You know what you get when you combine ESPN host Pat McAfee with Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal? Well, as it turns out, a pretty darn good time. Because McAfee broadcast his Sept.19 show “Live From The U,” as it was billed, with ESPN’s GameDay set for UM tomorrow from 9 a.m.-Noon.
The duo had quite the conversation on today’s The Pat McAfee Show.
Among the highlights:
* It started with this … “It’s hot as hell down here, bro,” McAfee said … to which Cristobal responded “This is on its way to being dream weather!” McAfee also said it “feels like a sauna,” to which Cristobal spoke to how the team uses the mantra from Jimmy Johnson that “football rewards those guys that are in great shape, and fatigue will make cowards out of everybody if you let it.”
“We always engrain that in our minds in the offseason,” Cristobal said.
* On QB Carson Beck and how that’s worked out, Cristobal said, “We feel awesome about the progress.” The coach pointed to how the scheme and pieces at Georgia last year perhaps made Beck look worse, where at Miami the scheme and pieces are in place. “So far it’s working out pretty well,” Cristobal said, perhaps stating the obvious. Cristobal also praised Beck’s leadership, knowledge base and the time he invests in the film room and with his teammates.
* Asked about the perception he perhaps has the best OL/DL combination in the nation, Cristobal said, “Those are two positions that take a little bit longer to develop than other ones. The big guys have to get bigger, stronger. We thought that was the path for us to start rebuilding Miami.”
* McAfee remarked on the legends that played at Miami, and Cristobal discussed how they come back and are “impacting the players on the team.” Cristobal mentioned “the momentum that’s being generated” with his program and that “a lot of work remains.”
*A fun moment – McAfee said how he heard that Cristobal “is a Jujitsu guy.”
“You want to fight me right now or something?” Cristobal responded, making a fist to laughs.
“He’s going to punch me in the face!” McAfee said.
Asked his favorite Jujitsu move, Cristobal responded “No speak English.”
Later on McAfee showed Cristobal his pass block set.
“You’ve got to work on that, man,” Cristobal said, later adding after McAfee ran a sample screen route that “You wouldn’t be getting much NIL from us.”
*Asked about some saying he recruits “25 hours a day,” Cristobal responded “It’s a product of when everybody gets on board, you know? Recruiting is never a one-man show, it’s a buy-in from everybody. … If you want people to come in and be part of it they see the real and through the B.S.”
Cristobal says showing off the beautiful campus, the City of Coral Gables and how UM is “well postured” in NIL with great education is very appealing to recruits. “We are economically in the fastest-growing city in the world, there’s a lot to sell,” he said.
*With the spring portal window gone, and some coaches saying they wish the NCAA got rid of the December/January window and kept the spring window, Cristobal said “There’s no perfect answer … adapt or die.”
* And, of course, Cristobal spoke about the upcoming challenge of 1-2 Florida. “They’re one of the most talented teams we’ve seen in four years,” Cristobal said. “They have size, speed, great scheme, great coaching. They are as good as any team we have faced.”
The Miami-Florida series always “has a little extra juice,” as McAfee points out. The importance to Cristobal of the rivalry?
“Rivalry games across the country – it’s always a back and forth, the energy, intensity, hype and noise surrounding it is at a different level,” Cristobal said. “Our job is to make that a nonfactor. But the intensity of these guys knowing they know each other since high school, youth football – the intensity is through the roof.”
ESPN’S SATURDAY GAMEDAY INFORMATION
The three-hour show, which debuted in 1987 and has been broadcasting on location from college campuses across the country since 1993, will serve as a prelude to the fourth-ranked Hurricanes’ matchup against Florida Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on ABC at 7:30 p.m.
College GameDay’s main stage will be set up on the north end of the patio, between the Donna E. Shalala Student Center and the Norman A. Whitten University Center Pool.
This is the ninth time College GameDay has been to Miami for a Hurricanes game, and the show’s second visit to campus (2017 vs. Notre Dame). Miami has a 7-1 record in the previous eight games.
In addition to College GameDay, ACC Network will broadcast ACC PM on the university’s Foote Green from 5-7 p.m. Friday and its pregame show ACC Huddle live from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday.
“The University of Miami is proud to welcome ESPN’s College GameDay to our campus. This is a moment for our entire community – our students, alumni, faculty, and fans across the nation. There’s no better stage than Miami, and no better day to showcase the spirit and pride of The U. We look forward to filling the campus with energy and showing the nation what it means to be part of this extraordinary university,” said Joe Echevarria, president and CEO of the University of Miami, and president of UHealth.
The event is free and open to the public. Fans may begin arriving to the “Pit” area in front of the stage on a first come, first serve basis at 5 a.m. The Pit opens at 6:30 a.m. In addition, there will be overflow viewing areas around Lake Osceola and the Rock Plaza. Attendees can park at the Levante and Pavia (pink garages), which can be accessed by entering through Merrick Drive. Both garages will open at 4:45 a.m. Overflow parking can be found in Mahoney-Pearson (teal garage) through the Stanford entrance.
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