The Rundown Take
Two More Years? U Talk Sets the Clock on Mario Cristobal While Miami Basketball Chases History
With both Miami basketball programs alive in their Final Fours, Devin and Larry Frank Jr. opened with well-earned hoops pride before circling back to football — a new linebackers coach, a Mario Cristobal soundbite that did not sit right with the room, and an extended debate about whether anyone should be handed a starting job in spring ball.
Key Takeaways
- New linebackers coach Derek Nicholson, 36, gets praise for his age and recent Power Five experience at Louisville, with the panel expecting better player-coach chemistry than an older staff could offer.
- Larry Frank sets a two-year, one-more-recruiting-class window for Cristobal to show real results.
- The panel takes issue with Cristobal saying the offense is "85 percent installed" this early in spring, calling it premature given injuries and a roster still getting acclimated to a new staff.
- Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry's comment that every job will be a daily competition draws approval from the room.
- Caller Lakers All Day makes an extended case for Jacurri Brown over Tyler Van Dyke as QB1, based on his mobility and a strong showing in relief last season.
The Linebacker Room Gets a New Voice
Larry Frank broke down Nicholson's résumé — snaps at Florida State, stops at Southern Miss, Alabama State and Louisville — and argued his relative youth matters because he is close enough to the modern game to relate to his players. The panel singled out Wesley Bissainthe as the linebacker most likely to take the next step under the new staff, drawing a comparison to how last year's breakout safety, Cam, emerged from nowhere to become an All-American, while also naming Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain as breakout candidates on the defensive line.
Open Competition or Coronation?
The night's real debate centered on a Cristobal interview clip in which he called Van Dyke and new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson a "perfect match." Larry Frank pushed back hard, arguing spring ball exists to measure players and coach fundamentals, not to install a finished playbook around a presumptive starter before fall camp even begins. Caller Lakers All Day took it further, arguing Jacurri Brown's mobility fits Dawson's system better than Van Dyke's pocket-passer style, and that no job — quarterback included — should be handed out this early.
"You don't build playbooks in the spring... Spring is basically a measurement. You're getting everybody loose, getting them acclimated to the coaches. If you're installing plays and you're overlooking the fundamentals of getting acclimated, I got a problem with that."
The show closed on a high note, with the panel sending love to Miami basketball ahead of its Final Four matchup and hoping the "winning ways" carry over to football season.