"Players & families know if you're full of s**t": Mario Cristobal gets 100% real on Miami's recruiting pursuits ahead of Florida matchup

Miami coach Mario Cristobal led the Hurricanes to a 3-0 start to the season after they blew out the giant killers, the USF Bulls, 49-12 in Week 3 of college football action. The Hurricanes have rebuilt their roster after losing a huge chunk of players who made them successful last season, headlined by the 2025 NFL No. 1 draft pick, Cam Ward.

The Hurricanes brought in a top-10 transfer portal class according to On3, headlined by former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck, who has been one of the best players in the country this season.

Ahead of the No. 4 Hurricanes' clash against the beleaguered coach Billy Napier's Florida Gators in Week 4 of college football action, Cristobal appeared on the "Pat McAfee Show" and explained his success in recruiting the best talent in the country.

"It's a product of when everybody gets on board, you know what I mean? Recruiting is never a one-man show, it's a buy-in from everybody and quite honestly, these players and their families they can see if a guy is full of you know what," Mario Cristobal said. "If you truly believe in what you're selling and if you want people to come in and be for real, and be part of it, I think they can see the real and right through the bull**t and we've had a great track record. So, we wanna keep attracting the best of the best."

Mario Cristobal explains transfer portal strategy

Mario Cristobal recruited 20 players from the transfer portal, which gave him his second consecutive top-20 portal class in college football according to On3. During an appearance on SportsCentre on Thursday, Cristobal explained the facets that he and his staff look for in players in the portal before recruitment.

“It all starts with what we do on a daily basis,” Mario Cristobal said. “The guys that come here know that they’re going to work, that they’re really going to invest a lot of time with each other, in each other, and also into the program. "It’s a relentless process, but it still comes to this man: You still have to make sure that you are choosing the right people. It all starts and ends with the right people.”

Mario Cristobal and his staff are not only masters of the transfer portal, but after recruiting a top-five recruitment class in 2024, they followed it up with the No. 14 high school class in the 2025 cycle, according to On3.

Edited by Cabral Opiyo