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Ballyhooed Hurricanes commitment Brad Kaaya graduates Chaminade High in Hollywood Hills, Calif., on Friday, and by the end of the weekend, he will be on UM’s campus, ready to enroll in classes and begin challenging Kevin Olsen for the quarterback job at the school that pursued him long before his stock skyrocketed as a prospect.
Whether Kaaya (or fellow incoming quarterback Malik Rosier) can mount a serious challenge against Olsen will be one of the fascinating stories to unfold over the next four months at UM.
Based on high school evaluation of both players, this UM staff loves Kaaya and believes he’s further ahead that Stephen Morris was at the same age. They like his size (6-4), arm, intelligence, work ethic and desire and willingness to study film on his own.
“He’s way different than the [typical] teenager,” Chaminade coach Ed Croson told me. “He’s very mature, very intelligent. He’s a 4.0 student, took seven classes in one of the [top college prep schools in Los Angeles]. There are a lot of temptations and distractions that don’t affect him. He watches practice film at night. He’s way ahead of the normal curve.”
Offensive coordinator James Coley pursued Kaaya long before UCLA and Southern California did, and Kaaya was loyal to Coley and the Hurricanes when those schools started calling him.
UM likes Olsen, too, obviously, but his primary recruiter initially was former Hurricanes offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, who moved on to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
As for Kaaya, “he has three things that are ahead of his age group,” Croson said. “He’s ahead of kids his age when it comes to throwing mechanics, to reading coverages and to poise. There are a lot of moving parts to our offense. You have to read the safety like receivers do.
“He can throw deep passes, outs, comebacks, has great velocity. Good arm strength. Can throw the ball 70 yards. He throws well on the run, though he’s not super mobile like Drew Brees.”
Croson also coached Erik Kramer, who threw 92 touchdowns and 79 interceptions in a 10-year NFL career. How did they compare at the same age? “Kramer had the poise at that age, like Brad, but not the mechanics.”
Kaaya was 23-3 as a starter and threw for 27 touchdowns and a school-record 3855 yards last season. His rankings, out of high school, were slightly better than Olsen’s, for whatever that’s worth.
Rivals.com rated Olsen the nation’s 12th-best quarterback and 200th-best prospect overall in the 2013 class. Kaaya was tabbed the 8th-best quarterback and 189th overall by Rivals for the 2014 class.
Olsen, who took over as the starter late in the spring following Ryan Williams’ knee injury, has left the door open for Kaaya and Rosier by struggling in the spring game (7 for 21 accuracy).
Rosier, who also arrives this weekend, also was told he will get snaps with the first team (like Olsen and Kaaya) and will be given a chance to win the job. Unlike Kaaya, Rosier set protections at the line of scrimmage in high school.
Rosier, out of Mobile, was rated by rivals.com as the 22nd-best dual-threat quarterback and could give opponents something extra to prepare for if Coley deploys him a few times a game in read-option situations as a freshman.
But Rosier, at 6-1, is shorter than Kaaya and more of a dual-threat quarterback than the prototypical pro-style passer. Kaaya is viewed as Olsen’s most serious competition, more so than current backup Gray Crow, who doesn’t project as a starter.
Olsen remains the favorite, but if he struggles and Kaaya or Rosier is exceptional this summer, Coley has said UM won’t hesitate to play a natural freshman.
UM coach Al Golden said he hopes Williams can return at some point in September, but UM won’t know for sure for awhile, and the Hurricanes aren’t counting on him necessarily coming to the rescue.
“Nobody wants to play with a true freshman,” Croson said. “But if you have to, Brad is the guy to do it. You’ve got him!”
### UM, earlier this spring, sent assistant coach Brennan Carroll to California to do due diligence on Max Wittek, rivals.com No. 3 quarterback in the 2011 recruiting class who is transferring from USC and planned to go to Texas before reports surfaced this week that Texas has “backed away” from offering a scholarship for off-field reasons that have not been publicly disclosed.
Carroll met with Wittek’s high school coach at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, and the coach passed on Carroll’s number to Wittek’s father. UM certainly cannot be ruled out until Wittek signs somewhere.
But Miami, to this point, hasn’t been reported among schools Wittek is strongly considering, among the limited number of media outlets who have spoken to the family. Wittek always has indicated a preference for Texas, with Louisville, Hawaii and Pittsburgh among other schools mentioned.
