BAD BOY MOWERS PINSTRIPE BOWL: RUTGERS VS MIAMI

December 5, 2023

Mario Cristobal

Pat Hobbs

Mark Holtzman

Dan Radakovich

Greg Schiano

Yankee Stadium

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are here to talk about Thursday, December 28th, 2:15 on ESPN, Rutgers against Miami. Mark, take us through the selection process because I know you had a lot of teams in contention.

MARK HOLTZMAN: First of all, we've wanted Rutgers in the game for many years. They haven't been in our bowl game for a number of years. It's great that Coach Schiano is back, qualifying for a bowl game. We had our eyes on them for a long time, for many years.

Miami has played in our bowl game once before, was very successful. Since the beginning of the year when it looked like Coach Cristobal had really turned the program around, we really wanted Miami to play as well. They were our first pick on the other side.

It doesn't always work out the way you want it in life, and this time it did. We're very excited to have both of them.

I want to first of all welcome the head coaches who are on today with us as well as the athletic directors. Head coaches Greg Schiano from Rutgers, Mario Cristobal from Miami, and the athletic directors Pat Hobbs from Rutgers and Dan Radakovich from Miami.

It's great to be onboard with you and we look forward to a terrific month and game.

Believe it or not, it's the 13th year of the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. Hard to believe. Hard to believe. I wanted to thank first of all the Steinbrenner family. For those of you that don't know, George Steinbrenner in his early years was an assistant head coach at Purdue and Northwestern. After baseball, his first love was college football. He's smiling today that this bowl has grown the way it's grown. We appreciate the support of his entire family in considering this tradition.

Of course, team president Randy Levine. This game could not have started without Randy and could not continue without Randy. He's there to discuss it with me every day. He supports every initiative. This game could not have gone to the heights that it's gone to today if it wasn't for Randy. Then of course our title sponsor Bad Boy Mowers. Perfect fit with what we're trying to do. Of course, our television partner ESPN. They've been with us since the beginning and promote this game heavily.

Yankee Stadium is all about history. We've had so many great sporting events over the last hundred years at Yankee Stadium. It's an iconic stadium throughout the world.

Both schools, believe it or not, Miami and Rutgers, have been part of that history. Rutgers has played in our bowl, this will be their third time in our bowl. Previously they played against Iowa State, big win. They had a close game against Notre Dame. Now they're back.

Coach Schiano also won a regular-season game at Yankee Stadium. They're 2-1. Miami played Wisconsin. They were here five or six years ago. It's great to have them back.

It seems like everything we do at Yankee Stadium, there's so many storylines that really make the game very special. First of all, the storyline with Mario Cristobal and Greg Schiano. A lot of coaches go way back, and some of the coaches are good friends.

Coach Cristobal and Coach Schiano met in the late 1990s on Butch Davis' staff with the Miami Hurricanes. They obviously became close friends. From there obviously they went on to a lot of success. Coach Schiano being hired by Rutgers as I believe at that time the youngest Division I coach in the country. Coach Cristobal going on to head coaching at FIU, Temple, Oregon and now he's back at his alma mater, Miami. It's really a great story.

Coach Schiano, there's a personal relationship going way back. He's been a close friend of the Yankee organization. He was at Rutgers once for a while, brought the program back to prominence. They went through some hard times. Coach Schiano is back. Wouldn't you know it, within a few years they're back in prominence again. It wasn't easy. They had apparently the second toughest schedule in all Division I this year, yet they were still able to qualify for a bowl game.

Coach Schiano also would tell me there's a personal connection. When he was younger, he used to do a lot with his father Barry. They were at a lot of the Yankee playoff games with Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson. Those are some of the fondest memories he spent with his dad. There's a real connection there with coach.

Coach was hired actually by Bob Mulcahy, the old athletic director at Rutgers. Bob also was on the staff of the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl for many years and became a close friend and confidant of mine, as he was with Coach Schiano. There's a lot of complementary stuff there.

Coach Cristobal, I mean, he's pure Miami. He was on the '89 and '91 championship teams of the Hurricanes. Obviously he coached under Coach Schiano at Rutgers.

His team, you're talking a quality team. They finished strong, okay? They were at one point ranked up as high as 17 in the country this year. They were also in the top 25 for a while. Miami has done very well. We were following them the whole year.

