Mario Cristobal still needs to hire an offensive coordinator and figure out if that person is going to double as the quarterbacks coach or receivers coach.

He has some time. Spring football doesn’t start until March 4, and the spring game is scheduled for April 14.

Cristobal, as Miami fans learned a year ago, likes to take his time before hiring assistants — and announcing he’s moved on from them. Whoever becomes the Hurricanes’ next offensive coordinator should know this: Make the playbook easily digestible, like Rhett Lashlee did.

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“(Lashlee’s) playbook was simpler and allowed players to play faster,” one former Hurricane offensive starter told The Athletic recently. “I just don’t think Coach (Josh) Gattis’ playbook was set up to be successful in one year. It needs a specific skill type in the players. I think it needed a couple years for everybody to fully understand it. Because if everybody doesn’t fully understand their assignment, it’s not going to work.”

Miami ranked 97th nationally in 2022 in scoring at 23.6 points per game. You can point to injuries, prior recruiting mistakes and not enough big-play receivers as excuses. Or, you could point to Miami’s 34-point scoring averages in 2020 and 2021 and just say Lashlee, now SMU’s head coach, had the right approach.

Either way, Cristobal has flipped this roster significantly since the end of his 5-7 debut.

Close to 30 players have departed either because their eligibility ran out or because they entered the transfer portal (19). Fifteen of those departures started at least one game last season, and seven (Will Mallory, DJ Scaife, John Campbell Jr., Darrell Jackson Jr., Mitchell Agude, Al Blades Jr. and DJ Ivey) started at least six games.

As of Feb. 1, Miami has signed 25 high school recruits (17 blue-chippers) and added eight transfers with 158 career starts between them.

Here’s how we rank the top 50 players on the roster (18 of the top 30 were signed after Cristobal became coach):

1. Kamren Kinchens, S, third-year junior (1,260 career snaps): The All-American led the ACC with six interceptions and led the team with 59 tackles. He’s started 17 games over his first two seasons.

2. Tyler Van Dyke, QB, fourth-year junior (1,113 career snaps): The 2021 ACC Rookie of the Year started nine games last season and tried to play through a shoulder injury late in the year, completing 63.2 percent of his passes for 1,835 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. Miami’s next offensive coordinator needs to open up the passing game and let Van Dyke, who is 9-9 as Miami’s starter, flourish.

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3. Akheem Mesidor, DE, fourth-year sophomore (1,247 career snaps): The 2022 West Virginia transfer tied for seventh in the ACC with seven sacks and Miami’s team lead with 10.5 tackles for loss while making nine starts. He’s made 24 college starts and has 16.5 sacks over three seasons.

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— John H. Ruiz, CEO LifeWallet and Attorney at Law (@JohnHRuiz) January 24, 2023

4. Javion Cohen, OL, fourth-year junior (1,624 career snaps): The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Alabama transfer made 25 starts at left guard for the Crimson Tide over the last two seasons and should immediately slot into a starting role for the Hurricanes, who must replace three starters — Scaife, Campbell and Jakai Clark. Cohen allowed six pressures last season but has never allowed a sack, according to Pro Football Focus.

5. Matthew Lee, C, fifth-year senior (2,783 career snaps): The 6-4, 295-pound UCF transfer started 36 games for the Knights and graded out third-best among all centers in college football last season, allowing only four pressures in 14 starts in 2022. He hasn’t given up a sack in 17 starts and was graded as a top-10 run blocker at his position.

6. Leonard Taylor, DT, third-year junior (529 career snaps): The former five-star recruit started 10 games for the Hurricanes this past season and flourished playing next to Jackson, who left Miami for Florida State in the offseason. Taylor recorded 10.5 tackles for loss with three sacks in 2022.

7. James Williams, S, third-year junior (1,040 career snaps): The former five-star recruit started 11 games in 2022 and has 18 career starts for the Hurricanes entering his third season. Williams finished right behind Kinchens for the team-lead with 58 tackles and had six pass breakups and one interception.

