''We Strive to Get Better Every Year''
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – There are new faces all over the field. New coaches on the sideline. New numbers have been handed out and returning veterans are taking on new roles.
But amidst all the changes for Miami as a new season begins, the goals remain the same as they’ve been since head coach Mario Cristobal returned four years ago to lead the program he once played for and won two national championships with: compete for championships and understand that the work of becoming a better football team never stops.
They’re goals the players now wearing orange and green understand – and embrace.
“For me, we strive to get better every year. Every off-season, we work to get better at something,” said junior offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa. “We practice hard every time that we get a chance to. We’re just trying to be the best that we can be. The stats don’t even matter to us. It’s being able to be out there and being able to be the best you can be, not only as a player, but as a [person] as well.”
Added defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor, “Coach Cristobal is a powerful leader, and he doesn’t stop working. He works day and night. The biggest thing for him, that he tells us is elite teams are in elite shape, so what we’ve done this off-season is we run, we run like crazy. We’re trying to … just have amazing conditioning. After that, you have to play hard. Play fast, play hard and just dominate every snap of the game.”
The 10th-ranked Hurricanes will have plenty of opportunities to show they’ve worked to continue growing after last year’s 10-win season – their first since 2017.
Their first chance will come on Aug. 31 when they host familiar rival and sixth-ranked Notre Dame at Hard Rock Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
And more than a few college football fans in South Florida – and beyond – will have their eyes on Miami’s new quarterback.
Cam Ward, who rewrote the Miami record book and went on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, is now in Nashville suiting up for the Tennessee Titans. But Carson Beck, another experienced signal caller, has stepped in to take the lead of the Hurricanes’ offense, an offense that finished 2024 leading the nation in yards per game (537.2), yards per play (7.57), and points per game (43.9).
Beck, who posted a 24-3 record and threw for 7,912 yards and 58 touchdowns as the starter at Georgia, joined Miami this offseason.
The redshirt senior suffered an elbow injury in last year’s SEC Championship Game and had to sit out spring drills in Coral Gables, but has earned plenty of rave reviews from his teammates and coaches alike – both for his efforts on the field when cleared to return to action and his efforts off it during his recovery and rehabilitation process.
“Carson has as good of experience as a quarterback as you can have. He’s played in monster games, and he’s played at a high level. He is ultra-competitive, and his football IQ is off the charts,” Cristobal said. “It didn’t take long to realize that he’s a team player, and that his work ethic is also through the roof. … [He’s] hungry and driven, not just to establish himself as one of the premier players in the country [but] he, like Akheem [Mesidor], like Sisi [Mauigoa], like Wes [Bissainthe], their interest is to make Miami better and to go win.”
Added offensive lineman Markel Bell, “I like how humble he came in. How humble he came in in the first place, and then just him taking charge. This is his huddle, his offense. He took charge of it, and I really appreciate that. We’re going to block our tails off for him.”
As he continues learning Miami’s offense and building chemistry with the playmakers around him, Beck has the luxury of knowing he’s playing behind what is widely regarded as one of the best offensive lines not only in the ACC, but in the country.
Mauigoa, a veteran who has made 26 starts at right tackle the last two seasons, has earned a plethora of preseason accolades, including being named a preseason All-American by both the Associated Press and CBS Sports. He’s also a preseason All-ACC selection.
Fellow lineman Anez Cooper has made 30 starts at Miami, while Bell, a junior college transfer, started 12 games for the Hurricanes last season. Redshirt junior Matt McCoy, meanwhile, started 12 games last season after playing in 13 games in 2023 and center James Brockermeyer gained experience at both Alabama and TCU before transferring to Miami.
Photo by Elijah Heatley
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes return running backs Mark Fletcher Jr. and Jordan Lyle, who combined for 911 yards and 12 touchdowns and added North Dakota State transfer CharMar “Marty” Brown to the roster.
Brown had a breakout season for the Bison last year, rushing for 1,181 yards and 15 touchdowns and earning the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman player in the Football Championship Division. He was also the Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
And like Beck, Brown has already made an impression.
