MARIO CRISTOBAL

The Hurricanes struck gold again in their 2023 recruiting class with the commitment of four-star tight end Riley Williams, the No. 2 tight end prospect in the nation, according to On3 Sports. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal had recruited Williams when he was still the head coach at Oregon. “I was just so familiar with Coach Cristobal and a few other coaches from them being a part of the Oregon staff previous to Miami.”Williams stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 230 pounds. Williams becomes the third tight end to commit to UM in its 2023 recruiting class, joining consensus three-star recruits Reid Mikeska and Jackson Carver.

The Miami Hurricanes snagged their highest-rated quarterback in the 2023 class on Sunday afternoon, as four-star recruit Jaden Rashada announced his commitment to Miami live on CBS Sports HQ after an official visit to Coral Gables last week. In the past few days, four “lead experts” made crystal ball predictions that Rashada would go to Miami on 247sports.com. With a 6-foot-4, 185-pound frame, Rashada has excelled at the high school level, throwing for 2,220 yards and 27 passing touchdowns this past season at Pittsburg High School. Previously, he attended Liberty High School in Brentwood, Ca., as a freshman, before a brief stint at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. A multi-sport athlete, he also played baseball during high school. Rashada chose Miami over Southeastern Conference powerhouses like Florida, Texas A&M and LSU, all colleges he visited earlier this month.

As first reported by Dave Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel, former UM running back and NFL front-office executive Alonzo Highsmith has been hired by Miami to be its General Manager of Football Operations, a newly formed position. “His extensive experience as an NFL executive will provide tremendous value to our football operations. “Alonzo is a true Miami Hurricane,” Cristobal said in a statement. Most recently, from 2020 to 2022, Highsmith served as a senior executive advisor to the general manager for the Seattle Seahawks. “It is an honor to come back to the University of Miami and I am very humbled,” Highsmith said.

Head coach Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes are starting their weekend on a strong note, with transfer linebacker (LB) Caleb Johnson committing to Miami. The Hurricanes have been looking to add LB depth through the transfer portal. Johnson enrolled at UCLA in 2020 and has spent the last two seasons with the Bruins. The Murrieta, Calif. native brings a skill-set that Miami has needed for some time; a linebacker that can do it all. Johnson brings a versatile skill set to Miami as it lands another key target through the transfer portal.

That is the distance from the University of Miami to transfer defensive lineman Jacob Lichtenstein’s previous school, the University of Southern California. “Being in California, at USC, my family [and] all my resources, I didn’t have them,” Lichtenstein said. Lichtenstein’s spring-football success was exhibited at Miami’s spring game. Also for Lichtenstein, Saturday’s spring game brought upon his first opportunity to wear a uniform that had his last name displayed across the back of it. “I’ve never played with my last name on my back, so I felt a lot of pride in that,” Lichtenstein said following Miami’s spring game.

With this new preview of what Canes fans can expect to see come September, here are some key takeaways to consider after the conclusion of Miami’s 2022 spring game. Backup quarterback Jake Garcia didn’t appear as a backupBehind Van Dyke was sophomore Jake Garcia, who has consistently proved to be a strong backup in the current tandem with Van Dyke. Parrish Jr.’s performance in the spring game will most definitely bring competition in a much deeper RB room in 2022. Restrepo led all receivers in both catches and receiving yards, putting up six catches and notching 60 receiving yards in the spring game. With this defensive performance, Addae as well as Steele could most definitely be looking to develop a ballhawk-style coverage for the Miami secondary.

Nobody will want to miss the Miami Hurricanes’ spring football game to watch how far the team has come since the arrival of coach Mario Cristobal and his new-look coaching staff. They’ll be breaking down the spring game. We’re watching every other team’s spring game and putting the information in the system,” Gattis said. This is the spring football phase and we’re closing it. “The next step of it was be a fundamentally sound, smart football team.

Here are some takeaways and highlights from day 14 of UM’s spring practices. Multiple local high schools in attendancePlayers from Miami Edison High School and Saint Thomas Aquinas High School attended UM’s practice on Thursday. Spring Football Game format made knownMiami’s annual spring game, format-wise, has changed many times under numerous coaching regimes. Cristobal prefers more of a game-like spring game, at least for the start of it. “We’ll start off with a kick-off.”UM’s 2022 Spring Football Game will be held at DRV Pink Stadium on Saturday at noon.

Head coach Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes got off to a great start this week when they received news of another commitment. On Monday morning, class of 2023 offensive tackle Frankie Tinilau committed to the University of Miami. Tinilau is another example of how significantly Miami’s recruiting has improved under Mario Cristobal and his staff. “I’ve always been a fan of Coach Cristobal and Coach Mirabal,” Tinilau said in an interview with InsideTheU. Helder Valle, the head coach at La Salle, sees serious potential in his future OT.

