LOOK: Mario Cristobal sends thank you note to pair of NFL stars for stopping by Miami

On3 imageby:Barkley Truax05/09/22

BarkleyTruax

Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal welcomed All-Pro NFL edge rushers and brothers, JJ Watt and TJ Watt to the Hurricanes’ facility Monday morning. Despite both Watt brothers attended Wisconsin, but it was all love for the new ‘Canes head coach on social media after the fact.

“HONORED TO MEET [TJ Watt] [JJ Watt] ELITE COMPETITORS & HUMAN BEINGS!!! Thank you for your time! Enjoy MIAMI!” Cristobal wrote on Twitter.

TJ Watt starred on the defensive side of the ball for the Pittsburgh Steelers, bringing him into the Defensive Player of the Year and MVP conversation, ultimately winning 2021 NFL DOPY honors. While Steelers’ offense struggled under a soon-to-be retired Ben Roethlisberger, Watt battled through injuries the entire season on his way to an NFL record-tying 22.5 sacks. He matched Michael Strahan’s 2001 mark in the final week.

In addition, Watt tallied 64 tackles, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries with seven pass deflections over 15 games. His 21 tackles for loss and 39 quarterback hits also ranked among the league’s best.

The former Wisconsin star – and brother of three-time Defensive Player of the Year JJ Watt – beat out perineal winner Aaron Donald, who starred again for the Los Angeles Rams on the defensive line. He also beat the pair of Dallas Cowboys defensive stars Trevon Diggs and Micah Parsons, who broke out as two of the NFL’s best young defenders during the 2021 season.

Cristobal is hoping some of that Watt defensive magic rubs off on the Hurricanes program, and Miami can finally find the success that Cristobal was a player from 1989-1992, and that Miami as a whole hasn’t had since the early 2000’s.

Miami used to be a perennial national championship in the late 1980s up until the early 2000s. In recent years, though, the Hurricanes have fallen off a bit as other powers across the nation have risen. Now, Cristobal’s goal is to not just to close the gap, but to create an entirely new one with Miami at the top.

“I guess the best way to put it in perspective is that when everything was even, Miami was dominating the college football world,” Cristobal said, via ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “Then other places started investing a lot, and Miami had fallen away behind. So that’s where there became a gap.

“Now that the gap is being closed completely, and we’re now going to jump ahead and create our own gap, that to me speaks very strongly. Miami, with better resources than just about everybody, will place itself in a very unique place in college football once again.”