New Miami Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King should reduce turnovers and sacks against
Miami Hurricanes quarterbacks Jarren Williams and N’Kosi Perry often held on to the ball too long in 2019. The consequence of not releasing passes quickly enough caused Miami to rank 128th out of 130 FBS teams in sacks allowed in 2019.
Former Houston quarterback D’Eriq King arrived in Coral Gables on Tuesday as a graduate transfer and instantly upgrades the Miami Hurricanes QB room. King became the Hurricanes sixth scholarship QB when he committed January 20. Just a few days later primary 2019 starter Jarren Williams announced he is transferring.
Rising redshirt junior N’Kosi Perry has the most experience at QB playing for Miami. In two seasons after a redshirt year in 2017, Perry has completed 52 percent of his passes for 2,136 yards, 21 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a paltry average of 6.1 yards per attempt while sharing QB with Williams and Malik Rosier.
Perry is a mobile QB and so was Rosier, but the Miami Hurricanes offense desperately needs a field general who can avoid the opposing pass rush, know when to take off and when to throw the ball away. The Miami offensive line was the worst in Power Five and 128th in FBS in sacks allowed in 2019.
In an article wrapping up the 2018 regular season and prior to the bowl games that season, King graded in the top cluster of 11 QBs in the country that season according to Pro Football Focus. The ironic football metrics website praised King for the exceptional season he had with the Cougars in 2018.
"“King quarterbacked one of the most entertaining offenses in the FBS in 2018. His turnover-worthy throw percentage of 1.8% was the lowest among Cluster 1 QBs while he did have the fourth-highest percentage of negatively-graded throws, showing he did make mistakes just not the type of ones that result in turnovers.His average depth of throw was the 11th-highest in the FBS and King’s other stats compare very similarly to (former Boise State QB Brett) Rypien as he posted a high air yards per attempt but that didn’t translate to a high yards per attempt due to a lack of yards after the catch.King lost a few tough games down the stretch and was finally shut down due to a meniscus tear.”"
With King as the QB for most of the 2018 season, Houston was 78th nationally allowing 30 sacks in 13 games. Miami allowed a staggering 51 sacks in 2019 in 13 games. That was the worst of any Power Five team and 128th in FBS. With an older and more experienced offensive line in 2019, that number should decrease.
Quincy Roche compares Temple defense to Miami football team. dark. Next
King’s ability as a scrambler and runner at QB, in addition to his decision-making abilities, will help make the Miami Hurricanes offensive line better in 2019 and reduce sacks. Utilizing the spread offense under new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee will get the ball out the QB’s hands quicker which will help the entire offense.