Miami Hurricanes: Scott Patchan to transfer from program

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The Miami Hurricanes are losing a lineman

There continues to be a lot of movement within the Miami Hurricanes football program as the team gets  set for 2020. Saturday, defensive lineman Scott Patchan announced that he would be entering the transfer portal. He made the announcement via social media.

Patchan had his best season in 2019. He recorded 33 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He also recovered a fumble. His best game of the season came on December 26 in the Independence Bowl. He recorded eight tackles and a sack and a half.

For the year, he was ninth on the team in tackles and seventh on the team in sacks. This is a huge loss for the program defensively, as he was slated to be the team’s starting defensive end per a depth chart from Ourlads.com.

What this means for Miami Hurricanes

As a recruit, he was a bit of an underdog. A member of the class of 2015, he committed to Miami on April 12, 2014. He was the 22nd overall strong-side defensive end in his class and the 63rd overall player in his class from the state of Florida per the 247Sports Composite Rankings. The 2015 football recruiting class included the likes of Derwin James and Calvin Ridley.

The Miami Hurricanes will have to find somebody that can fill the void left by his departure. They do have some defensive line help coming in the 2020 class.  Defensive end Chantz Williams is currently enrolled with the program. Even still, this is certainly a hit to the Miami Hurricanes in terms of experience as well.  Patchan would have probably been in the rotation at both defensive . Knd and linebacker

Patchan recently got a waiver to play his sixth and final year of college football. He was the last remaining Miami Hurricanes player from the Al Golden era.

It will be interesting to see where his college career takes him next, as he looks to start his final season.

 

Miami Hurricanes: Jarren Williams to transfer from program

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A member of the Miami Hurricanes is entering the transfer portal. Quarterback Jarren Williams has decided to move on from Miami according to a report from Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated.

,Williams played quite a bit last season. He threw for 2,187 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His best game came against Louisville. In what was a 52-27 win on November 9, Williams went 15-of-22 on the day throwing for 253 yards and six touchdowns. A 67-yard throw was his longest of the afternoon.

Williams finishes his Miami career throwing for 2,204 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

King changed quarterback room for Miami Hurricanes

With D’Eriq King now in the fold, this does not come as much of a surprise. King should figure to be in the starting quarterback conversation when the Hurricanes take on Temple in the season opener on September 5. With the commitment of King, the quarterback room got a lot deeper, and the dynamics changed quite a bit. Based on what he did in Houston last year alone, King certainly looks to be primed for the starting role. Last year for Houston, King threw for 2,982 yards and 14 touchdowns. He rushed for 674 yards and 14 touchdowns.

N’Kosi Perry will also be part of the quarterback room as well. Last season, he threw for 1045 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions.  There is an option for Miami there as well. However, there is no reason to think that the job would not go to King.

The outlook of Miami’s  offense is certainly a bit different than even a couple of weeks ago. It will be interesting to see how the new-look offense performs during spring ball . As different pieces get adjusted, Miami will certainly have a lot more work with than they did at this time a year ago.

 

 

Miami Dolphins: Ryan Fitzpatrick expected to be back with team in 2020

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One part of the quarterback equation for the Miami Dolphins is not going anywhere.

At least one part of the Miami Dolphins quarterback equation will be solved in 2020. According to a report from Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier expects Ryan Fitzpatrick to be back in 2020.

Fitzpatrick performed well for Miami given the circumstances. He threw for 3,529 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. His best game came against the Cincinnati Bengals. In what was in overtime contest, he threw for 419 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. His 31 completions that day were his second-most on the season.

Fitzpatrick’s 20 touchdowns on the season were the most he threw in any season since 2015. That year, he threw 31 with the New York Jets. His passing yards were also the most he had in his career since 2015.

The veteran quarterback signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Dolphins in 2019. This included  $7 million in guaranteed money.  This season, he will make an $8 million base salary.

The Dolphins figure to be in the quarterback market heading into this year’s draft. They have the fifth pick in the first round. They are meeting with several quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl this week. There has been an overwhelming line of thinking that the Miami Dolphins will select Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick. The Miami Dolphins certainly have a lot of options at their disposal.

What role Fitzpatrick will play in 2020 remains to be seen. He will either be the starting quarterback as Miami looks to develop a rookie. Alternatively, he could be a mentor as the rookie ascends to the starting role. Whatever the case may be, the Miami Dolphins are making an effort to try and bring stability and talent to the quarterback position. How they will execute it remains to be seen.

Miami Hurricanes: Program picks up commitment from Keyshawn Smith

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The Miami Hurricanes picked up another commitment on Tuesday. This time, it was from 2020 three-star wide receiver Keyshawn Smith.

Smith is the 152nd overall wide receiver in his class and the 84th overall receiver in the state of California per the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.

