Record-breaking QB star D’Eriq King picks Miami in time for spring. QB room now crowded
The Miami Hurricanes quarterback room is about to get crowded, and Hurricanes coaches must be thrilled.
Former Houston star quarterback D’Eriq King, one of the most prolific players in college football, announced Monday that he is transferring to the University of Miami.
“Story is still being written... LETS GO! #TheU,’’ King posted on Twitter, with an emoji of praying hands.
King’s enrollment by the Tuesday deadline will allow him to participate in spring practice. Unless other quarterbacks enter the transfer portal, UM will have six scholarship signal callers competing for the 2020 starting job. The Hurricanes, who finished 6-7 during a dismal season on offense, are switching to a no-huddle, spread offense under new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.
King, designated as a grad transfer, will be able to immediately play in 2020 without sitting out the usual year that the NCAA mandates for underclassmen.
King’s decision to choose Miami was first reported through a source on Sunday by The Athletic, preceded by a CaneSport report Sunday that quoted a source saying the Canes “are going to be very happy this week in Miami’’ and to “expect good news.’’
Hurricanes fans waited impatiently for the news to transpire, and finally, just before 5 p.m., it came.
King, from Manvel, Texas, visited the Miami campus on Friday and announced on Twitter late last Tuesday that he had entered the transfer portal. Listed as 5-11 and 195 pounds on his Houston bio, King set the American Athletic Conference touchdowns-responsible-for-in-a-season record in 2018 with 50 — 36 passing and 14 rushing. And that was done despite missing his last two-and-a-half games with a right-knee injury. He was 219 of 345 (63 percent) for 2,982 yards and his 36 passing touchdowns, with six interceptions. He also had 111 carries for 674 yards, a 6.1-yards-per-carry average.
But in 2019, King, in his fourth season at Houston, announced he would cut short his season after four games so he could use it as a redshirt year and retain his eligibility. That, in turn, would allow him to either play in 2020 for Houston or transfer to a new program, as NCAA rules allow players to keep their eligibility as long as they haven’t competed in more than four games. Houston, which finished 4-8 this past season, was 1-3 when King announced his decision to stop playing in late September.
“I came here to play football for the University of Houston and that is not changing,’’ King said in September in a statement released by Houston. “After carefully thinking through this process with my family and Coach [Dana] Holgorsen, I have decided the opportunity to redshirt this season gives me the best chance to develop as a player, earn my degree and set me up for the best success in the future. I’m looking forward to being a part of the success of this program going forward.’’
The move by King was debated and criticized by some college football analysts, but considered the new normal in the college game.
Against USF in late October 2018, King accounted for a career-high seven touchdowns — two rushing and five passing.
In 2019 during Houston’s game at Tulane, King set the FBS record for consecutive games (15) with a passing and rushing touchdown, breaking former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow’s record.
King finished 58 of 110 in 2019 for 663 yards and six touchdowns, with two interceptions. He rushed 55 times for 312 yards (5.7 average) and another six touchdowns.
His Houston career numbers: 4,925 yards passing with 50 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and 1,421 yards rushing with 28 touchdowns.
The speedy, agile King also was a kickoff return specialist his first couple of seasons at Houston. He returned 11 kickoffs for a 23.6-yard average.
The Canes will now have an abundance of quarterbacks on scholarship, so many that at least one, maybe more, would likely transfer. The six now on scholarship: 2019 starter Jarren Williams, a rising redshirt sophomore who regressed the last three games (all losses to underdog competition) but also had some outstanding performances; former starter N’Kosi Perry, a redshirt junior next season; rising redshirt junior Tate Martell; redshirt freshman Peyton Matocha; incoming freshman Tyler Van Dyke; and King.
Martell, who transferred to Miami from Ohio State in January 2019, was a spread-system quarterback and former national prep star who most thought would be the answer when he arrived. But he failed to win the starting job, and played in only one series as a quarterback all season.
Among his options, King also had been looking at national champion LSU, Arkansas and Maryland.
This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 5:01 PM.
