Richt talks up QB Williams
Early enrollees from heralded class are expected to fit in immediately.
Most of Miami’s top-10 freshman
CORAL GABLES — class signed early 19 players so far, with a few
— more on the way next month and 10 are expected
— to enroll by Tuesday’s start of classes.
That will let them compete in early offseason conditioning and spring drills.
Enrolling early will give quarterback Jarren Williams the chance to compete with returning starter Malik Rosier, redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry and others for the top job. Mark Richt said the fourstar recruit, listed at 6 feet 2, 206 pounds, may get a little bigger — “He’ll probably be a 215-pounder, would be my guess, before he’s done” — and “moves well, he throws it well, he’s a very strong student of the game. We think he’s a mature kid. We think he will come in and compete well.”
Quarterbacks coach Jon Richt called Williams “an athletic guy, a smart kid” who has “all the attributes of a quarterback that you’d ever want.”
His mobility and arm strength won’t be an issue.
“He can run,” Jon Richt said. “He’s good side to side. He can step up and move in the pocket. He can extend plays if he needs to.”
As for his arm, Williams has “done a great job of standing in the pocket and ripping it,” Jon Richt said. “I think he’s definitely a guy, who, like Malik – Malik has done a great job of standing there and throwing it when he needs to throw it; and if the play breaks down or if it’s a quarterback design where he could end up pulling it and running, he’ll do a good job of it.
“That’s kind of our system and that’s who we’ll be and the guys that we’ll go after.”
Other players already enrolled on the offensive side of the ball include:
RB Lorenzo Lingard arrives as the Canes’ sixthhighest-rated signee since 2002, according to Rivals, and UM’s most heralded running back prospect since Duke Johnson in 2012.
“I would be very surprised if he’s not ready when the time comes,” offensive coordinator and running backs coach Thomas Brown said. “He is a workaholic. He’s not afraid of competition. He is a film room and a study junkie.”
Brown had plenty to say about Lingard (6-0, 195), a five-star prospect and the consensus No. 2 running back in the country. Rivals rated him 10th among all prospects.
“Running-wise, he’s a slasher, as far as a one-cut downhill-type guy,” Brown said. “He can make you miss in space but he’s not a big wiggle guy, which he doesn’t have to be, because he’s built the right way. Sometimes the wiggle guys waste too much motion at this level.
“He’s an elite track guy in high school. He’s as tough as they come. He can beat you inside or outside. Speed wise, he was a two-time 110meter hurdles state champion, 300-meter state champion in the hurdles, which is hard for a guy his size. Back to back years. Sophomore and junior years.”
UM also signed four-star back Camron Davis and three-star Realus George, the country’s top-rated fullback.
WR Brian Hightower was a standout in the recent Army All-American Bowl, catching four passes for 50 yards. Hightower’s size (6-3, 195) and speed made him a consensus four-star recruit and one player that excites receivers coach Ron Dugans (UM’s top wideout signee, Mark Pope, arrives in the summer and if he lives up to his billing, could be a starter along with Ahmmon Richards and Jeff Thomas).
But it’s easy to imagine Hightower getting into the rotation, especially if upperclassmen Dayall Harris and Darrell Langham (Santaluces High) don’t take con- trol of the “X” receiver spot, and fellow big man Evidence Njoku (sat out as a freshman with a knee injury) doesn’t emerge.
WR Daquris “Dee” Wig- gins is another wideout with good size (6-3, 195), though he doesn’t come as highly regarded. He was rated somewhere between No. 66 and No. 76 among receivers by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. “He doesn’t always look pretty, but has good size and speed,” read ESPN’s scouting report. Can he stand out in a deep receiv- ing corps?
“Wiggins wants to prove to everybody, ‘I don’t have all these stars but I’m the best receiver in the country,’” Dugans said.
OT John Campbell isn’t a vocal presence, offensive line coach Stacy Searels said, but he was impressed when he watched him during his days at Orlando-Dr. Phillips High.
“John is a really good player,” said Searels, who plans to start Campbell (6-5, 295) at tackle. “I’ve worked with him at camp, watched him at his spring practice and watched him in games. They won a state championship this year, he was a leader on his football team.
“He’s a very quiet kid but when he comes to practices, games, he was a finisher. He’s a tough kid, has a lot of upside . ... I think [he] is going to be a great player for us.”
OL Delone “DJ” Scaife saw playing time at right tackle and right guard in the Under Armour All-America Game. His height (6-3, 315) would seem to make him a better fit inside, but Rivals rated him as high as No. 6 among tackles.
“When I first started recruiting him, I thought he’d be a center/guard-type player,” Searels told Canesport. “But he has really long arms. I think he can play all five positions, which makes him really valuable.”