Future of QB corps uncertain as current group fails to impress
Miami football coach Manny Diaz must be mentally exhausted by now.
But on Monday, while he was out of town recruiting, Diaz talked publicly on WQAM for the first time since addressing the media after the Hurricanes’ loss Saturday at Duke in the last regular-season game of 2019.
And naturally, the quarterback subject arose, including Manny Diaz’s latest words regarding reserve quarterback Tate Martell, among various other topics.
“Coach, what’s the story right now with Tate Martell?” Zach Krantz asked Diaz. “Everything OK with him personally? I know he’s going to be off and probably not around for the bowl game, too. But is everything OK with him and this team?”
Diaz did not give a reassuring reply.
“That’s actually not for sure,” the coach said. “No. Tate and I spoke about 10 days ago about him sort of getting right here in the two-week period of our last two games. So, again, it’s on him. And when he feels like he’s got his mind right to come back, we’re ready for him. And I hope it is for the bowl.”
Martell, the popular, high-profile redshirt sophomore transfer from Ohio
State, was the 2016 Gatorade player of the Year out of Las Vegas Gorman Bishop High. He is trying to work out personal issues in his second leave of absence, has missed the past two games and left a late-night message for fans Friday on Instagram.
Bottom line: Martell hasn’t thrown one pass this season and sounds like coaches don’t know when and if he’s returning.
As for the quarterbacks who have made a difference, they certainly didn’t deliver Saturday against Duke.
Starter Jarren Williams and N’Kosi Perry (Perry entered the game with about nine minutes left in the fourth quarter) both had poor performances — Williams 11 of 26 (42.3 percent) for 142 yards and a touchdown, and Perry 2 of 9 for 19 yards.
Williams is now 160 of 256 (62.5 percent) for 2,093 yards and 19 touchdowns, with six interceptions in 11 games played. Perry is 80 of 146 (54.8) for 993 yards and eight touchdowns, with two interceptions.
The blame certainly can’t be on those quarterbacks alone, as UM allowed nine sacks Saturday and now ranks 127th of 130 FBS teams in sacks allowed, and 116th in tackles for loss allowed.
“What happens now at the quarterback position,” WQAM’s Joe Rose asked
Diaz. “What’s your thought on that with those two guys and bringing somebody in maybe to upgrade this thing?”
“We’re sitting here three weeks ago thinking there’s no doubt we do [have a quarterback],” Diaz said, referring to Williams’ sixtouchdown, school-recordbreaking performance against Louisville. “That’s why the phrase that keeps coming up over and over again is ‘consistency of performance.’ Is this a factor of youth — it could be — and something you mature your way out of? Or is this part of who you are?
“That’s why I circle back to the conversation we had 11 months ago: Do whatever it takes to get the quarterback position fixed. We have seen in those young men that they, when locked in and engaged, when and we got it humming, can really be special. But Miami is a place where we’ve got to do it week in and week out. We have to create competition. We’ve got to do whatever it takes to get the quarterback room up and running and leading our offense.”
UM’s 2020 recruiting class, ranked 14th in the nation by 247Sports and 12th by Rivals, includes 6-4, 212-pound four-star quarterback Tyler Van Dyke — ranked eighth in the nation by 247sports and ninth by Rivals for pro-style quarterbacks. Van Dyke is from
Glastonbury, Connecticut, and attends Suffield Academy.
UM’s offense is now ranked 90th nationally (378.9 yards a game), with its passing offense ranked 42nd (257.2) and its thirddown conversion percentage dead last (.26 percent success rate).
The Canes’ rushing offense is 120th (121.8 yards a game) and will be greatly hindered in the bowl game without star DeeJay Dallas, who is out with an elbow injury. The status of Dallas’ replacement, Cam’Ron Harris, is unknown for the yet-to-be-determined bowl game. Harris was injured in the second quarter at Duke and didn’t return.
In other Hurricanes
● news, redshirt senior defensive end Trevon Hill, who transferred this season to UM from Virginia Tech, has decided to forgo the bowl game to concentrate on the NFL Draft, first reported by InsidetheU .com.
“The love and support I got from these [coaches] and the entire University of Miami Staff has been amazing,” Hill posted Sunday on Twitter. “Wish I could’ve been a Cane from the start. With that being said I have officially decided to declare for the NFL draft and follow my dream of becoming a professional athlete.’’