Miami football incoming transfers add experience to offense

The additions of four transfers during the 2018-19 offseason to the Miami football roster has significantly upgraded the experience on the Hurricanes offense.

The Miami football roster was bereft of experience entering the 2019 season. All the position units on the Hurricanes offense are very young. The addition of four transfers has added a lot of experience to the Miami offense.

Three of the four transfers on the offensive side of the ball will play for the Hurricanes in 2019. Those three players average a 3.3 in eligbility (with four being a senior, etc.). The transfers on offense Miami has added average a 3.75 in their class year.

The new players will help the Miami football team on and off the field. The Hurricanes needed more experience. That experience will helpfully lead to more leadership and maturity on the Hurricanes in 2019.

The most publicized of Miami’s additions through transfers is quarterback Tate Martell. Most expect Martell to be the starter this fall, but he has struggled through the first two weeks of spring practice. Adding Martell brings a significant upgrade to the QB room but evens out experience with the transfer of Cade Weldon.

Martell, semi-incumbent

N’Kosi Perry

and Weldon are all entering their redshirt sophomore seasons of eligibility. The Hurricanes other two scholarship quarterbacks entering 2019 are redshirt freshman Jarren Williams and incoming freshman Payton Matocha.

South Florida recruiting guru Larry Blustein spoke to Tampa Tribune college football writer Matt Baker in February to get some insight on why the Miami football program needed to dip so heavily into the transfer portal.

"“That’s something they really haven’t done (won often recently)…Maybe the only way to do it is to get those older guys, to get kids who have been through the wars a little bit.”"

The average class year of the Miami quarterbacks in 2019 will be 2.25. Their average year in eligibility will be 1.5 or 1.25 if Matocha redshirts as expected. Although Malik Rosier was not liked or respected by Miami football fans, he brought experience and maturity to the Miami QBs, the offense and the entire team.

Graduate transfer wide receiver K.J. Osborn will be beginning his fifth year on a college campus this fall. Osborn’s addition to a largely inexperienced wide receiving corps was critical for Miami head coach Manny Diaz and offensive coordinator Dan Enos to become the unit’s leader.

Juniors Mike Harley and Jeff Thomas are the only other Miami wide receivers that are upperclassmen. Thomas is tough to rely on as a leader. He was not part of the Miami football team for the final two games of 2018 and had disciplinary problems in high school.

Miami added one transfer on the offensive line. When he initially signed with Miami in December former Butler tackle Tommy Kennedy was supposed to anchor the Miami offensive line in 2019 at left tackle. The Hurricanes have already abandoned that idea with the graduate transfer.

Sophomore Delone Scaife switched from right to left tackle. Redshirt freshman John Campbell has been getting most of the reps with the first team at right tackle. Martell and Kennedy have both struggled this spring. There will be a lot of questions on adding them to the Miami roster if neither can get on the field this fall.

Asa Martin was the Alabama High School Player of the Year in 2017. He played at Auburn last season before transferring to Miami. Martin will sit out 2019 and have three seasons remaining in 2020. He will eventually provide depth to the Hurricanes offensive backfield. Martin should be a leader when he begins playing for Miami.

Upgrading the experience and talent on the Miami football roster was essential this offseason. Head coach Manny Diaz made it a priority and the Hurricanes have thrived in the transfer portal. The hope is to not have to make a habit of procuring talent through the portal every offseason.