Miami OC Shannon Dawson Believes in Freshman Quarterback Luke Nickel
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes will have the chance to show everyone who has been cooking this spring without their star quarterback, Carson Beck.
Quarterbacks Emory Williams, Judd Anderson, and Luke Nickel have all taken quality reps during spring practice, and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson loves what he is seeing out of the room.
What he likes most is the development of freshman quarterback, Nickel. He believes that he can throw the ball at an 'elite level' and that, over time, he will be a massive part of the program.
"You can see that over time, reps matter," Dawson said. "Luke has the ability to throw the football at an elite level. That helps the learning curve, having high ability. Overall, when you first get somewhere as a quarterback, it's like learning a new language. When you learn a new language, it doesn't necessarily come instinctively when you're rattling off things in the huddle, and you have to communicate nonverbally and verbally. As time goes on, you can see how those instincts start clicking. The play starts moving smoothly in terms of communication. Communication is the hardest part to get over as a young quarterback, to learn the flow of the offense as far as verbiage goes. Not only calling the play, but you might have to signal a different play. You might need to signal a different route to a receiver. Doing all that within a 15-second window after you break the huddle- that's the process. So the last week and a half with that has been really smooth with him."
Nickel will get to show what he has been working on during spring practice at Miami's spring game. This won't be a televised event like last season, so being there to witness the future of the Hurricanes will be a good experience.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.