According to the NBC affiliate in Miami, Hurricanes starting quarterback Kevin Olsen will be suspended at least one game for a failed drug test.
Miami Hurricanes QB Kevin Olsen will be suspended for at least 1 game this season for failed drug test. No comment from UM at this point.
— Adam Kuperstein (@AKuperstein) August 1, 2014
While Miami has yet to confirm this news, one would assume that if true, the suspension means that Olsen will not be available when the Canes take the field against Louisville on Sept. 1.
Olsen, the brother of former Hurricane and current Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, was a 4-star prospect coming out of high school who was rated as one of the top five pocket passers in the class of 2013. He redshirted the 2013 season and looked shaky in Miami's 2014 Spring Game, completing just 7-of-21 passes for 65 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
With Ryan Williams just four months removed from having surgery to repair a torn ACL, the likely Hurricane starter for week one becomes senior Jake Heaps, who transferred to The U after spending time at both BYU and Kansas.
Heaps, who was rated as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the country by Rivals.com coming out of high school, was a freshman sensation at BYU in 2010. He stepped in to replace injured Riley Nelson and promptly completed 219 of 383 passes for 2,316 yards and 15 touchdowns, setting nearly every Cougar freshman passing record in the process.
Heaps struggled mightily through the first five games of his sophomore season before being benched in favor of Nelson. After not seeing much of the field for the remainder of the year, he elected to transfer to Kansas. He started nine out of 11 games for the Jayhawks in 2013, but again failed to put up impressive numbers. He completed just 49 percent of his passes and finished the season with more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (8). After Kansas brought in a new offensive coordinator, Heaps announced his intention to transfer to Miami to finish his college career.
Despite being pegged by most as Miami's third-string quarterback behind Williams (when he's healthy) and Olsen (when he's not suspended), Heaps told The Miami Herald recently that he is ready and expecting to play.
"I didn't come here to be the backup," he said. "I made this decision for a reason. I came here to play, but you have to earn that. No one is going to give that to you, and that's what I knew coming into this situation and that's what I wanted.
"... That's the only way you're going to earn your teammates' respect and gain their confidence. So for me, I'm very excited about this opportunity. This is my last year. I've given everything I have at this thing, and it's extremely important for me to perform well - not only to win the job but for my goals and aspirations down the line as well."
It appears as though he'll have the opportunity to make that happen sooner than anyone thought.