In addition to Miami, other teams were vying for his services. Washington State, Boise State, Colorado State, and Fresno State all extended offers his way. He received 15 in total. It has been a wild recruiting process for him over this to past month or so.

He took an official visit to Washington on December 6 and committed to the program on December 12. He officially signed with Washington on December 18. He then  decommitted from Washington on Tuesday, electing to start fresh with Miami.

As a senior for Lincoln High in San Diego last season, he scored 13 total touchdowns. He caught 46 passes for 808 yards and a touchdowns as a receiver. He also rushed the ball 16 times for 188 yards and three touchdowns.

Smith brings speed to Miami Hurricanes

What can he bring to the Miami Hurricanes? Measuring in at 6 feet, 185 pounds, Smith has tremendous hands and speed. Furthermore, he is not afraid to leap up and make difficult catches. He should be another weapon for Miami in what is  already a crowded receivers room. Spring ball  will be a good first-look in regards to the position. Miami has several playmakers at its disposal.

With this commitment, Miami only has two spots left in this recruiting cycle. Currently, there 2020 class ranks 16th nationally and second overall in the ACC per the 247 Sports Team Rankings.

Miami has done very well in recruiting over the past couple of weeks. Time will tell how they will use those remaining two spots on the roster in this recruiting cycle.

Miami Hurricanes: Team lands playmaking defensive end in Quincy Roche

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The Miami Hurricanes have been on fire on the recruiting trail lately, and they picked up another commitment on Monday. The team received a commitment from former Temple defensive end Quincy Roche. As a graduate transfer, he has one year of eligibility remaining.

Playing for Temple the past three seasons, Roche had a solid year last year. He recorded 49 tackles and 13 sacks in addition to a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. His best game last year came against Tulane on November 16. In that contest, he recorded 12 tackles and three sacks on the day. For the year, he finished fifth in the nation in sacks per game last season.

It is worth noting his success in 2018 as well. That year, he recorded 57 tackles and six sacks in addition to forcing two fumbles.

As a prospect, he was the 36th overall player in the state of Maryland and the 84th weak-side defensive end in his class per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

For Miami, this puts the icing on the cake at the defensive end position. Now, they have both Gregory Rousseau and Quincy Roche. Rousseau was second in all of college football with 15.5 sacks in 2019. This brings instant production to Miami’s defensive end position. Furthermore, it stabilizes the position and shores up the defense.

On top of all this, Jaelan Phillips is also eligible to play this year. A former member of the UCLA Bruins, Phillips recorded 12 tackles and a sack in the 2018 season. He should be able to bring an additional boost to the defensive line for the Miami hurricanes.

Miami was sixth in the country with 48 sacks on the season. The addition of Roche will definitely change that number. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to produce. If he can play at a high level consistently, Miami should be in good hands.

Miami Hurricanes

Wait is Over: Hurricanes Officially Land D’Eriq King

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After much anticipation, quarterback D’Eriq King is officially a Miami Hurricane.

The Miami Hurricanes have addressed a major issue at quarterback, as D’Eriq King will enroll this week.

Timing was crucial as he had to enroll by Tuesday in order to participate in Spring practice.

 

New offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee has found someone that fits his up-tempo spread offense perfectly.

King sat out all but four games last year after choosing to redshirt to save his last year of eligibility.

In 2018 while with the Houston Cougars, King set the AAC total touchdown mark with 50 scores (36 passing 14 rushing).

Those 36 passing touchdowns came against just six interceptions, and King put up those numbers despite missing nearly three games with a knee injury.

 

His 2018 totals were astounding – 219-of-345 passing (63.5%) for 2982 yards, He added 111 carries for 674 yards (6.1 YPC) on the ground.

King’s dual-threat capabilities will be utilized heavily in Lashlee’s offense.

Miami has once again utilized the transfer portal to their advantage, having also signed kicker Jose Borregales from FIU.

Rumors of King’s arrival swirled after his two day visit to Coral Gables this past weekend but uncertainty still loomed as nothing was made official until Monday.

The Hurricanes have addressed major needs at quarterback and kicker, along with perceived upgrades on the coaching staff.

Manny Diaz has started to right the ship of public perception somewhat, first with the Lashlee hire and now with finding a new dynamic signal caller.

Expectations are once again high after a disastrous ending to the past season.

It will be interesting to see how all of these new additions mesh in what may no longer be perceived as a rebuilding year.

That sure happened fast.

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Photo credit Tony Capobianco.

Miami Hurricanes: Receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield bolts to Penn State

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The Miami Hurricanes receivers coach is off to Happy Valley.

A Miami Hurricanes coach is headed to the Big Ten. Wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield is headed to Penn State to serve the same position.

Stubblefield played football for a number of years, beginning at Purdue in 2001. A consensus All-American in 2004, he began his professional career in 2005. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Carolina Panthers in April of that year.

