Kaaya, Njoku face NFL decision
Quarterback said to likely return; tight end looking to draft.
While University of Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya is reportedly leaning toward returning to the Hurricanes next season, standout tight end David Njoku apparently is planning on leaving for the NFL.
While neither player has publicly stated their intentions, Njoku has told people close to him he will enter the NFL draft, according to UM sources. Kaaya raised eyebrows by tweeting (and later deleting) a photo of Njoku, tagging his Twitter handle and captioning it “2017?” with a “thinking” emoji.
Kaaya, according to most experts, ranks behind Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer among top eligible quarterbacks. Njoku is not rated by many websites but scouts have expressed to UM he has first-round talent.
Chad Thomas and Gerald Willis were advised to stay and it appears they will do so. WalterFootball ranks Thomas 21st among eligible defensive ends.
Underclassmen have until Jan. 16 to enter the draft.
P o s s i b l e t r a n s f e r s : Regarding two transfer possibilities reported by Canes-Insight.com — junior running back Gus Edwards and junior defensive tackle Courtel Jenkins — UM sources said both are, well, possible.
Edwards, a Staten Island, N.Y., native who chose UM over Syracuse in 2013, could return home as a graduate transfer. He rushed for 271 y a rd s a n d a t o u c h d own in 10 games, after missing 2015 with a broken foot. Last month, running backs coach and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said though Edwards was still recovering early in the season, he wished he had played him more.
Without Edwards and Joe Yearby, who plans to turn pro, UM’s backfield will be less experienced, but not lacking in talent.
U M wa s p l e a s e d wi t h what Edwards showed — and hopes he returns — but losing him would mean more work for former Oxbride Academy standout Travis Homer, who proved to be an excellent special-teamer as a freshman and has good top-end speed.
Mark Walton, named overall team MVP, put up 1,365 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore and will be one of the ACC’s premier backs in 2017. Trayone Gray is returning from an ACL tear.
The Hurricanes plan to sign two running backs — Pinecrest-Gulliver Prep fourstar Robert Burns plans to enroll early, and four-star recruit Anthony McFarland out of Maryland is being targeted — which is good news since Walton, if he continues at this pace, is all but certain to turn pro after next year.
The father of McFarland, the No. 3 all-purpose back a c c o rd i n g t o 2 47 S p o r t s and Rivals, told Rivals UM is “definitely his leader,” over Maryland and Alabama. ESPN rates him the No. 70 overall player in the 2017 class. ESPN rates Burns 67th, and the seventh-best running back.
If Edwards left, he would be the 12th player in UM’s 19-member 2013 signing c l ass to t ransfer, be di smissed, never make it in or leave early for the NFL draft (Artie Burns). The only Hurricanes who signed that year out of high school and made it to this point: Corn Elder, Stacy Coley, Sunny Odogwu, Jamal Carter, Alex Gall, Stan Dobard and, for now, Edwards.
Jenkins, according to a source, has expressed a wish for more playing time.