Miami Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King will have milestone season
The career of new Miami Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King with the Houston Cougars put him on pace to eclipse several milestones in his collegiate career in 2020.
D’Eriq King started 20 games at QB for Houston from 2017-19. King started 11 of those 20 games for the Cougars in 2018. The 2020 graduate transfer finished 2018 completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 2,982 yards and 36 TDs. King is on pace to reach several career milestones with the Miami Hurricanes.
King ran for another 674 yards and 14 TDs in 2018. The sub 6’0 QB put himself in position for a milestone 2020. King enters the 2020 season with completing 61.8 percent of his passes throughout his career for 4,925 passing yards, 50 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Houston native has run for 1,421 and 28 TDs.
Barring an injury, King should eclipse 5,000 yards passing in his career in the first half of the season opener against Temple. If King can duplicate his lone start against Temple as a QB in 2018, he would easily surpass 5,000 yards passing for his career.
King was 28-46 for 322 yards, five touchdowns, one interception and added 19 carries for 125 yards and another TD. That came against the Geoff Collins led Temple football program. Temple will be the only team King has faced that is on the Miami football schedule in 2020.
Collins, however, is now at Georgia Tech who the Hurricanes play in Atlanta November 21. Houston lost 59-49 to the Owls in 2018. King won’t have to worry about
who had three tackles and a fumble recovery that he forced for the Owls after getting after King.
Roche joined Miami in January as a graduate transfer quickly after King made his announcement. The elite defensive end will face Collins who recruited him to Temple at Bobby Dodd Stadium. King can reach many milestones if he reaches projections in 2020 under new Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.
Shane Buechele was a graduate transfer QB from Texas to SMU in the Lashlee led offense for the Mustangs in 2019. SMU was 13th in FBS in passing offense in 2019. Buechele threw for 3,924 yards, 34 TDs and 10 interceptions in 2019 for SMU. If King reaches those numbers he will eclipse several career milestones.
A 3,900 plus yard passing season with Miami would place King within 200 career passing yards of the top 200 passers in the history of college football. King would pass among others, former national championship QB A.J.McCarron of Alabama and 2019 Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Joe Burrow of LSU.
If King can match the 34 TD passes that Buechele had for SMU with Lashlee calling the plays in 2019, he would finish his collegiate career with the Miami Hurricanes with 84 career TD passes. That would place him in the top 75. King would pass legendary players like Jim McMahon of BYU and get close to Ken Dorsey’s 86.
King will have more opportunity to run in the Lashlee led offense than prostyle QB Buechele did with SMU. Lashlee was the offensive coordinator at Auburn when Nick Marshall ran for 1,866 yards and 23 TDs in 2013 and ’14 for the Tigers. The TD numbers are definitely attainable for King.
It would be surprising if King ran for over 900 yards with the Miami Hurricanes this fall. Lashlee is a play-caller who adapts to his personnel. Based on the SMU offense over the past two seasons, it seems likely to expect King to be a pass-first QB.
Next. Miami QB D'Eriq King has chance to break single season records. dark
If King can reach 16 rushing TDs in 2020 that would give him 44 for his career and place him in the top 100 in the history of college football. In only two full seasons as a starting QB that would be an elite achievement. It should be an exciting season for King with the Miami Hurricanes chasing records and milestones.