MIAMI — Quarterback Jake Garcia — who enrolled at Miami two years ago with visions of challenging Tyler Van Dyke to succeed D’Eriq King as the Hurricanes' starting quarterback — has decided to enter the transfer portal, his father Randy told The Miami Herald on Tuesday.
Garcia ended up starting only one game at UM, and appearing in eight others, during two seasons with the Hurricanes.
He struggled with turnovers last season (four interceptions, four lost fumbles) and UM managed only four field goals (and a Garcia two-point conversion run) in his one start, a 14-12 overtime win at Virginia.
Randy Garcia declined to explain his son’s reasoning for transferring. The deadline for players to enter the portal is Thursday; a second window to transfer opens in May.
ESPN said that Garcia is looking to enroll at another school immediately and participate in spring practice, with the hope of earning a starting job. He’s eligible to play elsewhere in 2023.
His departure leaves UM with three quarterbacks on scholarship: Van Dyke, Jacurri Brown and freshman Emory Williams, who enrolled this week. Peyton Matocha participated in Senior Day in November and reportedly left the program with eligibility remaining.
Garcia arrived at UM as a consensus top-10 quarterback prospect in the 2021 class; Rivals and 247 rated him the 47th and 48th best player, respectively, in that recruiting class.
He appeared in one game as a freshman, completing 11 of 14 passes for 147 yards and throwing two touchdowns in a blowout against Central Connecticut.
This past season, he went 7 for 7 for 88 yards in the opener against Bethune Cookman and 2 for 2 for 15 yards against Southern Mississippi, then gave the team a bit of spark in a loss to Middle Tennessee State, replacing Van Dyke and completing 10 of 19 passes for 169 yards.
But he struggled in his next few appearances. He threw two touchdowns, but also three interceptions and lost two fumbles Oct. 22 against Duke, torpedoing any chance of a comeback victory.
The next week, he managed 148 yards passing, on 15-for-31 accuracy, in the start against Virginia.
He threw two passes in relief against FSU; one was completed for a yard and the other was intercepted.
UM opted to start Brown, the freshman, against Clemson. Garcia entered in relief late in the game and completed three passes, including a touchdown.
Garcia played well in relief in the finale against Pittsburgh, completing 17 of 28 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
He finished his UM career completing 79 of 129 passes for 950 yards, seven touchdowns, four interceptions and four lost fumbles.
Garcia originally committed to Southern California before flipping to Miami. He had a unique high school journey, playing for five schools in four years.
He spent most of his high school career playing in his native state of California before moving to Georgia when COVID-19 forced the cancellation of high school football in California.
He played in Valdosta High’s season opener in 2020, but the school had to forfeit that win after he was ruled ineligible. Then he transferred to Grayson High School in Loganville, Ga.
If Garcia had returned, he likely would have competed with Brown for the No. 2 job behind Van Dyke.
Van Dyke is returning as UM’s unquestioned starter. He has thrown for 4,766 yards, 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 19 games the past two seasons and at one point was projected as a future first-round NFL draft choice after 2021.
He struggled early last season while adapting to a new offense. During the second half of the season, he was sidelined for three games and parts of two others because of a shoulder injury. He closed last season with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Garcia is at least the 19th Hurricanes player who has or intends to enter the transfer portal this offseason. Many of those players left after it became clear they would not get much, or any, playing time if they had remained at UM.
