The Rundown Take
Former Cane QB Kenny Kelly Calls In: "Give Manny Time" — U Talk Weighs the New-Look Staff
A loaded Friday show: portal buzz on grad transfer quarterback D'Eriq King and defensive end Quincy Roche, a report card on new offensive line coach Garin Justice, and then a genuine surprise — former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Kenny Kelly, now coaching under Butch Davis at FIU, calling in live to talk rebuilding a program the right way.
Key Takeaways
- D'Eriq King is reportedly in Miami on a two-day visit; the host runs his Houston numbers — 50 total touchdowns in 2018, 4,925 career passing yards, 1,421 rushing yards — and calls him the one transfer target he wants most.
- Defensive end Quincy Roche is on a visitation tour that already included Miami, with Virginia Tech and Texas also in the mix.
- New offensive line coach Garin Justice arrives from UNLV, inheriting a line that allowed 51 sacks (third-most nationally) and averaged just 88 rushing yards a game last season.
- Former Miami QB Kenny Kelly (1998-99) phones in from his coaching post at FIU under Butch Davis, praising Miami's program culture but urging patience with Manny Diaz.
- The host welcomes incoming FIU transfer kicker Jose Borregales after Miami's own kicking struggles, while running back Cam'Ron Harris, Don Chaney and DeeJay Dallas' departure to the draft reshape the backfield picture.
The Portal Watch
King and Roche headline a wish list the host has been building for weeks, but the bigger story was accountability. Citing the offseason report on missed curfews and undisciplined behavior, the host didn't hold back on what he wants fixed before kickoff.
"If guys don't want to put the work in, if guys don't want to be there, don't want you to be there. We don't have to beg anybody to come to the University of Miami. We want guys that are willing and wanting to make a change."
A Cane Legend Checks In
Kenny Kelly's call was the night's highlight. A two-sport star out of Tampa Catholic who went on to play both Miami football and Major League Baseball, Kelly now coaches under Butch Davis at FIU — the program that beat Miami last season. Kelly credited Davis for building a culture where players are held to a standard both on and off the field, and while he stopped short of predicting a turnaround, his message was simple: give Manny Diaz and his new staff real time before passing judgment.
Fixing the Trenches
With Garin Justice now tasked with turning around one of the nation's worst offensive lines, the host pointed to a group getting older together — Zion Nelson, Navaughn Donaldson, Corey Gaynor, Jakai Clark and D.J. Scaife all return with a year of experience. Add in a running back room featuring Cam'Ron Harris, Don Chaney and Jaylan Knighton behind a Rhett Lashlee scheme built to spread teams thin, and the host landed on cautious optimism: last year's offense, he argued, simply cannot happen again.