A second offensive lineman will be following Miami head coach Mario Cristobal from Eugene to Coral Gables. Jonathan Denis, a third-year freshman who did not appear in a game with the Ducks, announced his intentions to transfer to Miami in a Twitter post Saturday night. He follows offensive lineman Logan Sagapolu, who transferred from Oregon to UM in late January. Denis is a graduate of South Dade High School, where he was a team captain as a senior. 16 guard nationally by ESPN in the class of 2020 chose Oregon over Miami, who was heavily involved in his high school recruitment.

Here are some takeaways and highlights from day 11 of Miami’s spring practices. Michael Redding III had highlight-worthy catchIn 5-on-5s, the third-year wideout came down with one of the most impressive receptions of spring practice, snatching a pass that both Gilbert Frierson and James Williams made a play on. Mario Cristobal stopped practice at one pointCristobal paused practice momentarily on Thursday due to a lack of tempo and player speed between drills. “It’s great to have a head coach that played offensive tackle here, and he’s always around us linemen,” Rivers said. Vince Wilfork seen at practiceThe former Hurricane and NFL Pro Bowler was at Miami’s spring practice on Thursday, watching from the media-viewing area.

The Hurricanes were back on the Greentree Practice Fields Thursday morning for their eighth practice of spring football, which was followed by a media availability with defensive linemen Chantz Williams and Jahfari Harvey, as well as offensive linemen Jakai Clark and Justice Oluwaseun. Here are some takeaways and highlights from day eight of Miami’s spring practices. Through almost three weeks of spring practice, Taylor has impressed players with his knowledge of and ability to teach the game. Ivey, a Miami native, also came down with an interception during a wide receivers versus defensive backs drill. Jaden Rashada highlights recruiting attendees at practiceThe five-star class of 2023 quarterback from Pittsburg, California took an unofficial visit to Miami and attended spring practice on Thursday.

The Miami Hurricanes kicked off Spring Practice on Monday.

After an offseason sparked by an alteration in leadership and an abundance of coaching changes, Miami football’s spring practices are finally here. Here are some takeaways and highlights from UM’s first day of spring practice…1. The rising sophomore had 31 tackles, two interceptions and two passes defended last year for the Canes. Quarterback Jacurri Brown was impressiveThe rising 6-foot-4 freshman signal-caller showed off his arm talent in Miami’s first spring football practice, slinging crisp passes around the field during the media-viewing portions on Greentree practice field. On Cristobal:“He tries to better us men [both] on the field and off the field,” Frierson said.

Miami football head coach Mario Cristobal has hired two more assistants with the additions of defensive ends coach Rod Wright, as well as Jason Taylor, who will serve in an off-field role. Wright formerly served as UTSA’s co-defensive coordinator, a position he had held since January 2021. The former All-America defensive lineman at Texas also worked as the Roadrunners’ run game coordinator and was previously a defensive line coach, dating back to the 2019 season. Taylor is joining Cristobal’s staff after serving in multiple roles on perennial high school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas’s defensive coaching staff. The NFL Hall of Famer began his tenure with the Raiders in 2017 as their defensive line coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in March 2020.

During his illustrious career, Taylor was a six-time Pro Bowl selection and accumulated 139.5 sacks, 47 forced fumbles and eight interceptions.

University of Miami football coordinators Josh Gattis and Kevin Steele say they are excited about the direction the program is headed under coach Mario Cristobal.

Miami football head coach Mario Cristobal’s assistant coaching staff is nearing completion with the hiring of Michigan offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Josh Gattis. Assistant coaching tenures at Penn State and Alabama followed before Gattis was named the sole offensive coordinator at Michigan before the 2019 season. Michigan ranked 25th nationally last season in total yards per game, including 15th in rushing yards per game. Gattis won the Broyles Award in 2021, which is an annual award given to the person deemed the best assistant coach in college football. The hiring of Gattis comes less than a week after former Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele accepted the defensive coordinator job at Miami.

Miami is hiring Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis to run new coach Mario Cristobal's offense with the Hurricanes.

University of Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is accepting a job with Miami to run the offense, according to multiple sources.

As the 2022 college football signing period has ended, the Miami Hurricanes finished with the 15th ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to 247 Sports. The Hurricanes had a few key pickups on National Signing Day that put the finishing touches on a very strong 2022 recruiting class. The day started with a commitment from offensive tackle Anez Cooper. The next player to commit to Miami on National Signing Day was TreVonte’ Citizen, a four-star running back from Lake Charles, Louisiana. “[Moten is a] 3-technique [defensive lineman], can’t find enough of those, [he is] 6-foot-3 [and] 322 pounds,” Cristobal said.

