CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Brad Kaaya is not interested in playful banter with his teammates. The freshman quarterback is focused on trying to earn the starting role in the season opener and if he continues to have days like Friday, he’s going to be hard to pass up. “That dude, I like him,” junior left tackle Ereck Flowers said. “He’s going to be really good, like off the charts.” Kaaya was given the first opportunity with the first-team during Friday’s practice and received the most first-team reps of any day he’s had this week. He responded in a big way. During a two-minute drill to begin practice, Kaaya completed all eight of his passes—four to Malcolm Lewis and a 25-yard touchdown to Garrett Kidd. He followed the score with a successful 2-point conversion pass to D’Mauri Jones. “He’s really conducted himself as a vet,” Flowers said. “He knows the plays. He still is learning more stuff, but since I’ve been here of all the freshmen that have came in, he’s been the most mature. If you just looked at him, I would expect him to at least be a sophomore the way he is just coming in the summer, not even in the spring. I think he’s going to be really good.” Senior Jake Heaps has been rotating with Kaaya during the first four days as to which quarterback begins the day with the first team. With Ryan Williams still injured, Kevin Olsen facing a suspension in the opener, and freshman Malik Rosier a step behind, the race is between Heaps and Kaaya. Kaaya’s poise and maturity are being praised, but he has also shown good pocket presence and the ability to make quick, accurate throws while feeling pressure. He’s also been deceptive with his throws, which have resulted in completions. “A couple times he has looked me off a little,” cornerback Artie Burns said. “I expected him to throw it right there because he’s a freshman, but he looked me off and threw to the next guy and it kind of surprised me.” The coaching staff would like Kaaya to be more vocal and they have tried to get him to loosen him a bit, which occasionally prompts a laugh. But for the most part, Kaaya is more comfortable being serious. “He’s not really a talkative dude like that,” Flowers said. “He’s a real focused dude and he’s all about that work.” Flowers compared Kaaya’s personality to two Super Bowl champion quarterbacks. “He doesn’t really playing around like that, he’s serious,” Flowers said. “He kind of has that Tom Brady, Russell Wilson thing—you know how they’re just kind of like serious dudes. That’s kind of how he is.” Head coach Al Golden likes what he sees thus far from Kaaya aside from not being as vocal as Heaps. “He’s smart,” Golden said after Friday’s practice. “He needs to just do what he is doing. Keep command of the huddle and continue to be more vocal. That is one thing Jake Heaps is right now, he is vocal. He is not afraid to get after other guys and communicate and be loud. We have to continue to work with Brad on that. That was the challenge to Brad today, to continue to be more vocal. He is learning a lot right now.” Kaaya enrolled at Miami in May after leading Chaminade-Madonna (Calif.) to the California Division II State Championship as a senior passing for 3,855 yards and 27 touchdowns. Since he’s been at UM, he has been putting in plenty of time watching film and learning the playbook—a playbook he received in the spring before his arrival. “I’ve came up and he’s in there looking at film,” Flowers said. “He’s definitely a fast learner. He’s learned a lot of stuff that I wouldn’t even expect him to be doing right now.” If Kaaya does win the job, Flowers is confident he’ll be successful. “I’ve got no doubt, come September 1st, if he is the starting quarterback, then I know we’re good,” Flowers said. “He’s good so I’m not even going to worry about that.”
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 13:30:15 +0000
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