Of course, the players. I mean, what a history on both sides. The Miami players might have gotten more notoriety in the NFL players like Vinny Testaverde, Bernie Kosar. Remember those from our day. Warren Sapp. They've had some terrific players. Michael Irvin.

You look at Rutgers, I think the embodiment of Rutgers is the guy we just watched on Monday Night Football, Isaiah Pacheco. He just keeping chopping. He was a low draft pick, and the guy has an incredible work ethic, Rutgers graduate. Look at him now. He's one of the best running backs in football. He credits a lot of that to what Coach Schiano did for him.

Rutgers has had many graduates go on to play in the NFL. Our good friend Marco Battaglia, Sanu, Brian Leonard, Devin McCourty. Rutgers has done very well in the NFL, too.

Currently you want to have star players in the game. Both schools had some players this year that really stood out. I'd just like to acknowledge a few of them.

On the Miami side, they had maybe one of the top receiving tandems in the country in Xavier Restepro and Jacolby George. Great story.

Then in addition to that, there's a very special story. They have a quarterback who is going to be starting this game. He was an all-city and all-state player at Cardinal Hayes High School. If that sounds familiar, it's in the Bronx, New York, on the Grand Concourse. Kudos to them, they won the city and state Catholic school championship. He's going to be playing in the game. He could be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation next year. Quite a story he's coming back to play on the turf, just a few miles from where he went to high school.

On the Rutgers's side, you have the number one rusher in the entire Big Ten, Kyle Monangai. That's an accomplishment. You have good running backs in the Big Ten.

At quarterback, I've been watching him because I live in New Jersey, watching him mature, Gavin Wimsatt has come a long way. He's dual-threat both as a runner and a passer. Fans should be looking to watch him, too.

There's going to be star power in the game, as well. It's really going to provide for what I think is a terrific matchup, one of the more compelling Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowls than we've had in a while.

THE MODERATOR: You've set the table for us. Now let's bring in some of the dignitaries that are with us. We'll start with Miami's vice president and athletic director, Dan Radakovich.

Dan, what does this mean to you to be playing in this Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl?

DAN RADAKOVICH: Thank you. Mark, it's great to see you again as we start in journey to the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. University of Miami is delighted to be a part of it. We're looking forward to spending the time between Christmas and New Year's in New York.

But it's been a good operation thus far. The guys inside the organization, Mark, as he said thank you to Randy, I want to do the same for the invitation on Sunday.

We're just delighted to be a part of this and looking forward to getting there and putting on a great football game against Rutgers University.

THE MODERATOR: Dan, thank you for that. We'll get to your head coach, Mario Cristobal.

Mario, there is that great connection besides Rutgers against Miami, Greg Schiano who of course you were a coach with. What does it mean for you to take this Miami team and continue that bowl pedigree for Miami?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: First and foremost, it's an honor to be a part of this bowl game, everyone that was involved in granting this opportunity, grateful to them.

With Coach Schiano, obviously he gave me my start, was the best mentor I've had in this business, always a great friend. I know on game day we'll be trying to knock each out. Aside from that, certainly him and his family from the moment I got in the coaching industry, he was a reason why it was able to actually happen.

For our team, we're growing and we're growing fast and developing and progressing. Certainly it was a priority to get Miami back on track and bringing in some great recruiting classes, developing our current players. There's been a lot of progress in that direction over the course of the last 18, 24 months. We look forward to continuing that.

It certainly starts with a great opportunity against a great football team like Rutgers. We're all looking forward to it.

THE MODERATOR: Mario, thank you.

Now to the Rutgers's side of things, their athletic director Pat Hobbs.

Pat, having that connection with Yankee Stadium, what do you think about this matchup?

PAT HOBBS: Couldn't be more excited. I grew up here in New Jersey. Like Greg, pretty early in life started going to Yankee games. Lifelong Yankee fan. Even had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch once, which was a lot of fun.

To be part of this, Mark, thank you. Eight years ago when I took this job, Mark said, We want to get you back to the Pinstripe Bowl. It look a little longer than we wanted, but we're here (smiling).

I thank the Yankee organization, particularly Randy and the Steinbrenner family. I did not know that about George's past in terms of football coaching. Doesn't surprise me.

