It appears Mark Richt has regained control of Miami’s quarterback room. Or, more to the point, Team Richt has.
Wednesday, it was reported that Jarren Williams was planning to transfer from the Hurricanes, due in very large part to his playing time (or lack thereof). The expectation was that the quarterback’s name would be in the NCAA’s Transfer Portal no later than Friday (today), which would allow any school in the FBS to talk to him without getting the permission of his current school.
However, Williams’ father confirmed to 247Sports.com that Richt and the head coach’s son, UM quarterbacks coach Jon Richt, have since triggered a change of transfer heart and his son will instead remain with the Hurricanes.
“Coach Mark Richt and Coach Jon Richt convinced Jarren to stay,” Anthony Williams told the website. “They convinced him to stay by laying out a path he’ll have an opportunity to compete and play in the 2019 season.”
Just what that particular path entails wasn’t detailed by the father.
Williams was a four-star 2018 signee, rated as the No. 5 pro-style quarterback in the Hurricanes’ class last cycle. As a true freshman this season, Williams completed one-of-three passes for 17 yards and ran for another two yards and a touchdown on a pair of carries. All of those stats came in the Week 2 win over FCS Savannah State.
Given this latest development, Williams will now likely be expected to compete with redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry for the starting job next season, although the incumbent will remain the favorite to retain the job heading into the offseason. There are currently two other scholarship quarterbacks on The U’s roster -- redshirt freshman Cade Weldon and true freshman Ryan Rizk.
Thus far, Miami has not signed a quarterback as part of next year’s recruiting class, although they remain on the hunt for one.