Miami Hurricanes QBs tops in the ACC…next to Clemson

The poor quarterback play from the Miami Hurricanes last season was a big reason they went from 10-3 in 2017 to 7-6 in 2018. Manny Diaz’s goal of upgrading the QB room in the offseason has paid off.

Malik Rosier graduated in December leaving the Miami Hurricanes with three quarterbacks returning for 2019 after the Pinstripe Bowl loss to Wisconsin. When Manny Diaz took over as Head Coach for the retired Mark Richt on December 30 upgrading the QB room was a priority.

Rising Redshirt Sophomore N’Kosi Perry was the only returning QB for Miami at the time Diaz became Head Coach that had experience against an FBS team. Perry’s classmate Cade Weldon and Rising Redshirt Freshman Jarren Williams’ only collegiate experience came in 2018 against FCS opponent Savannah State.

The Hurricanes were able to add Ohio State transfer Tate Martell and incoming Freshman Peyton Matocha from Houston to the 2019 roster. Martell is still trying to gain eligibility for 2019. The man who took Martell’s potential starting job as the Buckeyes QB, Georgia transfer Justin Fields, has gained immediate eligibility.

Martell will be the odds on favorite to start if he gains eligibility. If he does not the competition will be between Perry and Williams.

Rosier endured a lot of criticism during his final two seasons at Miami. He threw for 1,053 yards, completed 52.6 percent of his passing attempts, had six touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Perry’s stats were similar to Rosiers. He completed just 50.8 percent of his passes for 1,091 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. The starting quarterback race for the Miami Hurricanes should be wide open this spring and heading into summer training camp.

For as much criticism as the Miami QBs received in 2018, they are the only school other than Clemson in the ACC to have their QB unit ranked in the top 25 by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

"“24. Miami Hurricanes2018 ranking: 18Returning starter: N’Kosi Perry (partial season)Scouting the Hurricanes: After Clemson, the ACC has a significant drop-off in its quarterback forecast. And Miami certainly didn’t do much last season to generate confidence.But there are reasons for optimism, as new coach Manny Diaz scored a coup by hiring Alabama assistant Dan Enos as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.Enos will work with several highly recruited players, including Perry, ESPN’s No. 3 dual-threat quarterback and No. 84 overall player in the 2017 class, and Jarren Williams, ESPN’s No. 6 dual-threat QB and No. 106 overall player in the 2018 class.Miami also adds Ohio State transfer Tate Martell, who ranked a few spots behind Perry in ESPN’s 2017 class rankings. The big question is whether Martell gets a waiver to play this fall or will have to wait until 2020. But Miami has options, and, after last year, can’t get much worse at this position.”"

The ranking of Miami’s QB unit goes against all logic of where the expectation of where they would be slotted. Perry has a lot of improving to do, Weldon and Williams lack experience and Martell might not be eligible in 2019.

There is a strong likelihood is that Perry or Williams will leave Miami between now and the end of the 2019 season. There is not enough potential for playing time with three four-star quarterbacks on the roster. Matocha is a strong redshirt candidate in 2019.