You name some of those players, I think about again some of those great moments on the baseball side in Yankee Stadium. I was fortunate to be at Don Mattingly's first playoff game, which was pretty fun. The stadium was actually shaking.

I want to extend my congratulations to the University of Miami, to Dan Radakovich and Coach Cristobal. Listen, I know the job that you took over, coach, how hard that is. So we're really looking forward to a great contest on December 28th. Coach Schiano, some people say he's Greg Schiano 2.0. I always say he's Greg Schiano 4.0. That's developed.

Years now watching the culture he developed, how he built this program, the young men in the program, it's a testament to him, the staff that he's put together, to the great young kids that compete for us.

So to be in this bowl game is just incredibly exciting. Our fans aren't very far away so we're hoping to get a little home-field advantage if we can as we welcome and expect the Hurricanes to come up full force from Miami.

We're very, very excited. Again, I should mention sponsors are incredibly important, so thank you to Bad Boy Mowers, as well. Just excited and can't wait till the 28th.

THE MODERATOR: Pat, it's great that you have that personal connection with not only this bowl game but Yankee Stadium as well.

Another guy who has that, Greg Schiano, the head coach of Rutgers. Greg, what does it mean for you to be back in this bowl game?

GREG SCHIANO: First all, I want to thank the Yankee organization and Bad Boy Mowers for the opportunity to get back to a bowl game. It's really exciting for us. It's a testament to the work that the players put in. They're the ones who get us here.

Coaches, we try to direct and help. My whole thing is equip and inspire. You have to have the right guys that want to be equipped and want to be inspired, and we do. My congratulations is out to them, the University of Miami. What a great opponent to have in the bowl game.

Again, Mario said it. I'm in bad shape. He said we're going to knock each other out. If you've ever seen Mario and ever seen him train, I'm not having any chance of knocking him out. I'm in big trouble right now (smiling).

We're going to have some fun and it's going to be a great contest. Two really good programs that I think are on the rise, on their way back. It should be real exciting.

You're right, there's so many connections to Yankee Stadium, to the Yankees. Growing up my late father, we used to watch the Yankee games in my basement. A big bag of peanuts watching the Yankee game.

Having the opportunity to be at the game when Reggie hit three homers, the three first-pitch homers. When Pat said the stadium was shaking, the stadium was shaking. We were three rows from the top, so it would have been a big fall. Really some great, great memories.

To be able to play in such a prestigious bowl in our backyard is a bonus. I want to congratulate everyone involved. I can remember going to the first Pinstripe Bowl back when I was here I think it was 2011. What a great experience. Our players, our coaches, our family, our fans, everybody had. I'm looking forward to it. Can't wait to get started.

THE MODERATOR: Greg, thank you.

I love asking all the time, it's such an experience coming to New York around the holidays. What's in store for the players and the coaches, Mark?

MARK HOLTZMAN: It's a lot of the same stuff that's been so special and successful.

We're the Yankees. We always add one or two new twists. One new twist that we're going to have is actually going to be a field goal contest at halftime where there's going to be one representative, one kid from Rutgers, Rutgers picks, one kid from Miami. They're going to compete for scholarship money funded by Bad Boy Mowers. It's a significant amount. They both get $5,000 just for appearing. They get their choice of where they want to kick the field goal from. They can kick it from the five yard line and potentially make $10,000. They could go from the 10 yard line and potentially make $20,000. Then if they really feel adventurous, they can kick from the 20 yard line and make $35,000.

THE MODERATOR: Something tells me you're going for the long field goal, is that right?

MARK HOLTZMAN: Absolutely. I think both schools teach their kids to go for it. I think the kids are going to go for it.

It will be exciting. The kids will be behind it in the sections and everybody rooting for their own kid to do it. I hope they both do it. Everyone is a winner here because the kids get something.

Bad Boy Mowers came up with the idea. I give them a lot of credit.

THE MODERATOR: Something to look forward to at halftime. You mentioned some of the stars are playing in this game. You heard from Greg and Mario about how exciting that personal connection is. They're not going to physically beat up on each other, but they want their teams to do that.

MARK HOLTZMAN: It sounds like if they tried to, Mario would win. I'll discuss that with Greg later (smiling).

We're going to do all the fun stuff and all the charity stuff that makes our bowl special. I mean, we're going to have the appearance, the kids pediatric area at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. We've going to do the Chalk Talk for the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club.

