Hurricanes land FCS passing leader Poffenbarger

Pete Thamel, ESPNJan 8, 2024, 01:50 PM ET

Former Albany quarterback Reese Poffenbarger, the most prolific quarterback in FCS this past season, is transferring to Miami, he told ESPN on Monday.

Poffenbarger led FCS this season in passing touchdowns (36) and yards (3,603). He made a recent visit to Miami before making his commitment.

“Albany will forever have a place in my heart and we did a lot of special things,” Poffenbarger told ESPN in a phone interview. “At the end of the day, I thought it was time to move on and put myself in the best position to compete for a national championship and one day play in the NFL.”

The decision ends Miami’s quest to bring in a portal quarterback, which included visits from former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard and Washington State‘s Cam Ward. Poffenbarger generated a lot of interest from Power 5 schools and chose Miami for the scale of opportunity that it presents.

Poffenbarger walked on at Old Dominion and then transferred to Albany, where he thrived for two seasons. He’s expected to be available immediately and have two years of eligibility remaining.

He is the former Maryland state player of the year and a first-team all-state quarterback out of Middletown High School. He said his recruitment failed to reach the highest levels, in part, because he didn’t grow until late in high school.

Poffenbarger is now 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. He showcased his athleticism with a video on X (formerly Twitter) that shows a flurry of windmill and tomahawk dunks.

He said the mild interest he received on recruiting visits prior to his junior year of high school — when he was 5-foot-9 — has fueled his climb, which included a state title his senior year.

“No one wants to take a look at the 5-foot-9 kid,” Poffenbarger said. “I always had a huge chip on my shoulder, and I knew I could always spin the pill.”

He’ll enter a quarterback competition at Miami that includes sophomore Jacurri Brown and freshman Emory Williams, as the Hurricanes’ staff remains bullish about both of their futures.

Poffenbarger said he clicked immediately with Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and lauded the culture of head coach Mario Cristobal. He said that he prioritized an offensive coordinator who he could “sync together” with and has a similar mindset of an “absolute competitor.”

“Every offensive coordinator has the ability to install all the cool plays and call them,” Poffenbarger said. “It’s whether or not you are going to trust me. It was almost immediately clear that our personalities would mesh really well.”

The Hurricanes’ returning roster, which includes receivers Xavier Restrepo (1,092 yards) and Jacolby George (864 yards), also was an attractive asset. In addition to its defense, Miami has begun to build a formidable offensive line that includes highly regarded right tackle Francis Mauigoa.

“Who has the roster and people in place to make a push to win every game that they play,” Poffenbarger said. “Miami’s roster is flooded with guys who can play in the NFL and make elite plays at this level. They have elite talent at wide receiver and tailback and a defense that can choke people out.”

Poffenbarger, the oldest of five children, grew up in an athletic family. His mother, Amy, was a basketball star at Missouri. His father, Bill, turned down the opportunity to play college football. Poffenbarger’s sister, Saylor, is a basketball star at Arkansas who averages 10.7 points and is second in the nation with 13.1 rebounds per game. He said his younger brother Brittin plays quarterback and already has an offer from UNLV as a 6-foot-4 high school sophomore.

Poffenbarger said his inspiration comes from the tragic death of his brother, Fordham Lee, in 2010 at age 4. He has a tattoo on his left arm that stretches from his shoulder to his elbow that’s a “memorial piece for him.”

“He’s my motivation,” Poffenbarger added.

Poffenbarger’s career turned when he left Old Dominion for Albany. He said the ODU staff told him he was “a cowboy” and struggled to play within the offense.

“I play with a gunslinger mentality,” Poffenbarger said. “It is what it is.”

At Albany, that synced with offensive coordinator Jared Ambrose, who went to the same high school as Poffenbarger. When Poffenbarger arrived, Albany was coming off a 2-9 season.

The Great Danes went 3-8 in Poffenbarger’s first season and 11-4 this year, including a trip to the FCS semifinals.

“[Coach Ambrose] was someone that I trusted and we tore it up,” Poffenbarger said. “We had an amazing relationship and threw for a bunch of yards, won a bunch of games and turned around a program.”

Poffenbarger visited Miami in recent days and appreciated what Cristobal has built there, as he felt connected to the ethos of The U.

“It was something that coincided with how I view football,” Poffenbarger said. “If you are on the top of world, you still have an underdog mentality. If you win 38 in a row, you go into every day like you have to earn it. They had the exact same mentality — it’s never good enough.”