Miami QB Jarren Williams to transfer portal inevitable after adding D’Eriq King
The Miami football program losing redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams to the transfer portal was inevitable after graduate transfer D’Eriq King joined the Hurricanes from Houston earlier this week.
The addition of Houston graduate transfer quarterback D’Eriq King to the Miami football program earlier this week made it inevitable that one of the Hurricanes QBs was likely to jump the transfer portal. Jarren Williams announcing his intention to leave Coral Gables for another college football program was not surprising.
In two years in the Miami football program, Jarren Williams had a lot of ups and downs. Williams very nearly transferred from Miami on the eve of the Hurricanes 35-3 loss to Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl in 2018. Twice removed Miami QB coach Jon Richt was reportedly the mediator to initiate Williams staying with the Hurricanes.
Williams is entering his name into the transfer portal as first reported on Twitter by Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated. Andrew Ivins of Inside the U reported that Williams has not yet officially entered his name into the portal as of Thursday afternoon. Williams’ mind-set has been questioned since the end of the season.
Postseason reports from multiple sources emerged that Williams broke curfew before the FIU game and has dealt with immaturity on and off the field throughout his Miami tenure. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported this week that public comments by Williams’ father were also offputting to some Miami insiders.
The thought was that Williams was initially going to go through spring practice with the Hurricanes and make a decision after spring practice. The column by Jackson on Tuesday also revealed that Williams’ situation was fluid. It is not at all a surprise that Williams’ entrance into the portal seems imminent.
The Miami Herald reported via the Associated Press that Williams’ attorney Thomas Mars released a statement verifying that the Georgia native intends to enter the transfer portal.“I can confirm that Jarren is doing the paperwork this afternoon to enter the transfer portal.’’ Williams was in the Hurricanes 2018 signing class.
Far too many off the field issues doomed Williams’ tenure in Coral Gables. In addition to missing curfew, the night before the Hurricanes lost to FIU, reports of Williams missing and walking out of practice and inconsistent play throughout his only season on the field led to forcing Manny Diaz to look for a new QB.
Williams had many instances where he looked like the future for Miami at QB. He played well in the season opener against Florida. A record-setting performance with six TD passes against Louisville culminated a three-game winning streak for Miami that began at Pittsburgh with a win at Florida State in between.
The impending move for Williams will leave five scholarship QBs on the Miami roster. The Hurricanes have King, rising redshirt juniors N’Kosi Perry and Tate Martell, rising redshirt freshman Peyton Matocha and incoming four-star freshman Tyler VanDyke. It would not be a surprise to see Martell, Perry or both eventually enter the portal.