Manny Diaz hopes to know starting QB after second scrimmage

Manny Diaz told Manny Navarro of The Athletic that he hopes to be able to pick a starting quarterback for the Miami football team by the second scrimmage of training camp.

Ohio State transfer Tate Martell, redshirt sophomore N’Kosi Perry and redshirt freshman Jarren Williams are in the mix to be the Miami Hurricanes starting quarterback. It was the most common question asked of Manny Diaz throughout the two day ACC Kickoff held in Charlotte earlier this week.

It has been overdocumented how abysmal the quarterback play was for Miami last season. Perry and graduated Malik Rosier split the play under center last season and led Miami to one of the worst passing games in the country in 2019. That is expected to improve this season with new offensive coordinator and QB coach Dan Enos.

Perry is considered to be a slight favorite over Martell with Williams third. Diaz spent a lot of time in Charlotte discussing the QB situation. He appeared on the Joe Rose Show on the Miami Hurricanes flagship station in addition to speaking with Navarro about what will happen at QB in the next five weeks.

Throughout the offseason, the prevailing thought has been that Enos will narrow the QB race to two before making a decision about two weeks prior to the Hurricanes facing Florida on August 24 in Orlando. Diaz told Navarro to expect a decision by the second scrimmage of training camp.

"“I would hope after our second scrimmage that we’ll know who the guy is. We’ll spend the majority of the next two weeks (after that) on Florida prep. Whether (the starter) gets announced at that time, we’ll see. Who knows?But I’m hoping with the work they did in the summertime, it will be rather obvious by that moment.”"

With three QBs in the race to become the Miami starter, there is a real possibility whoever winds up third-string transfers. Most anticipate that Williams is the most likely to move on if he is not the starter. Diaz spoke about not wanting someone in Coral Gables who doesn’t want to be there.

"“I’m more concerned about finding the guy and (making sure) the right guy steps up. This goes with any position, any player. If you don’t want to be for the University of Miami, go somewhere else. This is UM. This is Miami. We don’t have to beg anyone to be a Miami Hurricane. That’s in recruiting. That’s in anything else."

Perry has the most experience, Martell is thought to be the best leader and knows the playbook the best. Williams the most accurate passer. Perry is the likely leader with training camp less than a week away. In a question and answer session on The Athletic, Navarro expects Perry under center against Florida.

"Jeff M.: Hey Manny – there’s been a lot of chatter that the QB competition is really between Tate and Kosi contrary to what the coaches are saying – it’s a 3 man race – what you hearing? Is it really still “wide open” or have things really shifted to those two?Manny Navarro: I heard nothing but good things about Jarren this summer. Personally, I think N’Kosi wins the job because of his experience. But Diaz’s quotes yesterday when I asked him specifically about all the good things it feels like N’Kosi has done since the end of last season threw me off."

There will be some clarity when training camp begins on Friday. No one can expect on an answer or come to any conclusions about who Miami’s starting QB will be based on one day of training camp.

In the age of instant information, a lot of assumptions will be made after the first day of training camp. Patience will be vital awaiting the Miami starting QB.