Miami Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King electric according to former FSU QB Danny Kannell

Former Florida State and NFL quarterback Danny Kannell was recently quoted saying new Miami Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King is electric and the switch to the spread offense was necessary.

In a conversation earlier this year that was posted by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald on Tuesday, former Florida State quarterback Danny Kannell stated that new Miami Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King is electric, that the Hurricanes switch to the spread was necessary and answer if King is the best Miami QB since Ken Dorsey.

Jackson and Kannell had an extensive conversation that the current CBS Sports college football analyst and talk show host states college football teams are essentially forced to go to the spread when you see Alabama modernizing their offense. King is one of the most dynamic players in college football.

In 2018 King accounted for 50 touchdowns and over 3,600 yards of total offense while with Houston. King is the top returning running QB in 2020 as graded by Pro Football Focus. King has the potential to make big plays when the original one that was called breaks down. It almost gives Miami an extra player on the field.

King has to be respected as a passer and a runner at QB. Kannell expects King to be the best playmaker Miami has ever had at QB. He is certainly the biggest threat Miami has at QB for his ability to run. King is often underestimated as a passer. King stated earlier this week he thrives when opponents slight his passing.

"D’Eriq King is electric.“I covered King a lot at Houston and he’s an electric player. I [told my UM friends], ‘You guys finally found a quarterback.’ That’s the biggest reason Florida State and Miami have struggled.If you don’t have a quarterback, you don’t have a chance and both schools have really struggled to find that guy who can play that position consistently and raise up the level of everybody around them. That’s why they’re stuck in this wasteland.”Could King be UM’s best quarterback since Ken Dorsey?“He’s the best playmaker they’ve had at that position, and when I say playmaker, I mean difference maker where he can bail you out of bad situations. He can mask issues along the offensive line with his athleticism, and he’s a really good thrower too.Rhett Lashlee is going to have a field day to dial up plays and schemes that are going to utilize his skill set.”Move to the spread offense“If Nick Saban was essentially forced to do it, then you better be paying attention because he has the best talent in the world and he’s saying, ‘I can’t take my program where I want to go without running a wide open system’…I think you have to do that in today’s game.The quarterback talent coming out of high school is playing in those types of systems. They’re excelling in those types of systems and the rules of the game are promoting this type of wide open offense. So you’re kind of foolish if you stay with your head in the sand and say we’re going to go old school.”And “the thing that’s misleading…is you can still be a physical team and run the spread and run um-tempo. That’s a misnomer when people think you’re just going to be finesse and throw the football.”"

King should be expected to raise the level of play of the Miami Hurricanes offense because of his skill set on the field and his leadership abilities in addition to fitting into the new up-tempo, spread offense led by new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. Having King at QB will present a lot of options for Lashlee calling plays.

As the season progresses and Lashlee and King become more comfortable with each other, the Miami Hurricanes offense should become more diverse. Lashlee has proven throughout his career as an offensive coordinator the ability to work with different QBs. King is a pure dual-threat QB as is his likely backup N’Kosi Perry.

Redshirt junior Tate Martell who is competing with Perry to be the second team QB is viewed as more of a pure spread offensive QB who is more adept at running than throwing. Miami Hurricanes true freshman Tyler VanDyke is pro-style QB. Over the next few seasons, Lashlee will likely cater his offense to the QB.

If Perry returns for his redshirt senior season in 2021 and Miami does not add another graduate transfer QB, he will be the favorite to be the starter. VanDyke would be the likely favorite in 2022. As long as Lashlee is the offensive coordinator and doesn’t get hired to be a head coach, the Hurricanes offense will be adaptable.

The final point Kannell made about the ability to be a physical team and run the up-tempo spread was echoed earlier this summer when Lashlee referred to his offense as a power spread. With junior Cam Harris and freshmen Jaylan Knighton and Don Chaney Jr., Lashlee and head coach Manny Diaz are confident in their running game.