The Miami Hurricanes are seeking another quarterback. And Canes draft picks react.
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Tuesday:
▪ UM is in hot pursuit of a handful of quarterbacks in the 2021 recruiting class.
The Hurricanes have offered several, including Texas-based Garrett Nussmeier, California-based Miller Moss, Georgia-based Aaron McLaughlin and Texas non-binding commitment Jalen Milroe, among others. Rivals lists the first three of these players as pro-style quarterbacks and Milroe as a dual-threat quarterback.
None, to this point, has publicly established UM as a favorite. And none of them has yet visited campus, though a couple have expressed interest in doing so.
Nussmeier, a four-star prospect, had hoped to visit UM this spring but couldn’t because of coronavirus; he has visited LSU, TCU and Baylor. Miami is definitely on his radar, with Texas and LSU viewed as the most formidable challengers. He wants to visit UM.
Moss, a four-star prospect, told Canesport earlier this month: “They’ve been doing a really good job recruiting me. Coach [Rhett] Lashlee and the offensive staff have been talking with me; it’s been good. They are definitely high in the picture.”
Moss previously mentioned Alabama, California, Georgia, UCLA, Michigan, Southern California and Yale as schools of interest to him; LSU is now also on his list.
Milroe, a three-star prospect, is friends with UM quarterback D’Eriq King, and that gives UM inroads with him; Arizona and UF are among his two dozen offers besides the one from Miami. For now, his Texas commitment remains solid, so UM faces an uphill climb here.
McLaughlin, another four-star prospect, has a good rapport with Lashlee, and UM has a chance to beat out Alabama, North Carolina State (who some consider the favorite) and others. McLaughlin, who wants to visit UM, was previously committed to Auburn.
UM also pursued three-star Arizona-based quarterback Kai Millner, but he committed to California earlier this month.
After Lashlee landed arguably the top quarterback transfer (King), there’s every reason to believe he will procure a QB in this class, one who would compete with Tyler Van Dyke, Peyton Matocha, N’Kosi Perry and potentially Tate Martell for the starting job in 2021.
▪ Post-draft Canes chatter Part 1:
Linebacker Shaquille Quarterman, selected in the fourth round by Jacksonville, told Jaguars media: “It’s an awesome blessing to play for any team in the National Football League, but being able to stay home is just a different feeling. I’m just so happy that I had the opportunity to do it because, to be honest, most people don’t get the chance to do that. Repping the brand has always been a thing for me, especially Jacksonville with that 904. I’ve been throwing my fours up since I got to college. So I’m excited.”
Here’s great audio, from the Jaguars’ web site, with Quarterman getting the call from Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell about being drafted….
Running back DeeJay Dallas, selected in the fourth round, will have a good chance in Seattle with top backs Chris Carson (hip) and Rashaad Penny (ACL) recovering from injuries. He will be competing with former UM teammate Travis Homer, among others.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll spoke of “the versatility [Dallas] brings. Our guys are really excited about him on special teams. He’s a guy with a really big attitude and personality about it and try hard and effort and all of that. That was the mix. He’s been a wildcat guy back there in the backfield. That just adds to the makeup that he brings that makes him unique. That’s kind of the guys that we love to fall for. Hopefully, he will contribute in many ways. Versatility is a big deal with him.”
▪ Post-draft Canes chatter Part 2: Receiver KJ Osborn, selected in the fifth round by Minnesota, is viewed by the Vikings as a slot receiver, GM Rick Spielman said. “I know when our coaches evaluated him, they thought he could continue to improve as a receiver, but his value’s going to come as a potential punt returner for us and we think he has a legitimate [chance] winning the punt return and kick return job with his explosive speed and power,” Spielman said.
Defensive end Jon Garvin, chosen in the seventh round in Green Bay, said he wasn’t upset about not going earlier and said he left after his junior year for family reasons that he declined to explain in a conference call with Packers writers....
UM will pay for the education of UM’s early entrants (Garvin, Dallas, Patriots-bound Jeff Thomas, Steelers-bound Trajan Bandy) if they want to come back and get their degrees... The absence of rookie mini-camps hurt players such as defensive linemen Pat Bethel and Chigozie Nnoruka, who might have otherwise received NFL tryouts this coming weekend. Bethel is hoping to find an NFL job. Rob Knowles is looking to the Canadian Football League, whose season has been delayed due to coronavirus.
▪ UM has at least considered the possibility of finding a way to get a trio of highly skilled pass rushers — Greg Rousseau, Quincy Roche and Jaelen Phillips — on the field at the same time, a lineup that would have one of them moving inside to tackle on third downs or one playing outside linebacker.
Consider this: Among the three of them, they have 46 sacks in 59 games: 26 sacks in 35 games for Roche, 15.5 in 14 games for Rousseau, 4.5 in 10 games for Phillips.
▪ UM ultimately decided not to make an offer to Dwyane Wade’s son, Zaire, a 6-2 guard who played modest minutes at Sierra Canyon in California this past season after previously playing at American Heritage in Broward County.
Zaire will attend Brewster Academy in New Hampshire where Donovan Mitchell matriculated before moving on to Louisville.
Brewster is a co-educational independent boarding school where annual tuition tops $62,000.
According to Rivals.com, Zaire’s five offers are from Nebraska, DePaul, Rhode Island, Toledo and Cal Riverside. Zaire can revisit those options and potentially others in a year.
247sports rates him the 199th best player in the 2021 class; UM typically has been targeting players in the top 125.
▪ One thing the UM basketball staff loves about incoming freshmen forwards Matt Cross and Earl Timberlake is they’re more physically developed and older than some freshmen. Surprisingly, both are older than guard Harlond Beverly, who already has spent one season at UM.
The Canes expect improvement from Beverly, who had some good moments early but struggled during Atlantic Coast Conference play. UM believes he’s a willing passer but that he needs to get stronger physically and improve his shot.
Beverly averaged 7.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season but shot just 40.5 percent from the field and 21.9 percent (14 for 64) on threes.
BONUS NOTE
Former UM receiver Brian Hightower announced he’s enrolling at Illinois. He had 12 catches for 148 yards in 18 games at UM before leaving the program last fall. He must sit out the 2020 season.
This story was originally published April 28, 2020 at 2:41 PM.