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8. Colbie Young, WR, third-year junior (395 snaps in 2022): The 6-4, 210-pound 2022 addition from Lackawanna (Pa.) College became a big-play threat and a six-game starter, finishing with 32 catches for 376 yards and five touchdowns. Miami would still like to add another outside receiver to help complement Young.

9. Zion Nelson, OT, fifth-year junior (2,452 career snaps): Miami’s starting left tackle from 2019 through 2021 played only 61 snaps over two games last season before undergoing season-ending surgery. With Campbell exiting to Tennessee via the transfer portal, Nelson’s stiffest competition to regain a starting spot on the offensive line will likely be the two five-star freshmen Cristobal added to the roster this cycle.

10. Wesley Bissainthe, LB, second-year sophomore (276 career snaps): Started Miami’s final three games and produced 16 of his 30 tackles on the season in those games.

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— Damari Brown (@db2_era) January 30, 2023

11. Davonte Brown, CB, fourth-year junior (1,885 career snaps): A 31-game starter in his career at UCF, Brown had 13 pass breakups and one interception last season.

12. Xavier Restrepo, WR, fourth-year junior (548 career snaps): An early-season foot injury knocked Miami’s top receiver entering the 2022 season out of the lineup for five games, but he came back and was able to start three games and had 21 catches for 240 yards, two touchdowns.

13. Jahfari Harvey, DE, fifth-year senior (1,103 career snaps): A 14-game starter over his career, Harvey finished second on the team with 5.5 sacks last season. He was second to Mesidor on the team with 28 pressures.

14. Nyjalik Kelly, DE, second-year sophomore (183 career snaps): The 6-4, 240-pound former top-100 recruit averaged 15 snaps a game in his rookie campaign and ranked among the top 10 nationally in pressures (15) and sacks (four) among all true freshmen.

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15. Branson Deen, DT, sixth-year senior (1,569 career snaps): The 6-2, 280-pound Purdue transfer started 26 games for the Boilermakers over five seasons. In 2022, he had 28 tackles, four for loss and 2.5 sacks for the Big Ten West Division champions.

16. Thomas Gore, DL, fifth-year senior (1,282 career snaps): The 6-0, 270-pound Georgia State transfer started 15 games for the Panthers and was an All-Sun Belt selection in 2021. He had 38 tackles, eight for loss with five sacks and two forced fumbles this past season and has 11 sacks in his career.

17. Jalen Rivers, OL, fourth-year junior (821 career snaps): A second consecutive season-ending injury put an end to Rivers’ run as Miami’s starting left guard, but he allowed only 13 pressures and two sacks in eight games.

18. Jared Harrison-Hunte, DT, fifth-year junior (875 career snaps): An 11-game starter in his career, Harrison-Hunte (6-4, 295) will likely split time with Deen and Gore in the rotation at defensive tackle next to Taylor. Harrison-Hunte finished with 16 tackles, four for loss and two sacks on only 205 snaps.

19. Francisco Mauigoa, LB, third-year sophomore (515 career snaps): The Washington State transfer started 13 games in his time with the Cougars, including 11 last season. He will provide a needed upgrade to Miami’s linebacking corps.

20. Francis Mauigoa, OL, true freshman: The 6-6, 330-pound young brother of Francisco Muaigoa is the No. 2-ranked offensive line recruit in the modern history of Miami football behind only Seantrel Henderson. He enrolled early and is expected to push to be in the starting lineup come the fall.

Update…

— Samson Okunlola ‘23 (@SAMSONOKUNLOLA_) January 26, 2023

21. Samson Okunlola, OL, true freshman: One of only four five-star offensive linemen to sign with the Hurricanes in the modern era, Okunlola (6-5, 305) has the size, speed and flexibility to be an instant starter. The Pancake Honcho is among the 15 early enrollees.

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22. Reuben Bain, DL, true freshman: Arguably the most productive defensive lineman to come out of Miami-Dade County with well over 60 career sacks, Bain is enrolled early. At 6-2, 250 pounds, he is built to contribute early in his career.

