Miami Hurricanes 2021 Player Profile: QB Jake Garcia

Jake Garcia was a consensus four-star prospect by all major publications and was rated the 18th overall player in the ESPN300. The number two ranked pure pocket passer in all the land, Garcia stands in at 6’3” and 194 pounds.

When you throw for nearly 6000 yards and over 50 touchdowns in varsity seasons at the high school level, you obviously have some throwing prowess. Garcia had four stops in four years including a cross country trek to Georgia and perennial power Grayson high school.

Admissions might not like the wandering nomadic life but listening to Garcia recount the multiple moves as a benefit was encouraging. His ability to grasp offenses at a blazing pace led to an exceptional spring game and Garcia definitely turned heads.

The smooth, slender Garcia has a very keen knack for navigating the pocket. Magellan might have circumnavigated the world with aimless abandon but Garcia is fully loaded with a pocket finding GPS. The freshman quarterback is right at home behind the line of scrimmage and his passes beyond that are equally impressive.

I really appreciate Garcia’s touch and his ability to not shrink in the moment. 19-25 for 255 and two touchdowns in the spring game are D’Eriq King like numbers. The big difference there is, King has been involved at the college level for six years, Garcia around six minutes.

All eyes will be on the 2022 quarterback battle as Tyler Van Dyke and Jake Garcia are the heir apparent to the quarterback throne. That quarterback contest however starts now. Consistency will be the new king once the D’Eriq King version finally leaves Coral Gables.

Who will rise to the backup role? Who will keep mentally checked in when the starting job goes to the exceptional incumbent? Who can stay out of trouble? Who will be a leader in the locker room? All those questions can be answered in 2021 and will be a spring board catalyst to the future.

Garcia absolutely has the talent necessary to secure major playing time at the U and win a lot of ball games in the process. He opened up a lot of eyes including my own this spring. You had a blindfold on if you couldn’t see the gunslingers natural ability paraded like its name was Macy’s.

The university of Miami has done a great job in consecutive cycles stacking the chips in the quarterback room. This is what this program needs. In the last 20 years Miami is tied for 6th in the ACC in terms of drafted quarterbacks. This needs to change. It needs to change now.

Garcia can be a name that rebounds the trend and gets Miami to the precipice of national relevance and then possibly beyond. There will never be a more important battle for QB2 then this year.