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Lashlee has full confidence King will be "as good as ever" Game 1 vs. Bama

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Coming off spring practice Hurricane coaches made no secret that they feel the QB depth took a big step forward with Tyler Van Dyke and Jake Garcia playing well while D’Eriq King was sidelined due to a torn ACL suffered in the bowl game.

And yes, Van Dyke and Garcia played well all spring - Van Dyke was 34 for 51 passing in 3 scrimmages with 391 yards and five TDs while Garcia hit on 52 of 71 throws for 604 yards with four TDs and an INT.

But let's face it, there's not really a substitute for what we saw from King last season.

He was special.

He has experience.

And Miami needs him back for Game 1 against Alabama in which the Canes are a heavy underdog.

Last season King threw for 2,686 yards with 23 TD passes and five INTs, hitting on 64.1 percent of his throws. He added 538 rush yards and 10 more scores and was a big reason Rhett Lashlee's offense averaged 34.0 points per game.

Oh, and did we mention BetMGM also has Cane QB D'Eriq King tied for sixth to win the Heisman at 12:1 this year? Ahead of him: Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler (3:1), Clemson's DJ Uiagalelei (5:1), Georgia's JT Daniels (6:1), UNC's Sam Howell (7:1) and Alabama's Bryce Young (10:1). Tied with King is USC's Kedon Slovis.

Which brings us to the big question: King's recovery timeline off a torn ACL in the bowl game.

Lashlee addressed that question today on the ACC Network.

"D’Eriq is in great shape,” Lashlee said. “The moment that terrible injury happened, after a couple of days of him being really disappointed, knowing how he was, his character, you knew he'd be that guy that would not only be back in time but come back better than ever. He’s done that. His mindset's been great. He's really attacked his rehab, has done everything the doctors have asked of him.

"We have full confidence that he's on track to not only be ready but 100 percent ready to go, as good as ever. ... we're just taking it as slow as we need to, but you'd have to probably pry him off that field for him not to be there game 1. And there’s no indication that he won't be ready to go."

Lashlee also said he's pleased with the team depth.

“We do feel blessed to have a lot of guys returning from last year and we feel like we do have some good young players that maybe people didn’t get to see that much last year or maybe they are total newcomers that will add to the playmakers for us,” Lashlee said.

He added that “I think we are in a good place because we have a good foundation set. That is what last year was all about. There was some growing pains. We did some good things and we also struggled at times. I think we were going in the right direction though and it is always good in year two to have older guys like Mike Harley and D’Eriq and Will Mallory. We have a lot of guys that have been in our system a year and they understand why we are doing what we do and if we are clicking right, the ball will find the open guy.”

Lashlee and the team will learn a lot about itself in the season opener against Alabama.

“The reason you come to the University of Miami is to play in games like that and coach in games like that," Lashlee said. "We have so much respect for them. I spent six years at Auburn, so I know very well what we are about to face. They are the best team in college football over the past ten years. They are a phenomenal program with a phenomenal defense. It is going to be a great challenge for us.

“If you are a competitor, you come to the University of Miami to play in games like this against a program like Alabama to kickoff the season. You get all summer to prepare for something and you know right out of the gates where you stand. We are excited about the opportunity. ... “You don’t have a lot of margin for error in big games. I think the thing coach Diaz is trying to get across to our guys this offseason is that we still have a step to take in some of these big games and big moments. We just have to go out and play the best version of Miami football that we can play. We have to play well for four quarters. You shouldn’t play different in this game compared to any other game.”

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