Everything Ahkeem Mesidor said at ACC Media Day

To be a drum that has been busted, the Miami Hurricanes defense was terrible last season, but now they are prepared to have an entirely new look.

The five-year Canadian defensive edge rusher Akheem Mesidor took some time to answer a few questions at ACC Media Day about the defense and the growth everyone has seen in the area.

Q. Akheem, you guys struggled defensively down the stretch last year. What do you think you can improve on this year to not have that happen again? 

AKHEEM MESIDOR: Well, the biggest thing we've been emphasizing this off-season is communication. If you don't communicate, your defense is going to get just torched, right? Obviously we have a bunch of new additions, but communication is the biggest thing for us

. Q. You guys have a new defensive coordinator this year. What have you seen from Coach Hetherman so far and how do you like his new defense? 

AKHEEM MESIDOR: I love Coach Hetherman. He's a great teacher. He's just an aggressive guy, as you guys can see in his interviews. But he really just gets it down to the point. He's a technician; anything you have, he'll probably answer your question before you ask it. But he's an amazing person, a great coach, and he just lets us play free, play fast, and I can't wait to play football. 

Q. Coach Cristobal, what it is about his leadership, his leadership style that speaks to not only you personally but to the Hurricanes and why it works in Miami? 

AKHEEM MESIDOR: Well, 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 do this off-season is we run, we run like crazy. We're trying to get in -- just having amazing conditioning. After that, you have to play hard. Play fast, play hard, and just dominate every snap of the game. Just Coach Cristobal is an amazing coach, best I've been around, and I love being a part of this team.

Q. You are in a very talented and deep defensive line room, and yet two out of the last three years you've led Miami in sacks. As the elder statesman and as a guy that's been hyper productive from the pass rushing standpoint, how do you set the tone vocally and be a leader in a room where multiple guys are expected to play on Sundays, including yourself, but multiple guys expecting to play on Sundays and maybe even a few going in the first round? 

AKHEEM MESIDOR: A big step I've been trying to take this off-season is obviously the leadership role. I think I'm the oldest guy in the room, but just I want to lead by example but also I want to be more vocal. This off-season I've been bringing guys along with extra work. I just want to get to know everybody, and I want everybody else to get to know me, know my story, know my why. We have a deep room, and we have a bunch of guys who can play. We need to work together as we've been. We need to get together and just establish our identity in that room and just dominate.

Q. You speak about your why, your story. Given your background culturally growing up in Canada, how has that affected how you've matured as an individual and as a football player?

AKHEEM MESIDOR: Growing up in Canada, it's difficult to get recruited out here in the States. Nothing is given to you. You have to go out and grab everybody. I grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, in a five-children household, and then my mom took care of all of us on her own. My dad comes from a Haitian background, so I speak English and French, so I grew up in a diverse community, diverse place. But football-wise, nothing was given. I had to work for everything. I had to travel back and forth to Ohio, back and forth to Indiana, Michigan, a bunch of different spots in order to gain recognition because just traditionally people looked down against Canadian competition, Canadian talent. I really had to prove myself more than I feel like many or most, and I always carry that mentality even now. Nothing is going to be given to me. I need to go out and take everything. That's why I work as hard as I do, because I really need the game of football to bless me and my family. 

Q. You left the door open. You said you speak French, so please answer this question in French. What's your favorite thing to do in your downtime? 

AKHEEM MESIDOR: I like fishing. I don't know how to say it in French. I forgot. (Speaking French.)

Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.