Manny Diaz discusses the new Miami Hurricanes football players who enroll this week

Nine University of Miami freshmen football players enroll this week, including what UM hopes will be its eventual starting quarterback, a tight end with skills reminiscent of Brevin Jordan and other talented prospects.

Coach Manny Diaz sized up the early enrollees:

▪ Quarterback Jake Garcia, who will compete with Tyler Van Dyke to back up D’Eriq King in 2021: “From a football standpoint, you can pop on his film on the Internet and see all the great throws and things he can do with his feet, all the quarterbacking stuff. I love all that stuff, and it’s really valuable.

“What I like about Jake is who he is as a person. Look at the adversity Jake has gone through in 2020. They basically canceled high school football in California, he moved to Georgia, moved to a big-time program in Valdosta. You got to walk in that locker room and say, ‘I’m a kid from California here to be our starting quarterback.’

“He ends up ineligible due to some political-type rules, then [enrolls in] Grayson in the northern part of the state. You’re going from one powerhouse to another; they are halfway through the season. They already have a starting quarterback. They have friendships on that team. To walk in that locker room and say ‘I’m Jake Garcia, quarterback.’

“The courage, the self-confidence but then the ability to capture the spirit of those teams and have them follow you. That shows he’s got something about him that people want to follow.”

▪ Former Miami Northwestern receiver Romello Brinson, who will have time to develop as one of 12 scholarship receivers this season: “Romello is a special talent. A guy who can threaten a defense, can blow the top off a coverage, and when you’ve got that type of speed and playmaking ability down the field, it just changes everything.

“You see him splitting the safeties right down the middle of the field and then can make the contested catch. When you want to be an up-tempo offense, you’ve got to have the abilities to make the big plays down the field, and Melo is a guy that can do that. Week in, week out, no matter what the opposition was. He catches the ball away from his body, great strides, great speed, and he’s what Miami should have — a wide receiver that defenses are always worried about him going deep.”

Diaz cited a screen pass that Brinson caught against Miami Central: “He’ll do dirty work coming across the middle of the field, but puts a foot in the ground, sticks it and bounces it back to the outside to finish the run.”

Brinson hasn’t yet enrolled but expects to in the next week, per Canesport.

▪ Tight end Elijah Arroyo, who reminds some of NFL-bound Jordan and could play immediately behind Will Mallory: “This is a really, really exciting prospect. A great story of a young man who actually lived in South Florida when he was around kindergarten age, moved out to Texas, and now has a chance to come back to the 305 and play for the Hurricanes.

“You want to talk about a special [player] making plays down the field. He lines up as an X receiver, shakes a defensive back, and then a one-handed catch over the head in the corner of the end zone. It felt like every week this year he was making play after play, multiple-touchdown games throughout the year. He can make tough catches over the middle and then can stretch a defense over the top and then the run after catch. Can turn 10-yard plays into long touchdowns.”

Arroyo caught 13 TD passes for Independence High in Frisco, Texas, this past season.

Diaz cited “his ability to play in the box at tight end, but he also can be a wide receiver that our quarterbacks can get down the field. It just gives you so many options what you can do as an offensive playcaller.”

▪ Former Parkland Stoneman Douglas offensive lineman Michael McLaughlin, one of three new additions to the line but the only new offensive tackle: “Long arms, long legs, long body, great feet, has all of the things when you talk about drawing up what an offensive tackle looks like. And then a great demeanor about him on the field, a very intelligent young man, and a very hard worker. A prospect who came to one of our camps when he was real young. We have seen him develop and grow.

“He moved to South Florida in his high school career. In his senior year he made a massive jump. Cannot wait to get him in our strength and conditioning program. Can’t wait to get him around [offensive line] coach Garin Justice because he simply has things you cannot coach.”

▪ Defensive end Thomas Davis, who joins a position with only one proven player (Tennessee transfer Deandre Johnson): “Miami defensive ends have speed, quickness, explosion, great twitch, and all of those things sum up Thomas Davis. A great prospect from the south part of Georgia who we think can make a real big impact here.

“All you’ve got to see is his get-off. He’s shot out of a cannon back there at the quarterback. Really, really unique in his ability to get after the ball. His athletic numbers are all off the charts. He played some linebacker for his high school team this past year, and I thought it was good for him to stand up.

“Has toughness, wants to be great, wants to be pushed. On screens, he splits and knocks the heck out of the running back. He can really do a lot of things, but he’s going to be a problem for offensive tackles in the future coming around the edge on the pass rush.”

▪ Linebacker Deshawn Troutman, who attended Edgewater High in Orlando and will compete with young players Corey Flagg, Tirek Austin-Cave and Avery Huff, among others, for playing time: “When you talk about linebacker, you’re always talking about instincts and toughness and Deshawn Troutman shows both and has his entire time in his high school career. A great knack for the ball, great understanding of tackle angles, and then can make a play when the ball is thrown in the air and turn defense into offense.

“A guy that’s been a great leader on his team. Excited to see all the things he can provide in understanding of how to fill a hole, stays square on the line of scrimmage — things that you can’t teach. Really a special type of player. Relentless. An explosive playmaker to add to the middle of our defense.”

▪ Striker Chase Smith, who comes to UM from Melbourne High and will compete with starter Gilbert Frierson and backup Keontra Smith: “We see it in college football with the development of our striker position and how important it is to find a guy that’s got that very unique skill set to be able to play in space, do some coverage things, but still be tough enough to stop the run as well. Chase does all of those things very well.

“You watch him disengage and be able to get off the block, use great length and change of direction to get a tackle for loss. Relentless, gets a guy on the ground, does all of the things we ask our strikers to do. You see a guy with great length that can really make plays. His dad is a legacy [player] and great to see another Smith embark on another career here at the University of Miami.”

▪ Former Miami Northwestern safety Kamren Kinchens, one of six first- or second-year safeties in the program: “An outstanding talent at safety, great instincts, and a heartbeat guy. One of those guys who knows everybody’s job on defense. Off-the-charts football IQ, very similar to some of the players we’ve had great success with from Dade County here in the past. Certain guys just understand how to play the top of the building up there at safety and Kamren has always had a great ability to do that.”

Diaz cited a play against Central when Kinchens did “a great job to roll on his back to catch” an interception.

Kinchens hasn’t yet enrolled but expects to this week, per Canesport.

Also enrolling this week: Freshman kicker Andres Borregales (who replaces his NFL-bound brother Jose) and three veteran transfers: Georgia cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, Oklahoma receiver Charleston Rambo and Tennessee defensive end Johnson — all three of whom project as starters.

There reportedly is a possibility that four-star Plantation receiver Jacolby George might enroll this week as well.

Arguably UM’s top two recruits — safety James Williams and defensive tackle Leonard Taylor — and nine or 10 others aren’t enrolling early.