Miami has its quarterback. That was announced during a ceremony on Wednesday Jake Garcia will sign with Hurricanes. The All-American broke the decision with Greg Biggins of 247Sports. The former USC also considered both Arkansas and FSU, holding more than 25 scholarship offers from schools across the country.
Garcia, who ranks the industry-generated 247Sports Composite as the country’s # 5 pro-style passer, is on the cusp of becoming the second-highest ranked quarterback to ever sign with Miami. He joins a UM recruiting class that is full of assault weapons and includes a few five star prospects on the defensive side of the ball in tackles Leonard Taylor and safety James Williams.
Manny Diaz deserves a lot of credit for the commitment, as does the offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. Diaz first began a relationship with Garcia last spring and managed to land the blue-chip talent campus twice before committing to the Trojans. Lashlee was the one who was ready to attack Garcia when he formally reopened his recruitment and was able to get things across the finish line after the Razorbacks made it interesting in the eleventh hour.
Garcia is expected to enroll early and begin classes in Miami in January. That means he gets off to a flying start learning Lashlee’s system. It is unclear at this point whether the current UM quarterback will start D’Eriq King returns for a sixth year next season, but leaving for the NFL Draft could open the door for Garcia to potentially view the field as a true freshman as he would join a Hurricanes quarterback room who would must include N’Kosi Perry, Tyler Van Dyke, Peyton Matocha and Tate Martell, assuming, of course, that no one is switching.
As a senior, Garcia played in six games at Loganville (Georgia) Grayson. He threw a few touchdowns in a quarter-final playoff win last Friday, meaning he is two wins away from a state title. Should Garcia earn a ring in the Peach State’s second-highest ranking, it would be quite a journey as he’s in his fifth high school in four years.
Garcia contributed his first season Long Beach Poly in California. He then spent the next two years in nearby Narbonne. Garcia would play his senior season at La Harba, but ever the California Interscholastic Federation decided to delay his fall sports due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, he moved to Georgia hoping to have a senior season before enrolling early in the university of his choice. Garcia turned up in Valdosta, where he was in one match for the Georgia High School Association ruled that he was ineligible to compete. That’s how he ended up at Grayson.
National sports analyst Greg Biggins has in the past compared Garcia to current Tennessee Titians quarterback Ryan Tannehill. 247 Sports director of scouting Barton Simmons is just as high on Garcia.
“Jake looks impressive. He’s got a really strong arm. He’s really athletic. He’s got a great frame. On paper he’s got everything you’re looking for and that points to a lot of benefits and potential,” said Simmons.
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