Miami football named unranked team who should be Top 25

With the talent the Miami football team has returning and the additions that have been made to the roster the Hurricanes should be on the cusp of the top 25 in 2020.

In an article published by 247Sports on Friday the Miami Football team was named as one of their “Why these unranked teams should have cracked 247Sports’ Top 25.” Any analysis of the Hurricanes being ranked in the preseason Top 25 begins with quarterback D’Eriq King. King significantly upgrades the Miami roster.

Inconsistent QB player was one of the biggest weaknesses on the Miami football team in 2019. At times last season Jarren Williams and N’Kosi Perry looked like they would break through and play at a level necessary for the Hurricanes to challenge to win the ACC Coastal. At other times their play led to inexplicable losses.

Temple graduate transfer defensive end Quincy Roche is to the Miami offense what King is to the Hurricanes defense. Pro Football Focus graded Roche as the best-returning edge rusher in the country in 2020. Roche joins the returning sack leader in the nation Greg Rousseau who had 15.5 as a redshirt freshman in 2019.

Miami has also made upgrades on the offensive line with transfer tackles, freshman Issiah Walker and grad transfers Jarrid Williams and kicker Jose Borregales. Borregales cannot be overlooked Miami lost about three games in 2019 that a reliable kicker would have made the difference between winning and losing.

Turn those games around in 2019 and the Miami football team would have finished 9-3 instead of 6-6 in the regular season. Lou Hedley made a big difference for Miami in the punting game in 2019 and Borregales should have the same impact at kicker in 2020. The Hurricanes also signed the 13th ranked recruiting class.

"Miami HurricanesHigh Vote: No. 21Total Ranked Votes: 3“I was willing to roll with dice with Miami at No. 25 because they emphatically answered college football’s most important question this offseason: Quarterback. D’Eriq King isn’t Tate Martell as a grad transfer, he’s a proven commodity.I also believe with the offensive line pieces Miami returns that its run game should be worlds better than the nightmare we saw last year. Admittedly, the Hurricanes will need young talent to emerge at WR if they are to validate this ranking. But the ceiling is high here if everything goes right.” – Josh Pate, National Analyst"

The apex for the Miami football team in 2020 is high. As Pate stated, King is a proven commodity. The 2018 season King had for Houston was as good as any active college QB. King threw for 2,982 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions and ran for 674 yards and another 14 TDs. The 50 TDs accounted for are an AAC record.

The talent Miami has on returning on the roster should complement the five transfers and recruits that signed in the 2020 class. The hiring of offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, offensive line coach Garin Justice and WR coach Rob Likens should upgrade the Miami offense and create more consistency throughout the team.