Here’s my thing.
Assuming this incoming ‘27 class is a massive hit, and I think it will be.. this roster could be even more loaded next season than it is now. That’s hard to wrap my head around considering what we’ve already witnessed.
That being said, are we really going to put a national title contending roster in the hands of:
1. A QB who balled out against an FCS team, not so much against a conference opponent
2. A true freshman with a ton of potential, but zero experience
Me personally, I would not do that. The portal has been very rewarding for us, so why not keep going back to the well?
If we do, I have 3 names, and these are the only 3 I would consider to lead this offense:
1. Kamario Taylor
2. JKS
3. Austin Simmons
In that order. I got Taylor #1 based purely off my projection of his ceiling. I think if his footwork improves and he stops relying purely on his arm strength, he could be another #1 pick type of player when you put him with Miami’s unreal wealth of talent at the skill positions. When you add in his stout frame, the constant threat to take off when the defense loses containment and the athleticism to run the RPO at an elite level, next years offense could be absolutely devastating. I just want to see if he can show on film this season if he’s more than just an RPO, one-read QB. I want to see if he can stand in the pocket, read the defense correctly and put the ball in where it should go, and do that against tougher competition. I’m willing to bet on that being the case, given he’s already looked very impressive so far, albeit against UL-Monroe.
That being said, I would give either of these 3 a blank check and I’d be extremely confident we would be at the very least, in the semifinals.
There’s a world where Izzy Abrams comes in and looks like the next big thing, and maybe it’s his job. But that’s an insane amount of pressure to put on an 18 year old kid.
There’s also a world where Luke Nickel takes that leap next offseason and looks the QB we seen against FAMU, and he does it against much tougher competition.
I’m just telling you what I would do if I were in Mario’s shoes, and assuming he has the team I think he’s gonna have (again), I don’t think he’s gonna leave anything to chance. You simply can’t when almost everyone else in legit contention for the title is gonna spend between $5-10 million for one of these names I just listed.