And UM, while not addressing Wittek specifically, has indicated if feels no great urgency to add another quarterback for this season because it has four healthy quarterbacks on scholarship and a fifth when Williams returns.
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...n-um-dolphins-heat-chatter.html#storylink=cpy
Whether Kaaya (or fellow incoming quarterback Malik Rosier) can mount a serious challenge against Olsen will be one of the fascinating stories to unfold over the next four months at UM.
Based on high school evaluation of both players, this UM staff loves Kaaya and believes he’s further ahead that Stephen Morris was at the same age. They like his size (6-4), arm, intelligence, work ethic and desire and willingness to study film on his own.
“He’s way different than the [typical] teenager,” Chaminade coach Ed Croson told me. “He’s very mature, very intelligent. He’s a 4.0 student, took seven classes in one of the [top college prep schools in Los Angeles]. There are a lot of temptations and distractions that don’t affect him. He watches practice film at night. He’s way ahead of the normal curve.”
Offensive coordinator James Coley pursued Kaaya long before UCLA and Southern California did, and Kaaya was loyal to Coley and the Hurricanes when those schools started calling him.
UM likes Olsen, too, obviously, but his primary recruiter initially was former Hurricanes offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, who moved on to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
As for Kaaya, “he has three things that are ahead of his age group,” Croson said. “He’s ahead of kids his age when it comes to throwing mechanics, to reading coverages and to poise. There are a lot of moving parts to our offense. You have to read the safety like receivers do.
“He can throw deep passes, outs, comebacks, has great velocity. Good arm strength. Can throw the ball 70 yards. He throws well on the run, though he’s not super mobile like Drew Brees.”
Croson also coached Erik Kramer, who threw 92 touchdowns and 79 interceptions in a 10-year NFL career. How did they compare at the same age? “Kramer had the poise at that age, like Brad, but not the mechanics.”
Kaaya was 23-3 as a starter and threw for 27 touchdowns and a school-record 3855 yards last season. His rankings, out of high school, were slightly better than Olsen’s, for whatever that’s worth.
Rivals.com rated Olsen the nation’s 12th-best quarterback and 200th-best prospect overall in the 2013 class. Kaaya was tabbed the 8th-best quarterback and 189th overall by Rivals for the 2014 class.
Olsen, who took over as the starter late in the spring following Ryan Williams’ knee injury, has left the door open for Kaaya and Rosier by struggling in the spring game (7 for 21 accuracy).
Rosier, who also arrives this weekend, also was told he will get snaps with the first team (like Olsen and Kaaya) and will be given a chance to win the job. Unlike Kaaya, Rosier set protections at the line of scrimmage in high school.
Rosier, out of Mobile, was rated by rivals.com as the 22nd-best dual-threat quarterback and could give opponents something extra to prepare for if Coley deploys him a few times a game in read-option situations as a freshman.
But Rosier, at 6-1, is shorter than Kaaya and more of a dual-threat quarterback than the prototypical pro-style passer. Kaaya is viewed as Olsen’s most serious competition, more so than current backup Gray Crow, who doesn’t project as a starter.
Olsen remains the favorite, but if he struggles and Kaaya or Rosier is exceptional this summer, Coley has said UM won’t hesitate to play a natural freshman.
UM coach Al Golden said he hopes Williams can return at some point in September, but UM won’t know for sure for awhile, and the Hurricanes aren’t counting on him necessarily coming to the rescue.
“Nobody wants to play with a true freshman,” Croson said. “But if you have to, Brad is the guy to do it. You’ve got him!”
### UM, earlier this spring, sent assistant coach Brennan Carroll to California to do due diligence on Max Wittek, rivals.com No. 3 quarterback in the 2011 recruiting class who is transferring from USC and planned to go to Texas before reports surfaced this week that Texas has “backed away” from offering a scholarship for off-field reasons that have not been publicly disclosed.
Carroll met with Wittek’s high school coach at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, and the coach passed on Carroll’s number to Wittek’s father. UM certainly cannot be ruled out until Wittek signs somewhere.
But Miami, to this point, hasn’t been reported among schools Wittek is strongly considering, among the limited number of media outlets who have spoken to the family. Wittek always has indicated a preference for Texas, with Louisville, Hawaii and Pittsburgh among other schools mentioned.
And UM, while not addressing Wittek specifically, has indicated if feels no great urgency to add another quarterback for this season because it has four healthy quarterbacks on scholarship and a fifth when Williams returns.
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...n-um-dolphins-heat-chatter.html#storylink=cpy
