Miami practice injury update and QB starter for FSU appears clearer Tuesday, with caveat
As the Miami Hurricanes got one day closer to facing in-state nemesis and Atlantic Coast Conference foe Florida State, UM’s quarterback and injury scenario began getting clearer at Greentree Field during the lone media viewing of the week.
Beginning with the injuries, starting tailback DeeJay Dallas, who injured his right knee Oct. 19 against Georgia Tech, was back practicing with a brace over the knee. And starting linebacker Michael Pinkney, who sustained an unspecified injury against Georgia Tech, was also back practicing.
About those quarterbacks: Jarren Williams took snaps with the starters Tuesday and N’Kosi Perry was with the second team. Tate Martell, who missed the Pittsburgh game due to a “medical leave of absence,’’ per UM, was back and wearing the orange jersey worn by quarterbacks instead of the white jersey worn by other offensive players, such as receivers — his alternate position.
When asked Tuesday morning by WQAM’s Joe Rose about who he expects to start against FSU, Diaz seemed pretty sure of that person. And without revealing who it is, judging by Diaz’s words, all signs seem to point to Williams over Perry — that is, of course, if Williams practices the way he is expected to this week.
“Yeah, I’ve got a plan on what I’m... We have a pretty fair idea in terms of how this is going to shake down,’’ Diaz said on the radio early Tuesday before practice. “We’ll do what we’ve done. We’ve announced that during the course of the week.
“And like I’ve said all year, we’ve been committed to Jarren, but we’re also committed to a standard, which last week that standard pointed toward N’Kosi. But it was great to have Jarren come in in the fourth quarter and make the play that ultimately won us the football game.’’
Last Wednesday, Williams missed practice, paving the way for Perry to get the start at Pittsburgh.
Williams entered Saturday’s game at Pittsburgh with 7:19 remaining and led UM to the game-winning touchdown pass with 58 seconds left.
Williams numbers this year after playing in seven games and starting the first five: 94 of 135 (69.6 percent) for 1,136 yards and eight touchdowns, with three interceptions.
Perry has played in five games, completing 77 of 136 passes (56.6) for 975 yards and eight touchdowns, with two interceptions.
On Monday during his weekly news conference, Diaz also spoke about he and quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Dan Enos already having a plan for UM (4-4, 2-3) regarding the starting quarterback for FSU (4-4, 3-3).
“Dan and I have sort of sat down and sort of mapped out what we are going to do this week and what’s going to happen,’’ Diaz said Monday. “And we’ll do what we’ve done the last few weeks. We’ll announce our starter probably Wednesday after practice and sort of let everybody know. We kind of have an idea of what we’re gonna — I don’t wanna say kind of have an idea -- we have an idea of what we’re gonna do.”
Enos also spoke at Monday’s news conference, and spoke about what he’ll be looking for from his quarterbacks in finalizing the starter.
“I really don’t think there’s one specific thing,’’ Enos said, “but a lot of things put together. But I think one of the things is the preparation that needs to go into each and every week to be able to play, to help our team win. I think from a preparation standpoint, that’s gonna be really important. The guys that put in the work early in the week and understand our game plan, understand the defensive structure they’re going against on first and second down early in the week and as we move to third down and red zone.
“So, we want to see a guy that’s gonna be very prepared. We want to see a guy that during practice is very efficient, that’s playing fast, that is not only getting themselves to play better but also trying to bring guys along with him to play better.
“We want to see guys encouraging teammates, coaching teammates on some detail things — and just kind of getting an overall feel for who’s practicing the best and who’s prepared, and who’s got a great attitude; who’s got good body language and who we think ultimately by the end of the week gives us the best chance to win the game.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2019 at 10:16 AM.
