Riding the high of Miami’s Week 1 win, Mario Cristobal joined The Pat McAfee Show and was asked about a familiar name from his playing days: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
"He's a guy that walked in doing 315 for 20 on the bench press, just kind of like a walking bicep. Just a monster physique, but really quiet, really reserved, and a great player. A great great player. We we were loaded, man. Even back then, great players had to wait their turn and whatnot, but he was always a great teammate, great player."Mario Cristobal
Johnson’s football resume at Miami is modest but meaningful. From 1990–93, he appeared in 39 games (1 start) with 77 tackles and 4.5 sacks, contributing on teams that won the 1991 national title and stocked the NFL with front-seven stars. The former defensive tackle has never been shy about crediting Miami — and its coaches — for shaping him.
In 2007, Johnson and then-wife Dany Garcia made a $1 million gift to renovate Miami’s football facilities; the program named its locker room in his honor. More recently, Johnson’s energy-drink brand ZOA launched an NIL initiative — “The Rock’s Warriors” — that included Miami safety Kamren Kinchens among its inaugural seven athletes, keeping the pipeline between one of UM’s most famous alumni and current players very much alive.
Cristobal was an offensive tackle at Miami and a four-year letterwinner (1988–92) under Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson. He was a starter/rotation lineman on two national championship teams (1989, 1991) and was a part of bowl trips that included the 1990 Sugar (’89 title), 1991 Cotton, 1992 Orange (’91 title) and 1993 Sugar. Cristobal was first-team All–Big East (1992) and signed as a Denver Broncos undrafted free agent (1994), then played two seasons for NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals (1995–96) before moving into coaching.