Miami Hurricanes QBs shine in first spring scrimmage
Miami Hurricanes quarterbacks Jake Garcia and Tyler Van Dyke completed over two-thirds of their pass attempts with starter D’Eriq King out this spring after tearing his ACL during the Cheez-it Bowl loss to Oklahoma State. King is expected to be ready for the Miami season opener against Alabama on September 4.
Freshman Jake Garcia completed 15 of 19 for 188 yards and a touchdown. and second-year freshman Van Dyke was 10 of 15 for 114 yards and a TD. Those are encouraging numbers for a Miami Hurricanes offense that struggled with accuracy before King arrived as a transfer from Houston in January 2020.
In the first year under offensive coordinator, Rhett Lashlee, Miami completed 62.7 percent of their passes which was 43rd nationally. With King leaving following the 2021 season, Garcia and Van Dyke will be the favorites to emerge as the Hurricanes starting QB in 2022. Miami received a commitment from QB Jacurri Brown Friday.
Head coach Manny Diaz spoke after the scrimmage about how Garcia and Van Dyke competed and his joy in watching them compete this spring. Diaz also discussed the scheme Miami used on Saturday. The QBs were not allowed to be tackled the emphasis was more on the fundamentals of football.
"“Both of them made really nice throws…It’ll be fun to watch those guys battle it out. They both moved the ball well when they were in there.’ We want to keep things simple in scrimmage one, There wasn’t a lot of scheme…It’s about blocking, getting off blocks, tackling, breaking tackles, catching, disrupting.”"
Miami has held three scrimmages in years before COVID-19 canceled 2020 spring practice. The Hurricanes have a veteran group which makes spring practice different than in most years. Miami will start three wide receivers who are entering at least their second year as a starter. Miami returns 19 starters in all.
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On offense, the only starter lost was tight end Brevin Jordan. Jordan will be replaced by Will Mallory who has a high upside. Mallory should post career-best numbers in 2020 not having to share the position with Jordan. Leading receiver Mike Harley picked up where he left off from 2020 with two receptions for 75 yards and a TD.