Not your father's 'Cane QBs
Lack of production missing in Miami
Not your father's 'Cane QBs

By Berry Tramel

Published: September 6, 2007

Miami comes to Owen Field on Saturday. Same attitude as the old days. Same logo. Same tradition.

But these are not your father's Miami Hurricanes, and the difference is quarterback.

Old Miami won national titles with Bernie Kosar, Steve Walsh, Craig Erickson and Gino Torretta, and that list doesn't even include the two best Miami QBs, Jim Kelly and Vinny Testaverde.

But since Torretta's 1992 Heisman Trophy, Miami has produced only one star quarterback, Ken Dorsey.

Not coincidentally, in Dorsey's three years as starter, Miami was 35-2. But before and after Dorsey, Miami has not produced elite quarterbacks. Ryan Collins, Frank Costa, Ryan Clement, Scott Covington and Kenny Kelly in the '90s; Brock Berlin, Derrick Crudup (son of the ex-Sooner by the same name), Kyle Wright and now Kirby Freeman in the 2000s.

Combined NFL passes by that crew: 10. Winning percentage with those guys in command: 71.4 percent. Both far cries from the 'Cane standard.

Last year, Miami scored 10 points vs. Florida State, seven vs. Louisville and Virginia, 14 vs. Houston, 10 vs. Virginia Tech and only 20 on hapless Duke. Since Dorsey left, Miami has averaged only 13.6 points in five games against Florida State.

"Schematically, there's a lot of pressure put on the quarterback to make plays,” OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables said of Miami in recent years. "I think the quarterback had to make a lot of plays, and maybe some youth up front didn't allow him to have the comfort in the pocket to make a lot of those plays.”

Wright started the previous two years but was beaten out by Freeman this season. Freeman is more mobile and not the classic Miami dropback passer.

"You saw in the first game their new attitude is establishing the run game, and obviously they did that against Marshall, which takes great pressure off that quarterback,” Venables said. "Moving the pocket helps the offensive line and the quarterback buy some time.”

Recruiting has not been the Miami problem. Berlin, Wright and Freeman all were among the nation's elite quarterback recruits.

But they have not produced, so Miami has slipped.

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