Embed from Getty ImagesMiami football has hired Kevin Steele to become the program’s next defensive coordinator, according to ON3 and other sources. The hiring of Steele is somewhat surprising to some, at least, as Maryland was reported to have a verbal agreement with Steele to become its defensive coordinator. In the ACC, Steele coached at Clemson under current Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney from 2009–2011. With the hiring of Steele, head coach Mario Cristobal hopes to help turn around a defense that was only mediocre last season. ON3 was the first to report that Steele, the seventh new defensive coordinator in the ACC, had taken the job at Miami.

Miami's annual showdown with Florida State will come on Nov. 5 at Hard Rock Stadium.

An Oregon player will be following head coach Mario Cristobal to Miami, as offensive lineman Logan Sagapolu committed to UM while on his official visit. Sagapolu, who did not appear in any games in his two seasons with the Ducks, was a three-star recruit in the class of 2019, according to 247Sports. After a religious mission trip, Sagapolu arrived at Oregon in 2020. Graduating from Skyridge High School, the 6-foot-2, 344-pound interior lineman was named first-team 5A all-state as a junior and senior. Sagapolu joins Southern California defensive lineman Jake Lichtenstein, Clemson wide receiver Frank Ladson, Ole Miss running back Henry Parrish and UAB defensive lineman Antonio Moultrie as the fifth transfer to commit to Miami this offseason.

Miami football has hired Kevin Smith as its next running backs coach, the program announced Friday morning. Smith, who played college football at Central Florida before playing five seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, coached running backs at Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss. Smith will look to bring a similar level of success to Miami’s running back room, led by third-year running backs Don Chaney, Jr. and Jaylan Knighton. It’s an honor to be the running backs coach here,” Smith said in the release. “I know Coach Smith will recruit, coach and develop our running back room at a tremendous level and elevate the culture of our program,” Cristobal said.

Four-star recruit Cyrus Moss has signed his letter of intent and will attend Miami, continuing the recruiting hot streak of recently hired head football coach Mario Cristobal. Moss signed during the nationally televised Under Armour All-America Game Saturday. pic.twitter.com/qHeRS0iFAh — Canes Football (@CanesFootball) January 8, 2022A talented edge rusher from Las Vegas, Moss has been a recent Miami target under the Cristobal coaching regime. “I got to see more of what coach Mario Cristobal is trying to build down there,” Moss told 247Sports following his official visit to Miami. “Initially, I didn’t know much about Miami, but I just trusted in Coach Cristobal,” Moss said on NBC’s game telecast Saturday.

Mario Cristobal is bringing over a coach from Oregon.

Kennedy Brooks ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns as No. 14 Oklahoma rode a dominant first half to beat No. 15 Oregon 47-32 in the Alamo Bowl.

The Miami Hurricanes football season is over.

Miami is scheduled to play in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on Dec. 31 against Washington State.

One of the nation’s top tight ends will compete at Miami next fall. Third-ranked tight end recruit Jaleel Skinner overturned his commitment from the Alabama Crimson Tide to the Hurricanes on Friday — the December signing period’s last day. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and tight ends coach Stephen Field won the recruiting battle over Alabama, in addition to other Southeastern Conference schools, including Georgia and Auburn. “I’m a believer in Coach Cristobal and I’m a believer in Coach Field,” Skinner told 247Sports. He kept recruiting me and then when they got Coach Cristobal, that just pushed it over the edge.

The first indication of this expansion in Miami’s football budget was the hiring of Mario Cristobal to be its next football head coach. Cristobal received a 10-year, $80 million contract from the Hurricanes, which is much more lucrative than any other UM coach has received in the past. “The only way you could compete is by having the resources,” former Hurricanes punter Brian Monroe said. Elite football programs like Alabama and Georgia have done an excellent job recruiting the talent-rich area of South Florida, which Miami did so successfully throughout their championship runs of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. “I would love to see the Miami Hurricanes win the Coastal and compete with Clemson,” Monroe said.

On this episode of the Miami Sports Pod, Local 10 Sports Anchors Will Manso and Clay Ferraro dive into a big week for Miami football.

Former Miami coach Manny Diaz has been hired as defensive coordinator at Penn State less than a week after he was fired by the Hurricanes.

As University of Miami students and alumni celebrate the hiring of a new football coach who has been touted as the program’s savior, not everyone is doing cartwheels on the Coral Gables campus.

Below is a list of UM alumni that performed at the highest level in Week 13 of the NFL. After a three-sack performance in Week 12 versus Carolina, Phillips totaled three tackles (two for loss), two sacks and two quarterback hits versus the Giants. Homer was given a chance to shine in Week 13 versus the 49ers and made a play that set the tone for the rest of the game. Homer and the Seahawks travel to Houston in Week 14 with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread. Denzel Perryman: Linebacker, Las Vegas RaidersPerryman, a tackling machine, did what he does best in the Week 13 loss to Washington.

