D’Eriq King can become CFB Bounceback Player of the Year

After sitting out all but four games during the 2019 season, quarterback D’Eriq King is poised to become the Bounceback Player of the Year in College Football.

In an article that “CBSStaff picks: College football stars ready for the biggest bounce-back performances in 2020 season.” Tom Fornelli chose Miami Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King as the player most ready to have a bounceback season. A lot of factors are in King’s favor entering the 2020 season.

Playing in the ACC and with Miami, King will be on a much bigger stage than he was during his four seasons with Houston in the American Athletic Conference. The addition of new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee to the Miami coaching staff will be a better fit for King than the Dana Holgersen offense was at Houston.

King was one of the most prolific QBs in FBS in 2018. In 11 games, King threw for 2,982 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions and ran for 674 yards and 14 TDs. Accounting for 50 TDs in a college football season is a rarity. King enters the 2020 season with a passing and rushing TD in an FBS record 15 straight games.

In the uptempo, spread offense Lashlee will run, King, fits the athletic QB that is preferred. Lashlee and King will transform the Miami offense this season. The inconsistency Miami has had at QB the last two seasons have led to a 13-13 record. The Miami offense was in the bottom quarter nationally in nearly every category.

"Tom Fornelli: Miami (FL) QB D’Eriq KingCan one bounce back from a redshirt? That’s up for debate, but there’s no hiding the fact that D’Eriq King was not the D’Eriq King the college football world had come to know and love in his limited action last season.In his first two full-time seasons at Houston, King completed 63.8% of his passes, averaging 8.8 yards per attempt.  His on-target rate was 78.1% with a touchdown rate of 8.9%. Those numbers fell across the board last year. In four games in 2019, King completed only 52.7% of his passes with an on-target rate of 68.2%.His yards per attempt plummeted to 6.0, and his TD rate cratered to 5.5%. While two of his four games came against ranked teams (Oklahoma and Washington State), only Tulane’s pass defense finished the season in the top 40 of defensive pass efficiency. It finished 39th (Oklahoma was 83rd, Wazzu 115th).It was a small sample size, but it’s not like there was one game that dragged down three solid performances. They were all sub-par for King. Now he’s at Miami, and he should be in a better position to succeed than he was at Houston last season.He’ll be in an offense that’s better suited to his overall game this season, which should help his overall numbers. If there’s a concern, Houston’s offensive line last season was a significant contributor to King’s struggles, and Miami’s line hasn’t been an area of strength in recent years.Still, King is too good to play as mediocre as he did last season for long, and I fully expect him to rebound in 2020."

The offensive line is going to prove critical for Miami in 2020. The Hurricanes were one of the worst teams in pass and run blocking in 2019. King will have a familiar face on the offensive line after former Houston tackle Jarrid Williams announced he would also be transferring to Miami this spring.

Three of the five players mentioned on the list by CBS Sports were QBs. That includes James Blackman of Florida State. King will have some interesting showdowns with other QBs this season that include Blackman and Sam Howell of North Carolina. King will be the most dynamic QB in the ACC in 2020.