Manny Diaz equates Miami Hurricanes quarterback to being professional

Playing quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes is a legacy that goes back to the 1980s. Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly began the QB tradition at Miami that became so strong the Hurricanes became known as QB U. Current head coach Manny Diaz equated playing QB at Miami to playing the position in the NFL.

When Diaz was hired as head coach in late December 2018, he made recruiting QBs a huge priority that were capable of leading Miami. Diaz has repeatedly spoken over the years about the importance of being mature enough to handle being the Hurricanes QB 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Although Miami has the Dolphins, the Hurricanes are treated as a professional team in a city with franchises in all four major sports. South Florida also has the Miami Open Tennis Tournament and is one of the biggest event metropolitan areas in the country. Playing QB for the Miami Hurricanes is an elite position.

Diaz has continued to sign talent at QB in the two years since he took over as head coach from Mark Richt. Miami added D’Eriq King as a transfer in January 2020, signed Jake Garcia in the Class of 2021 and received a commitment from Jacurri Brown on Friday, both four-stars. Brown and Garcia bring different skill sets.

"“January of 2019 we made a huge priority of our program that we had to recruit quarterbacks that were capable of leading Miami wherever we think Miami needs to go.You have to be able to not just do it on the field but be able to handle the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s very similar to being a pro quarterback, being the starting quarterback in this city, for this program. The most important thing is how you develop them when they show up.”"

Diaz spoke with reporters on Friday to provide an update on the first two weeks of spring practice. Brown, Garcia, 2019 signee Peyton Matocha and 2020 signee Tyler Van Dyke all showed the ability to lead while in high school. When King leaves after the 2021 season, Miami has a bright future at QB.

Brown, Garcia and Van Dyke are likely to compete to succeed King with Matocha showing improvement this spring. Brown is only the second commitment to the Miami Class of 2022. The Hurricanes should begin to build their class with Brown as the foundation. Miami has a good future at QB.