Miami Hurricanes begin final recruiting push for quarterbacks with Dan Enos in the fold

Peyton Matocha was only a sophomore the first time he threw passes in front of Dan Enos. The new offensive coordinator of the Miami Hurricanes had the same role with the Arkansas Razorbacks when Matocha came to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to throw at a camp.

The dual-threat quarterback didn’t do enough to impress Enos. Matocha went home without an offer and, until Sunday, never managed to draw an offer from Power 5 Conference school.

“I think Dan Enos would probably say when he walked away from seeing Peyton as a sophomore in high school throw on air he wasn’t wowed because nobody will be wowed if they watch him throw on air,” said Rich McGuire, Matocha’s coach at St. Thomas in Houston. “Put the game tape on and you’ll be wowed.”

Finally, it seems like Matocha’s senior film has started to circulate, McGuire said. After throwing for 3,697 yards and 35 touchdowns with 13 interceptions as a senior, Matocha pulled in his first Power 5 offer when Miami reached out to the three-star quarterback. Enos then made his way to Texas to meet with Matocha in person Wednesday and set up an official visit. The 6-4, 204-pound senior will now visit Coral Gables this weekend as the Hurricanes search for their first quarterback commitment in the Class of 2019.

Right now, Miami stands alone in Matocha’s recruitment as the only Power 5 school offering him a scholarship. Matocha also has major interest from the Texas A&M Aggies and officially visited College Station last weekend, but Texas A&M has only offered him a preferred walk-on spot. The Wyoming Cowboys are also in the hunt after Matocha officially visited Laramie last month.

When Enos arrived in Miami, McGuire put some of the pieces together. The Hurricanes didn’t have a quarterback committed yet, and a new coach would want to pick out his guy. As Enos already had some familiarity with Matocha, McGuire figured the quarterbacks coach may come check in with the out-of-state prospect.

“They like Peyton,” McGuire said Tuesday. “He’s a really solid character kid, and Enos is selling him on the fact that he’s going to be his first. This is his first signing for the Hurricanes and he likes what Peyton brings to the table, not just athletically and throwing the ball, but as a person, as someone that you want in the quarterback room every day.”

Matocha is currently the top uncommitted dual-threat quarterback in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, and he possesses impressive athletic tools. To go along with his size, Matocha also posted a 6-8 high jump last track and field season, and the Army Black Knights even offered Matocha a spot as an athlete early in his career. He has played cornerback and safety and also ran for 787 yards and 14 touchdowns in the fall.

Matocha isn’t the only quarterback target left on Miami’s board — the Hurricanes will also host four-star dual-threat quarterback Lance LeGendre of New Orleans for an official visit next month — but Miami will get to sell itself to him this weekend. At the start of the month, the Hurricanes didn’t have any clear recruiting options at the position. Now Miami is in the running for a couple it hopes might be under-the-radar gems.

“Quite honestly, Peyton had a good junior year, but really just exploded his senior year, so his senior-year tape is off the charts and I think a lot of people — more than just Miami — are looking at his tape and saying, Man, this guy we signed in December that’s on our campus right now, maybe we screwed up,” McGuire said. “I think there’s going to be some buyer’s remorse. There always is.”