Miami football future can be impacted by D’Eriq King health

The presence of quarterback D’Eriq King helped changed the culture of the Miami football program in 2020. Miami improved from 6-7 in 2019 with mediocre QB play to 8-3 in 2020. The Hurricanes present and future have been impacted by King transferring from Houston during the 2020 offseason.

King has spent the 2021 offseason rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in the Cheez-It Bowl loss to Oklahoma State in December. By all accounts from the Miami staff, King has exceeded all his benchmarks in rehab. King is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the season opener against Alabama on September 4.

The hiring of Rhett Lashlee as offensive coordinator and the addition of King during the 2020 offseason changed the Miami offense. Miami evolved from a pro-style offense of the last two coaching staffs to a spread offense last season. King is the ideal dual-threat QB in the spread.

The Athlon preseason college football annual magazine quoted an anonymous coach from a Miami rival as posted on Inside the U discussing the impact King has had on the Hurricanes and the importance the performance of the Miami offense will have on recruiting in the future. Players now want to compete in the Miami offense.

"“Everything rides on King being healthy and mobile. They call some great stuff with him, and they’re starting to recruit better high school kids. This is a crucial year for them to stay relevant nationally with the offense while bringing along their recruiting back to their old standards.”"

Miami signed the 11th ranked class in 2021. Six 2021 Hurricanes signees are ranked in the top 25 at their position. The 2021 Miami signees will ultimately be led by QB Jake Garcia. Tight end Elijah Arroyo is likely to make the biggest impact as a true freshman in 2021. Lashlee does a good job fitting his system to the Miami players.

Many coaches try and fit the players into the system instead of utilizing the best skills on the roster. King excelled in 2020 because of how Lashlee called plays to fit his skill set. The Miami offense needs to continue to develop to attract the highest-ranked recruits in each class.

The Miami football team finished 32nd in total offense last season averaging 439.8 yards per game in 2020. The Hurricanes were 26th in scoring in 2020 averaging 34 points per game. With King and Lashlee returning in 2021, the Miami offense should continue to develop and become more explosive.