CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Hurricanes were back to work on Tuesday morning as spring practice continued at Miami.

After the workout, head coach Mario Cristobal, defensive tackles coach Damione Lewis and defensive tackles Keona Davis and Jarquez Carter shared their thoughts on the day’s workout and how spring drills are progressing.

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

Head coach Mario Cristobal

On the impact defensive tackles coach Damione Lewis has had since returning to his alma mater as a coach:

“Well, I think we’re getting better in terms of the simplicity of coming off the ball and striking. I think that it never gets talked about … the importance of playing with good pad level, getting your feet in the ground, coming out of your hips, getting hands on people, playing blocks, right? People like to spit out ‘make a play,’ and it’s not about ‘making a play.’ It’s about making sure you do your job and doing your job at defensive tackle is critical. In fact, the progress of our defense was largely due to guys doing their jobs on a more consistent basis. The errors would come in the form of a guy trying to do too much and leaving his gap, not controlling his gap, jumping out of his gap and allowing a big-time play.

“I think he’s brought a sense of toughness to our defensive line, a sense of accountability. He pushes his guys hard. He’s got great experience. He was the number one player in Texas coming out of high school, a first-round pick coming out of the University of Miami. And Damione was also an agent of change, right? He came here when Miami wasn’t very good and the lines of scrimmage were lacking, for a better term. And he was a guy that really, with his energy and his demeanor, physicality, he changed the way things were up front. He’s doing it now as a coach, also.”

On the play of freshman defensive back Camdin Portis:

“He’s flashed. He really has. He’s got a great skillset. He’s a natural football player. He needs to be hammered on discipline, on accountability, on a consistent basis. But he has all the tools, and I just think it’s too early to overpraise certain guys at this time. These guys … he’s got to learn how to work. He’s a good player. I think he’s a guy that can really help us. And his trajectory is awesome and he’s a good dude. He’s a good person. And all these young, talented guys, we’ve got to keep bringing it at them every single day and that’s why we’re in full pads and we’re doing it in a … physical manner, but a very organized, detailed manner, so that we’re not reckless. And I think he’s growing and developing at a good level.”

On the offensive line’s progress:

“I like the way they’re jelling. We want to find more guys. You want to be at 8, 9, 10 by the time the season rolls around. Mind you, we’re banged up a little bit. Nothing major, nothing that’s not going to be ready to go in another couple weeks or so. But our size, our girth, mentality from a regiment, blueprint, culture standpoint – you know what [offensive line coach Alex] Mirabal does with that room. It’s a very aggressive form of o-line play. Pass protection isn’t necessarily passive for us. But I think every day that goes by, you see guys more and more in sync against a very challenging defense. Besides having good players, [defensive coordinator Corey] Hetherman , the way he brings pressure and movement, it’s very difficult to detect pre-snap, so that you truly are, from a balance and body control and power standpoint, it’s a challenge. It really is. From a third down standpoint, it’s incredibly challenging. And what’s great to see is that those guys up front are truly … those guys are challenging each other. They know that they have a good amount of talent and that’s going to have to be earned. And they know that it’s going to go all the way to Game One and beyond. So far, they’ve showed up in a manner that you want them to show up in.”

On what the staff has seen from wide receiver Malachi Toney and what fans can expect from him now that he’s a sophomore:

“Honestly, we’ve seen the same thing. … [He comes in at] 5:30 in the morning. The staff gets in there and gets their workout in in the morning and sure enough, at 5:30, 5:15, Malachi is out here going [at] every single angle of the JUGS machine. He’s still up in there late, looking for just anything related to betterment. And now, also, he’s a sophomore. So now, he can vocalize leadership as well. So, all we see from him is continued growth, absolutely zero entitlement or complacency. So, I think you can expect a better, more experienced Malachi Toney.”

