Miami Hurricanes new QB D’Eriq King instant upgrade to offense
After a week filled with drama, Houston graduate transfer quarterback D’Eriq King finally announced via twitter that he will be joining the Miami Hurricanes. King will enroll in classes by the Tuesday deadline and be ready for spring practice.
Former Houston quarterback D’Eriq King announced on Monday afternoon after a week of intense scrutiny his commitment to the Miami Hurricanes. King was the first of two big announcements to Miami for the 2020 season. The Hurricanes also received a commitment from Temple All-American defensive end Quincy Roche.
King is an instant upgrade for the offense and particularly at the QB position where the Miami Hurricanes have struggled greatly with inconsistency over the last two seasons. King tweeted a simple message announcing to the world via Twitter that he is transferring to the U. “Story is still being written… LETS GO! #TheU.”
King had a prolific 2018 season under former Houston offensive coordinator Kendall Briles who is now at Arkansas. King completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 2,982 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions as a junior in his first year playing QB after playing wide receiver as a freshman and sophomore in 2016 and ’17.
The former Houston QB was productive on the ground rushing for 674 yards and 14 TDs. King committing to Miami marks the second year in a row Miami has secured one of the highest-ranked QBs in the transfer portal. Skeptics will point to Tate Martell sitting on the bench for most of the 2019 season with Miami.
King accomplished far more during his career with Houston than the extremely modest career Martell had at Ohio State. After redshirting as a true freshman with the Buckeyes in 2017, Martell completed 23-28 passes for 269 yards and a TD in 2018. Martell ran for another 128 yards and two TDs.
Miami receives the commitment from King reportedly over Arkansas, LSU, Oregon and Ole Miss. Arkansas appeared to be out after the deadline to register for classes in Fayetteville passed last Thursday. LSU has had a lot of attrition on their coaching staff. Ole Miss was thought to be a possibility because of Lane Kiffin.
Oregon seemed much more far fetched because of the distance. The Ducks are coached by former Miami offensive lineman
King sat out after playing the first four games of 2019 to preserve his redshirt season after Houston started 1-3. Houston coach Dana Holgersen publically stated King would return.
The national perspective was that King would likely transfer to play his fifth season of college football. The addition of King instantly upgrades the Miami QB room. There was a lot of strife in 2019 between former offensive coordinator Dan Enos and the Miami QBs, particularly rising redshirt sophomore Jarren Williams.
Williams began the season playing effective football before throwing three interceptions early against Virginia Tech. Williams interceptions put Miami in an eventual 28-0 hole before redshirt sophomore N’Kosi Perry brought the Hurricanes back to eventually to tie the game at 35. Miami lost 42-35 to the Hokies.
King will bring consistency, experience and maturity to the quarterback position for the Hurricanes. Miami has not had that triad at QB since all-time leading passer Brad Kaaya played his final season with the Hurricanes in 2016. With new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, Miami should have an exciting offense in 2020.