Miami Hurricanes Football

University of Miami quarterback D'Eriq King is the first collegiate athlete to sign an NIL agreement with a professional sports team after partnering with the Florida Panthers.

The Panthers announced the deal Monday with the creation of "FLA Athlete," a program that will give student-athletes the ability to profit from their names, images and likenesses. The organization plans to add other collegiate stars within the state to the program.

King will appear at the team's games and develop a merchandise collection and other content to promote the NHL squad across South Florida. 

The Houston transfer is heading into his second year with the Hurricanes after totaling 23 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions in 11 games last year. 

After leading Miami to an 8-3 record last season, King is considered a contender for the Heisman Trophy in 2021:

The quarterback has signed several endorsement deals since the NCAA changed its rules this summer to allow players to profit off their names, images and likenesses. King already has agreements with College Hunks Moving Company, Murphy Auto Group, Dreamfield, The Wharf and Panini America.

The latest deal enters new territory, however. 

"We are thrilled to welcome D'Eriq to Panthers Territory as our first 'FLA Athlete," Panthers Chief Strategy Officer Sam Doerr said in a statement. "D'Eriq is a superstar both on and off the field and we are excited to reach and engage South Florida sports fans in new ways through this collaborative partnership."

The partnership could help the Panthers build their fanbase after they struggled to fill their arena in recent years. The team has ranked in the bottom five in the NHL in attendance in each season from 2016-17 to 2019-20, per ESPN. 

A University of Miami spokesperson confirmed Hurricanes safety Avantae Williams has been suspended after being arrested Wednesday on domestic violence charges.

ESPN reported Thursday that Williams is being held on $10,000 bond after he was charged with three counts of aggravated battery of a pregnant person in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Williams was dismissed from the football program.

"We are aware that football student-athlete Avantae Williams has been arrested by the Miami-Dade Police Department," the school spokesperson initially said in a statement. "He was immediately suspended from all team activities."

According to Susan Miller Degnan and David Ovalle of the Miami Herald, police reported there was an argument between Williams and a woman who's pregnant with their second child. Williams requested she be moved out of their shared home by the time he returned from football practice.

The woman told police she was still in the process of moving out when Williams returned and allegedly turned violent, grabbing her by the hair and throwing her on the bed while yelling, "Get the f--k out." She said he then threw her out of the house, which caused her head to hit the ground.

She asked neighbors to call police and was transported to a local hospital, where she was treated for "multiple bruises to her arms," a bruise on her neck and broken fingernails, according to the police report.

Williams was represented by a lawyer and didn't speak with police, per the Miami Herald.

The 20-year-old defensive back is a native of DeLand, Florida. He joined the Canes as part of their 2020 recruiting class, but he sat out his first season because of "chronic and lingering medical issues." He was cleared to return in March and took part in spring practice.

Miami is scheduled to kick off the 2021 campaign Sept. 4 against Alabama.

American Top Team owner and Miami Hurricanes football fan Dan Lambert will give every Miami Hurricanes scholarship football player $500 a month in exchange for advertising his Florida-based mixed martial arts gyms on social media, according to Dan Murphy of ESPN. 

If every player accepts the arrangement, Murphy will be on the hook for $540,000, per that report. 

"I want to help the kids. I want to reward them for what they do, and I want a better product on the field, too," he told Murphy. "I want to improve the reputation of the school and the team I love so much. I think it's a cool opportunity to get involved and make a difference."

It would be the largest reported endorsement deal for college athletes since the NCAA allowed college athletes to begin earning money off their name, image and likeness rights last week.

Lambert said he's consulted Miami's compliance department and has hired attorney Darren Heitner to ensure he's not breaking any rules with the deal. 

"There are improper ways of fans supporting their players, and now there is a legal way to do it," Lambert said. "And if there is a legal way, and you can dot the I's and cross the T's, I'm going to do it."

Heitner said the only stipulation the state of Florida has in place regarding NIL rights and contracts is that an entity that has financially supported a university cannot make NIL deals with its athletes. But American Top Team has no previous financial arrangements with Miami University.

"There's no prohibition on an entity who may have a booster as a member," Heitner said. "The only restriction is if the entity itself supports the institution or the athletic department."

American Top Team, a renowned MMA training facility, plans to offer every University of Miami football player a Name, Image, Likeness contract that could pay up to $6,000 per year.

Gary Ferman of CaneSport.com reported the deal will pay $500 per month and will be offered to every player in exchange for social media posts, personal appearances and other marketing avenues.

