Miami spring football is underway. According to head coach Mario Cristobal, Miami has added 26 newcomers. The Hurricanes added plenty of players to their roster and lost several via the transfer portal.
Miami has officially lost 14 players to transfer and added 10 players to the roster via the portal.
There will be plenty of position battles to analyze, but here are the top five quarterbacks.
This is the tenth of a series in which CanesCounty.com will rank Miami's best players going into spring football.
Related Links:
Ranking the top five Miami players on offense going into spring
Ranking the top five Miami players on defense going into spring
Ranking the top five offensive linemen going into spring
Ranking the top five defensive linemen going into spring
Ranking the top five tight ends going into spring
Ranking the top five linebackers going into spring
Ranking the top five wide receivers going into spring
5. Judd Anderson
Although we are already one week into spring practice, the ranking of the Miami quarterbacks has already been set in most people's minds. This is perhaps the most talented quarterback room Miami has had this century.
Miami has four quarterbacks with multiple college football starts under their belt. The one quarterback without any college football playing experience has arguably the highest upside. Freshman quarterback Judd Anderson has an opportunity to learn from all of the other quarterbacks in the room and is already putting in after-practice work.
The 6'7" passer is underrated athletically and has all the tools to be Miami's quarterback of the future. The former dual-sport athlete (basketball) passed for over 1700 yards and 15 touchdowns in his senior season.
4. Jacurri Brown
When former Miami starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke went down with an injury last season ahead of a pivotal ACC game with Clemson, Miami chose to go with the true freshman Emory Williams. The first-year QB led Miami to a 28-20 overtime over the Tigers at Hard Rock Stadium.
It surprised some, considering that sophomore Jacurri Brown appeared in eight games and made two starts in the 2022 season. Van Dyke was benched ahead of the Florida State game, and Williams got the nod again over Brown to start.
After Williams suffered a season-ending arm injury in a 27-20 loss to FSU, Miami went back to Van Dyke for its final regular season games (a 38-31 loss to Louisville and a 45-20 win over Boston College).
It gave reason to believe that the coaching staff did not feel Brown put Miami in the best position to win football games.
Van Dyke entered the transfer portal after the regular season forcing Brown into the starting role for Miami's bowl game against Rutgers. In his only game appearance of the season, the former three-star prospect from Lowndes, GA, completed 20-of-31 passes for 181 yards, throwing for one score and rushing for two more. Brown also threw in an interception in a 31-24 loss. Brown could make a big jump in the spring and take over for the third quarterback role if he can improve his accuracy and decision-making.
The 6'4" 220-pound QB's career numbers are 61 percent completion percentage, 411 passing yards, four TDs, four INTs, 278 yards rushing, two rushing TDs, and 30.9 yards rushing per game.
3. Emory Williams
Williams grasped the offense quickly in the first season under offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson. He was able to command the offense in a hostile environment against Miami's biggest rival, Florida State, and was a score away from pulling off a major upset before being carted off with an injury on Miami's final drive.
His two starts are a small sample size of his potential, but certainly enough to deem him the third-string quarterback at this point in the spring.
The 6'5," 220-pound quarterback from Milton, FL, completed year one with a 62 percent completion percentage, 470 yards passing, three touchdowns, and one interception.
2. Reese Poffenbarger
When Miami landed Albany transfer quarterback Reese Poffenbarger in January, he was expected to be the starter for Miami for the upcoming 2024 season.
The 6'1" 215-pound QB led the FCS in passing touchdowns (36) and yards (3,603) last season, and the buzz around campus is that he is a fiery competitor.
His experience on the college football level gives him the edge as Miami's backup quarterback, but he will have to perform at a high level to keep his position. Poffenbarger has played in 24 games completing 60 percent of his passes for nearly 6000 yards, throwing for 56 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in two years at Albany.
The question about Poffenbarger is the competition he played against. Last season in nine games, he completed under 60 percent of his passes. His last start did not go well. He threw three interceptions and zero touchdowns in a playoff loss to South Dakota State.
He has two years of eligibility left.
1. Cam Ward
Washington State transfer Cam Ward will most certainly be the starting quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes in its opener against the Florida Gators in Gainesville.
Ward threw for 3,736 yards, 25 TDs, seven interceptions in 2023 and over 7,000 yards and 48 TDs in his two seasons with the Cougars.
Ward has already made a strong impression after three spring practices.
Ward's ability to improvise and make plays when the play breaks down makes him special. Ward ranked 49th in offensive grade (80.6) among quarterbacks last season.
Against teams that ended the season ranked in the final top 25 (Arizona, Oregon, Washington,), Ward passed for an average of 315 yards with a 70.2 completion percentage. He threw four touchdowns and three interceptions in those games, which resulted in an 0-3 record.
Ward should be playing in front of a much improved offensive line this season as the Cougars ranked 75th while the Hurricanes ranked 12th.
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