Manny Diaz states Miami Hurricanes will add QB for 2021

During his post-practice press conference on Wednesday Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz stated that they will add a quarterback to the 2021 roster.

After practice on Wednesday Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz said his program is still looking to add a quarterback to their 2021 roster. Miami currently has four QBs on its roster this season that are all eligible to return. D’Eriq King is in his fifth college season. All 2020 fall athletes received an extra year of eligibility.

In addition to King, Miami has backup N’Kosi Perry who is currently a redshirt junior, redshirt freshman Peyton Matocha and true freshman Tyler VanDyke. Miami does not currently have a QB committed to its 2021 recruiting class. The Hurricanes lost Tate Martell earlier this season who choose to opt-out for 2020.

The most often mentioned name Miami is recruiting for 2021 is four-star QB Jake Garcia who is currently committed to USC. Garcia has reportedly kept in touch with the Miami Hurricanes staff and over the summer there was some speculation he would flip. USC also has a commitment from four-star QB Miller Moss.

USC additonally offered four-star QB Jaxson Dart who has been rising over the last month or so. Diaz has repeatedly stated that Miami prefers to sign high school players but will pursue players in the transfer portal to help improve the roster. One name to watch could be former Mississippi State QB, Garrett Schrader.

"“The guys we have on campus, we like…Tyler, N’Kosi, Peyton, so we’d feel comfortable with those guys competing for the spot. We are still certainly looking to sign a high school quarterback and as we talk about every year we’re going to explore a way to improve our football team if it’s needed in the transfer market…It’s so wide open right now…but the most certain thing is we are certainly recruiting a high school quarterback and we certainly like the guys we have in our quarterback room behind D’Eriq.”"

King has a tough decision to make regarding the 2021 season. It would be his sixth college season and he will turn 24 next August. That would make him 25 as an NFL rookie. King is already hindered by being undersized. A 25 year old rookie would further hinder where King could be drafted.

King could decide to return to Miami for a second season and make a run at the Heisman Trophy. Trevor Lawrence of Clemson and Justin Fields of Ohio State are almost guaranteed to leave for the 2021 NFL Draft. The 2021 Heisman Trophy race appears to be wide open with the players currently in college.