CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Hurricanes were back on the Greentree Practice Fields on Saturday as spring practice continued at Miami.

After the workout, head coach Mario Cristobal, linebacker Chase Smith, defensive lineman Justin Scott, defensive back Xavier Lucas, and defensive lineman Armondo Blount shared their thoughts on the day’s session and more.

Here’s some of what they had to say, in their own words…

Head coach Mario Cristobal

On the competitiveness of spring practice:

“The competitiveness is good. We’re demanding more. We need to demand more. We need to coach it harder. We need to coach it better. We need more out of everybody. I think it’s easy to talk toughness and physicality and then you have to work at it. And we work it. It’s part of our practice plan and it’s well documented. We go hard. Our practices are very different, but they’re not reckless, so while you’re out here, it’s got to be max: max effort, max levels of concentration. Every walkthrough, every detail of every meeting, all [of] that is really, really important. There’s some progress, but it’s nowhere near enough. We need to be more physical; we need to be more consistent. We need to keep working ourselves, even now, to be in great football shape because we are working extended drives and extended practices. And again, around here, spring football is very, very serious … It’s helped us throughout the last four years set ourselves up for a successful camp. That being said, there’s a lot of bright spots and a long, long way to go.”

On offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson’s ability to adapt to coaching different quarterbacks from one year to the next:

“He oftentimes doesn’t get enough credit. That’s not easy because you philosophically come up in a certain tree and then as you go on, you always pick up new ideas … He’s been tremendously adaptable … When you have that many years of experience in so many different systems, some of that has blended together … I think the sky’s the limit. And I think that he has exposed our players to a larger volume of schemes this early, more than we ever have before.

“And that’s the expectation as we continue to recruit and raise the bar in terms of that. And guys are coming in with the expectation to contribute. The expectation’s got to show up every single day in everything you do, so there’s no wiggle room for compromising everything from culture to regimen structure, [being] early’s on time, all that other stuff. And Shannon and that staff have done an excellent job, just force-feeding guys schemes [and] technique, fundamentals. And again, we’re seeing progress … just got to keep getting better.”

On how freshman offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell has adjusted in his first spring practices:

“He has responded well. And I think he’s the type of guy that’s all about getting coached hard and getting pushed. That’s elite DNA and mentality in his upbringing, with his parents and the way that they have raised him to be competitive, to be tough, to be respectful, to understand being coached hard. Some moments he’s going to look awesome and other moments he’s going to look like a true freshman. And that’s okay. We tell all those guys all the time to cut it loose. Meetings are for teaching, the field is for work, and come when that ball is snapped, you [have] to roll and cut it loose and play ball. And I think he is gaining confidence on a down-by-down basis, and he’s playing against really good players and we’re going to keep force feeding him because again, he responds and he is getting better every day.”

On whether he’s seen vocal leadership starting to develop among the players early in spring:

“I think that part of it has to come from the players, and the other part, the coaches have to really help bring that along. We have to identify the guys that are capable or have the potential to do that. Because when someone opens their mouth, number one, they better have done the right stuff. [There’s] nothing worse than someone opening their mouth and they [aren’t] quite there yet. But I do think we’re seeing enough of the guys that could be [vocal leaders], a couple of older guys that have already done it. And by the time we’re rolling towards the end of fall camp, we feel confident that we’ll get there.”

Linebacker Chase Smith

On defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman:

“He’s very, very thorough in his process and it’s amazing to see him build off what we’ve created just in one year. It’s amazing to see the progression in our defense and that’s why we’re just trying to work on the smallest details. We had a full reset and we’re just going right back to zero and making sure we build from there.”

On the people that kept him going while facing injuries:

“It’s been a lot of people for sure. I will say Hetherman primarily has really got my mind and my mental fine-tuned, so it’s been a good process coming along with him. And really just [with] the injury aspect of it, he kept me locked in even when I wasn’t fully ready yet. He kept me locked in the offseason, making sure I’m getting everything done…he’s been a real impact as far as my progression as a player.”

On Miami’s linebacking corps:

“There’s definitely a lot of experience in the room, and we also have two young guys that came in and we’re making sure we’re going to get them on the same page. They’re coming along really fast, because they that have to build off of that for sure.”

Defensive Lineman Justin Scott

On transfer defensive lineman Damon Wilson II:

“He loves ball. He’s one of those guys who just loves ball. You can just tell, just with his approach to practice and every day”

On how the success of Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor has motivated him:

“It motivates me a lot. Especially with them gone now, it’s on me to hold the standard for the young guys, so [it’s] just remembering what they did for me and how they led and just taking the same thing they’re doing and doing it myself. Especially being with them all the time … I had already seen that they were going to get everything that they wanted just by the way they worked.”

On how he approached facing top-ranked teams during Miami’s playoff run:

“I kind of just approached every game the same … just keep the game simple, and you’re going to be alright. As soon as you start overthinking, that’s kind of when things get a little iffy. Just keeping the game simple.”

Defensive Back Xavier Lucas 

On what it’s like to defend receiver Cooper Barkate in practice:

 “He’s a great guy. He’s twitchy, great routes. … has knowledge of the game. He’s a great dude, but all the receivers, they’re all working at their craft. You might see them tomorrow in the facility. They’re just working to get better and we’re just competing.”

On freshman defensive back JJ Dunnigan and the rest of the young secondary:

“He’s a great kid. He’s smart. He has the size and the physicality, every trait you could want… All the [defensive backs], they’re coming in, they’re young, they have a bunch of raw talent. … Now that I look at it, they’re bigger than we were back then, but it’s a great group of guys and they’re improving day by day.”

On quarterback Darian Mensah:

“He’s an experienced quarterback. I’m pretty sure he knows what you’re doing half of the time, but he’s very smart, makes great throws, very accurate. But he’s a pretty humble, great guy. I like being around him.”

Defensive Lineman Armondo Blount

On the competition in the defensive line room:

“Everybody competes. That’s what I like about the whole d-line group… even our younger guys. Ever since everybody got on campus, since he’s [Damon Wilson II] been on campus, we’ve just been working on getting each other better, critiquing each other, and just competing.

On the practice habits he learned from Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor:

“One thing I would say practicing with them guys – every day is relentless. You’ve got to leave all your energy on the field. … And I would say that’s how it is with all of the younger guys. We’re showing them the standard at Miami because now it’s not just certain guys that will do it – it’s the standard at Miami.”