EJ Manuel: UM's Top Transfers Will Have '100 Percent Success Rate'
Big things are expected this season from UM’s transfers, specifically quarterback D’Eriq King (Houston), right tackle Jarrid Williams (Houston), defensive ends Quincy Roche (Temple) and Jaelan Phillips (UCLA), and kicker Jose Borregales (FIU). And each will deliver in a big way.
That’s the prediction of EJ Manuel, the ACC Network analyst, ex-Florida State quarterback and 2013 NFL first-round pick.
“I would say I’d be shocked if it’s not 100 percent success rate on all of those guys,” Manuel said Wednesday on a video conference call.
“The reason you transfer is to go and play. You don’t just transfer just to go out hang out amongst the palm trees in Miami and all that kind of stuff.”
Miami opens the season at 8 p.m. Thursday when it hosts Alabama-Birmingham at Hard Rock Stadium.
King, Williams, Roche, Phillips and Borregales are all expected to play key roles in the UAB game as well as every other game this season. All are seniors except Phillips, who is a junior.
Anecdotally, it’s doubtful all five will thrive. Injuries could occur, for example.
But ACCN analyst Eric Mac Lain, the former Clemson guard, agreed with Manuel regarding UM’s transfers.
“I think those guys are going to be really good from the clips that we’ve seen (and) from the interviews,” he said. “Just hearing their confidence within the system, I think there’s a ton of excitement to go out there.”
Of course, Miami, such as most other schools, has had one or two transfers who haven’t yet met expectations for one reason or another.
The most highly-publicized players in that situation for UM are junior quarterback Tate Martell (Ohio State) and junior safety Bubba Bolden (USC), who coincidentally were teammates at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman. UM tight end Brevin Jordan was also on those Bishop Gorman teams.
But Mac Lain said the fresh start and new set of challenges should inspire the transfers. Manuel expects nothing less than success.
“Again, if I’m in their shoes as a player I’m not just transferring just to go and have a good time,” Manuel said. “I’m going to go out and win, I’m going to go out and play well to give myself the best opportunity to move on to the next level.”
Interestingly, all of the senior transfers, including King, could return in 2021 for another senior season thanks to a recently-approved NCAA rule that grants an extra year of eligibility to athletes in fall sports. King, whose NFL projection at quarterback is hazy, said Tuesday he hasn’t yet considered the possibility of returning in 2021.
“I haven’t thought about it too much,” King said, also mentioning the unknown factor of COVID-19. “I think there’s a lot of factors that would go into me coming back or me leaving. We just have to see how the year plays out. Nobody knows anything yet.”
