Dan Enos pleased with progress of Miami Hurricanes QBs
The Miami Hurricanes ended spring practice without a clear cut favorite who would be the starting quarterback this fall. The three primary contenders at QB have all improved since spring practice ended in April.
N’Kosi Perry started six games for the Miami Hurricanes as a redshirt freshman in 2018. Perry will battle with redshirt freshman Jarren Williams and redshirt sophomore transfer Tate Martell in training camp to start against Florida on August 24 against Florida. Enos gave each of the QBs things to work on during the offseason.
Enos praised Perry, Martell and Williams after the first two days of practice for their work ethic and improvement since the Hurricanes separated at the conclusion of spring practice. Perry and Martell are the co-favorites to emerge as the starter in less than four weeks against the Gators. All three have worked hard.
At the ACC Kickoff, earlier this month Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz stated that the Hurricanes are in better shape at QB than they were on January 1. Diaz gave credit to Enos for the improvement of the state of the Miami QBs. Getting better production in the passing game is critical this season.
Enos spoke at length about the impact the improvement at QB has had throughout the offense, the gains Perry, Martell and Williams have made physically, their better grasp of his offense, the development of their leadership skills and how all of that has impacted the Hurricanes in the huddle.
"“After two days, I think this: I think these guys have all improved. They’ve all worked extremely hard. I’ve been very impressed with that. I appreciate that. Our whole organization appreciate the hard work they’ve put in. I think that’s trickled down to a lot of the guys on offense because just after two days.You can see improvements in a lot of different areas…Now, it’s just two days. The defense doesn’t have a lot put in and there’s no pads on yet. But certainly, you’ve seen improvements and you’ve seen that guys have put in a lot of work.[Strength] coach [David] Feeley and his staff have done a very, very good job. These guys are in shape. They’re quicker. They’re stronger. It’s been a very attentive, good group so far. All three of them have shown that they obviously grasp what we’re doing much better, much faster. There’s less time thinking in the huddle.They’re articulating the plays in the huddle a lot quicker. They’re communicating more. They’re getting more interactive with their teammates on correcting things and telling guys how they want things. So far, just very, very pleased. It’s only been two days. We’ve got a long way to go.But as a coach, you just get excited about the fact that they put in this much work.”"
The Miami offense will look different schematically this season. Enos has called his offense the spread coast. The New Miami offense will be a combination of the spread and west coast offenses. Add in some motion and lining up player in different places more often and the Hurricanes offense will be more modern.
Once the season starts Enos wants the QBs to be able to focus on opponents and not work as much on fundamentals. That will be critical. The Hurricane have the advantage of two bye weeks. The first will come Labor Day weekend after Miami plays Florida. That gives Miami a chance to work while most of college football begins 2019.
Having a bye week prior to beginning ACC play against North Carolina is critical to give Enos a chance to evaluate what the offense looked like against a quality opponent like Florida. The Hurricanes second bye week is the last week in September before Miami gets into the heart of their ACC schedule in October.