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The Miami Hurricanes appear to have found their starting quarterback for the 2024 season.
After an up-and-down 2023 season with Tyler Van Dyke (who has since transferred to Wisconsin) at the helm, the ‘Canes went big game hunting in the transfer portal.
But when former Washington State signal caller Cam Ward opted to enter the NFL Draft rather than transfer for a sixth season of college football, it appeared that Miami might be in trouble.
The Hurricanes spent a small fortune to take Ward and his family out to dinner at one of the most expensive luxury restaurants in South Beach. They even brought in rapper Rick Ross to come help. A lucrative, potentially seven-figure NIL package was in place to ensure that he was well compensated.
But no dice.
And so the ‘Canes and coach Mario Cristobal were left looking elsewhere.
On Monday, they finally found their man.
BREAKING: Miami has landed a transfer quarterback in Albany’s Reese Poffenbarger.
Poffenbarger led the FCS in passing yards and touchdowns and took the Great Danes to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs. https://t.co/jqJVrjPfpN pic.twitter.com/QZEOkV93rz
— Gaby Urrutia (@GabyUrrutia247) January 8, 2024
Miami picked up a commitment from Albany (FCS) quarterback Reese Poffenbarger.
The Maryland product led the FCS in passing yards (3,614) and touchdowns (36) in his redshirt sophomore season and took the Great Danes to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.
He began his career as a walk-on at Old Dominion before transferring to Albany prior to the 2022 season.
Transfer QB Reese Poffenbarger Explains Why He Chose Miami Hurricanes
“Albany will forever have a place in my heart and we did a lot of special things,” Poffenbarger told ESPN’s Pete Thamel about the move. “At the end of the day, I thought it was time to move on and put myself in the best position to compete for a national championship and one day play in the NFL.”
Why Miami? He tells Thamel that the decision was easy.
“Who has the roster and people in place to make a push to win every game that they play,” Poffenbarger said. “Miami’s roster is flooded with guys who can play in the NFL and make elite plays at this level. They have elite talent at wide receiver and tailback and a defense that can choke people out.”
Will he be as good as Ward? Only time will tell.
But it’s better than the big hole the ‘Canes were staring at prior to Poffenbarger’s commitment.