On Christmas night we're taking all the kids and the families to Radio City Music Hall. That's obviously a special evening. You get to see the iconic Rockettes. We're ringing the bell at the Stock Exchange. There's only about 200 million people worldwide that see the ringing of the bell. We'll bring both coaches, athletic directors, team captains to ring the bell. It's great exposure for the players and the schools. Not only the athletic programs and the football teams, but the schools as a brand to get that kind of exposure throughout the world on CNBC.

Of course, we're going to One World Observatory. Every year we want this to be educational for the kids, too. We take them to the 9/11 Memorial. With some of the kids, it's the first time they've ever been to New York City. We think it's even important. Believe it or not, most of these kids were not born when 9/11 occurred. Hard to believe that the years have gone on so quickly. We're going to take them there, too. The night before the game, the Empire State Building is going to be lit up in the two schools' colors.

At a place called Spin in Midtown, we're taking both schools and there's going to be a ping-pong contest and a few other athletic contests.

We're making everything close so you can walk. We've learned. We try to make some improvements over the years.

Then, of course, we're going to take the wives, a lot of stuff for the wives, taking them for a special lunch at Tavern on the Green. Once again, there's going to be very nice gift bags for everyone.

We make it special. I think one of the things which really separates us from a lot of bowls is all the stuff we do do for the families and the wives. We will continue to do that.

We're looking forward to a great week. Once again we have the Sheraton and the Hilton as our two hotels, two iconic New York hotels. We're very excited. It's going to be a special week.

THE MODERATOR: That is a full week. Comes to a head Thursday the 28th, 2:15 on ESPN, Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, Rutgers against Miami.

We'll go ahead with questions for the athletic directors, head coaches and potentially Mark as well.

Q. Mark talked about Yankee Stadium and New York. I wanted to ask Greg and Mario, what is the magic of this experience for your programs, New York City during the holiday season, Yankee Stadium?

GREG SCHIANO: I think you know it will be a great time for our families, for our players, for our staff, for everybody that's involved in the game. There's no place like New York around the Christmas holiday.

Then throw in the great part of playing in such a great bowl game, it doesn't get a lot better than that. We're certainly looking forward to it.

When you have an opponent like University of Miami, it's icing on the cake.

MARIO CRISTOBAL: I echo Coach Schiano's sentiments. For our players it's such a different and new experience. They obviously know the legendary status of where we'll be playing at and the caliber of the great opponent we have in Rutgers.

We have a couple players from the Northeast as well. All in all, when it was announced, the excitement was awesome in our place. For them, a great experience, another opportunity to play game number 13. All in all, just an incredible opportunity.

Q. Mario, so far it looks like a half dozen players from the team have gone do the portal. First, do you expect more players to go into the portal? Among the players to have announced for the NFL Draft, do you know if they expect to play in the bowl game?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: I expect a handful of guys to go pro. We certainly have to keep supplementing our roster and find ways to sign a certain number of members from the 2024 class, from high school and the portal. Hopefully we'll achieve that number and be able to make that room on our roster and find opportunities for guys on our roster to find a place that suits them and their future and their plans.

I think it's very fluid. I think we have really good plan for it. Happy for the guys coming in. Wishing well for the guys that are on their way to another opportunity.

Q. I was hoping that you could answer a question about Rutgers's running back Kyle Monangai. I specifically want to know what you think of his style and what makes him a special player?

GREG SCHIANO: Are you asking me or Mario?

Q. Both of you. Mostly Mario if he's had time to watch him.

MARIO CRISTOBAL: I love being in the Northeast again because the Northeast I'm Mario. Down in Miami I'm Mario. I'm very excited about that (smiling).

What can you say about him? He does it all. An every-down back. Power, speed, tremendous balance. Runs behind his pads. Excellent in protection. Catches the ball really well. Guards after contact. You're not bringing him down, makes the first guy miss. Natural football player. I'm sure he's a tremendous team leader and certainly one of the best in the country.

Q. Could you both speak about the opportunity for the program. You both have spoken about steady improvement and return to prominence for Rutgers football. Talk about how big this is going to be for the program.

PAT HOBBS: It's like the next step, right? When coach came back, the program obviously had tremendous challenges. As coach says, this is a developmental program. It's getting really good young men in here, building them up, and watching their growth not just athletically but their maturity and all those things are really important.

