MIAMI GARDENS – In what was the third and final scrimmage at Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Hurricanes offense fired on all cylinders last night (Sept. 4).
Graduate transfer quarterback D’Eriq King went off big time, as he completed 24 of 34 passes for 330 yards and six touchdowns in the air. The electrifying team leader added nine rushes for 94 yards to help propel the offense.
“We went out there and went to work,” Miami head coach Manny Diaz said after last night’s scrimmage. “D’Eriq was very sharp. You’re starting to see his ability, not only with his arm but with his feet, as well, so very encouraging.”
Another standout from the Hard Rock scrimmage was Mike Harley, who led all receivers with five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.
More than likely, Harley will emerge as the go-to guy for King throughout the upcoming season, with this outing as proof of why it could happen.
The tandem of Jeremiah Payton and Mark Pope have also emerged as quality receivers, as they combined for three touchdown catches in the scrimmage. Payton had three catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Pope added four catches for 65 yards and two scores.
Running back Cam’Ron Harris and tight end Will Mallory each caught a touchdown pass, while freshman Michael Redding hauled in two scores of his own.
“You’ve got to finish drives,” Diaz said. “We did a bunch of different things down there and I thought we were crisp…No assignment issues and everyone seemed to know what to do and do it at a high level.”
Diaz wanted to give his team a game-type vibe in the scrimmage, which is primarily why the Hurricanes went on to perform at their home stadium at Hard Rock.
“It felt great to be back at Hard Rock Stadium,” Diaz said. “We had some players that never even seen Hard Rock Stadium…Tyler Van Dyke has never seen a stadium with grass on it. D’Eriq King was only here on his official visit. So just to get out here and play and have the scoreboards on and just have some sort of gameday atmosphere, I think was really good for our guys.”
NOTE: Miami’s season-opener will be against UAB on Thursday, Sept. 10 at Hard Rock Stadium. The kickoff is set for 8 p.m.
PHOTO CREDITS: Tim Brogdon/Miami Athletics
