Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
’Canes QB leaving
Brad Kaaya to bypass senior year and enter this year’s NFL draft.
As the Miami Hurricanes continue trying to move their football program forward after their first bowl win in a decade, they’ll have to take the next steps without the leading passer in UM history.
As many around the Hurricanes have expected for several weeks, junior quarterback Brad Kaaya is bypassing his senior year at Miami and entering this year’s NFL draft, the quarterback and school announced in a statement Monday night.
“While I am looking forward to pursuing my future endeavors, I am going to miss our fans, media, students, administrators, coaches, families and most importantly, my teammates, who were with me through the good times and the tough times,” Kaaya said in the statement.
“Attending a university this far from home wasn’t the easiest transition initially, but this program provided me a home away from home ever since my arrival in 2014. Since then, I have registered as a resident of Florida and am proud to call Miami my long-term home. I plan to be involved with the University of Miami moving forward as I pursue my degree in communications. I also will give back to this university and South Florida community, two places that had such a positive impact on my life. I look forward to watching coach [Mark] Richt and his staff and our team do even bigger and better things for years to come.”
Kaaya, who arrived in Coral Gables and earned the starting job as a true freshman in 2014, virtually rewrote the record book at Miami during his time there.
The strong-armed quarterback, who entered the year pegged by many draft analysts as a potential first-round pick, threw for 396 yards in Miami’s regular-season finale against Duke to bypass Hurricanes legend Ken Dorsey and become UM’s career passing leader. He leaves Miami with 9,968 passing yards and 69 passing touchdowns, which is third in Miami history. Only Dorsey (86) and Jacory Harris (70) have passed for more touchdowns at UM.
As well as owning Miami’s all-time mark in passing yards, Kaaya leaves as the Hurricanes’ all-time leader in completions (720) and attempts (1,188).
Kaaya owns several Miami single-season honors, too.
His 3,238 passing yards as a sophomore last season rank sixth all-time in Miami history and his 3,198 yards as a freshman rank eighth most. He is the lone quarterback in Hurricanes history to have two individual seasons that rank in the top 10.
And he finished his Miami career in style, throwing for 14 touchdowns and just one interceptions in Miami’s last five games, all wins. He earned Russell Athletic Bowl MVP honors after completing 24-of-34 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns. Those four scoring passes tied a Miami bowl record.
Kaaya, who hails from California and returned there after last week’s bowl game to weigh his options, has been the face of the program since arriving at Miami, representing the school in countless media interviews, charity events and all kinds of Hurricanes public service announcements and promotional materials.
That said, he was shielded from the media spotlight during his final days as a Hurricane.
Ahead of last Wednesday’s 31-14 win over West Virginia, Kaaya spoke to reporters just once — at Miami’s first on-campus bowl practice earlier this month — with Richt saying the quarterback didn’t want to spend bowl week addressing questions about his future.
He was asked about that future after the bowl, and said then he still needed some time to think.
The thinking, for Kaaya, is done and though he’s leaving, he said last week he’s confident the Hurricanes will still be in a good place without him leading the offense.
For Miami, the challenge now becomes finding Kaaya’s replacement.
Redshirt sophomore Malik Rosier, who was Kaaya’s backup this year, is expected back.
Rosier saw action in three games this season and completed just 2-of-4 passes for 32 yards. He’s had one start during his Hurricanes career, throwing for 272 yards and two touchdowns in Miami’s stunning 2015 win over Duke, a game Kaaya missed after getting hurt a week earlier against Clemson.
Also expected back for Miami is redshirt freshman Jack Allison, redshirt sophomore Vincent Testaverde and redshirt freshman Evan Shirreffs, none of whom have played a down for Miami, though Texas Tech transfer Testaverde appeared in one game for the Red Raiders in 2014.
The Hurricanes have also secured a verbal commitments from four-star Ocala Vanguard prospect N’Kosi Perry and three-star Tampa Jefferson prospect Cade Weldon.