Questions abound competition at QB
Miami coach Manny Diaz started the week saying this would be the “week of all weeks” when it came to the Hurricanes’ quarterback competition. That ultra-defining week will wrap up on Saturday night when UM holds its second scrimmage of fall camp.
After Friday’s practice, all three quarterbacks — N’Kosi Perry, Tate Martell and Jarren Williams — were still in the hunt to start when Miami kicks off the 2019 season against Florida in Orlando
All three have split first-team reps evenly through two weeks of training camp, and all of them said Friday they feel they’re getting a fair shot. So Saturday’s scrimmage could be the final determining factor.
Although Diaz and offensive coordinator Dan Enos could decide on a starter based on Saturday’s scrimmage, Diaz remained noncommittal Friday about when the starter will be named publicly.
“We’re not sure on that yet,” he said. “It’s something that we’re going to kind of see how we want to do it. In terms of when the guy is told, maybe you’ll find out, maybe you won’t. I don’t know.”
The players indicated uncertainty, as well, with Perry saying, “I’m not sure when or if things are going to change, but just be prepared for whatever.”
Diaz broke down what he likes in each of the quarterbacks on Friday.
“I think N’Kosi, again, is a guy that can move and buy time in the pocket,” Diaz said of Perry, a redshirt sophomore who threw 13 touchdowns to six interceptions in 11 games splitting time with Malik Rosier last year, but only completed 50.8% of his passes. “I think he throws the ball very effortlessly
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and can make all the throws. And N’Kosi has been in games. I think understands that. I think he’s a more mature guy than he was a year ago. So, like I said, I mean, the arrow’s been pointing up on him.”
On redshirt sophomore Tate Martell, who transferred from Ohio State this offseason, Diaz said: “I think he’s got a toughness that the team respects. I mean, obviously, he can run, he can throw. He’s got some different things in the game plan that we can feature with Tate in there.”
Of redshirt freshman Jarren Williams, Diaz said: “Jarren is a gifted passer. He has learned, I think, the maturity that comes with being a starting quarterback at a place like Miami and is becoming more and more comfortable with the offense. Jarren’s a guy that actually hit 20 miles an hour this summer. Jarren’s a better athlete [than] people give him credit for — and all the reasons why he was recruited to come here in the first place.”
Perry noted his footwork and his eyes, reading the defense, as areas he feels he has improved under Enos.
“Following the first scrimmage, just make sure I get my eyes in the right place, keep my eyes down the field, show [coaches] that I know where to go with the ball,” Perry said of what he wants from his performance on Saturday.
Martell said he has protected the ball well and didn’t turn it over in the first scrimmage. The 5-foot-11 signal caller added he has become more comfortable under center.
“After we got done with the spring game, I was like, ‘I really don’t like this under-center stuff. Hopefully he just puts me in the gun for the whole time,’ ” Martell said, “but now, it’s like I worked on it because it was like, I need to be able to do this for the team success. I need to be able to go out there and do really well with the under-center stuff, and be able to drive us down the field with whatever [Enos] thinks will help the team, so that’s all I worked on during the summer.”
Trusting the pocket is one piece of feedback Williams has received from Enos.
“Even if the pocket collapses, stay in there the next time, because you might have a big play come out,” Williams said. “You might have to take one to the chin. He really emphasized to us really staying in that pocket and trusting the pocket.”
Diaz was asked if, once he finds his starter, he will stick with him even if he struggles.
“When we get a guy, we’re going to get our guy and we’re going to go play with our guy,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that there’s still not a competition at every position, but you know, you got to have a guy, right? Everyone’s like, ‘Hey, get a guy.’ Now we got a guy. Now we’re asking if we have a guy, do we have another guy? So let’s get a guy. Let’s get behind our guy. And let’s go play with our guy.”
Bolden Redshirt
practices: sophomore transfer and former Southern Cal safety
practiced with the Hurricanes for the first time on Friday.
Bolden, who was high school teammates with Martell and Miami tight end at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, arrived in Miami on Wednesday and watched practice.
On Friday, he was in shorts, a helmet and no pads as he has to practice twice before putting shoulder pads on and can’t wear full pads until his fifth practice, according to the NCAA’s “acclimatization” rules.
Also at practice but watching in a UM hoodie was defensive end/outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips, a UCLA transfer and former five-star recruit.