In order for the Miami Hurricanes to ascend into the college football collective consciousness it must do so from the quarterback position. It is imperative to stack chips at the most important position on the field year after year. Miami has emphatically done so for the 2023 class with the additions of Emory Williams and Jaden Rashada.

Mario Cristobal has made a bold quarterback declaration and cannonballed with a big splash. Emory Williams is a late blooming star from Milton, Florida. Recently CBS and 247 affiliated Josh Pate joined the Orange Bowl Boys and likened him to Alabama’s Mac Jones. Pate declared that it wasn’t from a talent standpoint, rather Jones was in a loaded quarterback room in his own right.

Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa were the heralded phenoms who ultimately displayed a dueling pageantry on a national championship stage.  Eventually it was Jones’s turn. He made the most of it. Williams will most likely improve. He has the frame to get stronger. Williams was able to perform admirably at the Elite 11 and parlay the echo chamber into one common sentiment. He won’t stick with the Hurricanes.

You may balk at the comment. The notion is Williams will have other suiters. Williams is definitely good enough to be “the guy” somewhere else. So why would Williams stay? It is not very often where you have Elite 11 caliber quarterbacks commit and stick with the same school. Competition however carries with it a subtle nuance that is intrinsically wired like time. It is everywhere and it is always. Coach Cristobal embraces it. It permeates through his being. It is infectious.

Rashada is the glorious centerpiece at the wedding reception table. You know the one. It makes people envious. The one people claw, elbow and fight over to have. They frantically look under their seats to see if they have the magic ticket to win.  The California kid is a consensus top five prospect who has an impeccable skill set. Rashada has the arm and the anticipatory foresight to see things materialize before most quarterbacks do. He has impervious anticipation. The kid is good, damn good.

The Pittsburg QB1 turned heads on the flag circuit. While playing with the Immortals, a South Florida flag football powerhouse, it was evidently clear to see Rashada’s radiance shine. I have seen many prospects over the years, Rashada is an exquisite vertical passer. Plug him into any system that accentuates pushing the ball down field and he will assimilate seamlessly. The kid is good, damn good.

Frank Ponce the Miami Hurricane quarterback’s coach deserves some recognition as well. The position of need has to have enough representation of leadership and prominence in order to attract higher end talent. Ponce has held serve. The Hurricanes are rolling in terms of recruiting and the quarterback’s are its roaring engine.

Cristobal can undoubtedly and emphatically recruit like a possessed mad man. We know this. If there is any fractionalization however of his coaching prowess which ties into recruiting it’s with quarterbacks. “Look at what Cristobal did when he didn’t have Herbert.” Naysayers are going to nay say. Is this a fair comment? No. Not necessarily speaking when you consider what Ed Orgeron was apart from Joe Burrow or what Jimbo Fisher was without Jameis Winston.

That is why nailing your assessment of the most important position on the field is so critical. This is why the ascertainment of the most critical asset on the field needs to be an incessant endeavor. You don’t stack quarterbacks for the sake of it, you stack quarterbacks because the head coach will eventually get fired without the right one. Hurricane’s fans have a long way to go before both quarterbacks sign on the dotted line. But these two are a great indication of things to come.