One of the biggest benefits of coaching at a school in the heart of South Florida is the plethora of talented high school players, something Cristobal is keenly aware of. “It’s such a densely populated, talent rich area…there’s a reason the entire country comes here to try to get the talent. It’s time to make sure the talent stays home, ” Cristobal said. It’s clear he has a plan laid out to successfully recruit the most talented players. “You’ve got to make sure they understand how they fit into your program.

“My God, what an honor … As my family’s here, my brother, his wife, my nephews, my goddaughter, everybody’s here,” Cristobal said. “As we talk about building a championship program, as we talk about taking things and elevating the standard to elite levels, it all starts with work,” Cristobal said. We’re going to work together and we’re going to hold each other accountable, because that’s what it takes. It’s always what they tell you in the [classroom] in business management: location, location, location. There’s nothing, and that’s what’s it’s going to take from all of us,” Cristobal said.

Miami welcomed new coach Mario Cristobal with an introductory news conference in Coral Gables, Florida.

Gallery: Mario Cristobal introduced as head coach in first press conference

Mario Cristobal tugged on the orange Hurricanes jersey that had just been presented to him by University of Miami President Julio Frenk and then tried to put into words how returning to his alma mater tugs at his heartstrings.

Welcome home, Mario Cristobal. Oregon’s head coach, who won two National Championships as an offensive tackle at the University of Miami, has been hired and will become the Hurricanes’ 26th head coach, as announced by the university Monday afternoon. Cristobal has been the head coach of the Ducks since the 2018 season. Before Oregon, Cristobal was an assistant head coach at Alabama for four seasons under Nick Saban, where he won a CFP National Championship. Cristobal served as a graduate assistant under former UM head coach Butch Davis from 1998 to 2000 before serving as the tight ends and offensive line coach at Rutgers under Greg Schiano for two years.

Oregon’s head coach, who won two National Championships as an offensive tackle at the University of Miami, has reportedly agreed to become the Hurricanes’ 26th head coach. BREAKING: Miami coach Manny Diaz has been informed he has been let go, per source. The move paves the way for the Canes to hire Oregon’s Mario Cristobal as Miami’s next head coach. Cristobal has been the head coach of the Ducks since the 2018 season. Before Oregon, Cristobal was an assistant head coach at Alabama for four seasons under Nick Saban, where he won a CFP National Championship.

Mario Cristobal is leaving Oregon and headed home to Miami.

Manny Diaz was fired as Miami’s football coach Monday, after a 7-5 regular season and with the school in deep negotiations to bring Oregon coach Mario Cristobal back to his alma mater to take over. Diaz went 21-15 in three seasons at Miami.

What has been speculated for the past week is officially confirmed. Manny Diaz has been fired as the head football coach at Miami, as announced by the school Monday morning. The firing comes shortly after reports that Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal is expected to be replace Diaz. Despite his future up in the air this past week, Diaz and his staff continued to recruit, and even landed a four-star linebacker last week. “We wish him and his family the very best as they move forward.”Diaz has been UM’s head coach since 2019, where he went 6-7.

Twice a national champion as a player, Mario Cristobal has been hired as the University of Miami’s new football coach and has his sights set on returning his alma mater to prominence.

Florida was added to the lengthy list of schools looking for a head football coach that already includes LSU and USC.

25 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. All extracurricular activities tied to the Fiesta Bowl were shelved, the sightseeing tours among them. “Our players, to have the opportunity to do the things that would typically be involved in the Fiesta Bowl would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Iowa State offensive coordinator Tom Manning said. You would like to have the full experience of the Fiesta Bowl, but it’s the way that it’s gone this year.”The Fiesta Bowl is the culmination of what coach Matt Campbell has built during five seasons in Ames. We’ve had some great games in the past.”HALL'S IMPACT: Oregon's top priority defensive will be trying to slow Hall.

USC reached the Oregon 49, but the Ducks' pass rush prevented Slovis from getting off a Hail Mary. Brown’s first throw for the Ducks was a TD pass to Redd on Oregon’s opening drive. USC earned its spot in the title game by going unbeaten with three late comeback victories along the way. Shough hit Johnson with a 16-yard TD pass in the second quarter before Stepp’s 1-yard TD run capped USC’s 80-yard drive in response. Brown hit Dye with a short TD pass to finish a drive that consumed half of the third quarter.

FIU is heading to the St. Pete Bowl on Dec. 20 following an 8-4 regular season. It's the second straight appearance for the Panthers. The Panthers, coached by Mario Cristobal and led by all-purpose threat T.Y. Hilton, defeated Toledo 34-32 in last year's Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. This year's bowl will be televised at 8 p.m. on ESPN.