“He’s a physical running back, downhill, not trying to make too many moves on you. Just, ‘please get out of the way, or you’re going to get hurt.’ That’s how I say it,” Fletcher said. “He’s a great person off the field, too. Chill guy. He fits right in with us.”
Beck has plenty of talented receivers eager to make big plays, too, even if the receivers’ room has undergone massive changes after the departures of veterans Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George and Isaiah Horton.
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson noted during preseason camp that he’s confident the unit now has the kind of depth it needs to keep the Hurricanes moving, especially with the additions of talented freshmen Malachi Toney and Joshua Moore and transfers Keelan Marion (BYU/UConn) and CJ Daniels (LSU/Liberty).
“A lot of competition in that room and as a collective group, just hardworking guys and a lot of them are making a lot of good plays and doing a lot of good things,” Dawson said. “Really what sticks out is the competitive nature of that group. I mean, we have a lot more people that are rotating in. … What I think you can look forward to is a lot more people playing in games. We’re deeper there than we’ve been, deep in a way where I feel very comfortable with looking out there and seeing a whole lot of different people out there. I’m excited about that.”
The offense isn’t the only group getting used to some new faces in key positions.
After the Hurricanes lost three of their last four games and gave up 41 points against Syracuse in the regular-season finale and 42 points against Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, Cristobal opted to overhaul Miami’s defensive coaching staff.
Corey Hetherman, the former defensive coordinator at Minnesota, joined the Hurricanes in the same role. Also new on the coaching staff are defensive backs coaching staff Zac Etheridge, safeties coach Will Harris, and defensive tackles coach Damione Lewis, who like Cristobal, is a Miami alum.
Under Hetherman last year, the Golden Gophers were ninth nationally in points allowed (16.9 per game), fifth in total defense (285.7 yards allowed per game), ninth in passing defense (176.1 yards allowed per game) and 12th in rushing defense (109.6 yards allowed per game).
Turnovers were a priority, with Minnesota totaling 22 interceptions (seventh nationally) and posting a plus-9 turnover margin (17th nationally).
The Hurricanes say they believe his aggressive scheme will help Miami put together a championship-caliber defense.
“Guys know what we were last year, and they know that we want to change everybody’s mind, change everybody’s perspective on what this defense is,” said Mesidor, who totaled 32 tackles, 5.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, a forced fumble and six quarterback hurries in 13 starts last season. “I think everybody’s working together to change that. I’ve taken on the responsibility of trying to become a leader and bring guys together, but it’s not only me. It’s [defensive lineman] Ahmad Moten Sr.. It’s [linebacker Mohamed] Toure. It’s [linebacker Raul] “Popo” Aguirre Jr. , a bunch of guys just collectively coming together and just trying to change the narrative of this defense.”
The Hurricanes will have their first chance to see their new defense – and all their new faces – in action soon enough when the Irish come calling.
After that, matchups against instate rivals Florida and Florida State loom. So do crucial ACC matchups against Louisville, Stanford, SMU, Syracuse, NC State, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.
And the hope is that this year, the Hurricanes will find themselves both in Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game and in the College Football Playoff.
Miami narrowly missed out on appearing in both last season and the veterans on the roster haven’t forgotten that.
This year, they want a different outcome. Finishing strong, they say, will be a priority.
“Stick together and stay disciplined … last year, I feel like we kind of lost track of that,” said defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. “They brought that up to us in the meetings, how we ended out the year last year. Like I was telling the team, we’ve just got to be consistent from the first game to the last whistle of the season.”
Said Cristobal, “No doubt, it’s how you finish. We’ve made a lot of progress over the last three years. Year 1, our roster was not really built to take on Power 4 football, and those were some lopsided games and those were tough. Year 2, everything was competitive, and we won a couple more. Then last year, we had a chance to win every single game, but we didn’t. The bottom line is we didn’t get it done … Without a doubt, finishing is a mentality. Finishing is a work ethic that comes with the off-season. We’ve always invested a ton of effort on those areas, and we’ve invested even more this off-season.”