Defensive tackles coach Damione Lewis

On how the interior of the defensive line has looked through spring drills:

“It’s going great. I feel like with the new guys, they’re getting accustomed to how we do things. They’re working really hard. They’re coming in, coming upstairs to watch tape when they’re done with class and stuff like that. So, that’s always a good sign that they’re bought into what we’re doing and they’re trying to learn everything they can about the defense. So, in that case, it’s been really good. The older guys are really working their tails off too because we’ve got to get better … [2025] was ’25. This is ’26. It’s a new year. It’s a new team. So, the approach has got to be everything is new, including my learning. I’ve got to learn the system all over again, like I never heard it before. I’ve got to be invested into it that way, and we’ve got to find ways to get better every single day, and I think everybody’s met that challenge and done a good job with that.”

On transfer defensive tackles Jarquez Carter and Keona Davis:

“I think everything has been good because there’s an adjustment for guys like that. They came from a completely different system than what we play, so it’s learning how to play our style of football, and I think they bought into that and got that down the first week. Now it’s just about executing the details, and I think they’re doing a good job of locking in. Both of those guys come up at least twice a week to watch practice tape so we can stay on top of the installations and all that kind of stuff. So, they’ve really done a good job of being detailed in their work in their walkthroughs and in practice and it’s helping them out on the field when we’re actually going live. So, they’re doing really well.”

On what he thinks veteran Ahmad Moten Sr. wanted to prove by coming back this season:

“I don’t think it was necessarily about proving anything. I just feel like he had more to give in college, and he’s met that challenge, you know what I’m saying? So, for him, it’s about finishing this time and what that means. What does that mean for him as a leader of this football team? What does that mean for him as he’s leading and helping this D-line group continue to grow? So, to me, it’s a sign of maturity on his end to step up and really get in and get involved in a way that he hadn’t had to do before because you had the [Akheem] Mesidors and [Rueben] Bains and the Keionte Scotts and those guys. Now, he’s the guy people are looking at for leadership.”

On redshirt freshman Mykah Newton:

“He’s improved. He’s doing well. So, just for him, it’s just continuing the details, just staying locked in. He’s still a young player, so with young players, you have young player things. So, continuing to work, continue to stay locked in, focus in practice throughout. He’s getting a lot better and he’s been improving. I’m really proud of where he is right now.”

On the team moving beyond last season’s playoff run:

“This is always the critical point, right? You had a little bit of success, but we didn’t get what we wanted out of it. So, there is nothing to be patting yourself on the head [about] and saying we did a great job about. There’s a lot of meat left on that bone in so many different ways. For this team, it’s about focus, rebooting and getting back locked in to ’26 because ’25 is in the wind. It’s gone. It does not matter anymore. [The] ’25 season is in the history books. It is what it is now. … You thought you had a target on your back before? You’ve got a target on your back now. Now how do you respond to that? We’re back to playing Hurricane football, so get … locked in. Let’s go, because … we don’t have time for pats. We don’t have time for ‘good jobs.’ We’ve got to get better every day. … You have no space, no room, no second to think that we’ve arrived because we [haven’t] arrived [anywhere]. That season’s already gone. We’re on to the next one.”

Defensive tackle Keona Davis

On his adjustment to Miami:

“It’s going pretty good, getting better day by day, learning more and more. I just feel like Miami, in general, my father’s from out here, so I’ve got a lot of family out here. I meet somebody new every day, so I’m loving it here.”

On whether he’s had a chance to learn from former Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr., who has been out at practice as he prepares for the NFL Draft:

“I’ve learned quite a lot. Just earlier when we were doing reps on the tire dummy, he came up to me, telling me ‘here’s a few tips. I’m throwing my hands too early, or I’m just throwing a little too late. It’s really helpful.”

Defensive tackle Jarquez Carter

On the defensive tackle group:

“I feel like we have a great group. Everybody plays a part. Everybody’s been doing great in spring ball, so I feel like we have a great group.”

On what it’s been like working with Miami’s defensive line:

“[Damione Lewis] and Jason Taylor, they’re using me in great ways. We rotate a lot. We play a lot of defensive linemen, so whatever they need from me, I’m there.”