Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘A good, old-fashioned competition’
Diaz expects tough battles among QBs at spring practice
CORAL GABLES There’s no question that as the Hurricanes limped to a disappointing 7-6 season last year, Miami’s problems at quarterback were a major issue.
But with the start of spring practice less than two weeks away, new coach Manny Diaz isn’t too worried about his signal callers — not yet, anyway.
Indeed, the Hurricanes still don’t know if Ohio State transfer Tate Martell will be eligible to play next season. And no one’s played in any kind of game since Miami’s ugly 35-3 loss to Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl, a game in which quarterbacks Malik Rosier and N’Kosi Perry combined to throw four interceptions.
Still, Diaz says he has seen enough during offseason workouts to feel encouraged about the potential for improvement from the quarterbacks once they get on the field March 19. And with the season opener against Florida still more than five months away, he expects Miami’s young quarterbacks will only keep getting better as they continue learning under offensive coordinator Dan Enos.
“Right now, this is about finding guys, getting them as good as they can be and ... with a new system in place, you’re just going to come out of spring with an idea of what our guys can do,” Diaz said. “They’ll go away in the summertime, be throwing on their own, [then] you come back in August and really see a big jump.”
He continued, “Right now, what we’re doing, we’re tearing the car apart, we’re polishing up every piece and we know we don’t have to put the car back together to get it running until August. To me, Tate is one of the pieces in the bigger machine.”
As the Hurricanes have navigated their way through their offseason program, Diaz said Martell has adapted well to his new locker room and has, because of his toughness, work ethic and leadership skills, earned the respect of his new teammates, many of whom he only met in recent months.
Martell, a redshirt sophomore, saw limited action at Ohio State last season, completing 23 of 28 passes for 269 yards and one touchdown. The former U.S. Army All-American who was rated the nation’s No. 2 dual threat coming out of Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School, also ran 22 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
He has become an instant fan favorite and expectations are that he’ll challenge for Miami’s starting job if the NCAA grants him eligibility instead of making him sit out a year to satisfy transfer requirements.
But on Thursday, Diaz stressed it’s been important to drive home the point that Martell needs doesn’t need to put any kind of pressure on himself to be Miami’s savior moving forward.
“I think the great thing with Tate is he’s just becoming a guy in our locker room. He doesn’t have to come in here and put on a cape . ... One thing we talked about is when you show up at a new place, you’re not going to earn the respect of your teammates through talent. That’s been a little bit of our issue here,” Diaz said. “You earn it through your work ethic and your toughness. Tate has shown off both of those things. I think he’s shown a lot of the competitiveness and some of the leadership qualities that we wanted to add to our quarterback room. To me, he’s been great in terms of being a guy, taking step by step and not trying to do too much.”
In terms of Perry, fellow redshirt sophomore Cade Weldon and redshirt freshman Jarren Williams — all of whom dealt with suspensions last season — Diaz said one of the offseason focuses has been making sure they understand being the quarterback at Miami isn’t merely about making plays on game day.
There’s a responsibility that comes with the job, on and off the field, a responsibility each struggled with at times last season. Perry was suspended for Miami’s opener against LSU, Weldon was suspended four midseason games and Williams was sat down as the Hurricanes fought for bowl eligibility against Virginia Tech in November.
Perry endured his share of on-field struggles too, alternating starts with Rosier — who has graduated and exhausted his eligibility — and completing 51 percent of his passes for 1,031 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Still, Diaz, who was the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator last season, has said each of Miami’s quarterbacks were given a clean slate with his hire and each will have the opportunity to compete to be under center when the Florida game is played.
“As far as all the quarterbacks ... we do have the ability to do football meetings this time of year so they’re getting a crash course in coach Enos’ offense. They’re learning. And I think all those guys know they have a fresh start,” Diaz said. “I can’t wait to come back in a week and a half and actually watch them throw a ball, transfer this from the classroom out onto the grass. It’ll be interesting to see. There’s nothing but a good, old-fashioned competition.
“But what they’re learning is that everything counts. Every day counts. And it’s not just every day when they’re in this building. Every day in terms of how they go to class, how they go to study hall, how they interact online, everything they do, it’s evaluated if you want to be the starting quarterback at the University of Miami.”