College Football

Brad Kaaya Announces He Will Enter NFL Draft

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:32 p.m. ET

Fansided, Daniel Nordwall/FanSided via Canes Warning

Miami Hurricanes Junior Quarterback Brad Kaaya officially announced he is leaving the program to pursue a career in the National Football League.

His decision comes after a impressive performance in the Russell Athletic Bowl. He threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns and earned Most Valuable Player. CBS.com has Kaaya as a 2nd Round pick in their latest mock draft.

Kaaya’s Decision

Kaaya leaves Miami as the all-time leading passer in program history. He surpassed Ken Dorsey’s previous record with total finishing 9,686 yards. He set the record in the season finale against Duke. Despite the record, fans never really seemed completely satisfied with Kaaya’s performances during his three years in Miami.

Thrown into the fire as a freshman in 2014, Kaaya showed promise and up-side to lead Miami back to relevancy. Kaaya’s biggest question mark was his inconsistency and immobility. He would complete NFL type throws that would wow you, but he could also look fairly average at other times.

Many analysts believed that he would come back for his senior season due to his inconsistency.. Miami’s offensive line struggled to protect Kaaya against the Hurricanes better opponents. He suffered a concussion against Clemson in 2015 due to the lack of protection. Kaaya could move up draft boards in what is widely considered a weak Quarterback class.

Kaaya’s Legacy

Could Kaaya have decided he didn’t want to suffer more beatings in college in order to save his professional career? Mark Richt‘s playbook and recruiting offers screams the need of a mobile quarterback. Did Kaaya and Richt disagree on offensive concepts? We may never know.

The Miami quarterback showed incredible intelligence and poise by earning the job as a freshman in 2014. His intangibles never gave Miami a division or conference title or a win against Florida State. Fans may never feel appreciative of Kaaya due to 2-5 record against ranked teams.

Kaaya finished the 2016 season with 3,532 yards, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing 62 percent of his passes. He finished 19th in the nation in passing in 2016 and leaves as Miami’s all time leading passer. Even though Kaaya lacks mobility, he is pro-type quarterback at 6’4 and 215 pounds.

With Kaaya’s absence, Miami will have a quarterback battle between Malik Rosier, Jack Allison, Evan Shireffs, and two incoming recruits, four-star N’Kosi Perry and three-star early-enrollee Cade Weldon. Richt will have a huge decision on his hands during spring practice that leads to fall camp for the 2017 season.