Miami Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King (1) arrives on the Hurricane Walk before the start of an NCAA college football game against Michigan State on Saturday, September 18, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. ( AP Photo / Michael Reaves)
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CORAL GABLES, Florida.
Miami quarterback D’Eriq King is suffering from a shoulder injury that will require further evaluation this week, the latest blow to the shocked Hurricanes.
King will meet with doctors again on Tuesday, coach Manny Diaz said. The Hurricanes, who fell from the AP Top 25 on Sunday for the first time this season, will face the Lower Division Central Connecticut State on Saturday before opening the Atlantic Coast Conference game against Virginia on Saturday. September 30.
“D’Eriq is pretty badly handled,” Diaz said Monday during his weekly radio appearance on WQAM, the school’s flagship station.
King was injured in Miami’s 38-17 loss to Michigan State last Saturday. King broke the Hurricanes records for completed passes and attempts in this game, connecting on 38 of his 59 throws for 388 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“I’m fine,” King insisted after the game.
He briefly left the field in the second half of that game so the shoulder could be assessed, then returned without missing a single Miami snap. King was rocked later in that game on at least two other occasions and remained in the contest again.
“The guy does everything for this program,” Diaz said. “The guy is sacrificing himself just to help us… we need to have more around him.” I think there are too many guys sitting there watching D’Eriq that don’t play with the same desperation as him. I think it was unfair to D’Eriq.
If King – who is tied for fifth nationally with 27 goals per game so far this season – is sidelined, Miami will choose between returning rookie Tyler Van Dyke or real rookie Jake Garcia to take over. at the quarterback position. Van Dyke threw three assists in very limited action for Miami over the past two seasons, while Garcia is yet to make his college debut.
“We prepared them both every week like they were both backup,” Diaz said.
Miami is also awaiting further test results on offensive lineman Jalen Rivers, who left in the Michigan State game with a knee injury.
“They did some initial scans and it shows he has something,” Diaz said. “But we won’t know the initial length until Tuesday.”
The Hurricanes opened the season 14th in the AP poll. They fell to No.22 after a season opener loss to Alabama, dropped two more spots after narrowly beating Appalachian State, and then collapsed completely after the 21-point home loss to Michigan State.
Miami was in the AP rankings for 19 straight weeks, which was the eighth longest active streak in the country before the poll was released on Sunday.
“We deserve the expectations because it’s the University of Miami and that’s why we come here, why we play here and why we train here,” said Diaz. “We accept that by going into that. And all three performances fell short of expectations. It’s just. … Our performances hurt us all.
King’s numbers in the loss to Michigan State broke two long-standing records in Miami.
Brock Berlin held the Miami record for achievements in a game for almost 18 years; he had 37 against West Virginia on October 2, 2003. Berlin and Ryan Collins shared the record for attempted passes in a game with 54; Berlin arrived in the 2003 game against the Mountaineers and Collins had the same against Memphis on November 27, 1993.
Central Connecticut State (1-2) just lost 56-10 to Southeast Louisiana last weekend. The Blue Devils last played against a Power 5 team in 2017, falling to Syracuse 50-7 that season.