American Top Team founder Dan Lambert says he hopes to include other small businesses in his plan: 

"The NIL legislation is an amazing opportunity for businesses and fans to directly impact the lives of these players and the national reputation of our team," Lambert said. "I originally planned to just enter into deals with a few players and then it hit me that there is a way bigger play here. With the right contacts, effort and financial commitment, we can reach every player and get this city firmly behind this team where it should be. We can BRING BACK THE U." 

While $500 per month may not be a life-changing amount of money—especially with deals already reaching millions of dollars—it may provide some level of comfort for players.

A conglomeration of small businesses in the Miami area getting together and providing similar benefits to players who opt in could provide an entry-level salary for Hurricanes players who aren't targets for individual deals. 

NIL rules will come with an adjustment period for businesses and players alike, so an idea like Lambert's could gain some steam. 

Former Georgia and Miami football head coach and current ACC Network football analyst Mark Richt announced on Thursday that he has Parkinson's disease.

Per the Parkinson's Foundation website, the disease is defined as "a neurodegenerative disorder that affects predominately dopamine-producing ('dopaminergic') neurons in a specific area of the brain called substantia nigra."

Possible symptoms include tremors, bradykinesia, limb rigidity, and gait and balance problems. Parkinson's is not a fatal disease but can cause serious complications.

Richt, 61, led the Bulldogs from 2001-15 before returning to his alma mater, Miami, from 2016-18. He went 171-64 over his coaching career and won 10 bowl games.

Richt is a two-time SEC Coach of the Year and one-time ACC Coach of the Year who also won the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award in 2017. His teams finished in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll seven times.

He retired after the 2018 season and joined ACC Network in 2019. On October 21 of that year, Richt announced that he had suffered a heart attack earlier that morning but was "doing fine."

Well-wishes poured in on Twitter following the news about Richt, with some examples below from various media members:

Prior to his Georgia stint, Richt was a backup quarterback at Miami from 1978-82. He was a graduate assistant at Florida State from 1985-88 before moving onto East Carolina as its offensive coordinator in 1989.

Richt then headed back to FSU to work as its quarterbacks coach (1990-93) before adding offensive coordinator duties from 1994-2000. He coached two Heisman Trophy winners (quarterbacks Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke) and was on the staff of a pair of national champions in 1993 and 1999.

Richt has a book, Make the Call: Game-Day Wisdom for Life's Defining Moments, is set to be released on August 31.

For the second time in his college career, Tate Martell intends to transfer with the hope of finding a starting opportunity in 2021. 

Per Matt Zenitz of AL.com and Matt Fortuna of The Athletic, the Miami quarterback has entered the transfer portal. 

Fortuna noted Martell is a graduate transfer, which will make him immediately eligible to play for a new team next season. 

Coming out of Bishop Gorman High School in 2017, Martell was rated as a 4-star prospect and the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback behind Tua Tagovailoa in 247Sports' composite rankings. 

Martell spent his redshirt freshman year as the Buckeyes backup quarterback when Dwayne Haskins won the starting job.

After Justin Fields announced he was transferring from Georgia to Ohio State in January 2019, Martell entered the transfer portal. He wound up landing in Miami, but he was beaten out for the team's starting quarterback job by redshirt freshman Jarren Williams. 

Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz announced in September that Martell was suspended for the team's season opener against UAB for a violation of team rules. He subsequently opted out of playing in 2020. 

Martell has appeared in nine college games over the past three seasons. He's completed 24 of 29 passes for 276 yards with one touchdown between Ohio State and Miami.

The next generation of college football is taking shape. 

On Wednesday, the University of Miami extended offers to a trio of famed recruits, Eden James, Mason Taylor and William Roberts, the sons of Hall of Famers Edgerrin James and Jason Taylor and rapper Rick Ross, respectively.

Roberts, an offensive lineman in the Class of 2024, received offers from both Miami and Syracuse on Wednesday.

Roberts was a member of the varsity team at St. Thomas Aquinas in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., which won a state title this season. His father, Ross, was also a football talent who went to Albany State on a football scholarship. 

Taylor, a tight end who also attends St. Thomas Aquinas, is the younger son of Miami product Jason Taylor. and part of the 2022 class. He has also reportedly received offers from Illinois, Syracuse and FIU, per 247Sports. As a junior, he collected 133 yards on six passes.

He isn't the only football talent among Taylor's children. The six-time Pro Bowler's older son, Isaiah, committed to Arizona on Jan. 8. 

James is a member of the class of 2022 and competes at the same position as his father. As a junior this year, he posted 751 yards and nine touchdowns on 82 carries for Treasure Coast in Port St. Lucie (Florida), which ended its season in the second round of the postseason. James has also been offered by Howard, per 247Sports.

