D’Eriq King and Quincy Roche join Miami football program ready to lead

The addition of graduate transfer quarterback D’Eriq King and defensive end Quincy Roche was about more than what they can do on the field. The two high profile additions to the Miami football program are ready to come in and make an impact.

The additions of quarterback D’Eriq King and defensive end Quincy Roche as a graduate transfers from Houston and Temple are expected to upgrade the experience and maturity for the Miami football program on and off the field and greatly improve the skill and production the Hurricanes have on the field.

King and Roche deciding to transfer to Miami give the Hurricanes arguably the best QB and best defensive player in the 2020 transfer portal. King was prolific for Houston in 2018. The Texas native accounted for 50 TDs, 36 passing and 14 rushing. King broke Tim Tebow’s record with a TD passing and rushing in 15 straight games.

Roche joins a young and mostly inexperienced defensive line. Teaming with rising redshirt sophomore Greg Rousseau and Jalen Phillips who joined the Miami football program through the 2019 transfer portal gives the Hurricanes the best depth of edge rushers in the country for 2020.

Roche had 49 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks and five pass breakups in 2019. Add those numbers to Rousseau recording 54 tackles, 19.5 TFLs and 15.5 sacks and opposing offensive coordinators will have a difficult time game planning for Miami on passing downs. Phillips was the top recruit nationally in 2017.

King has already jolted the Miami football program with his teammates and the excitement created on campus. We have been here before. Manny Diaz generated a lot of excitement among the entire Miami fanbase and throughout his program in January 2019. King and Roche spoke to HurricaneSports about their leadership style.

"“(King): I feel like I’m a lead-by-example type of guy, but [I can] also be vocal at times. I’m not a big ‘rah-rah’ guy, but I come into the building every single day to try and do as much work as possible to get better and build a relationship with the guys…I also feel that’s important, just having a relationship in the locker room and everybody being on the same page, I think that can help a team win. That’s what I bring.”“(Roche): I want to come in and just mesh with the team, start building the chemistry. My leadership style is that I’m a leader by example. … I just want to exhibit the right thing so people can look at me and say, ‘I want to go that way. I want to do the right thing.'”"

King will bring a dynamic and dimension to the Miami football program that has not been seen in the orange and green before. He also has run a spread offense similar to what new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee ran at Auburn, UConn and SMU. Roche is a beast on the edge who teams with Rousseau for a ferocious pass rush.

The history of success and what it takes to achieve that success will greatly help Miami on and off the field. King could reset the mindset of the Miami QB room for years to come. With a manageable schedule, the leadership King and Roche will provide the Miami football team will be critical in 2020.