Thursday was a fun night for Miami Hurricanes underclassmen to get in the game and show what they've been working on in the off-season.
It is very important to get live reps for your underclassmen, especially when you're playing an FCS opponent. Back-up quarterback Luke Nickel took in the moment and made sure he made the most out of it. He ended the day completing all eight of his passes while throwing for 171 yards and three scores. Nickel also successfully ran out of the pocket to pick up a first down, rushing for 13 yards.
For Hurricanes Nation, it was an outstanding glimpse seeing what Nickel can do in front of the home crowd. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the highest-graded offensive player on the field (93.6). Nickel spread the ball around to several receivers, notably throwing touchdowns to Vance Spafford, Dre Jacobs, and Somourian Wingo. His longest pass was a 47-yard touchdown to Wingo.
Nickel also saw playing time during the 45-6 win over the Stanford Cardinal in Week 1. He completed three of his five passing attempts for 27 yards.
Last year, Nickel had a whole season to observe and learn from former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck, who is now the backup for the Arizona Cardinals. Coming out of high school, he represented Milton High School in Georgia, leading the Eagles to a 13-2 overall record and a Georgia AAAAAAA state title.
According to there 247Sports Composite Recruiting Rankings, he was rated as a four-star prospect. At Milton, the 6-foot-2, and 220-pound signal-caller completed 277 of his 419 pass attempts (66.1%) for 3,914 yards and 39 touchdowns during his senior season.
Now, we're not going to pretend that the Rattlers' defense will be anything like the ACC defenses that the Hurricanes will face this season. However, it was a great opportunity for all the underclassmen to get reps and show the Hurricanes Nation what is to come years down the road.
It is very important to get live reps for your underclassmen, especially when you're playing an FCS opponent. Back-up quarterback Luke Nickel took in the moment and made sure he made the most out of it. He ended the day completing all eight of his passes while throwing for 171 yards and three scores. Nickel also successfully ran out of the pocket to pick up a first down, rushing for 13 yards.
For Hurricanes Nation, it was an outstanding glimpse seeing what Nickel can do in front of the home crowd. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the highest-graded offensive player on the field (93.6). Nickel spread the ball around to several receivers, notably throwing touchdowns to Vance Spafford, Dre Jacobs, and Somourian Wingo. His longest pass was a 47-yard touchdown to Wingo.
Nickel also saw playing time during the 45-6 win over the Stanford Cardinal in Week 1. He completed three of his five passing attempts for 27 yards.
Last year, Nickel had a whole season to observe and learn from former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck, who is now the backup for the Arizona Cardinals. Coming out of high school, he represented Milton High School in Georgia, leading the Eagles to a 13-2 overall record and a Georgia AAAAAAA state title.
According to there 247Sports Composite Recruiting Rankings, he was rated as a four-star prospect. At Milton, the 6-foot-2, and 220-pound signal-caller completed 277 of his 419 pass attempts (66.1%) for 3,914 yards and 39 touchdowns during his senior season.
Now, we're not going to pretend that the Rattlers' defense will be anything like the ACC defenses that the Hurricanes will face this season. However, it was a great opportunity for all the underclassmen to get reps and show the Hurricanes Nation what is to come years down the road.