While it's too soon to predict anything about Roberts and the Class of 2024 as no members have offered verbal commitments, the Hurricanes have landed a four-star recruit in defensive tackle Brandon Cleveland and a three-star defensive end in Jamaal Johnson for the Class of 2022.

The knee injury suffered by Miami quarterback D'Eriq King in a 37-34 Cheez-It Bowl loss to Oklahoma State on Tuesday has been diagnosed as a torn ACL, according to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic.

Miami head football coach Manny Diaz released the following statement regarding the injury:

Per Auerbach, the expectation is that King will be back in time for the start of fall camp ahead of the 2021 college football season.

King announced last week that he would return to Miami next season rather than entering the 2021 NFL draft:

The Manvel, Texas, native performed well in his first season as the Hurricanes' starting quarterback in 2020, completing 64.0 percent of his passes for 2,683 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 538 yards and four scores.

Prior to transferring to Miami, King spent parts of four seasons at Houston. His best collegiate season to date came in 2018 when he threw for 2,982 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions, while rushing for 674 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Cougars.

King started all 11 games this season for a Hurricanes team that went 8-3, marking their first season with eight or more wins since going 10-3 in 2017.

After King exited the Cheez-It Bowl, he was replaced by N'Kosi Perry, who performed well with 228 yards and two touchdowns, nearly leading Miami to a come-from-behind victory over the Cowboys.

If King is not ready for the start of the 2021 season, Perry could begin the campaign as Miami's starting quarterback.

Miami Hurricanes quarterback D'Eriq King left his team's Cheez-It Bowl matchup against the No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowboys on Tuesday at Camping World Stadium with an apparent right knee injury. 

The injury occurred while King was making a cut on a five-yard run with four-plus minutes remaining in the first half. N'Kosi Perry replaced King at quarterback.

"D'Eriq King injury doesn't look good," Manny Navarro of The Athletic wrote. "Have to hope at this point [it's] just a badly bruised knee and nothing with torn ligaments or broken bones."

The ESPN broadcast noted that King rejected a cart to take him off the field. He received assistance back to the locker room.

King had completed 10 of 13 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 18 yards prior to leaving the game. He did not return after halftime, and ESPN's Katie George reported that Miami ruled King out for the remainder of the game with a right leg injury.

King spent the first four years of his collegiate career at Houston. He notably had 50 total touchdowns (36 passing, 14 rushing) while completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 2,982 yards (8.6 passing yards per attempt) in 2018.

Unfortunately, King suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee on a non-contact play during his team's 48-17 win over Tulane on Nov. 15. He underwent successful surgery and came back in time to start for Houston in 2019 but decided to redshirt four games into the season.

In January, King announced his plans to transfer to Miami. Entering Tuesday's bowl game, the signal-caller had completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 2,570 yards, 22 touchdowns and just five interceptions in addition to 520 rushing yards and four more scores.

Thanks largely to King, Miami improved from a 6-7 mark last year to 8-2 during the 2020 regular-season slate. Miami's only two losses were to Clemson, which finished second in the final College Football Playoff rankings, and North Carolina (No. 13). 

The Hurricanes offense also drastically improved, with the team scoring 34.0 points per game in 2020 (27th out of 127 FBS teams) versus 25.7 last season (90th out of 130 FBS squads).

The Manvel, Texas, native announced Dec. 26 that he plans to return to Miami for the 2021 season.

King and the No. 18 Hurricanes entered their matchup with the Cowboys looking for Miami's first bowl win since 2016.       

Miami Hurricanes quarterback D'Eriq King is running things back in 2021.

On Saturday, King took to Twitter to announce he will return to the Hurricanes next season after helping lead them to a 8-2 record in 2020:

King transferred to the ACC program from Houston prior to the 2020 campaign.

This may be somewhat of a surprising decision to some considering the quarterback was so successful in his first season at a Power Five school.

He completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 2,573 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions while adding 520 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The dual-threat playmaker answered questions about whether he could put up head-turning numbers against top-notch competition after starting his career with Houston.

However, King was not included in the first round in the latest mock draft from Bleacher Report's Matt Miller and didn't exactly impress in Miami's most high-profile matchup. The Hurricanes lost 42-17 against Clemson while he threw for just 121 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions.

Returning in 2021 will give him the opportunity to play better in marquee games and perhaps lead Miami back into the upper echelon of college football.

The program has won double-digit games just once since the 2003 season and has fallen behind Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and others on the national stage.

King's return gives the Canes a talented quarterback who can help change that.