An ESPN analyst was a guest this week on WCCP 105.5 FM The Roar and discussed the hype around Miami and new head coach Mario Cristobal, and what the potential re-emergence of the Hurricanes as a nationally relevant college football program might mean for the ACC and Clemson moving forward.
ESPN’s Roy Philpott believes things are looking up for Miami with Cristobal now in charge.
“There is a lot of buzz surrounding Mario Cristobal and Miami,” Philpott said in an interview with Kelly Gramlich on The Roar. “Now, it’s taking him a little bit of time to put that staff together. That’s generated a lot of conversation behind the scenes. But I think that as you look around at schools that have recruited Florida, the state of Florida, with a lot of success the last 10 to 15 years … Because Miami has just stunk and Miami has been without an identity and Miami has been without a quality head coach for any consistent period of time.
“Coach (Mark) Richt did it for a year or two, it was good. But it wasn’t what it was when Larry Coker, Dennis Erickson and Jimmy Johnson were doing their thing. Mario Cristobal at Miami, it feels like to me that legitimately they’re about to be back on the football map.”
If that’s the case, Philpott says it’s a good thing for the conference, especially from a financial and exposure standpoint.
“If you’re a fan of Clemson, if you’re a fan of the ACC, you’re looking at this from a twofold approach,” he said. “One, the league needs it. The conference needs it. If you’re talking about making up revenue gaps and generating more cash and more eyeballs and more television sets and that kind of thing, you need another brand to step up within the league, and you’re looking at potentially conference expansion somewhere down the line where you can renogiate and get a bigger deal. Again, that starts to maybe help close revenue gaps.”
On the other hand, Philpott wonders if Cristobal’s presence at Miami — and to a lesser extent, Billy Napier taking over as Florida’s new head coach — will negatively impact Clemson’s recruiting efforts in the Sunshine State, with what he sees as a “perfect storm” coming together at The U with Cristobal and new athletic director Dan Radakovich.
“From a Clemson perspective, maybe the downside is will you have as much success in Florida now with Mario Cristobal and with Billy Napier and what they’re going to try to do to recruit better,” Philpott said. “Florida’s got a long way to go in that regard with their talent. Miami, I don’t know if it’s quite as far.
“So that, to me, is something to watch in how quickly will a good coach like Mario Cristobal with credentials who can recruit, ties to the area, loves it, wants to be there … There’s talk of an on-campus stadium, you’ve got Dan Radakovich there who Clemson fans certainly understand what he brings to the table. All of that coming together, I think is a perfect storm for Miami.”
Philpott, though, doesn’t expect the powerhouse program that Dabo Swinney has built at Clemson to fall off.
But he thinks Miami is on the rise and that the ACC is trending toward becoming a Clemson, Miami conference as this decade continues.
“So if we look ahead to the future five to 10 years, can Clemson stay where it has? My guess there is yes,” Philpott said. “And then who else is getting set to emerge? Does this become a Clemson, Miami conference over the course of the rest of this decade? My educated hunch would be yes, and that brings more stature and prestige to the ACC in football, which is something I think the league really needs right now. And they’re getting closer to that. I think they’re working towards that, and there’s a chance that could happen here in the next couple of seasons.”
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