Previewing the Miami Hurricanes Quarterback Room Entering 2022
The Miami Hurricanes once had a long and illustrious list of quarterbacks that brought the Canes to the mountain top, and most went on to have successful NFL careers.
Since passers like Ken Dorsey, Gino Torretta and Vinny Testaverde came through Coral Gables, the Canes haven’t had a household name until Brad Kaaya, who set school records in 2016 and is widely regarded as the last “good” Miami quarterback.
However, the quarterback room that Miami possesses currently could be the one to revitalize the trend of talented UM quarterbacks. Here is a breakdown of how the quarterback position shakes out going into the 2022 season.
Projected Depth Chart
- Tyler Van Dyke
- Jake Garcia
- Jacurri Brown
- Peyton Matocha
The Skinny
Van Dyke looks to be the No. 1 quarterback for Miami in 2022 and for good reason. For starters, only two quarterbacks have finished the season with six-straight 300-yard, three-touchdown plus games — one was drafted No. 1 overall in 2020 (Joe Burrow), and the other is Van Dyke.
Van Dyke played in nine full games in relief of D’Eriq King’s season-ending injuries and compiled 2,931 passing yards with 25 touchdowns to six interceptions on a 62.3 completion percentage on the year.
He has the arm talent and accuracy to elevate the Hurricanes’ offense to levels it hasn’t seen in two decades. With that being said, that doesn’t mean he's guaranteed to. Van Dyke has a new scheme to learn under offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and his receivers will have to be more consistent catching the ball.
But that hasn't stopped the hype from building rapidly around Van Dyke. According to Pro Football Focus, Van Dyke is already considered to be the No. 4 quarterback in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft.
Garcia projects as the No. 2 quarterback, but a case could be made that he and Brown could be 2A and 2B. A year of collegiate experience benefits the slightly older Garcia more than Brown, a 2022 enrollee, but a new playbook to learn evens the playing field for the two.
However, for sake of order, it’s safe to assume that if Van Dyke went down with an injury, Garcia is more than likely his replacement right out of the gate. Garcia is a similar quarterback to Van Dyke given his accuracy and mobility — both can gain a few yards on a broken play, but neither possess the athleticism of Brown and Matocha.
Van Dyke has the strongest arm of the group, but Garcia’s quick release might be the fastest. The latter has been viewed as the future of Miami's quarterback position, as he signed with the Hurricanes as the No. 13 signal-caller in the 2021 class per Sports Illustrated All-American, a member of the SI99.
There were once rumblings that Matocha would follow former Canes offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee to SMU, but he decided to stick with Miami and give new head coach Mario Cristobal a shot. As alluded to earlier, Matocha’s athleticism is his best trait as a quarterback.
The Houston native is going into his third year at Miami, and considering the talent in the room, Matocha is not expected to see the field this year.
It’s plausible — he's an athletic quarterback and Gattis has shown a tendency to rotate quarterbacks based on scheme and style. Matocha could also see late-game action in blowout situations, should Miami find itself in one on either side of the ball. Until Brown comes into his own, Matocha will be the team's third quarterback, but who's to say the two won't flip spots before the season starts?
Brown is the newcomer of the group and he’s already flashed his potential over a number of practices. However, the spring game was rough for Brown as he completed only three-of-six attempts for 14 yards and a pick.
The biggest caveat with Brown is that he is still a project at quarterback. Brown’s athleticism is without question the best of the group, but his passing precision is in need of polish.
Brown had 1,537 passing yards, 1,101 rushing yards and 30 combined touchdowns (14 passing, 16 rushing) during his senior year of high school. His arm talent is prevalent in practices, but also sporadic at times. With a few years to refine his mechanics and accuracy, Brown could blossom into a true dual-threat quarterback at Miami.
There’s no question the staff likes what they have in Brown, which is why he could emerge as the No. 3 quarterback during or before the season.
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