Miami coach Mario Cristobal was “excited” to begin his first spring practice as the Hurricanes’ head coach on Monday.

Cristobal spoke with reporters on Monday afternoon, just shy of 100 days since he was hired to be Miami’s head coach. He was reflective on his journey to this point and expressed excitement about the coming weeks.

“It still hasn’t set in. But what did set in is that this journey began 25 years ago,” Cristobal said. “That first meeting with coach [Butch] Davis upstairs, that led to this opportunity. So yeah, the excitement is through the roof and through the stratosphere to be able to get after it. I always keep it in mind that we’ve got to teach, and teach and teach and then teach some more.”

Here’s video of Cristobal’s remarks:

Cristobal began his coaching career with Miami as a graduate assistant from 1998-2000 under then-head coach Butch Davis. Cristobal, of course, also played for the Hurricanes from 1989-2002 and is a Miami native.

Since arriving back in December, Cristobal has already covered a lot of ground. He’s hired notable assistant coaches such as offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, co-defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and co-defensive coordinator Charlie Strong.

Cristobal also led the charge to rebuild Miami’s 2022 recruiting class, which ended up ranking No. 15 nationally according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

Six prospects from Miami’s 2022 class are already on campus and will practice with the Hurricanes this spring. Miami returns several key players — including star quarterback Tyler Van Dyke — from a team that built momentum down the stretch of last season.

Miami’s spring game is on April 16.