Ed Reed immersing himself in UM business. And Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King offers update
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Wednesday:
▪ Ed Reed’s specific responsibilities as UM’s new chief of staff were left somewhat vague when he was hired in January. But among other duties, it appears he’s helping at least a bit in recruiting evaluations and maintaining contact with at least one key player.
“Ed Reed is on staff now, so I talk to him a lot,” UM quarterback D’Eriq King said on the Houston-based “Inside The Loop” podcast this week. “He gives me so many tips and pointers.
“He was just telling me how this is ‘The U’ and if you win here, they will take care of you forever.”
King said he loves that the “alumni put pressure on the current players, current coaches to win. We have to do good in order for everybody to keep their job.”
Meanwhile, Reed apparently is also offering some recruiting input, at least on a limited basis. UM recently offered two-star Maryland based linebacker Daymon David after Reed watched his tape.
“I talked to [safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Ephraim] Banda; he said Ed Reed showed him my highlights because he didn’t have a designated recruiter for the area,” David told Canesport’s Matt Shodell. “My cousin knows Ed Reed, so he saw posts about me, who I am, looked at my tape and liked it. So I got the offer.
“Having Ed Reed like my tape, that’s big time. And I really like Sean Taylor a lot too, so that’s amazing. They bring out a lot of the best safeties there.”
David has 20 offers, including Oklahoma and Louisville, but indicated he’s not sure where he will end up.
▪ In that podcast, King said he’s not concerned with matching his 50-touchdown season for Houston in 2018.
“I just want to win,” King said. “I know for a guy like me, there is nothing more important than winning. I can do the 50 touchdown thing or whatever, but if we don’t win, especially at The U, it doesn’t mean anything.”
King, who hopes to play in the NFL and wants to be a college coach eventually, said: “When you’re 5-9, you have to prove you can play quarterback. I had to do everything this much better. Even at Houston I knew I was playing well, but I was in the moment. If I would have done that and I was 6-3, I’d be declaring” for the NFL Draft.
I found this interesting from Anthony Treash’s Pro Football Focus piece on King this week:
“King ... has created something out of nothing as a passer on numerous occasions when scrambling outside the pocket. On plays in which he had to create outside the structure since 2018, King has posted the second-highest passing grade in college football, behind only Joe Burrow. He had an impressive big-time throw to turnover-worthy play ratio of 5:1 on those dropbacks and tied with Jalen Hurts for the highest completion percentage (50%). And King has been the only quarterback in college football to have 50 pass attempts when creating outside the structure since 2018 and produce one or fewer turnover-worthy plays.”
▪ UM president Julio Frenk told CNN on Wednesday that Hurricanes home football games probably will be played without fans this season, and athletic director Blake James told me he expects all 12 games — including non-conference games — to be played this fall.
And Banda made an interesting point on Joe Rose’s WQAM show this week, noting Hurricanes coaches must quickly identify what players are equipped to play well without fans in attendance.
“It will be very interesting, but what’s going to happen is you are going to find out who cares about this game,” Banda said. “When you are really locked in, you don’t really notice them [fans in the stands] as a player. The players that need it or are not really all into the game, those are the ones that are going to struggle the most. We’ve got to do a great job of identifying those guys and not playing them.”
▪ Offensive lineman Jarrid Williams, the Houston Cougars senior grad transfer, told The Athletic he has narrowed his finalists to UM, Baylor, FSU, Southern California and Mississippi, with a decision coming soon.
If Williams picks UM, he would be the front-runner to start at right tackle (where he played the past two years) but conceivably could be shifted to left tackle.
John Campbell, last year’s starting left tackle Zion Nelson and freshmen Issiah Walker (if he receives a waiver to play this season) would be the primary options for the other starting tackle job if Williams picks UM.
Walker, incidentally, said he expects to begin his UM career at left tackle.
Per Pro Football Focus, Williams allowed seven quarterback pressures and no sacks last season in four games and 269 snaps before a season-ending injury. His pass blocking grades were better than his run blocking metrics.
In 2018, Williams permitted two sacks and 13 quarterback pressures in 544 pass blocking snaps.
Williams allowed seven quarterback pressures but no sacks in four career starts against Power 5 teams (Arizona, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Washington State).
▪ Some internal feedback we’ve received on new Hurricanes guard Elijah Olaniyi, who was a first-team all-America East Conference selection last season at Stony Brook and averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game and shot 43.5 percent from the field and 36.1 percent on threes:
One of the qualities that appealed to UM was his size; at 6-5, he can defend small forwards and shooting guards. He’s athletic. He was a big scorer and good rebounder on a winning team. UM likes that he has three years of experience.
And the fact he isn’t eligible to play this season is a good thing in UM’s eyes, because the Hurricanes didn’t need rotation help this year, with guards Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty entering their final year of eligibility.
Olaniyi will have one season of eligibility left (2021-22), and he figures to join Isaiah Wong and Harlond Beverley in UM’s guard rotation during that 2021-22 season.
Incoming five-star player Earl Timberlake, 6-5, can play shooting guard or small forward. It’s unclear if he will be around for his sophomore season, because at least one draft web site has him as a top-20 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
▪ Quick stuff: Banda said safety Bubba Bolden — who sustained a season-ending ankle injury during the celebration of an interception Nov. 4 against FSU — is “pretty much full go.”... Add tight end Greg Olsen and kicker Mike Badgley to the list of former UM players who have spoken to current Canes players on Zoom sessions in the past week….
UM remains in the mix for several top 2021 local players, including Miami Northwestern receiver Romello Brinson, who told 247 Sports that UM, LSU, Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M are his primary focus. He’s rated the 24th best receiver in the 2021 class by 247 Sports.
Here’s my Wednesday piece with lots of news on the status of college football season amid the pandemic, and the Hurricanes’ plans with regard to the season.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 5:45 PM.
