TMG NEWSMAKER OF THE WEEK: D'Eriq King
A year ago, first year Miami Hurricane coach Manny Diaz thought he had solved a quarterback issue by building his offensive hopes on a transfer quarterback from Ohio State named Tate Martell.
The only danger in that theory was that Martell played in six games at Ohio State.
He was a flop and the Canes went 6-7.
Fast forward to this season.
Diaz again gambled on a transfer QB named D'Eriq King from the University of Houston.
One difference. King was a proven commodity at Houston, rushing for 28 TDs and throwing for 50.
Two games into his career as a Hurricane, King has matched his build up, guiding his team to a pair of relatively easy victories over UAB and last week in the Canes' ACC opener at Louisville.
In a 47-34 win, all King did was throw 3 TD passes for 325 yards, which was just part of an offense which can produce points in multiple forms.
King, who played four games last season at Houston before deciding to take a redshirt season rather than waste his senior season in a losing effort, may be the Canes' first legitimate star at QB in almost 20 years.
After the win over Louisville, Diaz had this observation of his new QB. "Poised, in control, made some great throws and made some big time plays.''
With another ACC showdown coming this week against FSU, Diaz can't ask for much more than that, which is why D'Eriq King is TMG's Newsmaker of the Week.