D’Eriq King has upgraded the Miami Hurricanes quarterback unit and proven to be elite as heralded.
The Miami Hurricanes quarterback unit has received a huge boost with the addition of graduate transfer D’Eriq King. The poise King has shown and his ability as a dual-threat QB has been the difference for Miami starting 5-1 this season. Pro Football Focus ranks King sixth nationally according to their analytics.
King received an overall grade of 89.1 to rank sixth out of 99 QBs in FBS, an 81.9 passing grade to rank 15th and an 82.1 run grade to rank third. King ranks 45th with a 140.98 passer rating and is 58th with a 61.2 completion percentage. The passer rating and completion percentage include Big Teams who have played one game.
King is 45th averaging 7.7 yards per pass attempt. King has thrown for 1,104 yards, 11 TDs and four interceptions and run for 301 yards and two TDs. Among QBs, King is fifth in rushing yards nationally and third in the ACC in rushing yards per game. The ability King brings has improved the entire offense.
The Miami offensive line is allowing fewer sacks and the Hurricanes are far more efficient overall, especially on third down. Miami is still 74th in sacks allowed per game out of 100 teams. That’s still one spot out of the bottom quarter but far better than 129th that Miami was in 2019. King has often held the ball too long.
D'Eriq King on passes 20+ yards downfield vs Virginia
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 26, 2020
🏈 6 completions (1st)
🏈 156.3 passer rating
🏈 1 TD pic.twitter.com/4p4X8UnwtB
One area Miami can improve is the deep passing game. The Hurricanes improved on Saturday against Virginia with six completions on passing attempts of over 20 yards or more downfield. Miami has created explosive plays without the frequent connections downfield through Rhett Lashlee getting players in space.
King has created a lot of big plays running. With 16 runs of 10 or more yards and five runs of 20 or more yards, King ranks 12th nationally. King is 21st with two runs of 30 or more yards and has a run of 40 and 50 plus yards. The dynamism that King brings to the Miami offense is unprecedented in program history.