In an article examining the top questions at quarterback in college football for the 2020 season, ESPN asked “Can D’Eriq King bring some excitement back to The U?” King and new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee have created a lot of buzz for the Miami Hurricanes.
The transfer of quarterback D’Eriq King from the Houston Cougars to the Miami Hurricanes during the 2020 offseason has been one of college football’s biggest stories since January. In tandem with new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, ESPN and Miami fans are wondering if they can bring the excitement back to the U.
During their rise as a college football power in the 1980s, the Miami Hurricanes had one of the most innovative offenses with a pro-style under Howard Schnellenberger and Jimmy Johnson and the early iterations of the spread offense under Dennis Erickson. King and Lashlee should bring the Miami offense into the 21st century.
King transferred to Miami in January after Houston head coach Dana Holgersen asked him to redshirt following the Cougars 1-3 start to the 2019 season. Lashlee discussed the evolution of King sitting out the final three-quarters of the 2019 season. King sitting out is in contrast to many reports that he initiated the redshirt.
King brings a dynamic at quarterback that has not been seen in the history of the Miami Hurricanes. No Miami signal-caller has ever had the skill set of King. King has touchdowns rushing, receiving, passing and on a kickoff return during his college career. King’s 674 rushing yards in 2018 would obliterate the Miami QB record.
"Can D’Eriq King bring some excitement back to The U?D’Eriq King’s route to Miami has been full of twists. A record-setting high school quarterback (he broke Kyler Murray’s career TD record in Texas’ biggest classification), he played wide receiver some as a freshman at Houston, including a game in which he threw for a touchdown, caught another and returned a kickoff for a third.Last season, King’s streak of consecutive games with both a rushing and passing touchdown reached 15, which broke Tim Tebow’s FBS record. Then under first-year head coach Dana Holgorsen, King made news when he opted to redshirt to save a year of eligibility rather than play during a rebuilding season, before opting to transfer to Miami in January.Since the start of the 2017 season, among QBs with at least 20 starts, King’s 79.2 total QBR ranks No. 9 in FBS. Miami’s team QBR in that span: 52.3, which ranks No. 83.Along with new coordinator Rhett Lashlee (formerly of SMU, which averaged 41.8 ppg last season), King gives new life to an offense that was humiliated in a 14-0 shutout by Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl."
The Miami Hurricanes have not had consistent QB play since Brad Kaaya left following the 2016 season. Malik Rosier led Miami to a 10-3 season in 2017 but was erratic at QB. N’Kosi Perry and Rosier shared the position in 2018 and Perry and Jarren Williams split the snaps in 2019. King provides stability.
Lashlee is installing an up-tempo, spread offense for the first time at Miami. The hiring of Lashlee led to King’s decision to transfer to Miami. King’s big arm, accuracy and athleticism will improve the Miami offense in 2020. The Hurricanes are expected to run about 15 more plays per game and the offense should increase production.