This was a really big step this year for our program. Couldn't be happier for the young men who are in our program. We're building, right? As coach says, keep chopping. I was there when coach came back. He explained what that meant, sort of the focus that you have to bring every day. That's where we are now. We're a program with focus. We're a program with leadership in the locker room. Really, really fine young men.

I get to talk to them before games sometimes, but always after the game. Win or lose, they're just unbelievable. So now our fans are really excited. I think we're competitive. Even in the games that we lost this year, fans saw we're really a competitive program. We believe we can beat anybody in the country. Look, you got a tremendous opponent who is very similar I think in the way Mario builds his program as well.

Looking forward to the contest. It's another step as we build this program back to the same prominence that Greg had it when he was here the first time.

GREG SCHIANO: I think Pat really described it well. We have a lot of young men in our program that are fully committed to building something special in New Jersey at Rutgers.

We don't claim to be like everybody else. We try to do things that maybe are a little different, but they're unique to us. I think our team, our staff, our fans, we embrace that. It's exciting. As Pat said, it's a stop along the way.

Up here in New Jersey, everybody goes on the Garden State Parkway. Every single mile there's a mile marker. As I told the team, becoming bowl eligible, we're passing one of those mile markers. It's not our exit. We'll keep cruising along.

We have a great opponent in the University of Miami, that is going to be a great challenge. I know how Mario Cristobal will prepare his team. They'll be tough, resilient. It's going to be a knock-down, drag-out fight at Yankee Stadium. That's fun. I think both our teams and both the staffs, that it's kind of how we're built. It should be an exciting game.

Q. Mario, as far as Jacurri Brown goes, what would you like to see from him in the bowl game? How difficult might it be for him when he hasn't played all season? Do you expect to see him back next season?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: He's played a lot of football throughout the course of his high school career. He's been playing football since he's been knee-high. We expect him to play his very best, and that's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

He's excited about the opportunity. He'll be well-prepared. His only focus is this football game and this team. Nothing that's happened before, nothing after. He has the confidence of his teammates and the entire coaching staff.

Q. Mario, as far as the transfer portal goes, you talked a little bit about it, are you hoping to add more than one quarterback from the portal? Do you feel like you're close to adding at least one?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: As you know, we don't discuss personnel stuff openly with the media. It's just not policy.

We have a great plan in place. We certainly built the roster in a short amount of time to the level and the expectation, the caliber of what Miami football should look like.

That being said, we will continue to do so. We feel extremely confident that by the end of the recruiting cycle, we'll be exactly where we need to be.

Q. Greg, I wanted to ask you, getting to this point, getting the program to where it is, made a little bit more difficult and challenging because you play in a tough conference with the second toughest strength of schedule this year in the country, is it more rewarding that the team is battle-tested? Speak to the challenges of going through the grind you did this year?

GREG SCHIANO: That's a great question.

I mean, it is. The Big Ten East, which will be dissolved after this year, we'll have one big conference, but the Big Ten East to me was the hardest division in college football, the toughest division. Week in, week out, you're in a slugfest. It really did help our team grow.

We had opportunities, Pat mentioned it, where we were really competitive in games that quite honestly before we weren't competitive. Again, that's another mile marker.

We're a developmental program. We're going to bring in quality young men who love football, then we're going to build them and build them and build them. That's how we did it when we were here the first time. This is how we're going to do it this time. It's a process.

I do think when you play a schedule that is as challenging as the one we did, it definitely helps you grow. It speeds up your growth. But you have to have resilient guys or it can crush you. It didn't.

We were a little beat up at the end of the year, that's for sure. We need this little break here to get well. We will. Young guys will get some valuable reps. That's one of the things that's so important when you're building a program, to have the opportunity to get these practices for your young players, initially to get a lot of work. As you get closer to the game for your established players then to really start to get into game mode.

It's an interesting process. It's one that our guys have not experienced. I think it's really good for them to go through this.

Q. Coach Cristobal, I wanted to ask about your relationship with Coach Schiano. You mentioned earlier he was basically a mentor, is a mentor, and you're forever grateful. Can you explain that relationship that you have. Coach Schiano, if you could follow and kind of describe your relationship with Coach Cristobal over the years.

