. By doing it together, it’s as simple as that. And our track record—we’ve had great success developing some guys to really high levels, to go on and play long careers in the NFL. That’s certainly a huge part of our goals, as well as the academic component and graduating with a big-time diploma from Miami.'”
Mario Cristobal on Miami playing for the Schnellenberger trophy against Louisville moving forward
“I love coach Schnellenberger. I was recruited by him, and my brother was recruited by him. He spent many, many days and nights at the house recruiting us. I’m more fond of the pipe than the boots, quite honestly, but I think it’s the right type of honor to honor coach Schnellenberger for what he did for the University of Miami, what he’s done for the University of Louisville, and what he represents in terms of football. He made the game better; he was a great man. We refer to him a good amount of times. He is just a significant contributor to the game of football and our community. We’re honored to have the opportunity to honor him.'”
Mario Cristobal on talent acquisition from the transfer portal and high school ranks:
“Very different, you know. Never really used a portal much if at all at the previous stop at Oregon, but the rules have changed, and you have to adapt. There are so many different ways to fill your roster now, right? There are players overseas, some from Canada, junior college players, high school players, transfers, and sometimes guys in your athletics department who are playing other sports and could become good football players. So, we’re always looking for ways to make a roster as good as it can be. I hate to put a cap on it, but the importance of high school recruiting is still going to be at the forefront, and player development—that word ‘development’—always has to be an important and sacred word when it comes to football. I’ll tell you why: football is a developmental sport, and there’s a lot to be said and a lot of value in putting in time and effort to develop into a great person and a great player, an accountable and trustworthy teammate. We don’t want to stray from those principles and values and at the same time recognize that sometimes you have opportunities when, as I’m sitting up here on stage today, I have a guy that can come in and make a tremendous impact, but he already has those principles and values, and he’s putting in that time. So, they all kind of meld together, but just different pathways have been used to get here.”
Mario Cristobal on one of the differences for Miami this upcoming season:
“Well, I mean at the end of the day, we’re not coaching seven-on-seven, and I think we all know that a lot of the things last year that were very difficult for us, it stems from not being great at the line of scrimmage, you know? And when you have the option to bring guys like Javion Cohen and guys like Matt Lee, these guys make a difference when you couple them with a guy like a healthy Jalen Rivers and Anez Cooper, and then you know about Francis and Samson and some of these other guys. It’s exciting because it still starts and ends up front as it relates to football.”
Mario Cristobal shared what he learned from year one, which he plans to take into year two:
“Well, it reconfirmed that there’s nothing more important to me than winning, along with all the other things and doing it the right way. Please understand that, but that’s, you know, that we just got to own it. We knew we were coming into a process that required rebuilding, and rebuilding is a process that has some painful steps that you cannot and should not try to skip, but you also have to own them. So, I think that accommodation is good for us, and it also highlights the areas that needed the most work so you could attack them directly through personnel acquisition, right? Through adapting your schemes, bringing in people that not only can connect, but people that have the professional experience to put your players in the best position to be successful.”
Mario Cristobal told WQAM, Francis Mauigoa which is Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman, that he is up to 342 pounds. Samson and Francis both set Miami’s record for most muscle density on a body.
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Trinton is the owner of CanesToday. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, he is a freshman in high school and wants to graduate from the University of Miami
