No, D’Eriq King isn’t technically a “recruit” but he’s a new prospect joining the conference and helping the Hurricanes win a major “recruiting” battle for his services.
The Miami Hurricanes are winning the offseason. That is a narrative we’ve heard before.
Head coach Manny Diaz and the Hurricanes won the offseason last year. Diaz and the ‘Canes used the portal to their advantage signing players like Tate Martell, Jaelan Phillips and Trevon Hill.
In addition to signing those transfers, they turned in a top 30 recruiting class; not bad considering the transition in coaching from Mark Richt to Diaz. The result of winning the offseason last year was a 6-7 campaign. Their mediocre — and that’s a generous characterization of last year — season resulted in firing Dan Enos as their offensive coordinator and two promising prospects, quarterback Jarren Williams and five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard transferring.
Some of the lows from last year include losing the Georgia Tech at home and losing to Florida International. This prompted FIU player Sage Lewis to tell reporters they were calling Miami “The University of Coral Gables” all week in practice before the game saying they were the “real” Miami school.
Their bowl game against Louisiana Tech was as memorable as their season getting shut out 14-0.
Yet, here they are, winning the offseason once again and living up to their ‘Portal U’ moniker signing Temple transfer Quincy Roche and Houston transfer King.
If Miami wants to compete in the coastal and show better this season, King has to play well. He should as the Hurricanes nabbed former SMU and Arkansas offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee to run the offense. The Hurricanes also have recruited six wide receivers for the last two years, so King should have some weapons.
It’s great they want to change the culture, and the staff wants the young players to understand the nature of what “The U” is all about. It will not work if they don’t get the quarterback situation figured out, however.