MARIO CRISTOBAL: I actually had the honor of picking him up at the airport when he was interviewing to be a defensive coordinator at Miami. Instantly he was the hardest worker in the building. It's someone I patterned my habits after. Someone that was a rising star in the profession. When he got this opportunity at Rutgers, he afforded me the opportunity which was a tremendous blessing and honor.

Always found a way to teach. When you're a head coach, you're really, really busy, you sometimes forget one of your major obligations is to develop the people under you. He always just found a way to push and challenge me, to help me develop. Never held back. I appreciated that.

I was a south Florida kid. To be up in the Northeast and away, that was new, that was different for me. Whether it be my family visiting, my brother coming into town, he was just always really gracious. My mom, may she rest in peace, always, always would ask and appreciates Coach Schiano for everything that he always did for myself and the way he treated my family.

Consummate professional, unbelievable grinder, teacher, whatnot. I could go on and on and on. Certainly someone who I'll forever be indebted to for just about everything career-wise and beyond.

Q. Obviously the focus right now is the game on the 28th. When you look ahead to the 2024 season, what is your hope of what your teams will have gotten from that experience?

GREG SCHIANO: I think 2024 feels like a long way away, but you know it's going to be here upon us quickly.

Our focus is obviously to get ready to go compete in this game. But these first practices at the beginning of our preparation are so important for the development of our younger players that haven't had a lot of opportunities, that haven't played very much in games.

We've had two practices, and it's been great. Harken back to what Mario was saying. The opportunity to be a teacher, when there isn't a game coming up on Saturday, to be able to stop the practice with the young players and really talk about, This is what we're doing here, this is what we're trying to get accomplished. Some things that might seem to the older players, Yeah, no kidding, coach. To the younger players, they haven't heard it yet, they haven't seen it yet. It's a great opportunity.

The tough part is you're recruiting during that part, it's the transfer portal, NIL, all the things that go into being a head coach. But to me there's absolutely no other way to have it. As I said to our staff, the month of December, when you're bowl eligible, is a grind, but it's one that if you're doing it, it means you're program is going in the right direction.

MARIO CRISTOBAL: We feel the same way. All focus is on this opportunity and everything that comes with it.

You rarely have time with your players when there aren't a ton of academic obligations. As they wrap their final exams now, similar to the end of the summer, you have their attention.

You're starting to see guys get opportunities they didn't have throughout the course of the year. Guys go to the NFL, guys opt not to play, guys in the portal. You start to realize these are guys that they might have been or seem like they were waiting their turn, they're good football players. Now they're going to get a chance to play and go out there and perform at a high level.

You want to make sure they get every ounce of what you have as a coach. It's also a great time for the team to spend time around each other, to understand that they've been playing football since they were knee-high, and that football is supposed to be fun. This is supposed to be a grind, it's supposed to be fun, an opportunity to recognize, and always looking for progress. We just want to keep getting better and just keep the focus on us, just continuing to progress towards what we want to be.

Q. Greg, you played in the Pinstripe Bowl before you left for the NFL. What do you remember most about that experience? Can you talk about what really sticks out in your mind regarding that experience.

GREG SCHIANO: Well, first off, I remember it being a great experience for, like I said, everyone involved in the program, players, coaches, families. The Yankees just do an incredible job.

I remember we had a really challenging opponent in Iowa State. It was a great game. I remember the end of it when we were awarded the trophy, and Eric LaGrand had just been injured the year before. Being able to recognize him. He was sitting up in the box, being able to recognize him, acknowledge him, that meant a lot to me. Obviously having no idea what the future held, it was really a special moment.

Q. Greg, your thoughts about what it was like working in Miami and how it helped you recruit the area. Mario, the opposite, what was it like for you working at Rutgers and how it's helped you?

GREG SCHIANO: I owe a ton to Butch Davis who hired me at the University of Miami. Mario reminds me he picked me up. I forgot that.

I knew immediately when I met Mario that this was a future star. I learned a ton about being a head football coach from Butch. He involved me in so many things that oftentimes you don't get involved in as a defensive coordinator or as an assistant coach. It prepared me for the opportunity that when it came, I thought I was much better prepared than I would have been otherwise.

