The Miami football program had three players named among the top 50 in the nation by Athlon Sports earlier this month. The Hurricanes have a lot to prove on the field for those players to move up that list.
The Miami football team had three players named to the Athlon Sports “College Football’s Early Top 50 Players for 2020” earlier this month by their College Football Editor Steve Lassan. Defensive ends Greg Rousseau and Quincy Roche and quarterback D’Eriq King were the Hurricanes named to the Top 50.
The fact that Rousseau is the only player that signed with the Miami football program out of high school named to the list is a stark reminder of the inconsistency of the Hurricanes’ recent recruiting classes. King from Houston and Roche from Temple joined the Miami football program in January as transfers.
Lassan added 12 players on offense and 11 on defense that he titled “just missed.” Miami junior tight end Brevin Jordan was curiously not one of those players. Jordan was a Mackey Award finalist last season as one of the nation’s best TEs. Pat Friermuth of Penn State was on the just missed list as the only TE mentioned.
Jordan finished last season with 35 receptions for 495 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games last season. A season-ending foot injury against Duke came early in the game and Jordan did not record a reception against the Blue Devils. Freimuth had 43 receptions for 507 yards and seven TDs in 2019.
Any player on the Miami football roster is going to have to re-establish themselves on the field in 2020. Rosseau will be mentioned on preseason All-American teams, Roche was named All-American by the Sporting News and Athlon in 2019 and King is of the preseason favorites for the Heisman Trophy.
King, Roche and Rosseau are almost definitely elite players in college football in 2020. It can be debated that they are too low on the list. Six defensive linemen, five in the ACC including Florida State DT Marvin Wilson are ranked ahead of Rousseau who leads all returnees nationally with 15.5 sacks.
"“45. Gregory Rousseau, DL, MiamiRousseau set the bar high for 2020 after recording 19.5 tackles for a loss, 15.5 sacks, and 54 overall tackles as a freshman last fall. Rousseau notched 12 of his sacks in ACC games, including four versus Florida State and two against Pitt.He should team with Temple transfer Quincy Roche to form one of the nation’s top defensive end combinations in college football for 2020.”"
The addition of King to the Miami football roster gives the Hurricanes instant credibility at quarterback. King should be the best QB Miami has since Hurricanes passing yardage leader Brad Kaaya left for the NFL after his junior season in 2019. His ability to run and throw will make King the most dynamic QB in Miami history.
.@CanesFootball QB action. No. 1 is D’Eriq King pic.twitter.com/1EzAMuWgFM
— Susan Miller Degnan (@smillerdegnan) March 2, 2020
"“43. D’Eriq King, QB, MiamiMiami utilized three quarterbacks last season, but the carousel under center will end with King coming to Coral Gables after transferring from Houston. Dynamic is the best way to sum up King’s career with the Cougars from 2016-19.The Texas native received playing time as a receiver in 2016 before moving back to quarterback in ’17. King accounted for 1,639 total yards that year and delivered a monster all-around campaign the following season. Over 11 appearances for Houston, King accounted for 3,656 total yards and 50 overall scores.King took a redshirt season after playing in four games in 2019.”"
Roche is one of the six defensive linemen ranked ahead of Rousseau. That should motivate Rosseau to go out and surpass the breakout season he had in 2019. The Hurricanes should have a chance to break the program record of 52 sacks in a single season set by the 1989 National Champions. Miami had 46 sacks in 2019.
The addition of Roche and former UCLA transfer Jaelan Phillips should make Miami nearly unstoppable rushing the passer. Rosseau occasionally played inside on passing downs in 2019. If Manny Diaz and Blake Baker chose to do that again opponents are going to have the brutal task of choosing to focus on Roche, Phillips or Rousseau.
"21. Quincy Roche, DE, MiamiRoche earned third-team All-America honors from Athlon Sports after recording 13 sacks and 19 tackles for a loss at Temple in 2019. With a year of eligibility remaining, Roche decided to test his skills at the Power 5 level and transferred to Miami.He should team with Gregory Rousseau (15.5 sacks in 2019) to form one of the nation’s top defensive end duos for 2020.”"
King, Roche and Phillips are almost certainly to be the three best players for Miami in 2020. The Hurricanes will have to have the type of season expected of them for the above-mentioned triad to move up this list. It would not be surprising for Phillips who was the top recruit in the nation in 2017 to be one of the top 50 players in 2020.
Jordan is sitting out during spring football recovering from the foot injury sustained in the season finale against Duke. Expected to be fully recovered by the time the Miami football team plays its season opener against Roche’s former team Temple, Jordan should challenge to become an All-American in 2020.