23. Anez Cooper, OL, second-year sophomore (352 career snaps): Ranked 1,150 among all recruits in the 2022 cycle, Cooper was one of the more pleasant surprises last season for Miami. The 6-6, 350-pound Pleasant Grove, Ala., product started five games at right guard as a true freshman and moved people out of the way.

24. Elijah Arroyo, TE, third-year sophomore (279 career snaps): A season-ending knee injury cut short his 2022 campaign after three games, but there’s plenty of upside and talent to work with. Arroyo has 10 catches for 152 yards and one touchdown to go with three starts as Will Mallory’s primary backup in his first two years in college.

25. Te’Cory Couch, CB, fifth-year senior (1,746 career snaps): It was a nice bounce-back season for Miami’s primary slot cornerback after a bad 2021 campaign, and he started 11 games. Now, we’ll have to see if he can win a job at boundary or field corner with Ivey and Tyrique Stevenson gone.

26. Terry Roberts, CB, sixth-year senior (441 career snaps): The 5-10, 182-pound Iowa transfer and former unranked recruit is one of the best gunners on special teams coverage units in college football. In small sample sizes, he’s also been very good in pass coverage, finishing ninth among 53 cornerbacks in the Big Ten in pass coverage last season. The problem is Roberts played only four games and 202 snaps.

27. Henry Parrish, RB, fourth-year junior (896 career snaps): The 2022 Ole Miss transfer emerged as Miami’s leading rusher, starting seven games and carrying it 130 times for 616 yards and four touchdowns. The story might’ve been different had Don Chaney Jr. and TreVonte Citizen not been injured at the start of fall camp. Not only will they push Parrish for carries in 2023, but so will incoming freshman Mark Fletcher.

28. Jacurri Brown, QB, second-year sophomore (158 career snaps): With Jake Garcia off to Missouri, there’s no competition at the moment to be Van Dyke’s backup this fall. In two starts, Brown looked good in a win at Georgia Tech (he threw for 136 yards and three TDs and ran for 87 yards) but totally out of place in a blowout loss at Clemson. We’ll have to see the effect Miami’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach have on him.

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29. Frank Ladson, WR, fifth-year senior (1,118 career snaps): The 2022 Clemson transfer and former top-40 recruit started 10 games and finished with 27 catches for 298 yards and one touchdown, but he had five games in which he didn’t catch a pass. He played in all 12 and led all receivers with 468 snaps.

30. Daryl Porter Jr., CB, fourth-year junior (938 career snaps): The 2022 West Virginia transfer didn’t make the kind of splash he wanted, starting only one game and playing only 205 snaps after starting all 13 in Morgantown the year before. But, with top-targeted recruit Cormani McClain signing with Colorado, and Miami’s two incoming freshmen not arriving until the fall, opportunity beckons.

31. Jaleel Skinner, TE, second-year sophomore (145 career snaps)

32. Brashard Smith, WR, third-year sophomore (314 career snaps)

33. Jacolby George, WR, third-year junior (251 career snaps)

34. Nathaniel Joseph, WR, true freshman

35. Corey Flagg Jr., LB, fourth-year sophomore (1,223 career snaps)

36. Don Chaney Jr., RB, fourth-year sophomore (262 career snaps)

37. TreVonte Citizen, RB, second-year freshman

38. Mark Fletcher, RB, true freshman

39. Matthew McCoy, OL, second-year freshman (21 career snaps)

40. Laurance Seymore, OL, third-year sophomore (278 career snaps)

41. Malik Curtis, CB, third-year sophomore (36 career snaps)

42. Chris Graves, CB, second-year sophomore (3 career snaps)

43. Damari Brown, CB, true freshman

44. Cyrus Moss, DE, second-year sophomore (23 career snaps)

45. Jayden Wayne, DE, true freshman

46. Keontra Smith, LB, fifth-year senior (848 career snaps)

47. Kahlil Brantley, TE, third-year sophomore (82 career snaps)

48. Christopher Johnson, RB, true freshman

49. Robby Washington, WR, true freshman

50. Andy Borregales, K, third-year junior

(Photo of Kamren Kinchens: Eric Espada / Getty Images)