The 2024 season is on the horizon, and Hurricanes fans hope to see a major step forward in Year 3 of the Mario Cristobal era.
As Miami keeps adding talent through high school and transfer portal recruiting, UM appears poised to be a major contender in the ACC this season.
This summer, we will take a look at a different position group each week to see who departed, who arrived and who should have big impacts this year.
We will start with perhaps the biggest reason for optimism in Coral Gables: Miami’s quarterback room.
Who left
The Hurricanes had two key members of the quarterback room leave in the offseason, but neither departure was particularly surprising.
Tyler Van Dyke, who had been the Hurricanes’ primary starting quarterback since early in the 2021 season, left UM for Wisconsin via the transfer portal.
Van Dyke had moments of brilliance in his Miami career, including early last year. He finished the season with 2,703 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024.
The second departure came later, as rising third-year quarterback Jacurri Brown entered the transfer portal after spring practice ended. Brown played in one game last year, starting the Pinstripe Bowl against Rutgers. He wound up transferring to UCF.
The two departures would have left Miami shorthanded at quarterback, but they added several new signal-callers to make up for the losses.
Who returns
The Hurricanes have just one scholarship quarterback returning from last year’s team: sophomore quarterback Emory Williams.
Williams arrived as an unheralded three-star prospect a year ago but grew into Van Dyke’s primary backup. After earning late reps in three early-season wins, Williams got the start against Clemson when Van Dyke was dealing with an injury.
Williams led Miami to a win over the Tigers — their first since 2010 — with 24 completions on 33 attempts for 151 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But Williams went back to the bench after Van Dyke returned.
The Hurricanes put Williams back in the starting role as Van Dyke struggled in the second half of the season, and the freshman started on the road against Florida State. He completed just 8 of 23 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns before he suffered an arm injury that knocked him out for the remainder of the season.
Williams completed 62 percent of his passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns with one interception last year. Pro Football Focus gave him a 66.8 offensive grade in his limited time.
Williams returned to the practice field for spring camp, and he battled it out with transfer Reese Poffenbarger for the backup spot.
“Both Emory and Reese have really done a good job of staying on those heels of (transfer Cam Ward),” Cristobal said in the spring.
Who arrived
The biggest news of Miami’s offseason appeared to come on New Year’s Day. Former Washington State quarterback Cam Ward announced that he would enter the NFL draft instead of using his last year of college eligibility.
But that did not last long. Less than two weeks later, Ward changed his mind and committed to Miami, dramatically changing the outlook for the Hurricanes this season.
“That was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make,” Ward said in the spring. “From thinking I was ready for the NFL draft to knowing that I’m still not done yet in college. There’s still food left on the table for myself, for this team.”
Ward spent two seasons at Washington State after transferring there from FCS Incarnate Word. While playing for the Cougars, Ward became one of the PAC-12’s top quarterbacks. He racked up 3,736 passing yards with 25 touchdowns and seven picks in 2023. He also scored eight rushing touchdowns. Pro Football Focus gave him an 81.1 offensive grade with a 78.6 passing grade.
“Guys like that … that can make change, that can make a big difference, not just as a player but as a human being, they come around not too often,” Cristobal said.
Since arriving on Miami’s campus this winter, Ward has received rave reviews from his coaches and teammates.
“He can throw the ball, man,” linebacker Wesley Bissainthe said. “He’s putting the ball in places, very tight places. That shows me all I needed to see. He can throw the ball. Deep … whatever you need.”
Ward was not the only quarterback transfer. In the two weeks between Ward’s NFL draft announcement and his UM commitment, Miami received a transfer pledge from Poffenbarger, who arrived from Albany.
Poffenbarger did not have the name recognition that Ward did, but he has had a successful career so far. In 2023, he led FCS in passing touchdowns (36) and passing yards (3,603).
Like Ward, Poffenbarger has gotten praise from teammates and coaches.
“Competitor, man,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said in the spring. “He’s got a live arm. He’s played a lot of football, too. Football IQ is very high.”
The final newcomer to the quarterback room is freshman Judd Anderson. A three-star prospect from Georgia, Anderson was one of UM’s longest-tenured 2024 commits.
Playing behind Ward, Poffenbarger, Williams and Brown during the spring, Anderson did not get many reps during spring practice. However, his 6-foot-6 frame lends well to developing at the position.
“Judd Anderson impressed us from Day 1 with a couple of different things,” Cristobal said at his early signing day press conference. “No. 1 is leadership skills. We saw him play basketball, as well. His ability to move, make people miss, balance, body control, to be able to twist, bend and then get out of just really difficult body position was impressive. And then he was relatively new at quarterback in a particular high school before he made the move to another one and before long, you saw statistically what he did. It’s hard to do that: that many yards, that type of completion percentage, that many touchdowns. Natural leadership skills and just flat-out tough, unfazed, and there’s something he said about that. When you’re the one touching the football on every single play, it’s got to show, and your teammates got to feel that, and it just oozes out of him. Very hungry, tremendous appetite for betterment.”
