Miami freshman QB Jacurri Brown to get first start at Georgia Tech. Van Dyke, Parrish out
True freshman quarterback Jacurri Brown will get his first college start Saturday for the University of Miami at Georgia Tech as usual starter Tyler Van Dyke sits out his second complete game since injuring his shoulder Oct. 22 against Duke.
Brown becomes the first true freshman to start at quarterback for UM since Brad Kaaya in the 2014 season opener at Louisville.
Also out for Georgia Tech: starting running back Henry Parrish, who didn’t make the trip (see below).
Van Dyke, a third-year sophomore, sat out Oct. 29 at Virginia while redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Garcia got his first career start. Garcia struggled but won the game for UM in quadruple-overtime when he rushed for a 2-point conversion. Van Dyke re-injured the shoulder last week against FSU after only eight passes. He was in Atlanta for the game, not dressed in uniform but there to support the young quarterbacks.
But Brown, 6-4 and 210 pounds, also has struggled as a passer. He is 5-of-10 for 37 yards, with one interception against FSU. He had an errant snap on a miscommunication sail right past him for a lost fumble. But he is a strong runner and has been used as a wildcat quarterback, rushing 23 times for 118 yards, a 5.1-yards-per-carry average. He caught a 9-yard pass against Duke.
Garcia is 48-of-82 (58.5 percent) for 596 yards and two touchdowns this season, with four interceptions. But all four interceptions have come the past three games, as well as four fumbles in those games.
Both young quarterbacks could get their opportunities for UM (4-5, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) against the Yellow Jackets (4-5, 3-3 Saturday).
Here are five things you might not know about Brown, who turned 19 in September:
1. His name is pronounced JaCARI, like the vehicle you drive, not Ja-CURRY, like some spicy dish at an Indian restaurant. “I know,’’ Brown told the Miami Herald before his senior year at Valdosta (Georgia) Lowndes High. “Every time I ask my mom about it she gets defensive.’’
2. His nickname from middle school through high school: HBK — “Heartbreak Kid,’’ he said, “just like” retired professional wrestler “Shawn Michaels.’’
3. He appreciates nature and likes to fish. “I’m a nature-type guy,’’ he said after his official recruiting trip to UM. “I loved seeing iguanas and trying to get close to them was kind of exciting.’’
4. He was starter at Lowndes HIgh beginning early his freshman season. He led the Vikings to the state semifinals as a junior and in four seasons passed for 5,504 yards and 51 touchdowns (17 interceptions) and ran for 4,194 yards and 54 touchdowns, according to Max Preps. His senior season he was 136-of-242 (56.2 percent) for 2,165 yards and 23 touchdowns, with three interceptions — and ran for 882 yards and 10 touchdowns.
5. Brown visited Miami five times, including in ninth grade at former UM coach Manny Diaz’s football camp. His last visit was to get a better understanding of Mario Cristobal, who replaced Diaz. “He was down to earth and you could see how much he cares about Miami and football in general. I could relate to him. He’s exciting. He brings energy. He’s good with words — I’ll give him that. He can give a speech and it just comes off his brain so easily.’’
Henry Parrish
As for Parrish, he sustained an undisclosed injury last week against Florida State.
Parrish, a 5-10, 190-pound sophomore who transferred this season from Ole-Miss, is UM’s top running back, with 568 yards and four touchdowns on 119 carries in eight games — a 4.8-yards-per-carry average.
Parrish also has 17 catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
Parrish originally went down September 24 with an unspecified injury in the second half of Miami’s 45-31 loss to Middle Tennessee. He started the next week against North Carolina, but only gained 19 yards on 11 carries. He missed the Virginia Tech game before returning against Duke. Last week in UM’s 45-3 loss to FSU, Parrish left the game after running six times for 14 yards.
UM’s second-leading rusher, third-year sophomore Jaylan Knighton, has 223 yards and no touchdowns on 47 carries in seven games this season, a 4.7-yards-per-carry average.
Knighton, last year’s top running back with 561 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in eight games, did not play in UM’s four-overtime 14-12 victory at Virginia on Saturday. He has struggled this season, with three lost fumbles (Middle Tennessee, North Carolina, Duke). Last week he ran four times for 60 yards, including a season-long 45-yarder.
Knighton got most of the early work for the Hurricanes, although wide receiver Brashard Smith actually started in the backfield.
Defensive linemen Jacob Lichtenstein and Jared Harrison-Hunte also did not make the trip to Georgia. Miami did not provide a reason for their absences.
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 3:25 PM.
