His father on his mind, team on his back, Miami’s difference-maker on ‘weird’ opener
D’Eriq King couldn’t stop thinking about his father.
“Honestly, I had a lot on my mind tonight,’’ said the University of Miami quarterback, who led the Hurricanes to a 31-14 victory over Alabama-Birmingham at Hard Rock Stadium in his Thursday night UM debut.
In between his acrobatic elusiveness — a twist here, a turn there, a high-dive plunge over UAB defenders into the end zone — King’s mind kept flooding with thoughts of his dad, Eric, who died of a heart attack in mid-February, about three weeks after he transferred to Miami from Houston.
“This was my first game in my whole entire life without my dad,’’ King said. “But I went out there and just played for him. I couldn’t stop thinking about him the whole night, how proud he would be of me and just giving him a hug after the game, calling him after the game, him encouraging me to keep getting better, keep going every single day.
“Overall, it was just good for me to get out there. I haven’t played a college football game in a while, so just playing [and] getting a win was the biggest thing for me.’’
King completed 15 of his 23 passes (65.2 percent) for 141 yards and a touchdown and added 83 rushing yards and a leaping touchdown, witnessed by an announced crowd of 8,153 that looked substantially smaller in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. King was sacked twice by an at-times leaky offensive line that still proved a whole lot better than last year’s.
King on Tim Tebow
King also extended his NCAA record for the Football Bowl Subdivision: 16 consecutive games with at least one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown. The record he broke last year in Houston’s game against Tulane, by the way, was previously held by Florida Gators great Tim Tebow.
“It means a lot,’’ King said after the game, adding that he doesn’t dwell on it. “Down the road, whenever I’m done playing football I’ll probably look back at it and go, ‘Man, it’s pretty cool.’ Passing Tim Tebow, one of the greatest college football players of all time, it’s a huge honor.”
Even backup N’Kosi Perry got four-plus minutes playing time, completing two of his three passes in the fourth quarter.
The game was somewhat sloppy, the norm for an opener, and the widely held thought in college football is that teams improve the most from the opener to the second game. UM, however, among the nation’s worst teams last season in the penalty department, had only three flags for 27 yards Thursday.
“No doubt,’’ King said of the Hurricanes settling down as the game progressed. “Week 1s are always weird. Every Week 1 I’ve been a part of has been a crazy week. But yeah — new offense, new quarterback, new system totally; Missing spring ball, missing a little bit of summer, I think we did pretty good for the occasion.’’
Rushing deluge
The offensive number that stood out for a Hurricanes team that last year ranked 120th of 130 FBS teams in rushing offense: 337 net yards rushing. Last year the Canes averaged 118.
Their total output: 492 yards.
“All those rushing yards came into a loaded box where they had an extra hitter,’’ said UM coach Manny Diaz. “So, you had to be moving some people. It was 78 plays and that’s with us taking the foot off the gas in the last part of the fourth quarter.’’
The Canes should be big-time better in the running game this season because of the addition of elite true freshmen Jaylan “Rooster” Knighton (59 yards on nine carries) out of Deerfield Beach High, and Donald Chaney Jr. (52 yards on eight carries) out of Miami Belen Jesuit.
Junior with Cam’Ron Harris rushed for 134 yards on 17 carries, including a 66-yard sprint through traffic into open green space for his first of two touchdowns on the night. Harris left the game with what appeared to be a right-knee injury, but told reporters he was fine during post-game interviews.
Fans might have thought that UM’s new no-huddle spread offense, directed by offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, would have featured a heavy passing attack, but as Lashlee said heading into the game, “I believe in balance. I’ve always believed you have to run the ball to win, but you have to throw the ball to score.”
The Canes ran 52 times, however, a lot more than their 26 pass attempts. The 78 plays were 13 more than they averaged last season.
“It’ll be what is needed to win that game, but we wanted to make a statement,’’ Diaz said when asked if UM’s new offensive attack will be marked by a run-heavy system. “We wanted to lean on this football team and we wanted to pound the rock. And even early on when some of those runs were 1 yard, 2 yards, 3 yards, we wanted to stay after it, stay relentless and continue to pound the ball.’’
Boom!
Another area in which UM has greatly improved: kicking.
Former FIU record-holder Jose Borregales, who transferred to UM for his final season, boomed his kickoffs into the end zone. He connected on a 25-yard field goal and was 4 for 4 on extra-point attempts. Last year, every time a kicker went to attempt anything, even an extra point, UM fans had to hide their eyes. In 2019, the Canes were 12 of 20 in field-goal attempts and missed two extra points. The errant kicks back then put them at a severe disadvantage and likely cost them multiple games.
And tattooed Australian punter Lou Hedley continues to be a UM phenom. He averaged 47.5 yards on six punts Thursday, and placed two of them inside the 20-yard line. Over and over again he helped the Canes keep the Blazers deep in their own territory.
▪ On Friday, it was announced that UM’s next game Sept. 19 at Louisville is at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by ABC — a victory for thousands of Miami fans who couldn’t watch the opener because they have Xfinty/Comcast or another cable company that doesn’t get the ACC Network.
▪ Diaz announced that quarterback Tate Martell, who transfered to UM from Ohio State last year, was suspended for the opener— “team matter,’’ Diaz said, noting that Martell will be back for the next game.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 12:51 PM.
