Mario Cristobal is Excited About The Revamped Defense

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes have moved on to the 2025 season and look to the top of the conference for the first time in program history.

Last season they had a chance with the No. 1 offense in the country, but with a poor defense, they could not sustain long-term success. With a new defensive coordinator later and a revamped secondary staff, the Hurricanes are ready to take that next step as the season preparations have officially begun.

"What coach Heatherman does besides being a great teacher and great human being he galvanizes people, Cristobal said after the first day of spring practice. "He understands very quickly how to assess and then play your team's strengths. He's also by nature a front seven guy with a lot of backend knowledge."

He also highlights the addition of the secondary coaches and their mentality about this season.

"In both Will Harris and Zac Etheridge as well as the addition of Damen Lewis you've got some just high-level energy elite teachers that are very intense and they're very intentional they approach practice with a purpose and you could see it in our drill work and the way we chase the ball," Cristobal said. "I mean so much the defense is playing really hard chasing the ball so it's great to see these guys line up and communicate with tremendous intensity with just a lot of volume which was again a big issue from last year."

The Hurricanes and Cristobal are on a mission to right the wrongs from last season. So far, each party seems to be confident in their work but more time is still needed to get everyone in the right mindset.

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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at justice.sandle111@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@Justice_News5.