Happy Tuesday. Let’s talk Canes, shall we?

QB Tyler Van Dyke, WR Charleston Rambo win ACC Weekly Awards

Another week, more weekly awards for your Canes. After stellar performances against Georgia Tech, Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke and WR Charleston Rambo were named the ACC Rookie and Receiver of the Week, respectively.

For Van Dyke, this is the 3rd consecutive week he’s been named ACC Rookie of the Week. His stat line this week was great: 22-34 passing for 389 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs. And, when you combine the stats he’s put up in the last 3 weeks (again, all of which were recognized with this award), you see that he’s been out here BALLIN’.

For his part, Rambo has been the main recipient of Van Dyke’s breakout passing performances. The Oklahoma transfer said a few weeks ago that 120 yards/game wasn’t good enough, so he was gonna step it up. He’s eclipsed that mark twice in the last 3 games, and without a couple key drops along the way, would be 3/3 there and have even more yardage.

On Saturday afternoon, Rambo became the 4th Hurricanes receiver to ever record 200 yards receiving in a single game. His 210 yards are 2nd all time in that category.

Congrats to Tyler and Charleston. Keep that dynamic passing combination going, guys!

More Portal Defections

At his weekly presser on Monday, Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Manny Diaz announced that S Gurvan Hall and LB Bradley Jennings Jr. were both leaving the program and heading into the transfer portal.

A 4-star recruit from Palm Beach Lakes, Hall was a highly sought after player coming out of the prep ranks. Nick Saban famously landed Alabama’s recruiting helicopter on the football field at PBL to recruit Hall. And while he’s a talented player, it never really came together for him at Miami.

Hall’s best season as a Cane was as a sophomore in 2019, when he had 66 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 2 sacks, 3 PBUs, 1 INT, and 1 fumble recovery. Unfortunately, Hall struggled to replicate that performance in either of the last 2 years, and saw his role diminish in recent weeks as the freshman Safety trio of Kamren Kinchens, Avantae Williams, and James Williams has ascended to the top of the rotation. Hall concludes his career in the Gables with 148 tackles, 6 TFLs, 2 sacks, 6 PBUs, 1 interception, and 1 fumble recovery.

A 3 star recruit from Jacksonville, Jennings Jr. is the son of a former FSU linebacker of the same name. Jennings Jr. was always thought to be more of a developmental player as opposed to Hall, and he worked his way into the rotation in the last couple of years. However, his inability to play pass coverage, and deficiencies in run fits (which was his “strength”) relegated Jennings Jr. to rotation duty at a position where there has been a great need for solid play.

Jennings Jr.’s best season BY FAR was the COVID-19 season from 2020. In that year, he had 39 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, 3 sacks, and 1 PBU. Unfortunately, however, those were the majority of the stats Jennings Jr. collected in his entire Miami career. He depart the program with a career stat line of 68 tackles, 9 TFLs, 3 sacks, 1 PBU, and 1 fumble recovered.

We wish both Gurvan Hall and Bradley Jennings Jr. the best in their future endeavors. Fare thee well, gentlemen!

D’Eriq King decides to go pro

Just a quick note here because I missed it last week and I’m not sure I said it here, but Miami QB D’Eriq King went on the Lamar Thomas podcast and announced his intention to test the pros after this season.

As a 6th year senior and 24 years old already, it makes sense that King is ready for the next step in his personal and professional life. And, following a 2nd major injury here at Miami — last year a knee, this year a shoulder — there’s no time like the present for him to make the move to go pro.

Though his time at Miami was short lived, King was an incredible player, and a wonderful representative of the Miami Hurricanes program. His 2020 season was one that helped right the wrongs of the 2019 year, and his work ethic and preparation have shown Tyler Van Dyke, Jake Garcia, and the rest of the QBs what it means to do the work to be ready to perform.

In all, it was a short but great partnership between Miami and King, and we thank him for everything he brought to the program. Best wishes, D’Eriq!

Blips on the Radar

A classic jersey combo this week on the road: White over Orange, with black socks and cleats.

Higlhights from the win over Georgia Tech

According to an FSU 247sports writer, it was “miraculous” that the Noles scored 14 against NC State last weekend. That’s cool and all, but Miami has to do the work to achieve a similar result.

Miami vs VT next weekend is on a 6 day hold. Kick time and TV coverage will come out after this weekend’s games.

• Roman Marciante’s Student of the Game film review from the win over GT
• Craig T. Smith’s Monday Musings
• Yesterday’s Storm Center

That’s it for today.

Go Canes