But I do look back at the time, meeting Mario in south Florida, and knowing that I wanted to bring him with me. It wasn't easy prying him out of there. You would think it's a full-time job. He was so close. He had and has one of the greatest families. I never got to meet his dad, but I heard so much about him from his brother Lou and him. Meeting his mother, just a tremendous woman.

We've kind of grown together, right? We've been through some tough times, some good times. He's always a guy that I looked at. I knew when I got him, he was the best coach on my coaching staff. Whatever he was, 25 years old, 26 years old. I trust him blind. There's not a lot of people I trust in this world. That to me is the biggest thing.

Again, we're going to have to compete. We compete in recruiting. We compete in many ways. I love him. He knows that. I can't wait to see his brother Lou. He's like family to me. I know my dad, who passed away this spring, he's looking down, he's excited for Mario, Rutgers, me.

In life you meet people, you can probably count on one hand people that you truly trust, truly admire. Mario Cristobal is one of those guys.

Truth be told, he laid a huge part of this foundation. You look back at what he did in the three years he was here, my goodness. He was relentless. He was my partner. He was a guy that, again, I trusted with anything. Now to be going against him...

I was so proud when he became a head coach. Went to Oregon, did a great job. Then to go back to the University of Miami which I know he loves, right? That's who he is. The city of Miami, where he grew up, where his family is. To be back there for him, it's very similar for me to be back in New Jersey where my family is, an area that I love.

I'm so happy for him. It's going to be in that time when we compete on the field special. But two great competitors, two great programs. I just can't wait. A lot of it for me started down at the University of Miami.

MARIO CRISTOBAL: I mean, Rutgers was an unbelievable experience. When coach brought me up there, I didn't know anything. Checked into the Embassy Suites with a large pizza, a whole milk, a bottle, and said, I'll see you at 5 a.m. tomorrow.

The work ethic, I learned a work ethic to a different level from Coach Schiano. It was something that I think other people couldn't fathom. The detail that went into recruiting. The detail that went into game planning. Drawing up first and second down football, in the field zone versus red zone and third down, the details that went with it and how to teach it. He taught me how to teach. He even afforded me the opportunity to have a camera set up so I could learn and watch myself teach before I presented the next day to our players.

He's a vocational teacher. This is not a job, it's not just an occupation, this is a way of life. The way that Coach Schiano approached that job, that opportunity over there at Rutgers, brought me along, we all learned from him. That was an opportunity where it required a program to go from 1-11 to winning three games, five games, 10-win season, national prominence. It was absolutely incredible.

I was there for a small part of it. I loved it. I loved the energy and the enthusiasm. The people of New Jersey, I have family in New Jersey in Union City. That was a natural fit up there and whatnot.

I can go on forever and ever. The learning processes, the experiences, the people. To be part of what it truly is to a build a program was invaluable. There's no way to ever receive an education like that. Was able to be a part of that in serving under Coach Schiano at Rutgers.

Q. Dan, have you had a chance to review Charlie Baker's proposal that came out today regarding a new FBS subdivision where basically teams would be able to pay athletes directly through NIL, through trust funds for education? What are your thoughts? Is Miami interested in that kind of NCAA setup?

DAN RADAKOVICH: I've had a brief opportunity to review it. It just came over slightly earlier than this call did.

In looking at it, there were some things and some themes that President Baker talked about previously about giving more autonomy to the schools, especially the higher-resource schools to be able to control their own destiny, whether it's being able to do that educational trust fund, all the while making sure that we're abiding with Title IX at the same time, which is a very important circumstances.

I think being able to invest and have the schools have the opportunity to do this is really refreshing coming from the NCAA because for so many years it had been more of a least common denominator approach to how they put rules in. I think this opportunity and the discourse that will happen now that this is out front, we'll have opportunity to talk through it and move ahead, I think it's going to be really good for college athletics.

We're excited to be a part of it. We will continue to be at a high level involved in these conversations.

Q. Mario, this time of year with recruiting and signing day coming up, transfer portal, how tough is it to concentrate on bowl preparation? How many practices can you fit in? How do you make that work?

MARIO CRISTOBAL: I'm glad that we're on here with Coach Schiano. One of the best things he taught me was anytime you have situations like this that arise, this time period reflects it. January is the most difficult challenging time for head coaches. There's coaches to replace sometimes, players like you mentioned in the portal, whatnot.

