When discussing star Hurricanes like Rueben Bain Jr. and Francis Mauigoa, Miami coach Mario Cristobal falls back on a familiar scene: those players waiting outside the stadium for Cristobal to pitch UM to them after taking a beating on the field during his first season.

Cristobal’s 2022 season was full of embarrassing losses. Miami suffered a massive upset against Middle Tennessee State The Hurricanes lost by 42 points at home to rival FSU. The Hurricanes ended the year with another blowout home loss against Pittsburgh.

But Bain and Mauigoa committed to the Hurricanes anyway. They became stars and led UM back to the national title game. Now they are poised to become top-10 picks when the NFL draft starts Thursday night.

“They’re resilient because they went through that 5 and 7 or at least witnessed it,” Cristobal said.

“Those were the guys that sat outside of Hard Rock and probably painfully waited for me to come and see him after the game, after we were done with media, to talk to them after an awful loss. But they’re also intelligent; they’re high-IQ guys. They understand that when you have to flip a roster and flip a program, that comes with it. If you’re willing to endure and be an agent of change, that’s probably what stands out.”

Bain and Mauigoa, along with fellow likely first-round pick Akheem Mesidor, highlight a Miami draft class that includes nearly a dozen potential picks. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who compiles the site’s comprehensive draft preview, gives nine UM players a projected draft grade. Miami has not had nine players picked in one draft since 2017.

The trio of Bain, Mesidor and Mauigoa could give the Hurricanes three first-round draft picks in the same draft for the first time since 2007 when Jon Beason, Brandon Meriweather and Greg Olsen went in the first round.

“I think … pro day was an indication of the fact that the NFL loves the way that the Miami Hurricanes play football,” Cristobal said after the Hurricanes’ Pro Day.

Bain, Mauigoa and Mesidor have all been through some of the highs and lows with UM over the past several years, but they leave the program with the Hurricanes back in the national championship picture.

“I feel like I left it better than I found it,” Bain said at Miami’s Pro Day.

“That’s how I was raised up. And that’s how I feel like I approached this here. And that’s how I feel like I approach everything in life. I came in and worked my butt off with all my guys, and we came in and brought a new standard to the program, brought a new aura and perception about what the Miami Hurricanes (are) about in (the 2020s). Nobody really thought we was going to be where we are. And I know the guys coming back next year, they got that taste of how I feel, and they definitely are going to want to come back next year and get it all.”

All three players have expressed their love for the program now that they are departing. Other career Hurricanes like offensive lineman Anez Cooper and linebacker Wesley Bissainthe are hoping to hear their names called during the draft, as well.

“This is not my last time (at Miami’s facility),” Mesidor said at UM’s Pro Day. “I promise you that. I love this building. I love this organization. I’m always here, even after my time as a ‘Cane.”

Other Hurricanes likely to be picked in this week’s draft include transfers who spent one year at UM but helped the team to its best season in decades. Quarterback Carson Beck is projected to be one of the first several quarterbacks picked. Defensive backs Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas, offensive linemen Markel Bell and James Brockermeyer and wide receiver CJ Daniels are among those who may be selected, as well.

“I’m just so, so grateful that coach Cristobal (and) coach (Shannon) Dawson gave me the opportunity to come play quarterback at the University of Miami when I didn’t have an elbow,” Beck said. “I just had surgery. I couldn’t even throw a football. They trusted in me to go through that process and commit to the grind to be able to get back and ultimately play quarterback for this university. So I’m super grateful that they gave me that opportunity and super grateful to be a Miami Hurricane.”