After bouncing around for a couple of teams throughout the 2000’s, he began his coaching career. He came to Miami in January 2019, following two years coaching the same position at the Air Force Academy.

Taking stock of the Miami Hurricanes receiver room

Miami’s receiving group was led by K.J. Osborn and Brevin Jordan statistically. Osborn recorded 50 catches for 547 yards and five touchdowns to lead the team. He averaged 10.9 yards per reception. Jordan caught 35 passes for 495 yards and two touchdowns. Averaging 14.1 yards per reception, he was able to give Miami production out of the tight end position.

Jeff Thomas was also a big producer for the offense in 2019. He was second on the team in touchdowns with four. Catching 20 passes for 335 yards, Thomas averaged 16.8 yards per reception. Nevertheless, there were concerns that the Miami wide receivers did not develop enough in the 2019 season.

Stubblefield also did some work off the field in recruiting. He was able to get four-star wide receiver Romello Brinson to commit to the program. A four-star recruit, Brinson had promise for Miami. However, he decommitted from the program on November 24.

The coaching turnover for the Miami Hurricanes continues, and this is just yet another move and change for the program in what has been a very busy offseason. Now, it will be interesting to see who fills the vacancy left by Stubblefield’s departure. One has to wonder if they will find a coach before spring ball begins, and whether it will be an in-house hire or from somewhere else.

King Me: Report indicates former Houston QB picks Miami

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After making headlines this past week about his decision to enter the transfer portal, former Houston QB D’Eriq King has elected to transfer to Miami for his final year of eligibility, according to a report from The Athletic’s Manny Navarro. 

 

 

 

Despite the report, there is another conflicting report from Fox26’s Mark Berman in Houston has indicated that King has not made a final decision and he is still talking to Arkansas, LSU, and Maryland. 

 

 

King’s decision is on a slight time crunch because the last day to enroll in classes at UM is this Tuesday, January 21st. 

 

If true, this would be the second consecutive season in which Miami’s been able to bring in a quarterback via the transfer portal, and while much hype followed Tate Martell’s decision to come to Coral Gables, they have not gotten much from the former Ohio State gunslinger in 2019.

 

King’s marquee season came in 2018 where he threw for just under 3,000 yards to go along with 36 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. On top of that, he added 674 rushing yards for 15 touchdowns. To give you a comparison, all of Miami’s quarterbacks and running backs combined for 16 rushing touchdowns in 2019.

 

D’Eriq previously decided to redshirt in 2019 to preserve his final year of eligibility after Houston started the season 1-3. He originally intended to return to Houston in 2020 but rumors quickly spread about his intentions to transfer soon after.

 

Things could get a lot more interesting in that QB room should the 5’11, 194 pound King come to Coral Gables. King would likely be the presumed starter and that puts more pressure on 2019 co-starters Jarren Williams and N’Kosi Perry, who may or may not elect to seek opportunities at other schools. 

 

Above all, this would be a huge get for head coach Manny Diaz and most importantly new OC Rhett Lashlee he would have  his guy to run and execute the spread offense that he’d implement this season.

 

Canes welcome 13 early enrollees, expect big recruiting weekend

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This week, 13 of the players who signed on the dotted line in the Early Signing Period have officially moved to Coral Gables and started classes. A lot of them are expected to be important contributors in the 2020 season and one big benefit players are getting is the opportunity to start strength training early as well as to get a head start on learning the playbook. Here’s a list of the players who have moved in and began classes this past week:

 

QB Tyler Van Dyke – Don’t be surprised if he makes the QB competition a little interesting, especially with a new system.

 

RB Don Chaney – With the loss of Deejay Dallas (NFL Draft) and Lorenzo Lingard (transfer), it wouldn’t be surprising to see Chaney get a decent amount of carries this season. 

 

RB Jaylan Knighton – Same situation as Chaney, Knighton is very quick and dangerous in space. Could be a great change-of-pace back.

 

WR Michael Redding – Excellent size at 6’3”, Redding has a chance to fight for playing time with the loss of KJ Osborn (graduation) and Jeff Thomas (NFL Draft).

 

WR Daz Worsham – Very talented and productive receiver in college, but it could be a similar situation to Christian Williams last season where he may need time adjusting to college level speed.

 

WR Xavier Restrepo – Miami hopes Restrepo can fill the mold of a productive slot receiver with his sneaky speed and stature.

 

TE Dominic Mammerelli – Mammerelli will most likely find himself buried on the depth chart due to talent already at the tight end position so redshirt is highly possible. 

 

OL Jalen Rivers – Rivers was officially measured at 6’5”, 329 pounds when he arrived on campus and should be in the running for playing time this year considering the lack of depth on the line. It would not surprise me if he’s a starter by 2021.

