The Miami Hurricanes’ annual Pro Day on Wednesday ended with a spectacle not even Mike Harley could resist watching. D’Eriq King, the quarterback who threw Harley seven of his 15 career touchdowns, slipped on a pair of receiver gloves, split out wide and went to work as a wideout, and a crowd formed along the sidelines to see how it would go.
It made for a busy day for King, and it’s something he has gotten used to. When his Miami career abruptly ended with a shoulder injury in the first month of last season, King started thinking about what his future would hold. He wanted to play in the NFL and wanted to keep playing quarterback, but he wasn’t going to be picky. He knew his 5-foot-9 frame would turn off some teams, and a move to wide receiver — or at least a flirtation with it — might be necessary to boost his stock ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, so he has spent most of the last few months preparing to play two positions at the next level.
“I was trying to do both every day,” King said. “I would throw first, then, as I get done throwing, I’d go run some routes, maybe 20, 30, 40 minutes, just getting it in every day, so I feel comfortable.”
King’s final public workout inside the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility was also scouts’ best chance yet to see what he can do as a receiver. After throwing passes to Harley and star wide receiver Charleston Rambo, King ran routes for about 15 minutes, catching passes from quarterback Ryan Rizk and, as he made sure to note, not dropping any.
On a day when none of the NFL-hopeful Hurricanes put up eye-popping testing numbers, King’s two-way showcase was one of the main attractions in Coral Gables.
It already seems to be intriguing some teams. King, 24, said he has a meeting scheduled with the New England Patriots on Thursday.
“The more you can do, the more valuable you are, so if I can be the one guy on a roster that can do backup quarterback, receiver, special teams — whatever I can do, it’s all about getting the best opportunity to make a roster,” King said. “It’s just go where they tell me to go, at this point. I just want to keep playing football, so however that happens — we’ll make it work.”
His case of a potential position change isn’t quite the same as some of the most well-known quarterbacks-turned-receivers, like Julian Edelman or Antwaan Randle El. King actually started his college career as a slot receiver for the Houston Cougars and had 58 catches for 492 yards and three touchdowns in two seasons before moving back to quarterback full-time.
As King points out, it was really just a year-and-a-half detour — otherwise, King has played quarterback since he was 4 — yet it’s an important one, given where he is now. When the Patriots drafted Edelman and the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Randle El, those teams were projecting what those athletes could be, primarily based on their play at quarterback and a handful of workouts. King has real game tape to prove he can be a solid receiver when given the chance.
As a potential backup or gadget quarterback, he’s not bad, either. In his career, he completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 8,378 yards, 76 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, and ran for 2,055 yards and 32 touchdowns on 4.9 yards per carry. Along the way, he broke Tim Tebow’s record for consecutive games with a passing and rushing touchdown.
While he believes he can be a good wide receiver, he knows he’s a good quarterback. Both, he believes, should make teams excited.
“I am a quarterback. That’s who I am. I’m a leader like a quarterback, I watch tape like a quarterback, but, at the same time, I love football,” King said. “I love the game of football, so however they give me he opportunity to play at the next level — receiver, running back, special teams. I don’t care. If they tell me to wash a car, I’ll go do it.”
Rambo, Harley miss 40 marks
Neither Harley nor Rambo had quite the day he was hoping for in testing. Both, however, are staying optimistic and believe their tape speaks for itself.
For both Harley and Rambo, the 40-yard dash was key. Rambo ran it in 4.57 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier in the month and heard some criticism about his speed because of it. Harley wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine, so this was the best chance for him to prove his speed — his greatest skill — was truly elite.
Rambo ran his 40 dash in 4.53, according to ACC Network, and Harley ran his in 4.46.
“I had a lot of goals I didn’t hit,” Harley said, “but it is what it is.”
Harley, 5-10, set Miami’s all-time career receptions record this year with 182. Rambo, 6-1, set single-season program records last year with 79 catches and 1,172 yards.
Rambo currently projects as a late-round pick and pointed to his experience as a kick returner for the Oklahoma Sooners as another reason NFL teams should consider him.
Above all else, he insists he’s faster than his 40 times indicate.
“I’ve got slow guys saying they’re fast,” Rambo said. “If you’re in front of me, I’m going to run right by you. The speed’s there, ain’t nothing lacking over there. … People want to say something about a 40, this and that, but it’s different over here. As long as they see a dog in me, I’m cool.”
Bolden, McCloud impress in drills
By the time he played his last game as a Hurricane last season, Bubba Bolden knew he was hurting Miami more than he was helping. A shoulder injury effectively left him playing with one arm, so he opted for surgery after seven games.
It has made the predraft process arduous for the star safety, which is why he was so pleased with how Wednesday went. Bolden benched 225 pounds 15 times to start pro day, then ran the shuttle run in 7.12 seconds.
With those two drills, Bolden hoped to answer two of the biggest questions he knows he faces: Is he healthy and does he have the hip fluidity to cover at a high level?
I showed a lot of people that I put that work in and I’m getting back right,” Bolden said. “I came out here and showed that I can move well.”
Bolden said he hopes to go in the third round, but knows he could drop to Day 3.
“I know I’m the best safety in the draft,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m going to make a 53. At the end of the day, I’ll be a starting safety.”
Zach McCloud, however, might have had the best day of anyone. After moving from linebacker to defensive line last year, McCloud has slimmed down to about 246 pounds again and is drawing interest as a rush linebacker. He ran the 40 in 4.66 seconds, did 17 reps on the bench, and recorded a 33 1/2-inch vertical leap and 9-foot-10 broad jump.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 6:22 PM.
David Wilson, a Maryland native, is the Miami Herald’s utility man for sports coverage.