You look at it for what it really is. Every single one of these opportunities, whether it be a defection, someone you asked to move on, someone declaring for the draft, all it should be in everybody's mind is an opportunity to upgrade. That's what he taught me. That's how we look at it. I think what was an ominous cloud early when this portal came on, now it's an exciting time.

In terms of focusing on it, I don't think it is. You have 24 hours in a day, and you use every hour that you possibly can. I mean, I don't think it's difficult. Is it challenging with the time constraints of being on the road and planes, trains and automobiles? I get that. But we do this because we love it. We love everything that comes with it. There's no complaining. We just attack it.

Q. Pat, similar question that was asked to Dan, if you've been able to review the proposal, whatever thoughts you have on it?

PAT HOBBS: I've just taken a brief look at it. What I'll say is we need rules, right? We need a set of rules. We need to come up with a system that works. This is a proposal for the better-resource schools.

We'll take a look at it. Interested to hear what our commissioner Tony Pettiti says about it.

Here at Rutgers, probably at Miami as well, we work every day to see how we can help our student-athletes, how can we provide for them in ways that grow them and prepare them for life both during football and after football.

There's a lot of attention on this. We have a lot of different bills out there. We have state involved in it. I think if this is what kicks off the conversation of let's finally figure out the best way to move forward in a way that takes care of our student-athletes very well, allows us to be competitive across our conferences, then it's all for the good.

I thinks it's a conversation starter, so I'm glad he put something out.

Q. You both talked about teaching. As you look to the experiences around New York, you were both working in the area on September 11th, what is that experience like of getting to share that with the players on your team?

GREG SCHIANO: Mario was here with us. I'll never forget it. It was an ominous day. We were game planning. I was in the defensive room game planning. One of the assistants stuck their head in and said a small plane hit one of the towers. 10 or 12 minutes later we knew it was no small plane.

Because of where we were located, we were the first game to cancel for that weekend. Obviously, everything got canceled.

Our players, there were a couple of our players that for some time couldn't locate their parents. It was really scary.

I remember getting everybody together as a team. We had just gotten here, it was our first season. The players wanted to go out because they didn't want to sit around and look at each other.

Even though we knew we weren't playing, we went out and practiced. It was ominous. From our practice field, you could see the smoke on the horizon.

I think when you harken back, it was such a different time. Our players weren't born. Every anniversary of 9/11, that week, I always show a small video to our team, just being that we are here in this location, and share it with them.

I'll do that again. We get to go to the Memorial. Before we do that I'll share that with our squad again just to kind of inform them and educate them about exactly what happened that day.

I'll tell you what. I lost a lot of people that I know from that tragic day, having grown up here in New Jersey, so many people that worked in New York City. It leaves an indelible mark.

We did something in the game against Syracuse a couple years ago that was played on September 11th. We had a special uniform that commemorated all those that were lost in 9/11. We were able to give those, I think 37 Rutgers alums lost in 9/11, we were able to reach 15 or 17 of them. We were able to put their names on our helmet. We gave one of the commemorative jerseys to each one of the families. Just to get back the response, how much it meant to them.

It was a very tough time. As time goes on, certainly you move on in life. I think for those people who lost family members, that was a special, special thing to receive that jersey.

Yeah, there's still a lot of ties being here in the Northeast, being in New Jersey.

MARIO CRISTOBAL: I don't know if I can articulate the confusion, the feelings that came with that day. The opportunity to have our team go down. I spent a week there with my family, by the way, this past summer, took my kids 12 and 13 down there. It hit them. I never saw my kids react to anything as what they did when we saw the Memorial, watched the videos, walked through the museum.

It's so important for our players to understand the more recent events in our history, to understand what really goes on outside of our bubble, our football bubble, what really goes on in the world.

When they see a person like we did earlier this morning, our person that was helping us get here, someone that serves in the military, the importance of letting them know how grateful we are for their service because what our generation has seen and has experienced certainly was, I mean, what can I say, some of that we hope to never, ever see again, but it's the reality of the world.

Our players need to understand that that is a day in history that forever we have to remember, honor those that unfortunately fell that day. We keep them always in our hearts and thoughts and prayers with their families.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen, for joining us. We certainly appreciate it. We look forward to seeing you again Thursday, the 28th of December, 2:15 on ESPN, the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, Rutgers pitted against Miami. Look forward to seeing you that week and day for the game.