 

OL Chris Washington – Washington fit the mold of what ex-offensive line coach Butch Barry sought in his linemen: a lanky, athletic linemen they can bulk up. Remains unlikely he sees the field this year.

 

DE Chantz Williams – Williams flashes ability that can get him on the field early and should be a rotation player by 2021. 

 

LB Corey Flagg – A big volume tackler in high school, Miami isn’t in a dire spot to start true freshmen at linebacker this year with the return of Zach McCloud and the emergence of Sam Brooks, so Flagg may get some time on special teams.

 

LB Tirek Austin-Cave – Similar to Flagg, he may see the field on special teams and could be a solid contributor due to his speed. 

 

S Keyshawn Washington – Miami has the option to either keep him in safety or even move him to the striker position. Still, it’s looking Washington still needs to bulk up in order for him to see the field. 

 

RECRUITING

 

The Early Signing Period may have ended last month but now’s the time for teams to fill whatever holes that have formed. The Canes find themselves scrambling for offensive linemen and cornerbacks as both positions are glaring needs. There’s three weekends left until the official National Signing Day, which means three weekends to host recruits and possible transfers. Miami will have three visitors this weekend, starting with:

 

QB D’Eriq King (Transfer from Houston)

 

King’s decision to take an OV is huge for Manny Diaz and the Canes and I’ll leave the link down below to the article by our very own Danny Jaillet on why this visit is important. King decided to take a redshirt in 2019 due to the season looking bleak for Houston and he did so with the intention that he would return in 2020. However, he changed course this week after announcing he would enter the transfer portal. King’s best season came in 2018 under Major Applewhite’s offense, where he was arguably one of the top QBs in the nation. He threw for almost 3,000 yards with 36 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions with a 63.5% completion percentage. If that’s not good enough for you, throw in an extra 674 yards on the ground for 14 touchdowns. Without a clear cut starter at quarterback heading in 2020, he can easily become the frontrunner and will be a star in new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s spread offense. 

 

Miami Hurricanes: D’Eriq King set to visit Coral Gables this weekend

 

S Avantae Williams (Deland High, Deland, FL)

 

The hard-hitting Williams decommitted from Oregon a week before the Early Signing Period and since then, his recruitment has solely been a Miami-Florida battle. The 2nd-best safety in the Class of 2020 will be making his way to Coral Gables this weekend. He was once committed to Miami about two years ago and although the Canes are a legit contender for his services, two big things more so swaying in the Gators’ favor are location and his cousin, former UM RB Lorenzo Lingard. Williams has two kids and may opt to be closer to his family. Lingard recently announced his intentions to transfer to Gainesville, which essentially is another family affair. 

 

CB Isaiah Dunson (Tucker, GA)

The former FSU commitment ranks as the 23rd-best cornerback in the Class of 2020 according to 247Sports, and wow won’t you look at that? Cornerback is a huge need for coach Diaz right now, considering Miami only signed one corner during the Early Signing Period (Marcus Clarke) and junior CB Trajan Bandy has opted to enter the NFL Draft. Dunson essentially has what cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph seeks in recruits, which is a long frame (he’s 6’2”) with good speed (4.22 shuttle.)

 

Miami Hurricanes: D’Eriq King set to visit Coral Gables this weekend

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The Miami Hurricanes will have a big-time visitor this weekend. Former Houston quarterback D’Eriq King will take a two-day tour at the University of Miami, beginning Friday.

King would be eligible to play right away and that would be great news for Miami. He is just one of three quarterbacks with 35 passing touchdowns and 13 rushing touchdowns in a season.

As noted in a report from Andrew Ivins, a recruiting guru who is a regular contributor to the 5 Rings Canes podcast on the Five Reasons Sports Network, the quarterback has been talking with Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.

King is exactly what the Miami Hurricanes need

This would be a much-needed upgrade for the Miami Hurricanes. Poor quarterback play has plagued them throughout the last couple of seasons. King would have a chance to add stability to the program for at least two seasons. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.  Perhaps even more exciting, he would be eligible to play right away.

Miami is going to have to compete with other big-time schools for King. LSU, Oregon, Arkansas, and Ole Miss have also been on his radar. The Hurricanes certainly have their work cut out for them when it comes to battling with other teams for King.

This would be a huge get for Miami just in terms of production. The Hurricanes ranked 99th in the country in 2019 with 22.3 points scored per game. They also ranked 103rd in the country with 348.3 yards per game. With 7.2 yards per pass attempt, that ranked 73rd in the country.

King would provide an instant splash to the Miami offense and would electrify a passing game that is struggling at the moment. Not only that, it would be the first big development for Lashlee since joining the staff. It would certainly provide a jolt into the Miami quarterback room, and would make the ACC a lot more interesting come the fall.

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