Miami Hurricanes Midseason Review Part I: QB Brad Kaaya

The Miami Hurricanes are one game past the midseason point after the blowout loss at Virginia Tech. Quarterback is the one position other than the kicking specialists that is about one person.

Brad Kaaya has had an up and down season. He was projected near the top of the NFL draft and has had to deal with an inconsistent offensive line.

Judging by some of his stats, Kaaya is having his best season. He is on pace for career highs in Quarterback Rating, Yards per Attempt, and completion percentage. Staying upright and avoiding injury is going to be tough for the Junior Quarterback.

The Hurricanes have allowed 23 sacks this season. They allowed only 19 sacks in 2015. Miami was sacked on just 4.0 percent of their dropbacks a season ago. That number has rocketed to an astonishing 10.3 percent of dropbacks this season.

The ‘Canes were tied for 63rd in the country in sacks allowed entering Thursday’s game at Virginia Tech. The eight sacks allowed to the Hokies ballooned the Hurricanes average sacks allowed per game to around 120th depending on what happened with the teams below them over the weekend.

The offensive line has not helped Kaaya, but he is a throwback pocket passer in the Spread Offense era.  He has been sacked nearly once every ten times the Hurricanes attempt a pass this season.

Miami Head Coach Mark Richt deflected the blame away from the offense line. Speaking to the media after the Virginia Tech game, Richt said:

"“It’s easy just to jump on the offensive line and they do take the brunt of that type of thing. The thing that I have to do is…make sure the quarterback is very comfortable and confident in his reads and progressions and we’ve got to make sure everybody continues to work better at their technique of protecting.”"

Football outsiders measure the effectiveness of an offensive line in both running and pass blocking. Three measurements are specific to pass protection. Their explanation of the pass protection metrics are:

• Adjusted Sack Rate: An opponent-adjusted version of a team’s sack rate — sacks divided by (sacks plus passes), presented on a scale in which 100 is perfectly average, above 100 is good, below 100 is bad.
• Standard Downs Sack Rate: Unadjusted sack rate for standard downs pass attempts.
• Passing Downs Sack Rate: Unadjusted sack rate for passing downs pass attempts.

Miami’s adjusted sack rate is 63rd nationally at 97.3. The number is better than it appears. Thirteen of the ‘Canes 23 sacks allowed on the season have come in the ACC. Their standard down sack rate is 4.5 percent and ranks 61st nationally. UM’s pass down sack rate is 9.3 percent and ranks 81st nationally.

The coaching staff understands the issues with the offense line. In the post game after the loss to North Carolina, the lack of pass protection was mentioned. UM offensive line coach Stacy Searles said “Did you watch the game? Did you see the last two plays? Not very dang good.” The protection was even worse against Virginia Tech.

Kaaya’s stock seems to be falling in the draft. He was a sure-fire high top five pick in the off-season mock drafts. In a consensus list of the top four picks in the 2017 draft, Kaaya is listed in the top four picks 14 times and not listed in the top four 16 times. He might not be ready to say “Bye Felicia” to Miami just yet.

Hal Habib of the Palm Beach mentioned an anonymous NFL scout’s assessment of Kaaya as “average,” needing a “clean pocket” to be effective and being “non-athletic”. These were not descriptions of Kaaya in past seasons.

Kaaya has not lived up the expectations placed on him based on his freshman and sophomore seasons and the arrival of Mark Richt in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes had a good run-pass balance and good protection through their first four games. A lot has been put on Kaaya shoulder’s in the last three weeks.

Next: Miami Hurricanes Bowl Projections Through EIght Weeks

Kaaya has played well for most the of the season. Without balance and poor pass protection, defenses have been able to tee off on the Hurricanes passing game. The coaches are going to have to find a way to protect Kaaya better and he is going to have to find a better way to avoid being sacked as often.